It's no exaggeration to say that the invention and popularity of smartphones has changed the way we live. It's hard to imagine a time when we couldn't do our banking, map our location in a strange city or watch a movie at the touch of a button with a device that we carry in our pocket everywhere we go. And yet just fifteen years ago, the general public did not have this capability. What other life-changing tech is out there today, and how do you decide what to buy?

Cost

You can spend anything from a few dollars to thousands of dollars on tech. A robot dog that costs upwards of $50,000 is probably out of your price range, but if you're looking at something that costs a few hundred dollars-and some robot dogs do-you might want to think about taking out a personal loan to pay for it. This can help you control credit card debt because the interest rate on a personal loan is usually lower than what you would pay if you charged it to your credit card. Finding out what your options are for a personal loan is usually a fast process as well. Once you know what your budget is, you can start looking at what to buy.

Your Criteria

To narrow down the best way to spend your tech dollars, think about what your priorities are. Do you want to solve a problem, have more fun or some combination of the two? For example, if your primary concern is making your home more secure or more accessible, your priorities in smart home purchases are going to be different from those of someone whose main concern is having a better sound system. Maybe you are deeply concerned about sustainability, or perhaps you see this as a chance to finally get that home theater system you've always dreamed of. Whatever you choose, make sure it is something that you want or need and not what your friends, neighbors or coworkers want or need.

Your Tech Know-How

How tech-savvy are you? Some people want to sit down, open a device and have it work immediately. Others will happily spend hours rebuilding laptops and tinkering with open-source software. Most people fall somewhere in the middle, but the idea here is to get something that meets you at your comfort level as far as setup and maintenance goes. If you are someone who relies on tech support, you might also want to find out what kind of reviews customers give the company.

Data Security

It's basically a given these days that companies will be gathering data on you, so the real question is about what they do with that data. It's become automatic to click through user agreements, but you might want to take a closer look at what you are agreeing to. You should also consider how well protected against hackers or other security breaches the device is and how consequential it would be for you if it did get hacked. Most companies are alert to this threat and always working to improve their product's security, but it's important to confirm this.