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Spending money on techy stuff

September 16th, 2006 at 03:51 am

I kind of feel like I need to write a confessional. OTOH, I've decided that's silly.

OK, I've just spent $48 on a scanner, I've signed up for Verizon's voicemail again for an extra $6 a month, and I've decided to pay the $30 for Budget by Snowmint (virtual envelope budget software) after the trial period.

I could have spent money on making copies, buying more file folders, and so forth. I could have decided to keep wasting time leafing through papers, trying to stay offline when important calls are due, and playing around with free but cumbersome budget systems. Instead, I'm spending money on tools that actually do the jobs I need done.

Every time I spend money on techy stuff, part of me feels like it's a luxury, like I'm just trying out some new toy. I guess it's because I'm almost 50, and the highest tech thing I had as a kid was a transistor radio!

I'm seeing libraries get rid of stuff I never thought I'd see, because the information is now available online. I just bought a car part on Ebay for my mother. Even some homeless people have email addresses, laptops and blogs.

Text is thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/ and Link is
thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/

It's a new, digital world. So why should buying a digital tool feel less legitimate than buying, say, a hammer? I have the discretionary money on hand to pay for these things, and they serve my streamlining goal, so why not? But it still feels weird in a Future Shock sort of way.






3 Responses to “Spending money on techy stuff”

  1. baselle Says:
    1158377245

    I've made my piece with it - as long as I use often enough not to collect dust, and it is robust (not into paying to be a fake beta tester) I price it and go for what I need. 48$ seems pretty good for a scanner.

  2. Bookie Says:
    1158377294

    Don't feel all alone. I'm 62 and I sit in a warren of computer-based tools and services, none of which I would have imagined 20 years ago. "Future Shock" is right.

    I also echo the sense of wonder at the way libraries have gone from being depositories of paper-based resources to their present role as media centers with on-line service access. I still know faculty at the local university who refuse to use the on-line catalog, adminsitrators who rely on their staff to handle the telephone system, and attorneys who can no longer function without their software-savy assistants.

    Be grateful you've made the transition to this "brave new world" of techy stuff. It reflects favorably that you (and I) remain willing to learn and to change with the times.

  3. LuxLiving Says:
    1158404235

    Dear StressLess:

    I remember trying to get The Hubster to buy a scanner when they were $10,000.00!! TEN THOUSAND! Yes, I would of used it that much at that time! Nice thing about early adapters/adopters (which is it?) ...they bring down the prices for the rest of us! When he finally got me one it was about $150! Nice savings there sweetheart!!

    I think it's great that you are adapting to the times! AND I think writing about it in a blog is very helpful. You explain yourself to you. Not confess to us. I believe it is very useful to the rest of us to see how other people work through the process of decision making! And to you, when you need to revisit a decision.

    So, thanks for sharing! And we've come a long way baby from our transistor radios, haven't we? You know what that means, don't you? With or without an island - We ARE Survivors! GOOD FOR US!!

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