To iPhone or Not to iPhone

I stand at the crossroads.

My poor husband is not such a poor husband anymore.  He's got a fancy, new iPhone.  The man who kept his free phone for 4 years regardless of the fact that he was eligible for a free upgrade now has an iPhone.  And he looks so darn cool with it.  I look over and I think, "Forget the cars, that phone is a total chick magnet!"

Now, here I stand with no cell phone because...well...I think we know that story.  I feel stuck because I have this really old wireless plan at $30/month and now when I get those mailers that try to entice me with a "free" upgrade, it says that I have to upgrade my plan, as well.  Same plan, new price.  That' $10 more per month.  Even I can do the Math and see that the little free phone they offer me will actually cost me $120 a year.  That's $240 over the life of the 2-year contract I have to sign.

And now if I want a smart phone, I MUST also get the $30/month data plan.   And I can't get the data plan without upgrading my plan to the new price.  So, that leaves me with a stupid phone (wouldn't that be what you call one that's not smart?) but I have to pay full price for it.  Uhhh..no.  That's a lot of money!  Or I can buy a prepaid phone, but that will be $100 bucks because I want bluetooth.

There's craigslist of course.  I looked, but there's the whole it-has-to-be-an AT&T phone and all that jazz.

Oh, and I can't get insurance...which we have figured out is actually worth the monthly price in my case...without (I'll bet you can guess) upgrading my plan.

You know, I say upgrading the plan, but really it's just upgrading the price.

Now, interestingly enough, my laptop is going out.  Over half of my monitor is now covered in a pretty plaid design and I have minimized this window to, oddly enought, about the size of an iPhone screen just so I can type this post.  The whole scrolling back and forth thing is really getting old.

So I have to wonder...

If I keep this laptop and don't buy another, would it pay to buy an iPhone? I want the iPhone.  Travis says that if I can keep a junky (his word, ,not mine) cell phone for 2 years without losing it then he'll feel justified in buying me a fancy phone.

Can I make it work?  A few salespeople out there are tying to make it so.  What should I buy?

Yes, boring post tonight.  I'm a little OCD about this cell phone business right now!