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Actual Proof You Need to Stop Buying Material Shit

I was dumbfounded by a recent CNBC Chart of the Day titled “From $400K Macs to $23k iPods.”  The article provides how much an investment in Apple would be worth if you had bought the stock at the time for the price of that new gadget:

Opportunity Cost of buying Apple Products

Of course you could always argue what if you bought stock in one of the hundreds of car companies that no longer exist when that technology first appeared, and that hindsight is 20-20 but the graph should still affect you in some way.

For me, I don’t get enough utility or enjoyment to allocate dollars to early technology, so it isn’t just this particular situation that captured me. Rather it is the idea that material goods should have a lower priority in our lives.

Who the hell even knows where their original iPod is?  or God forbid your first iPhone!  I bet there is no one reading this post that still is using their original iPhone as their main phone.

I hope to look back at this post as a reminder before I go buy random shit!

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12 COMMENTS

  1. Is it bad that I read this on my iPhone :)? To be fair, it is my first iPhone (the 5) and I still have my first iPod (has held up very well) and love my iPad (3rd gen). Ok, enough love for my gadgets, it really puts things into perspective to see these numbers. It can work with many products/companies but it is especially impressive with AAPL given their amazing run over the past dozen years or so. Next time I see a must have product, maybe I’ll consider the investment instead…or more likely in addition too 🙂

    • I am not a fan of apple products, but everyone has the line of how much stuff to buy. There are FI bloggers that would be horrified on how much money I spend, but then at the same time my friends call me frugal and cheap lol

  2. I’ve never owned an iPhone. I have a dumb Tracfone for emergencies. When people ask if I have a cell phone, I give them my Google voice number that rings both my dumb Tracfone and my home phone. I also do know where my first iPod is. It’s on my desk in the study. I only use it on road trips.

    I do need to both cut back on buying material stuff, and need to get rid of some of the excess stuff we have. It’s too hard to move around in the garage with a car parked in there. It’s time to schedule a garage sale and let someone else deal with our stuff.

    • So you are still on a dumb phone?! I only know one other person, my pops (he has a dumb phone AND a smart phone but buckled to his pants lol).

      I like the google voice number, but what do you do about texting and/or emails?

  3. I like it – makes me think twice before dropping cash on something instead of bolstering the portfolio.

  4. Ha, that is a good chart. If you have to waste money on gadgets though, Apple is the way to go. They cost more, but last forever. My 10 year old iPod still works find. Every Apple product I’ve ever purchased is still going strong.

    • I hate Apple products! Even if your laptop lasts double the time it is double the price I would rather buy a new one half way through with newer technology. I am not sure if that argument still works for the iPod but it is possible considering its competitors at the time

    • “o’course, the reason for those eye-popping figure IS that no one can remember where their original iPhone or iPod is.” More proof that the utility received is so short lived!

  5. Haha, love it. The only iThing I’ve ever purchased is an iPhone through Verizon for $100. I couldn’t care less about it though, and I’m switching to Republic Wireless when my contract ends later this year, meaning I’m going from the iPhone to the Moto X. Hopefully, I’ll get a nice chunk of cash reselling my iPhone!

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