Wii

Wants that Morph Into Needs

July 12, 2010 By Jennifer Derrick 10 Comments

Last year I finally caved in to my baser urges and bought a Wii. I also bought the Wii Fit and balance board to go with it so I could get a little fun exercise on bad weather days. I’ve loved the Wii and bought all kinds of games for it. In my opinion, it has paid for itself in entertainment value and was well worth the “blow money.” Fast forward a year. The balance board broke last week. It started thinking I was on it when I wasn’t and it wouldn’t stop telling me to get off. After trying every fix I could find on the Internet and calling Nintendo, I am forced to accept that the board is toast.

I have two options, both expensive: Buy a new board or package the old one up, send it to Nintendo and let them fix it (for a fee, since the board is out of warranty). Either option is going to cost money and the price difference, frankly, isn’t that great between the two. Briefly I gave some thought to just forgetting the whole thing and going board-less. One look around my game cabinet, however, took that option off the table. I now have too many games that require the board for play to just not have a board. If I go board-less, then half of my games become either unusable or restricted in the their play. In other words, I now need a balance board.

What was once a very frivolous want has now become a need. If I don’t do something about the board, the “value” of my Wii (to me) will decline. The investment I’ve made in games will be a waste. I either suck it up and pay $100 to solve the board problem, or I lose hundreds more in games that can no longer be played. I have cast my lot with Nintendo and now I “need” their products.

Certainly I could let the whole thing go. I could say to myself, “Well, it was a great year but now it’s come to an end.” I could sell the Wii console, sell my games and thus would not need a balance board. Technically, I can avoid spending this $100. It’s not a need in the sense that food or water is a need. However, I don’t consider that a realistic option (and many other people probably don’t, as well). If money were a major issue, certainly I’d go board-less, at least for a while, and maybe fix it later. But, having invested the money in the games and not being willing to give them all up at this point just to save $100, I need a new board.

It’s funny how what sometimes starts out as a want suddenly becomes a need. I have a friend who got an iPhone a couple of years ago. It was purely a toy for him, just something he really wanted. A regular phone would have met his needs just as well, but he wanted an iPhone. Fast forward a couple of years. He’s got tons of apps for the phone. He has accessories that work with it. He has files stored on it. He drops the phone and cracks the screen. Now he “needs” a new iPhone. To get another, cheaper kind of phone would mean losing his apps, having file compatibility issues, and having to re-buy accessories. His want has morphed into a need.

It happens with lots of other products and services, as well, but it seems to happen most often with consumer electronics. These things have so many accessories and add-ons that we buy over the years. You buy a DVD player as a want to play maybe one special movie or series you just had to have, yet five years later when the thing breaks you have a whole library of movies that require a player. Not replacing the player means losing your movie collection, thus you need a new player. The same is true for a Kindle or other eReader that you have outfitted with lots of books, an Mp3 player loaded with songs and movies, or a Tivo with a hard drive full of your favorite shows. To not replace these wants means losing even more invested money and time.

We tell people all the time in personal finance circles to stop spending on everything except needs when times get tough. Yet that dividing line between wants and needs can get awfully blurry sometimes. It’s hard to say just what someone can survive with and what they cannot. In most cases, many of these things can really be put aside until things turn around. You can probably wait to buy a new balance board, cell phone (maybe), or DVD player with few adverse affects. But some things, like Internet access (which used to be a want) may really be a need, now. Sometimes when thinking through your want vs. need list you have to think beyond the cost of the product and look at what other money might be wasted if you don’t replace the former “want.”

I could rant and rave about manufacturers who tie us into their products and make them indispensable in our lives and then reward us with cheap crap that breaks too soon, but that’s a whole other argument. My point is that when you buy something frivolous, you’d better be sure you can pay for a replacement or repair in case it breaks. You may think it won’t matter today (especially while it’s under warranty), but it just might a few years down the road when your frivolous gadget has become a big part of your life and you’ve invested hundreds or thousands of dollars outfitting it with content and accessories. Your want has become a need and you need to make sure you can deal with that.

The Wii as a Low Cost Gym

January 21, 2010 By Jennifer Derrick 5 Comments

When a foot injury (and bitterly cold weather) recently sidelined me from my regular running routine, the doctor suggested that I find some low impact exercise to see me through my recovery time. Biking was out, at least for a while, because biking in sub-zero temperatures holds no appeal for me. I was already doing a lot of yoga and pilates as cross training to give my body a break from running, but I get bored if I have to do the same things over and over again. Doing the same pilates and yoga DVD’s every day, without being able to go out and run to break the monotony was likely to make my recovery seem much, much longer.

