Being on a college campus can sometimes feel like a living advertisement for Apple. Every six feet, you see either an iPhone, MacBook or those stupid wireless earbuds (that I hope you lose and never find). Apple has made itself into a pillar of modern culture: It has been the most valuable company in the world for 23 of the past 24 quarters, seen as one of the primary reasons tech became sexy and forever changed how we communicate with the introduction of the iPhone. All that said, Apple does not deserve the undying loyalty in the form of billions of untaxed dollars stashed in Ireland. They make a lesser product than other tech companies that is not only more expensive but traps you within their ecosystem that makes leaving next to impossible.

What do you use your laptop for? Probably email, watching videos, reading the news and some light to moderate social media stalking. How much did you pay for your laptop? For MacBook users, the price starts at $999 for a MacBook Air. That is insane. The lowest price they offer is more than what most people spend on food for two months. Owning a MacBook and other Apple products does have qualities that make it appealing for certain groups. Their software base makes it more desirable to code on and create apps than other platforms. MacBooks can run any operating system, yet at the same time they remain the only place to easily run the Apple operating system, iOS. But if you don’t need any of those things, why not spend considerably less and have the same capabilities? It would be like paying twice as much for one bottled water over another (you shouldn’t buy bottled water in the first place, anyway), when they all taste and do the same things for you. Don’t pay for the brand if the product doesn’t justify the price.

If you thought the money pit that is buying an Apple product couldn’t get worse, just wait until you need it serviced in any way. When my hard drive failed, I bought one that was an upgrade in every way for $80; and within 45 minutes, everything was back to normal. The beauty of non-Apple products is the fact that you can fix them yourself with extreme ease. If opening up your computer terrifies you, there are thousands of YouTube videos that will take you through the exact process for almost every product ever sold. For your MacBook, you have to take it to one of the only 499 worldwide Apple stores or an Apple Authorized Service Provider—and if you decide to open it yourself, your warranty is automatically voided and no longer valid. There aren’t any official Apple stores in the entire continent of Africa, only two in South America, and they are very sporadically placed in other non-white areas of the world. Getting your Apple product serviced is considerably more difficult and time consuming than it needs to be.

Owning high-priced technology feels essential to be a modern American college student. Being broke is also a part of that experience; so, be smarter about how you solve one problem without hindering your ability in another area. I get that sometimes you don’t have a choice when it comes to what products are in your life as parents determine what your first cell phone is, which starts you down a certain technological path. But once you can make that decision for yourself, don’t get sucked into the the power of the brand and make smarter buying decisions.