The Truth About Technology

When I was growing up, my parents didn't buy a television until I was eight years old. When they did finally break down and buy one, it was a small black and white set, which received about five channels. Color television was not the only thing missing in my childhood home; we also had no video games, no computers, no cell phones, and no MP3 players. It is a miracle I lived to tell the tale.

These days, not providing the latest technology for your family is considered by some to be right up there with child abuse in terms of aberrant behaviors. The trouble is, keeping up with technological advances is expensive, and our salaries rarely keep pace with technology. I would hazard a guess that a majority of consumer debt is directly attributed to purchasing big screen televisions, iPods, laptop computers, and other electronics. Unfortunately, the expense rarely ends with the initial purchase. Get a video game console and you'll likely be lured into buying new games. MP3 players need music downloads, and cell phone bills end up escalating due to add ons such as texting and photo sharing. Not to mention, almost all electronic gadgets have a full range of accessories. For many people, electronics are as addictive as crack cocaine, and their technology habit quickly lands them in the financial gutter.

The truth is, most of us, myself included, simply cannot afford to buy all the toys we want. And for the most part, electronics are toys. We may need basic electronics to make our lives easier and to perform our jobs, but what we need and what we want are two very different things. It took a long time for me to get that through my head. While it was true that I needed a reliable computer for work, I certainly didn't need an expensive model. My work is primarily performed using word processing software, so I needed a basic, simple computer system with no bells and not a single whistle. I also didn't need the fancy cell phone I wanted to buy. Why do I need to spend money on a phone that plays music when I already have radios, stereos, portable cd players, and a wide array of internet radio stations at my fingertips? If I purchased everything I wanted to buy, the plastic would have to come out to pay for it, and that's not going to happen.

True, I may not have a big screen television, and we don't have a GPS unit in our car, but everything we do have is paid for.  That might put me behind in the technology race, but it puts me way ahead in my race towards financial security.