Most aged 18-34 would rather have a smartphone/computer (65%) than a car (35%)

[The Nature Boy]

How does a smartphone save money?  The only way I can think is if one replaced a car or taxi with Uber or transit.

The ability to use the Internet to find deals when traveling. Before the era of smartphones, that was impossible.

[jeffandnicole]

  I estimate I spend $500/month  once maintenance and car payments (currently lease payments, then loan payments when I buy out the lease next year). 

You including gas in that figure?  Seems really, really high.

The IRS's standard mileage reimbursement rate was 57.5 cents per mile in 2015, which will reimburse one for the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile, including depreciation, insurance, repairs, tires, maintenance, gas and oil.   If someone driving approximately 1,000 miles per month, the average cost of owning a vehicle comes to about $575 a month.

So, based on V's estimate, she's estimating she actually spends less than the average!  Her figure isn't high at all.

Sounds like the $500/mo. is an average, then -- an average that I wonder if it's the proper summary measure for  the data, given that you're not replacing tires (a notable expense) or conducting major maintenance every month, or even every year.

Right...it's an average.  Let's say the car's lease is $300 a month.  Another $100 for gas a month, and you're already at $400. 

Remember...the IRS isn't generally the lovely, giving type of people that just provide a random figure for reimbursement that's going to benefit the taxpayer.  They know that you may only have to replace tires every few years.  But other expenses add up over time, and when it's time to sell or trade in the vehicle, the depreciation...which the reimbursement rate factors in...will affect the vehicle's worth.

How does a smartphone save money?  The only way I can think is if one replaced a car or taxi with Uber or transit.

The ability to use the Internet to find deals when traveling. Before the era of smartphones, that was impossible.

True, but not everyone uses those features.  Nor needs them.  Maybe it's great when looking for a hotel or a gas station.  Maybe some people go overly anal and holds up the cashier line looking for a particular store's coupon (sorry, that expired in December.  4 years ago). 

One of our top people in my Department, a highly respected person in his field, doesn't have a smart phone.  Hasn't affected his life one bit.

[Pete from Boston]

How does a smartphone save money?  The only way I can think is if one replaced a car or taxi with Uber or transit.

The ability to use the Internet to find deals when traveling. Before the era of smartphones, that was impossible.

You can get better information on the fly about all kinds of purchases.  My big savings last month was in not only getting a low price when I unexpectedly needed a hotel, but being able to find out this information in enough time to make the decision.

Uber can definitely be a money saver, but at least where I live, the phone will tell me if there's a bus four minutes away, saving me money over hiring any kind of car.

In general, a location-enabled connected device just means you're more likely to be in the right place at the right time without leaving it purely up to chance. My experience has been that this has been a very beneficial thing from a money standpoint and otherwise.

True, but not everyone uses those features.  Nor needs them.  Maybe it's great when looking for a hotel or a gas station.  Maybe some people go overly anal and holds up the cashier line looking for a particular store's coupon (sorry, that expired in December.  4 years ago). 

It is not my experience that this happens much more than it does with people writing checks, looking for change, etc.  In fact, many local small businesses here now take smartphone payment with LevelUp, which speeds up transactions and reduces costs for businesses by lumping credit card transactions into single bulk charges.  Users, in turn, usually get rewarded with discounts after a certain number of purchases.

One of our top people in my Department, a highly respected person in his field, doesn't have a smart phone.  Hasn't affected his life one bit.

Fair enough, but this means not having a smartphone hasn't affected his life for the better, either.

[cu2010]

Where I live, Uber is not an option. Buses aren't really an option (they exist, but don't go where you need them to when you need them to). Taxis are expensive once you leave town...and even to ride around in town, you sometimes have to wait 20+ minutes after calling one.

So yeah, I own a car...and really couldn't get by without one. Plus, there's something freeing about the open road.

I also own a Galaxy S5 smartphone...which I could get by without, but I love it too much and won't part with it easily.

[noelbotevera]

I can get by without a smartphone. I can't get by without a car.

[vdeane]

Now that I'm home, I can properly compare this.  The $500 figure was left in my head from when I was comparing the amount of spending money I have versus someone I know who has neither a car nor student loans; it was either an incorrect estimation or included roadmeets, I don't remember which (though looking at the budgeted amount for meets, it looks like I did indeed include that).  The figure is actually ~$369.62/month and includes the lease ($179.59/month; interestingly, the loan for buying it outright would have come to about $300-400/month), Insurance (currently $582.82 twice a year), gas for commuting (estimated to be $15/week, but with gas prices the way they are it's probably lower), registration/inspection ($51.75/year), maintenance and my "end of winter get rid of the salt car wash" ($200/year setaside; this includes routine things like oil changes and the like plus extra just in case; this amount WILL go up as the car gets older - I budgeted $1000-1500/year when I still had the Accord), and AAA ($89/year).  Roadtrips, trips for family gatherings, and roadmeets (that require staying overnight) are budgeted separately.

