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The Upgrade Trap | Episode 600

The Survival Punk Podcast·Mar 9, 2026·19:14

About this Episode

upgrade life The Upgrade Trap | Episode 600 It’s incredibly easy to fall into what I call the upgrade trap. Phones, laptops, TVs, cars — companies are constantly pushing the newest version of everything. The marketing tells you your current gear is outdated, slow, or missing the latest features. So people upgrade every year or two without really thinking about the long-term cost. Today we’re talking about how this trap works, why it’s so effective, and how you can break free from it. The Phone Upgrade Cycle Smartphones are probably the most obvious example of the upgrade trap. Every year there’s a new iPhone. Every year there’s a new Android flagship. Folding phones, bigger cameras, faster processors — and most of the time people are paying more for features they barely use. For years I fell into this trap myself. Back when the first Android phone came out — the T-Mobile G1 with the flip-out keyboard — I jumped on it immediately. After that I kept upgrading every couple of years. And phone companies make it easy to do. They’ll happily “upgrade” your phone while quietly adding another $20–$30 per month to your bill for the next couple years. If you’re doing that for every device in your family, you might be adding $100 or more every month just to keep chasing the newest gadgets. That’s money that never stops leaving your pocket. A Smarter Way to Handle Phones These days I take a completely different approach. First, I stopped paying for phone insurance. That alone saves around $18 or more every month. If you take that same money and just set it aside, you’ll have enough to buy a replacement phone every year if something goes wrong. When my phone breaks, I simply go to eBay and buy a model that’s a couple years old. Usually I can get one for around $100–$200. Then I sell my old phone — even if it’s damaged — and recover some of the cost. People buy broken phones all the time to repair and flip them. So instead of paying monthly fees forever, I just replace devices when I actually need to. It’s simple and it saves a ton of money. Planned Obsolescence Everywhere Phones aren’t the only place this happens. Software companies do it too. Microsoft recently caused a lot of backlash by ending support for a bunch of devices that aren’t even that old. Suddenly perfectly functional computers are considered “obsolete.” Laptop manufacturers have also leaned heavily into planned obsolescence. Cheap laptops in the $300 range often seem designed to last only a couple years before something fails. Hard drives die. Performance slows down. Parts wear out. For years I would just buy a new laptop every few years because it seemed easier than fixing the problem. Eventually I stopped doing that. Now I’m still using a desktop that isn’t perfect, but it works. Sometimes a simple upgrade — like adding RAM or doing a fresh operating system install — can breathe new life into a machine. Companies want you replacing devices constantly. But most of the time you don’t actually need to. The Worst Upgrade Trap: Cars Phones and laptops are expensive enough, but the worst upgrade trap is cars. The average car payment today is around $400 per month — and many people are paying far more than that. I’ve seen car payments pushing $900 a month. That’s basically a second mortgage. And people get stuck in this cycle where they trade in a car every few years and start the payment clock all over again. Personally, I’ve almost always bought used cars. It’s not glamorous, but it works. The better approach would be saving money in a high-yield savings account and paying cash when you need a replacement. Even if you don’t do that perfectly, buying used vehicles can save you an enormous amount of money compared to constantly financing new ones. Yes, the used car market has been weird lately. But if you’re patient and willing to look around, you can still find good deals. Don’t Keep Up With the Joneses At the end of the day, the upgrade trap is really about keeping up with the Joneses. People want the newest phone. The newest car. The newest everything. But every upgrade comes with hidden costs: higher bills, more debt, and less financial freedom. Breaking the cycle means asking a simple question before upgrading anything: Do I actually need this? Most of the time the answer is no. Keep your gear longer. Buy used when possible. Repair things instead of replacing them. Your wallet — and your long-term resilience — will thank you. Final Thoughts The upgrade trap is everywhere in modern life, and companies are counting on you falling into it. But once you see it, you can start making smarter choices. Delay upgrades. Buy used. Fix things when you can. That mindset doesn’t just save money — it builds the kind of independence that survival is really about. Amazon Item of the Day A great tool to help avoid the upgrade trap is being able to repair things yourself instead of replacing them. iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit – Electronics, Smartphone, Computer & Tablet Repair Kit This toolkit has everything you need to repair electronics like phones, laptops, game consoles, and small gadgets. Instead of tossing something and buying the newest version, you can often replace a battery, screen, or small component and keep the device running for years longer. Learning basic repair skills is one of those quiet survival skills that saves money and reduces your dependence on constant upgrades. Think this post was worth 20 cents? Consider joining The Survivalpunk Army and get access to exclusive content and discounts! Don’t forget to join in on the road to 1k! Help James Survivalpunk Beat Couch Potato Mike to 1k subscribers on Youtube
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Hosts & Guests

