Linkworthy: IPhones, Restaurants and Retail Shoppers

As the fourth iteration of the iPhone came out this past week or so, and everyone and their dog is jumping on the huge bandwagon, dropping hundreds of dollars, waiting in lines at extreme hours of the night to get one, I couldn’t resist highlighting this post as my editors choice this week.

So to the featured post, Wealth Informatics lays out the truth about owning an iPhone 4 and how much it will really cost you over the years.

Just to clear the air, I think the iPhone was an innovative device and paved the way for smart phones as we know them today. However, I don’t agree with the cult mentality behind Apple and their products. I also don’t agree with upgrading just because it’s the new thing when the majority of people buying the latest gadgets have far too much debt and have a bloated cell phone bill as it is to warrant the inappropriately high charges the iPhone requires.

My cell phone bill was one of the very first things I cut when trying to save money, and it was a huge cut without losing any of the convenience the cell phone brings..

enough ranting 🙂

Here are a few more greats from this week:

Speaking of cell phones, Wealth Artisan wrote about the cost of having a land line in your home and what some of the alternatives are. Having a land line really is an antiquated notion that some people still hold on too..I hope none of you still have a land line without a very good reason! 🙂

Financially Poor shares a little vocab lesson as he talks about things we should not be picky about. Those include generic grocery products, clothes labels and vehicles. I agree 100%. I buy as much in generics as I can. I have done extensive research into how generics are manufactured and there is very little difference in quality or taste. As for the others, well just check out the article and see what he thinks!

Bucksome Boomer discusses a restaurant where the prices are suggested. I think its an awesome and innovative idea but of course it could have negative repercussions. So far though, the restaurant is a success and most patrons pay the suggested price or more. The restaurant chain is also helping the community in different ways. Very interesting..what would you pay?

A couple weeks back when trying feverishly to get some things done, we lost power and I was unable to work on my computer. Worse, we had to bust out the candles and we found ourselves utterly unprepared for the blackout. So, appropriately, Everyday Tips and Thoughts writes Tips for Handling a Power Outage. Too bad it came a few days after my little emergency.

And highlighting another post about shopping, Roger at The Amateur Financier who has recently become a Wal-Mart employee gives a little rant with tips for retail shoppers. He gleaned these tidbits from his new experiences working in the huge retail chain, and I find them well laid out and pretty cool.

And a couple mentions of PFFirewall to highlight:

• A huge round-up at Funny about Money
• An Independence day roundup at The Online Investing IA Blog
• A Memorial day roundup at Free From Broke (ya ya, I’m way behind on gratitude 🙂 )
• and Another HUGE roundup at Deliver Away Debt

Another great week in the world of finance!

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Tags: artisan, bandwagon, boomer, cell phone bill, cult mentality, divice, editors choice, extensive research, generics, good reason, grocery products, informatics, iphone, iphone 4, labels, landline, notion, resteraunt, smart phones, vocab lesson