I am an Early Adopter caught in the salary of an entry level worker. It is an unfortunate state of affairs when you – who subscribes to TechCrunch, an avid reader of Robert Scoble and Guy Kawasaki, the only person you know with a feed aggregator, the only one in her town who seems to know that mobile Web is the new black – must idly watch lesser (informed) men purchase and make scanty use of technology.

It is a sad state indeed. However, I’m not one to sit around and feel sorry for herself. As Jay-Z says, I’m like water. Throw up a blockade and I’ll find a way around it. I have a method for determining which things, whether they are little- or big-ticket items, can or should be purchased.

The List(s)
Now, this is not a glamorous thing, to be sure, but I’m a realist. A comforter that costs 200 dollars has to be saved up for, just like an iPhone, on my budget. Thus, it must be determined how badly I want that comforter or duvet or whatever, and what priority it falls into. After all, we’re working with a limited amount of cash here.

Here’s how it works. I keep a list in my planner, the one thing I’m certain to look at repeatedly throughout the day. At the top it says “Things Holly Wants.” Right now, it looks like this:

King-size comforter: $100
iPod set for car: $25
Tea kettle: $20
Running shoes: $85-100
Domain & hosting: $60
Running shorts: $30
Desk: $150-250
SIGG water bottle: $25

These are fairly practical items for the most part. As I purchase them or concede that I don’t really need or want them and that the desire for an espresso grinder was misguided, then I strike them out. Some of them are smaller ticket items, and the reason I put these on here is not so I can save for them (I’m not that bad off), but so that I don’t blow 20-30 dollars here and there on crap I don’t need or won’t use (I’m not that well off).

Now, for major technology-related purchase, I keep a list called “Things Holly Would Really Like.” It looks like this:

MacBook Pro
iPhone (V2 out in June)
Wireless keyboard/mouse
Dual monitors
Adobe Creative Suite
iPod portable speakers/docking station

Note that nothing on that list is crossed out. Yeah. I’ve had that list for about three months now. It’s going to take some time to save up for those items. Also, with purchases of that size and nature, the exact specs change with the more research I do on them. I also have a terrible case of Tech Lust, so it’s good for me to see these things written on paper so that I can be a little more practical about it.

Buyer Be Wary
I recently read on Ben Overmyer’s blog that he was feeling some peer pressure to purchase an iPod Touch, which he pretty much says he doesn’t need and won’t use. Don’t let your friends pressure you into buying something that they need or want. What’s good for one person is a waste of money for another. I consult with clients for my IT business on electronic purchases and often stair-step them up to what they think they want. For example, one client wants an iPod, but doesn’t use iTunes or have music on her computer. First things first, let’s get you where you can use it. I wanted a MacBook Air until I saw what Guy Kawasaki had to do to his. It’s just not meant for people like me.

The key concept here is that you first determine what you need, what you need it for, and how high a priority it is for you first. Then make your purchase. So often we see something and buy it, then try to justify after the fact. That’s shoddy logic and a waste of your hard-earned money.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 8:20 pm and is filed under Life, budgeting, goal-setting, investing, personal finance, technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.