Need laptop now. Student Cards? Loans? Help

silentalibi

Hi, i'm new here.

I need to buy a macbook pretty quickly. i tried to buy it with Apple's finance option but got declined unfortunately. Now i'm looking for alternative ways of getting my laptop.

I'm 18, a college student, got a conditional offer for Hertfordshire university in Sept 2009 since i'm finishing my BTEC this year and will be doing an Art & Design foundation degree next year, still living at home and studying at my current college. I work part time, making about £150 every week. my bills and general spending stuff come down to about £150 per month, leaving me quite a good margin for paying for cards or monthly payments. i can't really afford to wait and save up.

I'm completely new to cards and loans, so i'm wondering what's my best option, and how it all works. how are the monthly payments on cards calculated, how much do we have to pay each month?

A student credit card? A loan? my credit rating is probably pretty poor given my conditions and the fact that apple's finance turned me down yesterday.

(i can appreciate the suggestion of saving up, but i need it before the summer really)

Thank you in advance

Idiophreak

Have you done anything else to start building your credit history? Do you have a contract mobile, direct debit subscriptions etc?

The best people to approach for your first credit is generally your bank - they're most likely to give you something. Could try and haggle a 0% deal out of them, if not, you might be better off in the long run just taking the rate they offer (as long as it's not *too* silly) and clearing it ASAP - at least this will then start building your credit score.

Once you've paid, then just spend a few quid on it each month and set up a DD to clear the full amount.

In terms of minimum payments, most people will take a % of the bill each month or a set amount eg 5% or £5, whichever's larger. You can set up a DD to pay this to save marks on your credit record.

edit to say: Also, how much are you looking to spend? By your math you could save £450/month for this - ie £900 in two months - if you're looking to spend much more than that, you have to be aware that banks won't offer you a very high credit limit in your circumstances...

ka7e

Any chance of a loan from parents, grandparents or siblings? Or could a parent with a credit card have you added as an additional cardholder? I added my son at 16 - for emergency use only - it didn't require a credit check on his behalf.

brettcta

student account overdraught?

charlotteu

Well, does it have to be a mac? With design it might but generally they are more expensive, though they are pretty

Apple do an educational discount through apple.com/uk/education which might help a bit - i think you need to either buy at a store with your proof of acceptance, or online from the institution (is your college currently registered?).

A no-interest for X months on purchases credite card is probably your best options - check the article on the main site for which one's most likely

silentalibi

Thanks for the tips. yeah i had to go to barclays anyway to sort out my account as it had some address change issues, and while i was at it i did the application for the barclaycard student. sounds pretty reasonable, even at 14% apr. its better for me to have it now than save 14%.

yes, i think for me it does have to be a mac. i'm a mac user and have been for a few years, and one thing i've learnt is that i know in about 5 years my laptop will still be performing incredibly well, they're very well built and i just like them. and since i'm after portability, the 13 inch screen is great =D

anyway, the limit on the barclaycard student is £600. the over credit limit fee is 0, which is good. so if i went over 600 say by £300, what would they do? i'd rather not anyway, just wondering what would happen.

another thing. say i need £900. if i put £300 in cash in the card, then make a purchase of £900 does that work out alright and i only have 14% apr to pay on the £600?

username

Well, does it have to be a mac?

And why do you need it now? Or is it a case of you want it now? (There's a difference!)

A computer is a computer, and what could be top of the range now will have come down in price in a few months.
Personally when I have been doing design and layout stuff, I've never found problems using the equivalent versions (PS, Indesign etc) on a Windows PC.

My advice is, sit tight and wait until you have the hard cash.

BigBouncyBall

borrow the money off parents for a couple of months?

what about eBay? You can pick up something like an iBook for about £250 then save up for the Macbook (£700) and sell the iBook for about the same amount as you bought it for in a couple of months time

BigBouncyBall

hang on - you're starting the course in september. So what do you need it for in June?

Apple updates their laptops in the late summer to catch the back-to-school crowd so i'd really just wait, save up and buy it in September.

Blacksheep1979

silentalibi wrote: »

anyway, the limit on the barclaycard student is £600. the over credit limit fee is 0, which is good. so if i went over 600 say by £300, what would they do?

erm they'd decline the transaction?

You don't need a mac - you want one and if you're a 'mac user' that implies you already have one, what's wrong with what you currently have access to?

melancholly

there is a large difference between wanting something and needing something..... i'm with username on that. every university provides lots of computer facilities and usually it isn't necessary to have your own (it may be more convenient, but certainly not necessary).

i also don't get why you need it before the summer for a couse starting in september? there is no point messing up all your finances over this so don't do anything silly that will make your credt rating even worse.