This editorial was originally published on 21 Oct 2016. It is being re-run as Steve is on holiday.

After I wrote about a home lab recently, someone was curious about the amount of money that others invest in their technology lab, habit, or hobby. I thought that was fairly interesting, so I decided to ask others to get an idea of what amounts people spend and even on what.

How much do you spend on technology in a year?

Let's skip cell phone and Internet service bills, but if you buy cell phones, tablets, computers, Kindles, or other gadgets, let us know. I'd be curious about your spending on your career, which might be travel and events, training, books, etc. versus the spending on technology for fun.

For me the amounts vary dramatically. The vast majority of my spending on technology is for replacement pieces and parts. I will buy hard drives or monitors or memory, but rarely anything more fun in most years. I don't spend too much on learning as I get a Pluralsight subscription, and of course, I read SQLServerCentral. I rarely take training, but my generous employer usually covers that. In fact, most years, my total expense for technology is likely a few hundred dollars at the outside.

I have purchased a few Kindle devices for reading, and I've gotten cases and batteries for my cell phones. I do go through keyboards and mice every year or two, sot hose are expenses, but rarely anything more interesting. I did buy a Pebble watch a few years ago. This year was an exception as I spent a bit to rebuild a desktop that has been aging. I didn't get everything I wanted, but I substantially improved the speed, which was the important thing. I'll also likely add in a new tablet next year to replace my aging iPad Mini (non Retina) to help with coaching volleyball. I'd like a drone for some fun camera work with kids and sports, but I suspect that is not likely to happen in the next year. Those gadgets are expensive for a complete indulgence.

Let us know this week what you're spending money on in technology and if any of those items have proven themselves really valuable, or just lots of fun.