James Burnette

Host

Transcript

Hey, it's James from SurvivalPunk.com. Good morning.

It is not super chilly this morning.

It is 69 degrees.

My family is probably going to wake up sweaty

because I turned the air conditioner off

and I forgot to turn it back on.

Today we're going to talk about the upgrade trap.

The falling into the trap of upgrading your cell phone

every one to two years.

Your laptop, your TV, your car.

It's going to be, it's going to be about upgrading

but it's also going to be a lot of

don't be keeping up with the Joneses.

My wife could really, really fall into that

if I would let her.

We're not them. We're not.

Before we get to all that though,

let's take a storm warning theme music.

We need to crash into streets of blaze.

Okay, I say every game.

It's got four in the world blaze.

We survive in twisted nays.

The top rise in time last.

I'm covered with foam glass.

They cannot be formed.

It's so fast.

The apocalypse.

You're late.

But we're fine.

You've just asked us games.

Why?

And we're back.

I am finally starting to feel a bit better.

I don't know what kind of crud that I got,

but it kicked my ass.

I can't imagine not giving blood.

I can't imagine doing blood work twice

in like two days or something is

probably super good with whatever.

I have not heard anything back from the rheumatologist yet.

It has only been like three days.

One of the lab work posted.

It was something something gold.

It was a test for tuberculosis.

Good news.

I don't have tuberculosis.

Seems like a weird one to rule out,

but she seems like she's being pretty damn thorough.

So no tuberculosis.

I'm not going to be doc holiday.

And then yesterday,

I went to take blood work for my TRT

to see how that's going.

I have a feeling my estradiol

is slightly out of range,

but it could be wrong.

Anyway.

Also, I lowered my testosterone dose.

I started out at 200 milligrams of testosterone a week,

administered Monday, Wednesday, Friday,

and I'm currently at 150 milligrams a week,

one because I, well,

I was making some guesses based on my last blood work

that I took while on 200 milligrams a week,

my total testosterone was like 1254.

Technically, that's above range.

It's probably fine,

but I'm trying to get to the actual sweet spot

between like 900 and 1,000.

Well, I was.

Currently, I'm doing something else.

But I was having a couple side effects.

Anyway, they have great trap.

Really feel like this one is easy to fall into

for a lot of people.

And that is upgrading your phone.

It's nice to have the newest fanciest phones.

And by God, do they pump those fuckers out?

There's always a new fancier phone,

a new Android flagship,

a new crazy Android.

The technology of like the folding phones and stuff

is pretty amazing.

A new fucking iPhone for you,

iPhone people with new fancy features

that you probably won't use.

And I admit, for a long time,

I was maybe on the cusp of this,

starting with the first Android phone,

T-Mobile G1.

I went with T-Mobile to get the first Android phone,

which was a weird,

like it had a full flip out keyboard,

like a physical,

quirky keyboard that you could type on.

That thing did not last very long.

That was a novelty of its time,

Nito, but not really practical.

And then from there,

I did kind of fall into the upgrade trap

for probably several years.

And T-Mobile allows you to,

a lot of phone companies will let you upgrade.

T-Mobile lets you upgrade,

but they just make your bill more expensive for years.

That's there.

That's their got you,

annoyingly.

You know, and I would do that.

