Making a Big Purchase

I can remember sitting in the hospital room writing that month's edition of this column (called "The Custom Installer" at the time) after my daughter, Lauryn, was born in November 2006. Fast-forward 17 years, and now Lauryn is 17 years old, taking college classes, and driving.

- JOHN SCIACCA

All that meant that my family needed a new vehicle. But it has been 18 years since I purchased a vehicle, back when we bought an SUV right before Lauryn was born, which we handed down to her. And it's an understatement to say there have been an incredible number of technological improvements since that last purchase. And after attending CES this year, and seeing the proliferation of smart, autonomous vehicles, I'm wondering if my other daughter, Audrey, now eight, will ever drive!

While I deal with people at my custom installation business who are looking to make major technology investments, sometimes exceeding six figures, the roles aren't often reversed, and I'm the one looking to make the spend on something I really don't know much about.

Going through the car buying process, I saw a lot of parallels between my experience as the buyer collaborating with a salesman and trying to understand my options. And it is a similar experience that many of you likely have or will go through on a big tech purchase, especially if it's been a few years since your last upgrade.

I went into this buying process like many people that are looking to make a major home technology investment, be that a home theater, whole-house music system, or some smart home automation. I was semi-informed, had an estimate of my budget, and a decent idea of what I wanted. With that in mind, here's three tips you can apply to prepare for your next major upgrade!

EDUCATE YOURSELF