Save or Spend? Old or New?

The title of my blog has been my motto for a long time, yet it speaks of two different approaches to life.  Finding the happy medium is the goal.  How do I dream, plan and prepare if I'm also flying by the seat of my pants?  It's very difficult, but I have found my own balance.  I come up with plans and dreams, but I don't set dates or deadlines.  Always thinking about what is best for me.  What will be the most rewarding?

My little boy has a piggy bank that says "Save/Spend/Donate/Invest."  He asked me "What does that mean?'  I explained what donating and investing are, and he laughs saying "I wouldn't do that.  I would rather save or spend."  Me too.  But when to save and when to spend?  That's a never-ending debate.  Donating and investing sound swell, but I feel I should be economically stable before I start throwing money into the wind.

I have a little obsession with technology... which is a good thing, since I'm a computer geek and electronic salesman.  I LOVE new technology.  It gives me a slight adrenaline rush just thinking about faster processors, high definition screens and all the possibilities of new technologies offer.  I have been this way as long as I can remember... all the way back to dreaming of getting a color TV (yes, color!), a cd player and a dvd player.  What a long way we've come!  Black & white isn't even an option anymore.  CDs and DVD players are practically obsolete.  Now it's all about that Smart HDTV and a supercomputer cellphone tablet.  What grand inventions!!  And dreaming of them is the only thing that gets me through the dreary dog days of work.

So, I research these magical devices.  What are the best features?  What's the best manufacturer?  How will my entertainment habits change?  And all of these questions really depend on what you think is the best... and how you will use them.  It's hard to imagine future entertainment habits when you don't own these new gadgets.  Many years ago I thought a cellphone was over-rated.  E-books were a waste of money.  But that's because I didn't own them.  I had no idea!  My cellphone has replaced nearly every device I own (camera, pda, mp3 player, watch, pen & paper, stopwatch, radio...) and my e-book has given me access to every book I have every wanted without filling up bookshelves.

All of these books

Fit on this device

In the end, I always come full circle.  I remember that I once had a black & white TV.  I once used a rotary dial telephone.  The gadgets I own might not be the latest and greatest, but they are 100 times better than anything I owned 10 years ago.  In the 1990's, the idea of a smart phone was incomprehensible.  A computer phone with a camera and built in HD screen that fits in my pocket???

And so I save.  That money will still bring me joy.  Just not now.  Technology gets cheaper.  So saving just means that someday in the future, I will get better things for less money.  My 2 year old phone costed me $200... and you can now buy it for $30.  While it seems pathetic compared to the newest phones... it would still amaze a low-tech person.  And my 10 year old TV is small and blurry compared to new HDTVs, but it's trust, theft-proof and a million times better than that old black & white.

My technological life used to revolve around these wonderful gadgets.  Kids will never know.  Do you remember being excited about what these devices can do?