So, I gave some thought to joining a gym. I thought that maybe some exercise classes and a variety of machines would keep me entertained and in shape while my foot healed. Well, when I found out that a gym membership in my area would cost me about $600 for a year (including enrollment fees), I got serious about finding something else to keep me entertained. I looked into exercise DVD’s but found that, while they were cost effective, most of the ones I rented were either too short to be challenging, boring, or too hard on my injured foot. And, as I noted above, if I have to do the same exercises every day, I tend to get stir crazy. With DVD’s, once I’ve learned and mastered the routine there’s no more challenge. It becomes rote exercise. So I looked for some more alternatives.

We already owned a Wii and the Wii Fit Plus and balance board. I’ve never gotten much of a workout with Wii Fit. It’s fun, but not heart pounding exercise. However, I knew that there were a lot more exercise titles out there that supposedly gave a better workout than the Wii Fit, so I set out to do some research. I found some titles that sounded promising, so I rented them to see how I liked them before shelling out big money. The ones I decided to buy were bought used or paid for with gift cards to reduce my overall price. I spent about $115 on fitness games and some accessories (such as heavy resistance bands) to outfit my new “Wii Gym.” Had I paid retail, I would have shelled out about $224. (Remember, this did not include the purchase of the game console or the Wii Fit because we already owned those.) It was relatively expensive to start up but, unlike a gym membership, I don’t have to renew next year and everything I bought is mine to keep.

I find that I get a decent workout with most of these games and some are actually challenging, especially when done on the “hard” level and with extra resistance. The ones I like the best are EA Sports Active and the sequel, More Workouts. I also like Gold’s Gym Cardio Workout, The Biggest Loser, and My Fitness Coach. The benefit to Wii exercise for me is that there’s a competitive aspect to it that I enjoy. I like trying to beat my past performance and having goals to set and meet. I also like that there are lots of exercises and difficulty levels to choose from. It keeps me much more interested than a DVD which never offers more exercises or harder levels.

Like with any other type of exercise, you get out of Wii exercise it what you put into it. If you do every exercise on “easy” and you cheat by just moving the remote and not doing the exercise, you won’t get the benefits. Likewise, if you just turn it on and work out for ten minutes, you won’t see much benefit, either. You have to commit to putting in the times, challenging yourself, and pushing harder when things get too easy. But you have to do that in a gym, too, if you want to see results.

The bottom line is this: If you already own a Wii, outfitting it with some exercise games and supplies can be a less expensive way to get some exercise than joining a gym. Plus, it’s fun, satisfies the competitive urge, and you can go at your own pace and do it on your own schedule. Is it a substitute for hard core exercise? Probably not. If you want to really build muscle and endurance you’re probably going to have to join a gym, take up running, or start putting in fifty laps in the pool every day. I’m looking forward to the day my doctor clears me to run again because I miss that challenge and, as fun as the Wii is, I know it’s not a substitute for that kind of workout. However, if you’re looking for something to get you started exercising, to use as you recover from an injury, or to supplement a harder routine, exercising on the Wii can fit in nicely to your routine for a lot less money than a gym membership.

The Financial Benefits of Being a Late Adopter

December 23, 2009 By Jennifer Derrick 7 Comments

I tend to be way behind the technology curve. Heck, I finally got a Wii two months ago, three years after the system came out. It’s not that I don’t like technology; I do and I’m always reading up on new gadgets to see what developments are coming. It’s just that I’ve found that keeping up with the pace of technology is not only exhausting, it’s expensive. Very rarely do I need the latest and greatest of anything so I just sort of hang back until I have a need, or until the product becomes so cost effective (or demonstrates significant value for me) that I can justify the purchase.

Some of my tech-loving friends like to tease me for being so far behind. When I whip out my “new” cell phone, it’s probably the same model they had three years ago. When I rave about a new video game I just discovered, they yawn and tell me they finished that one two years ago. When they see my laptop, they shrug and say, “Well, those features were top of the line last year.” I take the ribbing because I’ve learned that there are benefits to being a late adopter.

The most obvious reason to wait is that the price of all technology comes down as the product ages. The Wii was $249. I waited for the price to drop to $199. I bought a refurbished laptop on Apple that was the prior model for $800 less than the current model was selling for. My cell phone once sold for $100. I got it for $25 on sale after the newer models came out. And so on. I buy almost all of my DVD’s about three to six months after release for less than $10, compared to the new release price of $19.99. Whenever something is new it’s going to cost top dollar. If you just wait a few months, usually the newer and shinier models come out and the old ones are cheaper. Sometimes there’s not even much of a difference in the capabilities of the product, it’s only “defect” is that it’s not the newest model.

