The Tools Don’t Make the Man, but a New 27″ iMac is Pretty Sweet

I mentioned my new iMac to a co-worker today, and we discussed an interesting phenomenon that we each have noticed in ourselves: Post-Purchase Guilt. Maybe you suffer from it too? There’s a pretty simple test. Ask yourself: After a purchase, (especially a large one) do you feel the incessant need to justify said purchase to both yourself and others?

I’ll demonstrate.

The computer is amazing; that fact isn’t in question. Still, a tiny voice in my head reminds me of the money I spent yesterday that now can’t sit in my savings account for some future, unforeseen disaster. Another voice (or maybe it’s the same one?) tells me that I didn’t really need to buy a new computer when my early 2008 MacBook Pro was still chugging along.

But still … this machine! It’s a fucking beautiful, functional work of art.

Photos pop. The web experience is amazing. I can work on web and graphic design projects without hunching over a (relatively) tiny 17" laptop. Even my speakers — the Harmon Kardon SoundSticks that I’ve had since freshman year of college — sound better next to the iMac. Don’t ask me to explain that one.

And I haven’t even mentioned how a bigger screen will help when I record in Garageband.

It all seems so logical, yet I’ve spent nearly an entire post justifying how I decided to spend my own money. This phenomenon isn’t even restricted to tech purchases. I had similar thoughts when I bought new skates a couple of months ago, despite the fact that my current pair was messing up my ankle and hockey is something I do more often than I care to think about. Same goes for the couch I bought on sale on January to compliment the only living room seating I had in my place, a $400 sofa that I’ve had since college.

Time eventually takes care of the guilt, but it would be nice to actually enjoy large purchases when I make them.