What if I had bought Apple stock instead http://kyleconroy.com/2010/04/apple-stock shows what would have happened if you bought stock instead of an Apple product when it was released. I had the first 17" PowerBook, and had I invested instead I'd have over $100,000 today. However I have to factor in that purchase helped enable two years of freelance work in which I earned over $100,000 before that laptop was retired. So really I should have stopped spending so much money on video games and eating out, bought the PowerBook and the stock.