llcoolvad | Expensive Electronics Lust

So I'm having a seriously weak moment in my resolve to spend very little.

My friend Jenn, who buys a new car every two years or so, just got a shiny new Toyota Prius. She showed me all the bells and whistles a couple of weeks ago and since that day I've been having enormous car-envy. They're so damned cool! I have never lusted for a car before in my whole life. The closest I got was when the new Beetle came out — I had a few moments of daydreaming, but nothing serious. They're jolly and round and candy-like, but I was able to resist. And I am totally fond of the Mini Coopers, too, but I like a bit more heft in my cars. But the Prius? Cool, environmentally friendly, seriously high tech, lots of gizmos....ooh. Teh shiny! WANT!!

I'm actually in the market this year for a new car, and since I live with Mom I could totally afford the Prius. But SHOULD I afford it? I'm living here to kill off the rest of my debt, not take on a lot of new debt. And Prius' are $23k, minimum. I have just about talked myself out of it.

I've pretty much decided that I might indeed buy a brand new car (although I've never done that before either. My last car was 1 year old when I bought it over 10 years ago), but that I will probably buy more on the budget end of things. A Sentra, maybe. Not sure yet. I really like hatchbacks and it seems that the budget hatchbacks are scary (like the Yaris and the Fit and the Versa — I mean, what ARE those?).

I confess: part of what's driving that decision is the shiny new iPhone. I currently have a two-year-old Treo that I have thoroughly appreciated, but I've never deeply loved. And the iPhone seems like something I could deeply love. It's ... it's ... shiny! And girly-pretty! And all the things that irritate me about my Treo, like the browser, are solved! And I love the touch screen! And there's an on-screen touch keyboard! There's a 20 minute tour here, if you're interested. Way cool!

The only thing I don't see is the ability to add additional software. Like games. Wouldn't games make sense? I have Freecell and Sudoku on my Treo. I might miss not having them! The reason I have been a loyal Palm user is all the available cheap software. I love adding new apps.

And the iPhones are $500! That's a lot of money for a phone. If I save $10k on a car I might be able to talk myself into buying the shiny phone. Maybe.

In reality I probably will dither about this until my car actually dies and I have no time to make a reasonable decision, and I will postpone getting a phone for another year or so. But today? My mouth is literally watering for the damned shiny tech.