The $20 or $30 is more expensive,

and I've been locked into the contract for years.

Obviously, I'm still with T-Mobile.

They're all about the same.

I don't really see a point in changing, to be honest.

But, much like the episode we just did on subscriptions,

if you're doing that every few years,

if your bill is perpetually,

at least $30 is more expensive,

for that,

it's a subscription.

And that's just for one device, right?

You upgrade your whole family,

you know, you're tacking on like $100 extra dollars,

just to have new devices that never ends.

There are a couple better solutions.

I'm sure all the companies do this.

T-Mobile does this.

And that's,

if you wait and you plan it,

and you save up like the taxes and whatnot,

there will be upgrade deals,

where you can get the device for free,

via promotional credits.

So, I want to say my wife's last device was like that,

and her watch.

I just had to pay a little bit down,

like $125 down on her Galaxy watch,

and it was like whatever the $10 a month

or whatever it was was,

for adding the line,

we got the watch for free,

we still didn't have to pay for the line though,

for the duration of that deal.

So, they got us with that,

but there's often deals where it's like,

upgrade your device,

and you'll get credits.

So, it's like $30 a month,

they'll give you $30 in credits.

The deals I see now though are not that much.

It's like,

upgrade your device for $30 a month,

and we'll give you $15 a month in credits,

so you get it for $15 a month.

I'm not real,

I'm not real keen on that one,

like that's,

I'm gonna not take that deal.

I'll sit on it until they come out with a better deal.

The thing that I do though,

is,

one, I no longer bother paying for insurance on my phone,

or my son's phone.

My wife's phone,

we do keep insurance on,

because she is destructive.

She will break phones left and right.

Mine,

I did the,

and I was pissed at the insurance people,

the insurance people,

they pissed me the fuck off,

and I dropped my insurance,

which was,

um, easily like,

$18 or more a month,

for the insurance,

and I just didn't really feel like it was worth it.

When my device breaks,

I go to eBay,

I find a model a couple of years old,

for one to $200,

and I buy that.

And depending on the condition of my old device,

I list that on eBay,

and I sell it,

and recoup some of my price,

even in,

even in like a damaged state,

you can get,

a good deal of money from eBay,

from your old device.

Um,

my last one,

I haven't sold,

mostly because I can't get it to turn on,

to wipe it.

Um, it was working,

and then,

it stopped working,

and I might try again to get it to power on and wipe it.

Uh, but even with,

with a crack screen and stuff,

um,

you can absolutely just sell those.

People will,

people will do screen replacements,

and resell it,

and that's generally what you're buying.

You're bought,

people are buying broke phones for a good deal,

and they're reselling them after they repair them,

for, for more.

It's a good flip,

if you can do it.

That, I feel,

is a way better option.

You're not,

think about it.

If you set the money aside for insurance, right?

You take 20 bucks a month,

that's $200 a year.

That's a,

that's a new phone,

be a eBay,

every year.

Um,

or,

if you don't,

if you sit on it,

you have that money set aside for,

you smash your screen,

you need a replacement,

there you go.

Then you sell the old one for like 60 bucks,

or so on eBay,

because it has a smash screen.

That is absolutely the way to go.

Um,

and you won't be getting the newest,

greatest models,

but you don't really need it, right?

Um,

and if you do,

you can wait,

you can wait until you can snatch up one of those deals, right?

If you're doing what I'm saying,

you're, you're saving like $20 a month,

and they have a deal,

like you got to pay tax and,

and whatever.

So like 150 bucks or something,

and you get like,

credits to pay for the device,

boom, just jump on that.

Don't, don't just,

willy-nilly go upgrade your device,

and have a $30 extra,

bill for no reason.

Every other company of every other product

is trying to get you to do the same thing.

We talk about planned obsolescence,

and we're not going to really dig into that.

I know Microsoft pissed off a lot of people with ending support

for basically everything out there.

There wasn't the newest devices.

Um,

I get that notification fairly often,

and I'm like,

nope, nope, screw you, Microsoft.

