Thursday, October 8, 2009

The iPhone and My Healthy Life

It’s been a week since the Cute Man and I gleefully made our way to the Apple Store and bought our iPhones. I must say that it has more than compensated for the sadness of having to give back the Mini (HP Netbook). It really is everything I thought it would be and I have absolutely no regrets about the purchase (financial or otherwise). Good financial management is about making choices based on what’s important to you. And after 2 years of waiting for our contract to be up (we regretted not doing this almost right away when we chose Verizon over going with AT&T and the iPhone), we wanted these puppies and we wanted them something fierce. So, we planned for this expense and are thrilled with the result. It doesn’t even look like we’ll be paying THAT much more, especially considering how much more we’re getting for the money.

It’s a whole new world, especially for me. CM had his iPod Touch so it was basically just an upgrade/consolidation thing for him. But for me, the “just give me the free phone” girl, it was a revelation. It is the most fantastic thing I’ve ever owned. I’ve downloaded applications for everything from free music to stream based on my preferences (Pandora), to ones that help me practice my German with fun little games, to full-on yoga classes. It’s incredible. Not to mention the old standbys of weather, online banking, and maps. And I can read my Kindle books on it! I even downloaded the entire Firefly television season (plus the movie Serenity among others), which I have been watching every free moment.

To complement my new toy, I’ve gotten some accessories as well: a Sony iPhone alarm clock with great sound from the speakers, a charger for my car, and my new favorite FREE DIY iPhone stand that I made out of an old card.

At this point, it’s time to put on the breaks and just enjoy what I’ve got. There are so many free things to do/get with it (podcasts, free apps, Pandora and music I already have, Kindle books I already have, and free audio books that I found in an app) that I can stop the bleeding (spending) now and be quite content for some time.

I also plan to save some cash by using the low cost strength training and yoga apps that I downloaded. I will keep up with my paid yoga classes (2 times per week), but I’m going to forgo at least one of the two weekly paid Pilates classes and work out with my apps in the free work gym instead. We’ll see how that goes. I like the classes because they are an appointment to keep so it lends some structure. However, I think I can capitalize on my love-affair with my new gadget to lend some added motivation to hit the gym on my own.

After only one week, I know I’ve just scratched the surface of what my iPhone is capable of but I’m thrilled with what I’ve discovered so far. Going forward, I will have to be mindful to take the most advantage of the capabilities without frivolously buying things with little thought (which is EASY to do, I know). But all in all, I couldn’t be happier!

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