Food For Thought

Litterally, food for thought. I'm sitting downstairs eating dinner which happens to be chicken tortilla soup, and thinking about things. I have recently realized that I am really into gadgets. This goes back quite a ways for me. I used to LOVE Swiss Army Knives.  Whenever we would go into a sporting goods store it was my favorite section/enclosed box.  In high school I was the first to own a pocket PC.  For those of you that don't know what that was, it was a smart phone without the phone.  Some people called them Palm Pilots.  The iPhone has been my most recent desire, but I have settled for the iPod Touch.  I chose the iTouch, because it comes without the $70+/month contract.

But there is something new on the horizon.  Or should I say something new on the Verizon?  The rub with switching to the iPhone is leaving Verizon and signing up with AT&T.  It would end up costing my wife and I probably around $50/month more than we pay now.  That is a lot of dough!

This phone runs Android, which is Google's operating system.  I use Google's suite of products, so this is very appealing to me.  Most importantly, it has an app for Google Voice, which means a GV account could run seamlessly on a mobile phone with all the features, and the same great cost.

Here's where thinking has to start happening.  There is still a cost difference.  First of all it would be $200 to purchase which is reasonable, but there is more.  Secondly there will be a $30/month charge for a data plan.  This comes with a 2 year contract, so the total EXTRA price for the phone would be around $900.

Where I come from $900 is a good chunk of change for no more functionality than I currently have other than mobile Internet. (aka data plan)  For example, that $30/month could go to support a missionary, buy food for a food bank, or feed a hungry child. 

I have a lot in this world, and live a very comfortable life.  Most people that read this blog (both of them) are also comfortable and not hungry.  I do not say this to condemn spending, I am just journaling some realizations I have come to.  I'm also not saying I will not some day buy a data plan for a mobile phone.  What I will say, is that I need to do a better job of looking at what I spend, determine if it is a need or a want and also determine if by passing on that want I can meet a need of someone less fortunate.