Computers are expensive. Probably one of the ten most expensive purchases you can make in a given year. While a few hundred (or a thousand) bucks might not seem like a lot, for most people that’s a considerable amount of money, and you want to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Here are six ways to save money while getting the best computer you can:
- Check the ‘outlet’ store – You can purchase direct from most manufacturers’ websites, including Dell and HP. Most of those sites will have an ‘outlet’ store where prices are generally around 20% cheaper than normal.
- Go with the 2nd-greatest-and-latest technology – Every month, computers get faster, smaller, and have better performing parts available. Though they’ll try to tell you that you need the best computer possible, the truth is that the difference between the most current and what used to be the most current is not going to be noticeable to 99.9% of customers. Save yourself significant money by getting components that are a level down from the latest and greatest.
- Check for promotion codes – Many sites will have this little, innocent looking box that says something along the lines of PROMO CODE or COUPON CODE. Looking around to sites that can give you the best information to put in here can save you a good chunk of cash.
- Re-use components – When you go ‘shopping’ and add a computer to your ‘cart’, chances are things like a monitor, printer, wireless keyboard, etc. will be bundled in to the price. If you have any/all of these type of components that are working and you’re satisfied with, re-use them and save some money.
- Resist add-ons – At the same time you’re adding features to your computer, you’ll likely be given ‘once in a lifetime’ (so to speak) opportunities to upgrade other things, like your wireless router or your printer. Shouldn’t you have the best of everything to go along with your new computer to get the best performance possible? No. Unless your router, printer, and the like are broken, they should work just fine and you’ll love your new computer just the same.
- Look at freebie software – Gone are the days where Microsoft Office is a necessity. If you do only basic tasks on word processing or spreadsheet work, you might find that Google Docs or other free online programs are just fine. The companies that sell you the computer won’t make any money if you do this, so of course they’re going to give you the hard sell on buying so-called productivity software, but you should ask yourself if you really could live without it before giving in to their pitch.
After that, enjoy your new computer and enjoy looking at the money you saved that’s still sitting in your bank account!
Thank you for reading.