What To Learn From A $12,319 Lesson

Photo by: laverrue

Have you ever wondered what a brand new technology device would cost you in the long run? It’s usually something we tend to avoid viewing, but it’s actually what keeps us from growing a wealthy portfolio.

Looking at all the things that tends to eat up a big portion of out earnings isn’t something we do that often, but when I came across this interesting share calculation by Kyle Conroy I got my guts together and thought it would be interesting to see how much a technology device would cost over a period of time.

Now this is a real example so please don’t draw conclusions upon my past decisions. (Just kidding!)

A few times each year a large group of tech savvy people gathers to get the latest news and product releases from the biggest technology company in the world, Apple Inc.

With their breaking new technologies and a very good speaker they’re able to turn their ideas into cold hard cash by persuading you and I into buying their latest piece of technology.

Now dealing with such a large company with such a huge impact as Apple, did you ever wondered what the value would be if you had invested your money in their stocks rather than buying the latest shiny technology device that just got out?

Instead of throwing your money at the latest of all technologies you could easily be on the other side earning some descent returns while the others are spending their earnings like crazy.

In the fall of 2005 I got a first look at a beautiful MAC computer and I guess the sales guy did a very good job that day persuading me with getting the newest of all technologies possible…and without even much hesitating I had wiped out my wallet and handed him my credit card.

I paid about $2499 for that brand new peace of technology that day and of course it all made very much sense, – it was the latest technology and I were in need for a new computer. (At least that was what I told myself.)

Now if I that day had gone with a cheaper computer that basically would have gotten the job done the same way and taken my $2,499 and bought some love with the apple stocks instead, 5 years later the $2,499 would have been worth a total of $12,319 this exact day today.

Just by shifting my focus that day from “I need to spend $2,499″ to “I need to invest $2,499″, would have gained me a return of 392% over 5 years, which is about 78% return each year those years…and THATS not a bad return indeed.

Now sometimes we just gotta get some new stuff, but if you dare, have a look at one of the richest man on this planet, Mr. Warren Buffet, who instead of spending bucks on the latest craps, tends to invest money more wisely for the long run.

Just by realizing how much new stuff is being released each and every day the most important thing you can do for yourself right at this moment is to wake up and take full control of your money, before it controls you!

What would you rather have?

A piece of technology laying around in your closet?

Or a wealthy portfolio that allows you to retire 10 years from now?

We can all do the math and dream as much as we like, but when the time comes it’s all up to what we did with what we had that controls our lives.

I got myself the latest technology that day, and I would have lied if I told you it didn’t run perfectly, but was it worth it, well that’s a whole other story. At least I got to lend a helping hand with increasing the stock price instead….

If we focus on getting the latest items out there, at the age of retiring we would have spent a significant amount of our earnings on getting the short end of the stick like most do and be facing with some serious economic problems.

So the question remains, do you really need the latest of all technologies afteral?

Photo by laverrue