Having been in poverty and having been robbed of his iPhone twice in the middle of the road, the man regretted not buying something that cost only “a few bowls of pho”!

Sam Tabahriti is a writer for Business Insider. He recounted his experience of having his phone robbed twice and expressed his regret at not spending a few dollars on insurance. Below is his post.

My phone was stolen twice

I never thought I would write these lines.

On my way to my London office, a robber on a bicycle snatched my phone from my hand and sped off.

It happened just minutes after I left one of my favorite cafes. At that time, I stopped to get some tissues from my pocket because my nose suddenly became uncomfortable.

I heard a “bang” and felt pressure on the hand holding my phone. Then it was gone: My iPhone 14 Pro Max was in the hands of a cyclist who was leaving me behind and sped off.

He was wearing a hoodie with a hood so I couldn’t see his face. The robber disappeared within seconds.

It was a phone that I struggled to buy and it was also very expensive. It costs $1,200. I didn’t have time to react when it happened.

I froze there, stammering a few words in my native French: “Mon teméphone.”

I have never felt so helpless, and this is the second time I have been robbed.

This has happened before.

In October 2019, I was on my way home from work at a bar when I was suddenly knocked to the ground, and someone put their feet on my head to restrain me.

They tried to steal all my stuff, including my iPhone 11 Pro Max and MacBook Pro. Although I couldn’t move much, I got my laptop back.

I didn’t know they took my phone but just felt a few places in my bruised ribs and sprained wrist as soon as I got home and collapsed. I went to the hospital and reported it to the police.

Since I didn’t have any savings, I worked several shifts at work to earn as much as I could in two weeks, babysitting and selling a few items so I could buy a new phone.

I’m also contemplating buying something I’ve never bought before: Insurance for my phone.

But I am a European student, and every penny matters to me. I have a UK government loan but am still working three minimum wage jobs so I can afford to live in London. I do not have any other financial support.

Paying a monthly fee of $12 or more for insurance – which I may never use – doesn’t seem right to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. So I didn’t buy.

At that moment I said to myself, ” You’ll be fine. Someone stole your phone once. It won’t happen again “.

Regret and Disappointment

I’ve never really cared much for insurance. Most of my friends and colleagues after hearing about the robbery story also said that they did not take out insurance for their devices.

But now I regret it.

Like the first robbery, I know that even though I have reported it to the police, the chances of getting my phone back are slim.

The annoying thing is that I can track it with the “Find My Phone” feature and can see where my phone is. It looks like it’s in a mall, but should I risk putting myself at risk going there?

I remember the policeman saying the first time their phone was robbed that they wouldn’t go to an obscure location unless they had a specific location.

This week’s robbery had more impact than I expected. I got angry and cursed non-stop. To some extent, I also feel offended. I wonder what the robber would see if he got into my phone — all my pictures, notes and emails.

I’ve always thought insurance was expensive. It can cost more than subscribing to a streaming platform like Disney+ or Prime Video.

Now, the next challenge is saving up to buy a new phone.

And this time, I definitely buy insurance.