Waiting longer also increases the availability of cheaper accessories and components for your tech gadgets. By waiting three years to buy a Wii, I now have a full catalog of older (but still great) game titles to choose from that sell for fifteen to twenty-five dollars, some even less on sale. Those games were once as much as $50 when they were released. And there’s also a big market of used games (the ones my friends played years ago) selling for a lot less than new prices. When I waited to buy my first iPod, I had my pick of cases, headphones, and speaker accessories that weren’t available when it was first released. And because there were so many choices by then, competition had driven the prices down. I don’t have a Blu-Ray player yet, but I’m getting close to pulling the trigger because the prices of the DVD’s are finally coming down and there’s a large catalog of older titles selling for less. There are also more Blu-Ray’s on the used market. The longer you wait, the cheaper it becomes to use and accessorize your gadget.

Not only are things cheaper at full retail price if you wait, but you’ll also find more sales. When there are a lot more products in a given category (games, accessories, TV’s. DVD’s, etc.) the retailers and manufacturers have to do something to make you want to buy their product above the others. So they put things on sale. When there’s only one brand of Blu-Ray player, one brand of LCD TV, or just a few games available for a console there’s no need for sales because the limited supply can dictate a higher price. But when the market is glutted with items and newer ones are coming out every day, there are sales and us late adopters can have our pick.

Late adoption generally means fewer bugs in a product and better support. All the early adopters have already discovered that the new operating system has bugs, or that a certain model of Blu-Ray player freezes during playback. The glitches have been reported to the manufacturer and, ideally, corrected on future releases. Support technicians are better trained once a product has been out a while, too. By the time I get around to buying a product, they’ve seen it all already and any problems I have are quick fixes. There are also larger user groups available to late adopters. When you buy something on the first day, you’re on your own. But wait a while and a quick Google search can yield the answer to your problem because someone out there has already experienced it.

Waiting also means you don’t end up with the product that loses the battle. Remember the battle between Beta, Laserdisc, and VHS? I waited and bought a VHS after the dust settled and didn’t get stuck with players and media that were no longer usable. It’s the same with the recent battle between Blu-Ray and HD DVD. HD lost that one, but some of my “gotta have it on release day” friends sunk hundreds into HD players and discs and are now out that money. I waited and when I finally move to Blu-Ray, I’ll know I bought the winner.

Sure, I may never have the latest and greatest of anything. But I also don’t have the headaches, hassles, and financial losses that sometimes come with being on the cutting edge. Since I rarely need all the bells and whistles of a new model, the older models serve my needs just fine. And my wallet appreciates my restraint.

How I Practically Stole a Wii

September 21, 2009 By Jennifer Derrick 12 Comments

I know, I know. I said I’d never buy a Wii. Funny how never comes around sooner than you think. A few weeks ago I stayed with some family members who have a Wii and I realized just how much fun one could be. I was used to the passive gaming experience where you sit on the sofa and punch buttons and I’ve found that I’ve enjoyed that kind of gaming less and less over the years. I just assumed the Wii wouldn’t be much different and that it would sit around gathering dust. I was wrong and I’m willing to eat crow over it. After a week with my family, I knew that a Wii would get a ton of use in my house and be worth every penny. Of course, that didn’t mean that I was willing to throw sense out the window and just plunk down money willy-nilly. I wanted the best deal I could get.

I knew, generally, what I could expect to pay for the system. It’s hard to walk through Best Buy or Target and not come away with a general idea of prices. But I took the time to do some research and determine exactly which components we needed to start with and to design my dream bundle. I looked at bundles in the store, but most had components I didn’t want and didn’t represent much of a savings. I looked at all of the components I wanted and committed the prices to memory so I’d know when I saw a deal. The research and thought process took about a month and gave me plenty of time to make sure this wasn’t an impulse buy, but a well considered choice.

In the end, I pulled the trigger the day Dell.com had the Wii console for $219 and free shipping. But I didn’t just automatically buy the other things I needed from Dell for convenience sake. I bought from several vendors and got good deals on all my components. Here’s how I did it:

Console: $219 at Dell, free shipping
Wii Play with extra remote: $39.99, on sale at Dell.com, free shipping
Wii Sports with Wii Motion Plus: $39.99 on sale at Dell.com, free shipping
Extra Nunchuk, Grand Slam Tennis, Mario and Sonic Go to the Olympics, Mario Kart and extra wheel, and Dance Dance Revolution (with 2 dance pads): Free from Amazon.com because I used gift certificates that I’d earned from various rewards programs and snagged some titles on Gold Box deals or price reductions. Used free shipping and paid no sales tax.
Extra Wii Motion Plus controller: $14.99 at Best Buy after I used a $5 gift card.
Toy Story Mania Game: $40 at Target after I used $10 in gift cards, plus I got an additional $5 gift card back because I pre-ordered it.

