How to Make Wise Technology Purchases.
Technology
has come a long way in recent years, making our lives easier and
expanding our horizons. Nevertheless, equipment manufacturers
aggressively promote their latest item. The latest item isn’t always the
product you really need, however and rash purchases can result in you
paying for features that you just don’t need. Below are some steps to
help distinguish between what you want and what you need. By following
this advice, you can get the biggest bang for your buck and realize the
true potential of technology products in your life.
List Necessary Features
Your first step should be to create an inventory of all of the tasks
that you perform in a week. For example, you might write: catch up with
friends, balance my personal accounts, keep track of bills, read news,
send work emails, among others. Much as a shopping list helps us to
think of the long term, this list ensures that buying decisions reflect
actual needs. You should then decide how much you are prepared to spend
on a new piece of technology. This should not simply be the retail price
of the latest gadget. Rather, it should be an amount which you can
reasonably justify. Now calculate 70% – this will be your hardware
budget.
Select Your Product
Armed with this list and budget you are ready to begin browsing
items. You can critically assess the products in the market against the
needs that you have in your task inventory. Do not be tempted to
overspend just in order to get the latest model – the goal here is
utility, not street-cred. Perhaps you settle on a small laptop rather
than a tablet; it might even be a second hand item. Your final choice of
hardware should satisfy the needs listed in your task inventory and no
more.
Stretch Your Budget
The next step is truly satisfying. Go back to the original task
inventory. You still have 30% left over! This is your ‘software and
other’ budget which you can use this segment of your budget to purchase
additional items that can help complete those tasks on your task
inventory. Suppose you spend a lot of time each week sending emails. You
might then consider purchasing email templates. Perhaps you wish to cut
down typing time or maybe you want to spend less time logging onto
various online accounts. Software exists which can help you to achieve
both of these aims. By assigning your budget according to task rather
than taste you will find that you maximize your overall technology
budget and derive the greatest possible benefit from every dollar spent.
Improve your Life
The purpose of any technology product should be to increase
productivity – any given task can be completed more quickly through the
application of appropriate technology. By following the steps given
above you can avoid the allure of the new product with glitzy features
and pay for only those features that you will actually use. You will
find that you get greater benefit from your technology devices and save
money in the process.
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