Do You Need a Better Mousetrap?

Here are my five signs of new gadget overkill:

1) You didn't use what you bought last time. What was that advanced red-eye-image-stabilization dual-light-modulating close-up control, anyway? Did you ever use it? Did you understand it? If by the time you learn how to use a feature it's been replaced by something else, that's trouble.

2) You can't explain how it's better. You know your new gadget is better. But you can't explain why in short, sensible phrases, that, say, your mother-in-law would understand, without lobbing buzzwords or acronyms like "HDMI" or alphanumeric complexes like "1080p." If your answer to "Why is 1080p better?" is "Because it's 1080p," think again.

3) You can't pay it off in a month. This may seem obvious, but a gadget, especially a handheld one, shouldn't gobble up your spending money. Especially if you're going to be tempted to buy the next version before you've paid for this one.

4) The gadget consumes more time than it saves. Some products require big allotments of your scarce time and energy to read, learn, enter, set, fix and reset. Then you have to do it all again when it breaks or gets lost. When the manual is so big it comes on a CD or requires downloading, watch out. Don't let the promise of convenience turn into a beast of burden.

5) The gadget will cost half as much next year. Technology curves are an old story. But to refresh, you can save a bundle by simply waiting or by buying one stop short of the latest and greatest. Buy the 1080i instead of the 1080pTV and you'll save about a third. And you won't notice the difference -- programming taking advantage of the enhanced resolution remains scarce.

I'm not saying that buying gadgets is a bad idea, but I always say buy what you need. If you're not sure what you need, tap the knowledge and experience of friends in your LifeNet network (see my book) before pushing the "buy" button.

You'll save a lot of cash in the long run.