It’s an exciting time to be alive. Especially with the way tech is advancing. The other day I was at Home Depot and saw a fridge with a TV built-in. I was shook. All this innovative tech seems so cool to own. Especially as a techie I sometimes feel the pressure to keep up and have the latest and greatest gadgets. At some point in my life I may decide to indulge in the luxuries of the tech that is coming out. But for now, I’m avoiding upgrading my tech for 5 reasons. Here’s why.
It’s not apart of my wealth plan
I mainly follow Dave Ramsey’s baby steps as my wealth plan. His steps are the blueprint to building wealth; slow and steady. Right now in my wealth building journey I’m focused on paying off my student loans. I originally started with about $35k and I’m now down to $17k. When my student loans are paid off, I’ll be focusing on building a 6-12 month emergency fund. Once that’s done I’ll have more wiggle room to add some luxuries back in my life; like upgrading my tech.
All my tech is paid off
There is nothing like having a paid for phone. At one point on my phone bill I had leases for my phone, its accessories, JBL headphones, powerbank and a Fitbit. I paid all of them off last year. It helped me to reduce my cell phone bill from $130 to $86. All my other tech like my Alexa speaker and laptop are paid for. It feels good not have these kinds of payments weighing down my budget. I don’t want to go back to that life, moving forward if I ever did upgrade in the future I plan to pay for it in cash.
If it’s not broken….
Knock on wood all my tech is functional right now. So I do not see the need to upgrade. My tech does what I need it to do. I feel productive when I’m using my tech. I don’t have any major complaints about the tech that I use. The devices I have allow me to do what I need to do and meet my security expectations. If any of this changes or if I lost or damaged a device I would replace or repair it. But as of now we are all good so I don’t see a need to upgrade.
I explore free tech experiences
Let’s not forget I am a techie. I work as an IT Manager for my 9-5 job but I also just love tech in general outside of my IT career. So since I am not buying personal tech upgrades right now I still crave to experience new tech. When I get those cravings I watch tech Youtube videos from people like Marques Brownlee and TechMe0ut. I go to places like the Apple Store and Best Buy and just walk around and play with tech. I’ll even go to tech exhibits at my local museums. This way I’m satisfying my craving to interact and see new tech but I’m not blowing my budget by spending money on new tech purchases.
I’m satisfied
I really try my best not to get attached to physical items. It is something I have to work on everyday. But I try to live a life where the items I have are an addition to me but do not make me. One of my favorite quotes from The Minimalists, “I am complete, as are you, even in an empty room. The stuff, then, only augments that which is already whole.”