Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Mooray.

My weblog.

Thin Wallets are Awesome.

I used to have a literally fat wallet. Now it’s really thin, and I love it.

A fat wallet’s a huge pain. It’s bulky. On a hot day, it makes your leg sweaty. It ruins the cut of your jeans. It’s a liability; more things to lose. Just cut the crap.
 
Things I currently carry:
  • Credit Card. I use this as much as possible.
  • Debit Card. For the few places that don't take Amex.
  • Oyster Card.
  • Office Key Card.
  • £20 note. I'd rather not use cash; occasionally it's a neccessary evil.
     
That’s it. All carried in the free plastic Oyster Wallet, so I can replace it for free. Junk like receipts and business cards can be instantly scanned with my iPhone. I don’t carry ID, as I’ve found I don’t really need it. I’ve reached that age where shops and bars stop asking.

Simple!

Apple economics: a free laptop every year.

I love Apple’s products, despite making me a Starbucks hipster. I bought my first in 2009; a 13” Macbook Pro. As a college student I received 15% off list price, paying £764. I then bought the new MacBook Air last year. It was a no-brainer; smaller, faster, lighter, higher-resolution. I don’t need to tell you how incredibly awesome it is. Infact, you should buy one now from Amazon. When I sold my 13” Pro, used models were going for ~£650-700 on eBay. I sold for £675 net. I’d effectively rented a Macbook Pro for £90 / year. Cheap!

I plan to do so again with my Macbook Air - this is even better. I bought at £945. As it's so awesome, it’s held its value. A quick eBay search reveals I can resell for the same price, after 8 months use. That’s effectively a free MacBook Air. Holy cow.

Apple economics don’t just make buying every year economically viable, but preferable! You’ll always be covered by the one-year warranty. Time Machine makes migrating trivial, even if you don’t know what dd or rsync do. Sell your laptop and buy a new one. Do it now. Before Apple bring out a new release and its value tanks. Before its hard drive dies. You’d be mad not to buy a new laptop every year.

Caveat Emptor:

  • The education discount covers the depreciation. Not a college student? Find someone who is. Or an employee with staff discount. Or buy in the USA and import. The effect is the same.
  • Only buy good products, like the Air. If Apple releases a lemon, it’s not going to hold its value well.
  • Buy at the start of a release cycle. It’s unlikely Apple will replace one of its own products within a year.

 

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