Image by Jose del Corral
People want smartphones. And now they don’t just want smartphones but they also want tablets, too. The lines outside of Apple stores whenever an iPhone or iPad gets released are a testimony to that fact. But are these gadgets worth their cost or are we wasting our money on them? Many frugal people feel guilty when they indulge in these purchases but the truth may surprise you … these items have the potential to pay for themselves and actually be worth more than they cost you. That’s right – iPhones and iPads are frugal purchases!
Replacing Other Gadgets
First you have to take into consideration that these products serve to replace other gadgets. If you make the smart choice not to purchase other items because your smartphone and tablet do the work for you then you are effectively saving money on all of those other things. Items that you don’t need to waste money on because you have an iPhone / iPad include:
- Mp3 player
- Radio
- GPS
- Digital camera
- Watch
- Calculator
- Portable DVD player
- eReader
- Handheld gaming device
- Cable TV subscription (replaced by on-device streaming and entertainment)
- Electronic picture frame
Additionally, many people have argued that the smartphone and tablet can entirely replace a laptop and in some cases even a desktop computer. Consider the value of each of these items separately and you can immediately see that the money saved is more than the money spent on the items even when you include a two-year contract and its associated monthly fees.
Money-Saving Apps
You can save additional money by using your mobile phone to download money-saving apps. Free and cheap apps can serve to further replace many items that would otherwise cost you money. For example, a good money management app could replace the more expensive software that you used in the past.
Resale Value
You save additional money when you are done using your smartphone and tablet because they retain at least some resale value (especially if you keep them in good shape). You have already saved money throughout the time that you’ve owned the item and now you can get some back to offset the purchase of an upgrade!
Do you agree that iPhones and iPads are worth more than they cost?