How Much Is Too Much? What's Your Tech Budget?

As tech savvy design lovers, Unplggd authors and readers alike feel the pain of having expensive cravings for high design and high tech. How much money do we spend on technology and electronics, and is there such a thing as too much?

Disposable income is on the rise in America, although higher prices could easily eat up the difference. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) estimates spending will reach almost 1 trillion dollars in 2011. They found that men spent almost $1,000 per year on electronics, with household spending around $1,400.

You can use a disposable income calculator to figure out how much you can spend, but that doesn't mean it's how much you should spend. So let us know what your tech budget is, and at what point you decide that it's too much.

Tech Budgeting in the Unplggd Archives:

(Images: Flickr members _Dinkel_ licensed for use under Creative Commons)

Comments (5)

We don't get new cell phones until we have a re-up credit. New hardware must be paid for with our side gigs, or store credit. Or, better yet, snagged as a review copy. ;) Hey, need a tech reviewer of blu-ray movies, video games, or apps for kids? ;)

I pay for my devices in cold hard cash. Saves me a lot of trouble and gives you a real idea of how expensive certain items are.

I don't really have a budget, if I want something bad enough, I just buy it, as long as I have the money for it already, I refuse to take a loan from the store.

I don't have a budget for tech as I buy it rarely (though I love it!). I love how I always see this or that citing that incomes are going up while I'm still not making entry level after almost 3 years in the field ha.

I don't have a specific set budget for tech. If it's a necessity - like a laptop - I save and then set myself a price limit, and prioritize what I need in a computer before I purchase anything. That often means sacrificing in other areas.

I generally use my phones until they die, rather than renew them as soon as the contract is up. I am not interested in treating technology as disposable - my current laptop is more than five years old and I prefer to have things repaired rather than replaced.

Everything is paid for in cash or direct deposit or lay-away. I don't like credit cards or store loans.