[kkt]

I can get by without a smartphone. I can't get by without a car.

You know, you're sounding less and less like an 11-year-old...   

[wolfiefrick]

I'm 14 and I really want to drive. I've driven my dad's car around a parking lot, much to the anger of my mother after hearing that. So, since I'm sad that I can't have a car for another 1 1/2 years (I'm 14 1/2 years old), I take up my other big hobby - technology. Most of the redesigns for signs you'll see over on Redesign This! and the concept art I do over at Concept Work are done on my iMac. I also own a MacBook, an iPhone, several older Macs, an iPad, and I recently bought an Apple Watch. Call me an Apple fanboy; I even have Apple product boxes on a shelf on my wall in my bedroom. But, come my 16th birthday, I'm going to the DMV and getting a license. I don't think I'll be able to get by without a car after that.

[realjd]

I couldn't do my job without a smartphone. Portable email access is a necessity nowdays. I could do my job without a car, but the bike ride to work would get annoying in the summer and I'd miss being mobile in my down time.

[SignGeek101]

I can get by without a smartphone. I can't get by without a car.

That depends on the person. I don't drive much; I can get pretty much anywhere I need by bus. That being said, I don't use my phone very often, so I don't really know which one I'd rather have.

[D-Dey65]

Cars pretty much have smart phones built in now so there's no need to choose.

The 1997 Civics and 2001 Kias most young people drive don't.

Neither does my mother's five year old Toyota Camry, which is fine for her, because the woman in in her eighties and could never handle such sophisticated electronics in her car... or anywhere else for that matter.

[noelbotevera]

I can get by without a smartphone. I can't get by without a car.

That depends on the person. I don't drive much; I can get pretty much anywhere I need by bus. That being said, I don't use my phone very often, so I don't really know which one I'd rather have.

I live in a fairly rural place (Chambersburg is about five or so miles from where I live), and I can get to where I need to go by car. The closest major city from me is Washington DC, 90 miles away.

In contrast, it makes sense for you to get everywhere by bus because you live in a larger city than me. I don't really have public transit (a taxi service and that's it).

[Duke87]

That depends on the person. I don't drive much; I can get pretty much anywhere I need by bus. That being said, I don't use my phone very often, so I don't really know which one I'd rather have.

I live in a fairly rural place (Chambersburg is about five or so miles from where I live), and I can get to where I need to go by car. The closest major city from me is Washington DC, 90 miles away.

In contrast, it makes sense for you to get everywhere by bus because you live in a larger city than me. I don't really have public transit (a taxi service and that's it).

This right here is the crux of the matter. People in the 18-34 age bracket tend to live disproportionately in cities where not having a smartphone is more of a hindrance to having a social life than not having a car is.

Also, some people can and do have both. It's fairly common, actually. But, the poll asks one or the other. We may presume that a decent number of people who have both consider their electronics more important than their car.

And yes, most people in here are not going to agree with the majority of respondents in the poll, but we're a group of people who enjoy driving as a hobby and tend not to have highly active social lives. Obviously our priorities are going to be influenced by both of these things.

[Zeffy]

Officially as of today, I own both. 

[CNGL-Leudimin]

I also own a smartphone and a car. The funny thing is that the car I own is not the same as the one I drive .

[signalman]

I also own a smartphone and a car. The funny thing is that the car I own is not the same as the one I drive .

But do you use the smartphone that you own? j/k

[Desert Man]

I hate to say this: I'm 35 years old going onto 36 next month and I don't drive (no license, no car and no insurance), other than my wife is able to drive and either I take the bus or rides my bike to work not far from my house. It became harder and more difficult to obtain the ability to drive over the years, due to tougher laws and more cars along with more bad drivers on the roads in CA.

About smartphones and other gadgets (I own a Samsung Galaxy 4), the 18-35 year old demographic finds them easier to use, convenient and more fun. They don't give us the same level of stress than driving does and car ownership laws. Maybe less people in my generation cohort don't want to drive or put up with the burden and responsibilities of driving when just trying to drive to work (and back home) leads to more headaches than the workday.

[ZLoth]

First off, I have been using an Android smartphone since December 2010 (it was a graduation gift to myself), and am now on my third Android phone (12/2010-7/2012 was a Motorola Droid, 7/2012-8/2015 was a Samsung S3, and 8/2015-present is a LG G4). I prefer the Android ecosystem because of the open architecture verses the "must get the blessing of Apple" mentality, not to mention the forced obsolescence and non-repairability of the Apple product. Now, if you search for all of my past posts, you will see that I frequently reference to the "latest iToyz" which is the reference to the Apple products. This is more in reference to the people who are camped out in front of the stores to get the latest device on day one even though their current device is only about a year old.