The total for all of this (console, extra controllers, and six games): $353.97. But it gets a little lower. I made the purchases from Dell and Best Buy using cash back shopping sites and earned about $17.00 in cash back. I also used my cash back credit card for all of this (and, as always, paid it off in full at the end of the month) and earned another $18-ish back in cash. And I got the $5 gift card from Target to use on a future purchase. The total when you subtract the cash back is now $313.97.

Compared to retail prices, I came away from this deal feeling like I stole the Wii. The “bundle” I created means that I have all the controllers I’ll need and a good selection of games to start out with. Yes, it was expensive but if I’d bought all of it at retail and not used any gift cards, cash back, or promotions the total would have been $609, plus tax. I cut that almost in half by taking my time, pooling rewards, and looking for the best deals. Had I bought even a year ago at the height of the Wii frenzy, very little of this would have been possible. I’d have paid retail. Ouch. There’s something to be said for being behind the curve and a late adopter.

Of course this isn’t the first time I’ve had this kind of shopping success. I treat most of my purchases in this manner and it has saved me tons of money over the years. There’s nothing better than the thrill of saving a ton of money on something, particularly when that something is a want, not a necessity. There are times when I have to pay full price for something and if it’s an emergency I’ll do it. But when it comes to my wants, I try to cut the price as much as possible. I wait for deals, shop carefully, and take advantage of any extras like cash back, rebates, and credit card rewards. In the case of the Wii, I think I was successful and it will make play time all the sweeter to know that I got it for a steal.

Ten Things I Want to Buy, But Won’t

May 11, 2009 By Jennifer Derrick 19 Comments

I, like a lot of people, have a list of things that I would like to own. There can be a lot of fun in fantasizing about all the things you’d like to have and the fun you’d have owning them. However, the smart consumer understands that reality is somewhat different. The things that we think would be great to own may not be so in reality. The things we want may not turn out to be as fun as we thought, or they come with hidden costs that we hadn’t anticipated. Sometimes when we get the things we fantasized about, regret sets in because we realize we wasted our money.

Below are ten items that I’ve fantasized about owning (for years, in some cases) but which I know I’ll never buy. These items are incredibly tempting to me because they look like fun, or they seem like they’d make my life better in some way. Or they’re just cool. However, I know myself well enough to know that, ultimately, they will become pains in my rear end in one way or another. Every time I’m tempted to buy something off this list, I remind myself of the reasons why it won’t work for me and I pass it by. It’s hard sometimes, especially when it seems like most of the known world has the item and finds it incredible. I have to remind myself that I know how I work and that these things just aren’t for me, no matter how much they may be beloved by others. So here are ten things that I want but won’t buy, and why.

A Wii: It looks like fun, but I know from previous gaming experiences that, after about three weeks, the thing will sit on the shelf and barely get used. We just don’t have a lot of time to spend playing with it and the free time we do have, we choose other activities. I’m sure it’s fun, but it won’t fit in with our lives and would end up being a regretted purchase.

A brand new car: I like cars and I’ve always wanted a brand new one. Mostly just so I can say I had a new car. However, I cannot stomach the thought of losing so much to depreciation and paying higher insurance premiums and property taxes. No amount of “newness” can make up for those shortcomings, in my mind. I would end up hating myself very soon after buying the car and noticing the “wasted” money. I stick to used cars, but I do enjoy wandering car lots and test driving some new models. It satisfies my urge for the new car smell.

A big screen TV: When I go to Best Buy I am drawn like a moth to the TV section where I am mesmerized by the huge TV’s. The pictures are so sharp and clear, it’s wonderful to see. I think about bringing one home, but then I remember: We don’t watch enough TV to make that purchase worthwhile. Certainly the few movies and programs we do watch would look better, but we don’t spend enough time in front of the screen to give it its due. What we do watch looks just fine on our old twenty-five incher.

