Five Reasons to Wait Before Buying an iPhone

3. Bugs: People who purchase first-generation gadgets are paying a lot of money to work all the bugs out of the system for you. No matter how well they're tested before their release, first-generation gadgets will have numerous kinks that need to be worked out. These bugs can cost you both money and time, depending on how bad they are. As the gadget is tested by a large number of people, the company will get valuable feedback and make changes to resolve these problems in future generations of the gadget. The iPhone already has more than 65 known bugs.

4. Hidden costs: Often, a new gadget comes with unexpected costs that its first buyers never considered. For example, most people who purchased the iPhone probably didn't consider the cost of replacing its battery or the costs found in its service contract fine print. These hidden costs soon surface, however, and they are either resolved or become well known enough that consumers can factor them into the true cost in newer generations of the product.

5. Accessories: When purchasing a gadget, most people don't stop spending money once they've bought it. Most will also purchase accessories for the gadget. Just like the first-generation gadgets themselves, accessories come at a premium. And just as the price of the gadget will fall with increased production, so too will the accessories. There are plenty of accessories that will raise the cost for anyone purchasing an iPhone.

So if you've been feeling bad that you don't own an iPhone yet, don't. Be proud of your patience. Take the money you didn't spend and place it into a retirement account. It could add $17,670 to your savings over time -- even more if you include the media, accessories and hidden costs that you would have also paid for.

Instead, wait a year or two and you will be able to get a more powerful iPhone with a sexier design for a lot less money -- and you'll still have all that money you saved by waiting a bit.