Thinking of getting a new phone? Well, there’s the latest iPhone X in town, but we all know how this beast can easily dry out one’s wallet. By doing a little math, though, you’ll find out that it’s possible to get your hands on it, albeit rather laboriously.
Admit it. You want it. You just don’t know if your bank account will be able to handle it. The iPhone X is said to be Apple’s most expensive iPhone ever starting at USD1,000, so there you have it, dreams shattered. Or, maybe not. You just need to be patient and work extra harder.
My guesstimate is that it’s going to cost about Php60,000 once dollar has been converted to peso, taxes included. My fingers are crossed that it won’t go way over that. Let’s say it’s going to start at that price range. Now, let’s find out how many days—er, weeks—you’ll need to work to afford it.
In Metro Manila, the minimum wage now is at Php512 for non-agriculture employees (Php502 basic wage + Php10 cost of living allowance). If you work in the agriculture sector, it should be Php475. Provincial rate differs per region.
Get ready to do some math. Let’s say that you’re a minimum wage employee with a basic salary of Php12,000 per month. Considering that you need to eat, pay bills, etc., then that means you’ll be taking home less than that. Don’t let me start on the taxes. For an employee with this salary, it’ll be difficult. But, again, it’s possible.
Using a salary calculator for Filipinos, you should be taking home a monthly earning of Php11,314, minus all the taxes and contributions. Assuming that the odds are quite in your favor—you don’t have a family to feed, live alone, and not paying rent—you should be able to survive this.
Let’s assume that your total monthly expenses amount to about Php3,000 (really hoping you have eaten well and managed to pay your bills already), then you’ll be able to save up to Php8,314 per month.
Now here comes the truth. Let’s round it off and say you’re going to have a monthly savings of Php8,000. This means you’ll be able to afford a new iPhone X after 30 weeks. Yes, 30 long weeks, which is equivalent to 150 days or 5 months. That’s how long you’ll need to work to buy the latest iPhone.
For comparison, here’s the Philippines with the other countries that we managed to search up online:
- India – 38 weeks
- Philippines – 30 weeks
- China – 7 weeks
- Taiwan – 2 weeks
- Hong Kong – 2 weeks
- Singapore – <2 weeks
- Japan – <2 weeks
- US – 1 week
Oh, the disparity! The only consolation is the fact that the local price of the iPhone X may be lower than expected (quite unlikely, but, again, possible) and that you’re actually saving up more than what has been assumed. Otherwise, let’s all continue working and save up money!
Are you planning to buy the new iPhone X? Let us know your thoughts!
