5 Ways to Justify Your Expensive Mac Purchase

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If you’re someone who doesn’t have the kind of disposable income which renders most purchases devoid of pre-planning or pontification, it’ll take you a long time to buy a Mac.

I sit firmly within that crowd, and even though buying Macs these days is a rather different process for me (they’re investments in the growth of my business) I remember the days when they were a significant personal purchase.

That’s right – like you, I’d only buy one Mac and then keep it for as long as I could before its replacement began pulling at my heartstrings.

I did this several times before I started this business, which puts me in the ideal position to make you feel better about the Mac you’re about to buy – or the one that’s sitting in front of you right now.

Here are five ways to justify that incredibly expensive computer.

1. Apple things are ‘shiny’ (that’s how they get you)

Anti-Apple people (you know, those who use Windows or Linux and who seemingly enjoy watching and being irritated by Apple-related content) will always poke fun at this first.

They see us Apple fanboys and fangirls as easily swayed; if it’s shiny, full of marketing bullshit, and is made from a single piece of machined aluminium, we’ll spend way above what most would view as acceptable to own that new Mac. Who cares how powerful it isn’t or what the Windows-based competition is capable of for a third of the price?

This is categorically, absolutely, unmistakably true. Apple gear is more expensive than pretty much anything else and, often, fails to outpace the competition in specific benchmarks.

Who gives a shit, though? Look at it!

This is fine, by the way.

2. The Apple ecosystem IS the best (I think)

Firstly, a confession: the Apple ecosystem is the only digital ecosystem in which I’ve spent a significant amount of time.

In fact, I’ve barely spent more than a few seconds even thinking about the walled gardens of Windows, Samsung, and… hang on, are there any others?!

So, my findings are completely devoid of any proper research or comparative analysis (hey, isn’t that always the case, etc). But just as I’m happy to admit that I’m easily swayed by pretty tech, I’m equally sure-footed in my blinkered praise of the Apple ecosystem.

I have reached a point in my professional and personal life where I can’t do without it – and I definitely can’t be arsed with the faff of switching. This means I can’t – no matter how much I’d genuinely like to – switch to brilliant smartphones like the Samsung S23 Ultra or the Google Pixel 7 Pro. The root cause of this is always the same – it’s the Mac. I do not want to give up macOS and the way in which it interacts with all my other Apple gear. Period.

It has been a bumpy ride with features like Continuity and Handoff, but we’re at a point now where Tim’s walled garden really does hold you captive. It is too good, I’m afraid.

3. Longevity and resale value (a dead cert)

I rarely resell Macs these days, but I know people who do, and I know that these machines still hold their value incredibly well. This makes the ‘investment’ in your shiny new computer a little easier to bear.

It’s almost strategic, isn’t it?

The only slight blot on the landscape at the moment is the crossover from the Intel generation to Apple silicon. If your existing Mac resides within the former, it will undoubtedly have lost a fair bit of its resale value. But that aside – and certainly now that we’re firmly in the Apple silicon era – Macs remain amazingly re-saleable.

This is because so many people want to avoid paying the asking price from Apple for a brand-new Mac. Combine that desire with the ability for Macs to outlast most of the competition in the usability stakes, and it creates a rich second-hand market from which everyone can benefit.

4. macOS is better than Windows (shots fired)

It really, really is.

5. Remind yourself that it’s YOUR money

If someone pokes fun at you for buying an expensive Mac (which is an odd thing to do, regardless of what I’m about to say), just remember that it’s your decision.

It doesn’t matter why you’ve bought that Mac, either. You may have a need for it within your business or career. You may have a hobby that would benefit from you having access to a Mac.

You may just want it for no discernible reason.

Whatever your reasons for spending a boatload of cash on a computer, it’s your decision and your money – you don’t have to explain anything to anyone (apart from your better half, possibly).

Ignore anyone who suggests that you’re a fool for doing so (unless it’s your better half, in which case, I’d recommend taking them out for dinner to prove that they’re still more important – kinda – than that slab of machined aluminium).

Wrapping up

Do you feel better now? I hope so.

There’s nothing worse than buyer’s remorse. We’ve all felt it at some stage, and it’s inevitable that we’ll feel it again in the future. It’s also absolutely possible to feel buyer’s remorse when buying a Mac – but only if you overspend on the wrong spec.

Thankfully, with the power of Apple silicon completely rewriting the rulebook in terms of what you actually need from a Mac, even that is less likely these days – if you follow my buying guidance, of course!

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