Losing personal things are hard to deal with. Losing gadgets when you’re traveling is even tougher to swallow. Last week in a rush to meet with friends for dinner, I accidently left my $150 pair of Beats headphones in a coffee shop. Furious about not having access to music on my trip home, I decided to purchase a cheap pair of ear phones. I just lost $150 and put down another 15 for something I won’t even use for a week. But if you think that’s the only time I’ve had to make an emergency gadget purchase, you’re so wrong.

Last year while driving back from college, my wireless iPod FM adapter stopped working. I was facing a 4 hour drive and without my iPod music, I would be bored and that’s not a good idea when driving. In order to fix the problem, I drove to the local Best Buy and bought myself a $50 FM adapter (only one they had). I really didn’t want to spend the money but it had to be done.

I could have just put the radio on, but it changes every few minutes on the highway and I hate having to look for a clear station, plus does anyone even listen to the radio anymore when driving?

I’m pretty sure I’ve had to make other emergency gadget purchases but these are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Have you ever had to make a pit stop to pick up an emergency gadget? What was the gadget you absolutely needed?