Edible Apple

If you’re reading this blog, the odds are fairly high that you’ve bought a number of Apple products over the years.  A desktop here, a laptop there, maybe a few iPods.. well you get the idea.  But what if instead of making a particular Apple purchase, you used that money to buy shares of Apple?  How much money would you have today?

Well, there’s a cool website that does all of the calculations for you, and lets you pick from a list of what seems like every Apple product ever released.  The site is Macorstock.com, and it’s definitely worth checking out.  But don’t blame me if you get depressed from thinking about all the riches you’ve missed out on because you just had to get your hands on the latest and greatest from Apple.

I went ahead and did a few calculations on my own for your reading enjoyment.

The Mac LC, which was one of the first Macs I ever used came in at around 2 grand in 1990.  Had that money been used to by Apple stock instead, it’d now be worth almost $34,000.

Okay, but that’s admittedly from nearly 20 years ago.  What stock doesn’tgo up over the course of 20 years?  So let’s look at something a little bit more recent, like an eMac I bought for $999 in 2002.  Had I used the money to buy shares of Apple instead, it’d now be worth $10,768.  10x the return on investment, incredible!

When the iPod first came out in 2001, it sold for $399.  A purchase of Apple stock instead would have yielded $7031 today.  Now that’s a return that would even make Bernie Madoff jealous.

Who knew that figuring out how rich you’re not could be so much fun?  Again, head on over to Macorstock.com and if you’re so inclined, leave us your tales of riches lost in the comments below.