“Conventional wisdom often produces conventional results.” -Bill Walsh I’m always amused at the effort some people put into saving money, when, if they would just direct a fraction of that effort in a more constructive direction, they’d solve the problem that motivated their thrifty approach in no time.

In the context of app phones… I still see people trying to figure out how get one as cheaply as possible by looking for rock-bottom deals on cheap devices, and then figuring out which carrier will let them pay the absolute minimum for service.

I would offer the following alternative for economically switching to an app phone:

  1. Go through the drawers in your house.
  2. Collect a basket of junk that you’ll never use again.
  3. Sell it on eBay to raise $200.1
  4. Buy a top-of-the-line app phone.
  5. Cancel your landline.

You may find that the app phone pays you every month going forward.

Add to this the value your app phone will bring when

  • Freeing up time on vacations that you’d otherwise spend fumbling with a map, or worse, lost
  • Price comparing products in stores by simply scanning bar codes
  • Having more options for staying in touch with family
  • Running your business more efficiently by triaging email on your phone before sitting down at a full keyboard to do better things

. . . to name only a few.

    They’re not just toys anymore, and honestly, it's getting harder to cost-justify not owning one anymore.

    1. You might be surprised how much cash is collecting dust in your home. Several years ago when I decided to try eBay, I came up with over $1000 of stuff. Everything from clothing I no longer wanted to graphing calculators to CDs. I don’t miss any of it. ↩