Having gotten that out of the way, I look at my smartphone as a extension to my desktop system, not as a replacement, and it helps with cloud-based computing. Some examples on how I used my phone:

• Appointment book using online calendar. Trust me, I have lost many appointment books from well-meaning people. Using an online calendar, I can plan my schedule and view it on my phone, tablet, or computer. In addition, I can put in the location which, with a tap, can be transferred to GPS. I can also email said invite to a friend of mine so that we are both on the same page.
  
• GPS which gives me an estimated time of travel and any delays along the way including a "leave by" time. Yes, this replaces maps.
  
• While driving on a road trip yesterday, I listened to an download audiobook and some pre-recorded MP3s. This has replaced the tape player, the CD player, and yes, even the MP3 device.
  
• I have also saved PDFs of hotel reservation confirmations and event confirmations. When I went on Amtrak last week, they scanned in the code from my phone. How many of us lost paper tickets or confirmations?
  
• When I was in Las Vegas last year for a conference, I got around Las Vegas via public transit rather than attempt to drive the strip. TransitApp came in very handy when figuring out which buses were the best when going from point A to point B. Especially when I went to a Verizon store to get a new phone.
  
• While shopping, I have scanned in the bar code of a product I was interested in to not only read the reviews, but also to do a price comparison.
  
• While waiting for my meal to be delivered in a restaurant or waiting in line, I was reading some news articles on my phone.
  
• Anyone heard of two-factor authentication? As an additional layer of security for logging in, I enter in a code from my cell phone for secure sites.
  
• Banking applications allow me to check my current balances in my bank account.
  
• GasBuddy is a good app to have when finding the best price for gas when traveling.
  

Over the past five years, I have seen many improvements in smartphones and applications.

Now, in regards to transportation systems and having "drones deliver stuff", keep dreaming. If you bought it, a truck brought it.

[US 41]

How does a smartphone save money?  The only way I can think is if one replaced a car or taxi with Uber or transit.

The ability to use the Internet to find deals when traveling. Before the era of smartphones, that was impossible.

When my dad and I travel together we stop at rest areas and get the "free hotel deal books". There are usually some pretty good deals in those.

[ZLoth]

How does a smartphone save money?  The only way I can think is if one replaced a car or taxi with Uber or transit.

Gas Buddy application. Now, when I'm in my home area, I fill up at Costco because it is about five minutes from both where I live and work. However, if I'm traveling, and there is no Costco nearby, I can find a gas station with a good price on gas.

How about shopping? I have often scanned the bar code on a product in order to get comparative pricing and to read the reviews of a product.

[Bruce]

I have a smartphone (and tablet) that I can't go without, and I don't drive. Ask me anything.

Some say that the smartphone is the mass transit innovation of the last decade because of how it's affected car-less people like me: having real-time bus/train arrivals at the fingertips (and forgoing schedules entirely in some corridors) is very freeing.

(But on the other hand, cell phones have caused many distracted-driver incidents that can often result in the death of a pedestrian, cyclist, or other driver.)

[US 41]

A $100+ cell phone bill every month does not save you money. The savings are negated by the bill itself. I have a Tracfone in my car and I only pay $25 every 90 days.

[Pete from Boston]

A $100+ cell phone bill every month does not save you money. The savings are negated by the bill itself. I have a Tracfone in my car and I only pay $25 every 90 days.

Who pays $100+ a month?

My assertion is that the additional price of a data plan over and above a talk/text/whatever basic-necessity phone can pay for itself.  For me this is clear. 

[ZLoth]

A $100+ cell phone bill every month does not save you money. The savings are negated by the bill itself. I have a Tracfone in my car and I only pay $25 every 90 days.

Who pays $100+ a month?

My assertion is that the additional price of a data plan over and above a talk/text/whatever basic-necessity phone can pay for itself.  For me this is clear.

I do, partially because I pay for a family plan (2 smartphones) which have unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 3GB of data per month. I also try to use WiFI as much as possible.

Oh, did I mention that I don't have a home phone number? I haven't had a home phone since 2002.

[Pete from Boston]

A $100+ cell phone bill every month does not save you money. The savings are negated by the bill itself. I have a Tracfone in my car and I only pay $25 every 90 days.

Who pays $100+ a month?

My assertion is that the additional price of a data plan over and above a talk/text/whatever basic-necessity phone can pay for itself.  For me this is clear.

I do, partially because I pay for a family plan (2 smartphones) which have unlimited talk, unlimited text, and 3GB of data per month. I also try to use WiFI as much as possible.

Oh, did I mention that I don't have a home phone number? I haven't had a home phone since 2002.

So it probably breaks down to well under $100/month per line. 

I dropped the land line in 2003.  I explained to a 6-year-old recently that when I was her age all phones were attached to something.  The look I got was like I'd just said we ate apples while they were still attached to the tree.