Um, I want to say,

I already know what number it is,

my desktop isn't even that old,

and they've turned off support.

Um, I think they're trying to reverse some of that,

because the internet backlash is pretty fucking harsh.

Also, I feel like,

laptop planned obsolescence is very,

very brutal.

IE,

in the past,

I would generally go by,

300 on a laptop,

and I would use it until,

for various reasons,

it'll just stop working.

Right?

Um, hard drive failure,

um, parts on it break,

just operating system rot,

for whatever reason,

they just kind of go bad,

after a while.

And for years,

three like,

two or three years,

I just go buy a new laptop.

I haven't done it in many years now.

My laptop broke.

At some point when my daughter was very young,

after it being dropped several times,

and me trying to fix it,

and it just eventually just was done.

It was just done.

Um, after that,

I got the desktop,

and that's what I'm still using.

And it's not great.

It's really not great.

And I do need a new laptop,

for about a million reasons,

uh, just being mobile with it.

And, um,

I need a new laptop.

I'm kind of

starting to look around.

Um, I know my last laptop,

I bought only with

a laptop from SurvivalPunk,

which is pretty awesome.

My next laptop will probably be bought

only with income from,

uh, my peptides,

money that I make,

uh, which is

really doing well.

So,

if the SurvivalPunk income could be matching that,

that would be fantastic.

Uh,

uh,

then,

anyway,

that's a bad problem with laptops,

where I, I think,

I think my problem is,

the laptops in that, like,

sub $500 price range,

just aren't built well.

Um,

they are absolutely built to break

every two years or so.

And then, at every,

at every time point after two years,

um, they perform

worse and worse.

And in a lot of cases,

it doesn't even matter

if you, um,

if you refresh the operating system,

a lot of times, computers will do well

if you do a fresh install

every couple of years,

which is a huge pain in the ass.

And companies know most people aren't going to do it.

I think, currently,

what my,

what my desktop desperately needs,

probably as a fresh install.

Um, but,

I need to add

another, like, four gigabytes of RAM,

which would take it to its, um,

maximum.

It's just not a very,

it's not a very robust, uh,

motherboard,

where it can handle a huge amount of RAM,

which would be nice,

uh, especially based on, like,

type jobs.

One day in the future,

I would love to have a,

computer,

that would really do well

with editing video.

Which is probably

on the reasons why I don't do

any video editing.

It is such a laborious process

with the, with the RAM that I have.

It's just not,

it's just not feasible.

Anyway,

the last point I want to cover,

um, we'll talk cars actually.

That's what we'll talk about.

This is one,

a lot of people fall into this trap.

Cars are too fucking expensive to be doing this bullshit now.

I think the last information I saw was the average

car payment.

It's like $400 a month.

Average.

Which means there's some

low-ball ones bringing that shit down.

Because I've easily seen

um,

car payments.

They're rivaling mortgages.

A, um,

manager at my work one time told me

that her monthly car payment

was like 900 a month.

Which is fucking insane.

I can't even fathom that.

Um, too high earners in a house.

Yeah.

They can afford it.

But that trap of getting into that is just retarded.

I have always,

except for once,

gone and bought a used car

when I needed one.

More optimally, I could be saved my money

in a high yield savings account

until the car broke down.

And then buying a good car.

Um,

but everyone's not perfect.

However, so the car market has

kind of taken a hit.

And for a while there,

it was very hard to find

a good used car.

It can't happen.

It absolutely can happen.

Um, but

you got to work harder probably

than you used to, right?

People on Facebook marketplace selling cars

that are like,

no engine and half of a body,

$6,000.

I know what I got.

Y'all are stupid.

Um, don't do that bullshit.

But if you look around,

you can, you can definitely get some.

And if you have any kind of

mechanical ability,

even better,

there's a lot of very cosmetic things

that need a little bit of work.

And then you'll have a good car.

So, this is the James4ShallPunk.com.

Still not feeling amazing,

but the outlawedest of I've used guys.

The Upgrade Trap | Episode 600

About this Episode

Hosts & Guests

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