<prompt> Human: Alright PF, Id like to hear some ideas on how much you budget for, and how often you replace your computermobile phoneother gadgets. In my opinion this is a huge cost as technology is a fast depreciating asset, in addition, it isnt really the type of good youd like to buy second hand either as warranties dont transfer and you dont know if it theres some problem the previous owner isnt telling you about.Considering this is reddit and we are a bunch of tech geeks, how long is it before you deem lag renders a device unusable? How do we justify the productivity of a device in terms of its cost?Personally, I used an iPhone 4 from about the day it came out late 2010 till late 2014, about 4 years. It took me about 20-30 seconds to open the Facebook app on the day I purchased a new phone. Im currently only about 2 years into this new phone, but Im finding elements of lag here and there. I know I shouldnt be purchasing a new device, but if I wasnt part of this community the iPhone 7 would probably already be in my hands.I also spent about 700 on a top of the line monitor around last year. I wasnt aware of FI back then, so in hindsight this is a poor purchase but I deeply love the monitor for its resolution, viewing angles, ergonomics, color, etc. I would love to say Ive been more productive since purchasing it, but really Ive been using it for general web browsing reddit and just word processing. There wasnt a need to get a really high end monitor, it was definitely a luxury.At the moment, Im probably averaging around 1000year for tech purchases.  <response>: how long is it before you deem lag renders a device unusableI wonder if you are mixing business and personal finance.You mention opening Facebook, but for me, that is not a productivity application. Its a social application. My mom uses it. I am 40... The 30 seconds it took you to open facebook would have been the least of the wasted time with that app.In addition, I have an old phone and it doesnt take more than a second to open social media. I dont have a lot stored on my iPhone5 which I bought refurbished and its updated.As for a screen--well, I dont game and my job isnt application development so I dont need a great screen. I need to be able to run R on a few million rows, or use team services, if doing analytics, or at most, run SSRS or SQL server, you know? Im not sure what a huge screen with high res does for people in the sciences but for me, its not much. So, Im spending just about 0 on that, whether as a business or a personal expense.Working in tech doesnt necessarily mean I need more tech, and even if it did, it would be a business, not a personal expense.I dont do graphic design as a hobby even, and any art I do is pretty organic in the most general sense of the word possible: on a guitar, on a canvas. Having a fancy screen for, as you put it, social media, is just an absurd expense for me.That said, whatever floats your boat, man. Nobody NEEDS a Mercedes but Ive driven in one and boy oh boy was it nice. If thats your thing, go for it. 