5 ways to save money on new technology
Last Modified 16th of February 2021
Technology is moving faster than ever before and right now more and more people are buying those must-have gadgets that were unheard of just a few short years ago – from smart phones to tablets, compact digital cameras, high speed laptops and all sorts of more specialist items.
Unfortunately, as the technology progresses faster and faster it is sometimes hard to keep up and, even when you buy the latest gadget, you might find only a month or two down the line that it has been superseded by a newer, faster, slimmer, better model.
The bottom line is that keeping up with your technology addiction can be a costly affair. So what can you do to keep the costs down without having to miss out too much?
Buy used gadgets
This is a simple rule but one that some gadget lovers forget about. You can often buy used gadgets as little as a couple of weeks after its original release date. Phones are particularly good for getting used because people often sell mobile handsets that they got with their contract – still sealed in the box, but unwanted.
It’s nice to open a new gadget of course, but nearly new gadgets are so much cheaper that if you make do with opening a second hand one you can save hundreds.
Sell used gadgets
In line with the above suggestion it only makes sense of course to sell your old gadgets too. There are always people out there who want a bargain and if you want to upgrade, make sure you cash in your older purchases.
You should sell your mobile phone as soon as possible after you stop using them because they lose value quickly and whilst your old phone is sat in the desk drawer it is losing money!
Don’t get the latest gadgets
If you love gadgets you probably love buying the latest ones, so us telling you not to get them might not make a whole lot of difference. But do consider this; the latest version of an existing gadget is often only incrementally better than the previous, and as soon as it comes out you can bet that its predecessor will drop in value.
Put another way, you might want the latest thing, but if getting a slightly older one meant that you could also get another cool gadget with the money saved, would that tip the balance?
Don’t buy gadgets you won’t use
This is an obvious one, but it is all too easy to get pulled in by new technology. Just try to stop yourself before you buy a new gadget and ask yourself whether you’ll actually use it? If a new technology supersedes an old one you might be able to get rid of an old gadget to pay for it, but if the new item is just superfluous you are wasting your money.
Sell unused tech
Finally, pay attention to which technologies you really get your money’s worth out of. Sometimes you might buy a gadget that you think you’ll love and a month later you’ve stopped using it. Other times you might find a previously unexciting gadget becomes an every day necessity.
If you get bored with a gadget, sell it fast whilst it still has maximum value, you can always use the money to buy something else that you think you’ll like better!
