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The first major purchase I ever made was a Macbook Pro in 2009 - I spent ~$3000 that I didn't really have on it. I would wager that in terms of increased perso

The first major purchase I ever made was a Macbook Pro in 2009 - I spent ~$3000 that I didn't really have on it. I would wager that in terms of increased personal learning and productivity in the 3-4 years or 10000+ hours of use since then, I've made far better returns on that purchase than even a purchase of AAPL stock in its heyday.

gwern 13y ago
> I would wager that in terms of increased personal learning and productivity in the 3-4 years or 10000+ hours of use since then, I've made far better returns on that purchase than even a purchase of AAPL stock in its heyday. Which was a return of ~$216.6k according to the OP. So, you've made a marginal $55,000 a year since 2009 which you would not have made with any cheaper laptop?
- dantillberg 13y ago
  Haha, I appreciate the skepticism for my apple praise. :) For what it's worth, I don't care much for the rest of Apple's offerings. It's only 2013 - I get another six years for my macbook investment to play out. In April 2007, AAPL sold for $90/share, which works out to profit of $36k over the same length of time, four years. Have I made $9k/year more than I would have had I not bought the macbook? Not likely. But it's helped me to work and learn efficiently and productively, and $9k/year is inexpensive tuition. Could I have done the same with a different laptop? Maybe. But my point is that it's important to invest (judiciously) in yourself, too. Whatever tools you need to learn and become the best at what you want to do may be different, but don't underestimate the utility of that investment.
  - HSO 13y ago
    of course, you are both comparing the difference to... zero?! (you should compare the price difference to an equivalent laptop (however defined) if you're talking "marginal")
    - gwern 13y ago
      I'm not comparing the difference to zero. Note my convoluted phrasing which I wrote specifically to forestall your objection: > you've made a marginal $55,000 a year since 2009 which you would not have made with any cheaper laptop? Of course I don't think he actually has, and that he would have gained pretty much whatever he has gained with a much-cheaper-than-$3k-laptop.
  - lostlogin 13y ago
    I'd call $9k a year average tuition cost where I am from (at the time I studied). New Zealand. This figure excludes living costs, includes uni fees only.
  - 97s 13y ago
    Not only this, but the laptop was a guaranteed increase in earnings being that it was the tool you needed to get the job done, were the stock could have plummeted. These comparisons while crazy to think about, are rather pointless.

gwern 13y ago

> I would wager that in terms of increased personal learning and productivity in the 3-4 years or 10000+ hours of use since then, I've made far better returns on that purchase than even a purchase of AAPL stock in its heyday. Which was a return of ~$216.6k according to the OP. So, you've made a marginal $55,000 a year since 2009 which you would not have made with any cheaper laptop?

dantillberg 13y ago
Haha, I appreciate the skepticism for my apple praise. :) For what it's worth, I don't care much for the rest of Apple's offerings. It's only 2013 - I get another six years for my macbook investment to play out. In April 2007, AAPL sold for $90/share, which works out to profit of $36k over the same length of time, four years. Have I made $9k/year more than I would have had I not bought the macbook? Not likely. But it's helped me to work and learn efficiently and productively, and $9k/year is inexpensive tuition. Could I have done the same with a different laptop? Maybe. But my point is that it's important to invest (judiciously) in yourself, too. Whatever tools you need to learn and become the best at what you want to do may be different, but don't underestimate the utility of that investment.
- HSO 13y ago
  of course, you are both comparing the difference to... zero?! (you should compare the price difference to an equivalent laptop (however defined) if you're talking "marginal")
  - gwern 13y ago
    I'm not comparing the difference to zero. Note my convoluted phrasing which I wrote specifically to forestall your objection: > you've made a marginal $55,000 a year since 2009 which you would not have made with any cheaper laptop? Of course I don't think he actually has, and that he would have gained pretty much whatever he has gained with a much-cheaper-than-$3k-laptop.
- lostlogin 13y ago
  I'd call $9k a year average tuition cost where I am from (at the time I studied). New Zealand. This figure excludes living costs, includes uni fees only.
- 97s 13y ago
  Not only this, but the laptop was a guaranteed increase in earnings being that it was the tool you needed to get the job done, were the stock could have plummeted. These comparisons while crazy to think about, are rather pointless.