What NOT to buy in 2010

I recently read a very interesting article on SMARTMoney.com entitled “10 Things Not to Buy in 2010″. Here is the list:

• DVD’s
• Home Telephone Service
• External Hard Drives
• Smartphone also rans
• Compact Digital Cameras
• Newspaper Subscriptions
• CD’s
• New College Textbooks
• Gas Guzzling Cars
• Non-energy effecient Homes and Appliances

Some of these where pretty obvious like CD’s, DVD’s, Gas guzzling cars.  Newspaper subscriptions we have already seen the significant deteriations of these markets in the last 2 years.   Advertisers are significantly cutting back because there is no easy way to measure effectiveness, and in todays fast paced world by the time the newspaper prints, the news is old and has already been out on the internet and handheld information gathering devices, so consumers are less likely to subscribe anymore.  I get calls every couple of weeks with subscription offers that are ridiculously low, probably so that they have a reason to run the printing press, but I still tell them I’m only interested if it’s free.  In a waste conscious world, the weekly pile up of unread newspapers or newspapers that people are finished with is mindblowing.  Today you can get all the same information faster, with zero waste!  Although there is something to be said for the sound of the crinckle in the AM will sipping a cup of coffee.  Reminds me of  a time gone by.

The one I found most interesting was Home Telephone Service.  I certainly knew this was coming because most people have a cell phone, but for some reason (self included), people still always seem to identify with the phone number “at the house”.  Not sure why we are stuck on this, but it’s true.  Perhaps this is the decade where we ”cut the cord”.  I certainly plan on trying out the MagicJack with a single annual payment to solve the house phone need.  I think that is a great solution provided that they solve the problem of being able to “Port your home number”, which the website claims they are working on. 

Of course the question one always asks when reading an article like this:  Does the publishing of this article speed the reduction in these markets, or are they just reporting on what is already happening.  I think it’s probably a combination of both.

Here is the link if you want to read the full story: http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/budgeting/10-things-not-to-buy-in-2010/