Time and time again, we ask ourselves if it’s worth spending money, time and energy on or getting a new one. Cars, houses, electronics, nothing is despaired from the greuesome decision making that comes with these grand life decisions. This is where I’m going to attempt to give you a process to better decide what to do with your tech!

The first thing you have to determine is, what is your budget? Is it specific, is it a wide range? Starting there will always give you perspective on your options. Next you want to see how old your device is and how well does it function. For the purposes of this article, I will use a computer as an example. Towards the end, I will provide a list of computers still worth spending some money on upgrading rather than purchasing a new one. But in the end, it all comes down to what you would be doing with the machine. If you are a professional that relies highly on performance, then it may not be worth upgrading because you would need more than you can upgrade anyways. But if you are a casual user, that doesn’t do much beyond browsing, word processing, photos, etc... then you may benefit from spending $200 to upgrade your machine and make it run as if it were current.

You also want to take a look at the condition of your current machine. Is it in good physical state? Has it been dropped a lot? Has it incurred any type of liquid damage? These are all good indicators whether you should invest or let go. A device with physical damage is far more likely to experience further component malfunctions in the future. Is it worth spending money on a device that is consistently failing? Sometimes it’s hard to determine that and it’s always a good idea to get an expert’s opinion. I’ve created this handy little infographic to outline some of the common devices we all use:

I hope you now have a better understanding for what to do when you get to a crossroads with your electronics. Nobody likes unnecessary waste and spending. Why fix if it, if it ain’t broke? Often times we overlook the value of our time and energy and how that impacts our productivity. As you make these decisions, keep in mind it’s important to evaluate the value based whats most important to you and what will best serve your needs to keep you happy! With that in mind, I will leave you with some reccomendations and links for further resources. And as always, if you are wondering yourself, do not hesitate to reach out. Contact me at anuj@tekpatel.com or leave a comment below with your device for a recommendation. Cheers!

Are upgrades worth it?