Do you have an iphone? Probably yes. I have too. But it’s the old one. Old means really old. Lol. I have an iphone 3G which I bought around 3 years ago.
On those years, I am not familiar with proper budgeting and saving money. I also haven’t discovered my passion in personal finance. I just bought it because I have extra money and it’s trending. Lol again. I bought it so I can install applications and games which I can use to relax and enjoy on my free time. And of course it’s an “iphone“.
It’s a second hand iphone 3G which I bought from Sulit. I bought it for P8,000. Iphone 4 is kind a new that year so I thought (wink) I made a great deal. The days went on and I’m happy with my new iphone 3G. I thought it’s the best treat for myself.
Weeks, months and year passed by and it’s still working. Until the next iOS came out. IOS is the operating system on iphone and other devices release by Apple. Upon the release of the new iOS, almost all applications and games upgraded and are also requiring the new version of iOS.
And that’s where I started having issue on my iphone 3G. My Iphone 3G can only be upgraded to iOS 4.2.1, while the new applications, games and other apps requiring higher version of iOS to work on your phone. That means that I can no loger install any new application or games to my iphone. Poor me. Haha.
So my iphone 3G get stucked to iOS 4.2.1. The phone is working. I can use it to text and call (which a P700 phone can do too). I can use it to capture photos, play videos and play music. Some old applications are still working too but I can’t install any new one.
I tried digging the internet but can’t find any “tweak” to install higher version of iOS. Probably it is how the way it was made. And it was how Apple intended. And I realized that’s the harsh reality.
Now that I learned some basic and fundamental financial education, I realized how I lose money on my iphone. Upon reading personal finance related books, personal finance blogs and attending some seminars I realized how the value of my money slowly eaten by that “freaking” iphone. If I had learned proper personal finance before, I might have save that to build emergency fund or opened an account to invest in the stock market. Sigh. Lessons learned.
Out of the 3 years having that “iphone 3G made by Apple”, I spent the following:
Electronic load are not included since I used them. I spent P8,710 in total. If I had invested that in stock market and bought Megaworld shares (MEG), I could have acquired around 4,000 shares of MEG as its price as of June 2012 (when I bought my iphone) is P1.97.
Today MEG price is P4.92 as of June 26, 2015. My supposed to be 4,000 shares, could worth P19,600++ now. Whooaa! Could you Imagine that! If I just knew that before! My money could have grown more than 100% in just a span of 3 years without doing anything.
That’s for price appreciation alone, not to mention that MEG regularly give dividends to its shareholders. And what if I add and bought more shares along the way through peso cost averaging? I don’t want to count the numbers but you bet, that’s even more higher right? Sigh again. Another lesson learned.
Please note that I am not against buying an iphone or any other expensive gadgets. It’s up to you. It is your money and you can do whatever you want. I am just sharing these lessons and realizations hoping to “spark” some light to other people if not in you.
Besides, if you’re buying an iphone or gadgets to help you be more productive and efficient, for your business or helping you to earn more or for whatever valid reasons you have, you go. YOU and ONLY YOU can justify if it’s an investment or not. I hope you get the point.
Good thing I think different now. I learned a lot and continue learning more. Although I’m a beginner, somehow I am more financially educated now than what I am before. Investing in yourself really pays the best interest.
Before ending this article, I went to OLX.PH (OLX acquired Sulit) to see how much is the value of second hand iphone 3G now. You wanna know how much? Drum roll please… It’s around P2,000 to P2,500! Yay! My iphone worth is DOWN 300% and counting. Another deep sigh and another lesson learned!
As the years go by, new models of iphone are coming out follwed by the new versions of iOS. From the lessons and realizations shared above, you know what will happen next. So before you buy that “Apple thing” or any other gadget, ask yourself if it’s really worth it. As mentioned, you and only you can justify if it’s an investment or not.
Have you experience the same situation? I know many can relate. Please share your experience so we can also learn from it. I hope you find this article useful and thank you for reading.
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