Fighting Tech Lust

Photo by: DerkT

I can usually feel it coming on, but I just can’t seem to shrug it off once it starts. It happens every time I come across a little bit of money or I run into a problem I know I can fix (if only I had the proper tools or equipment). It’s a dangerous affliction – one that has the potential to throw all my hard work out the window. It’s at those times that tech lust consumes me.

It started out innocent… I was repairing my wife’s computer and noticed it was running slow even after I reinstalled the operating system. Of course, being the good and caring husband I am, I took that opportunity to log onto Newegg.com to price some replacement parts. That’s when things started going downhill. I saw a deal on one of ASUS’s new Eee PCs. That got me thinking about the business trip I have scheduled for the end of next month and how it would be nice to take one of these along. But, I thought, why waste my money on an underpowered PC with a cramped keyboard that I’m not going to like. After all, I have been thinking about getting my first Mac. Wouldn’t a new MacBook be more productive for writing and designing?

In the span of less than an hour, my intended purchase range went from $100 to $500 to $2,000. That’s the danger of tech lust – you start small then incrementally justify your way up. The question then becomes, “How do you fight it?”

Avoid Your Triggers

You’d think I would have learned to stay away from Newegg.com after all the times I’ve had to pull myself away, but it’s like candy for my tech addiction. Just like any other addiction, you have to resolve to stay away from the things that are most likely to pull you down.

Set a Hard Budget

Sometimes you just can’t stay away, so you have to maintain a backup plan. When my wife’s computer does finally die, I will be forced to buy more parts. But since shopping for components is one of my most risky triggers, I will set a hard budget before I even start typing the URL. I’ll determine exactly what I need to fix her computer, I’ll make an estimate in my head of how much I think it should cost, then I’ll add 10% to that as a hard ceiling. If I come in knowing I don’t have any extra money to spend, I’m less likely to wander through the site dreaming about the stuff I could buy.

Stay Accountable

When my wife and I started to turn around our finances, we set up an accountability system. Before either of us makes an unexpected or unscheduled purchase of any amount, we always run it by the other. This keeps both of us in-the-loop and knowing about how much money we have at all times. Before we implemented this system, we ran into a few dangerous situations where we both spent too much and risked overdrafting our checking.

Using this system, I would have to check with her and justify the expense to her before I got anywhere near pulling out my credit card. I can’t tell you how many times the small “sanity check” that causes has encouraged me to pull back and buy nothing.

Tame the Beast

Tech lust is a difficult beast to master when there are so many cool devices flooding the market. Sometimes it takes more than just a level head to avoid the madness. One thing I have noticed is that the process is different for everyone.

So, how do you avoid spending all your hard-earned money on those wonderful little electronic things that make noises and shine pretty lights? Share below in the comments!