A big, new motor home: We have an older model motor home that I really like. It gets great gas mileage (better than some of the new ones) and has all of the features I need. But when I pick up an RV magazine, go to an RV show or campground, or go to the dealer for parts, I just can’t help wanting a newer, bigger model. I see all the new ones and they’re so pretty with their new fixtures and floor plans. Of course I’d like more space. But the reality is that a new one would cost me more in taxes, insurance, and fuel. And the depreciation when I drove it off the lot would kill me. Losing thirty percent on a $100,000 purchase would make me ill. So I keep my older motor home and spend my energy and money keeping it in tip top condition so it will serve me well for years to come.

A membership in the Disney Vacation Club (DVC): DVC is a timeshare program run by Disney. We go the Disney World a lot, so it seems like something that might make sense for us. But after running the numbers (multiple times with the same result) we’ve proven that it won’t work for us financially. The way we choose to vacation at Disney is not compatible with getting the most use out of the points. It’s a big investment with annual dues and fees that wouldn’t give us the value we would expect. Sure, it would be cool to “own” part of Disney, but it’s not the right financial decision for us so I just keep on enjoying my vacations there and “renting” part of Disney.

Stainless steel appliances: I like the look and I know they’d look great in my kitchen. But they work the same as other colors and I don’t want to spend my life wiping fingerprints off the finish to keep them looking good. The constant cleaning would quickly annoy me and once I became annoyed, I would resent the appliances rather than appreciating how nice they look in my kitchen. I’ll just stick to white and spare myself the aggravation.

A designer purse: I like handbags. All the different designs and colors are fun to look at. But I cannot justify paying $500 or more for a bag when all I really carry with me is my phone, wallet and Epi-Pen. Hardly worth the price for even a $20 WalMart bag, let alone a designer purse. I know if I bought one I would be afraid to use it for fear of damaging it and that it would sit in the closet most of the time because I work from home so I don’t go out much. My need to carry stuff just isn’t that large.

An iPhone: I am an Apple girl and have been before Apple was “cool.” Of course I drool over the iPhone. Of course I wanted it the minute it came out. But I don’t really need it. I use a basic prepaid phone because I don’t talk on my phone that much and I don’t “need” texting, email, Internet access or fun applications on my phone. Would they be fun to have? Sure. But they aren’t something that I need in order to live my life or get my work done. And I definitely don’t need or want the contract and steep monthly payment to AT&T that is required to use the iPhone. So I pass on this one, but I still drool when I’m in an Apple Store.

A subscription to “People” magazine: I love this magazine. It fills my desire for simple, trashy, easily-digested, diverting news. But the price tag, $120 for a year (give or take), is outrageous to me. I don’t always have time to read things when they come in, so I know a lot of unread issues would sit on my coffee table for weeks, reminding me of the folly of my purchase. Instead, I’ll take a lazy Sunday and read a few issues at my library for free, or I’ll wait until I’m stuck at the doctor’s office and plow through the copies in the waiting room. I get my diversion on my schedule and for the right price: free.

A “treadmill pool” Every time I see these things advertised in magazines, I think how cool it would be to have one. I love to swim and to have the ability to do laps without the hassle and maintenance of a real pools seems like a neat idea. But I have to remind myself of two things. One these treadmill pools still require a good deal of maintenance; maintenance that I don’t want to do. Two, as much as I like to swim, it doesn’t agree with me. I get ear infections and stinging eyes, no matter what kind of goggles or earplugs I buy. But man, that treadmill pool still looks cool.

I know that some people would say that life is short, that I should go for the purchases, especially if I can afford them. Many would say that I’m depriving myself of things that would bring me joy. I argue that it’s not about deprivation at all. It’s about using my money in ways that I know will leave me with no regrets. In addition to the list above, there are many things that I want and actually will buy. I will pay to travel extensively. I will buy new books and music that bring me pleasure. I will pay for experiences such as theater productions, sporting events, and adventures that I know I will enjoy. The difference between myself and others is that I know myself well enough to know what will bring me joy and what will not. I know that, no matter how appealing those items listed above are to me, they will not bring me long term happiness or even fun. They will quickly become annoying or stuffed away somewhere, never to be seen again. Instead I choose to spend my money on the things that will give me lasting pleasure.

Everyone is different and I wouldn’t expect you to have the same wish list as me. You might value stainless steel appliances, for example, and that’s fine. I’m certainly not saying that everyone should think like I do. But you should get to know yourself well enough, and be honest enough with yourself to know when something just isn’t worth it to you, no matter how tempting or desirable it might seem. Knowing this and refusing to give in to hype, gloss, or hoopla surrounding the item will save you a lot of money in the future.

So, what’s on your wish list that you’ll never buy, or what did you buy thinking it was perfect for you but later turned into a money regret?