If Only I Was Out Of Debt, I’d Buy A Laptop
No, this is not another ode to why I want a laptop. 
Yesterday my computer monitor died. Dead, kaput, won’t turn on, ignores all pleading from me to work. And, by the way, this is the second Dell monitor I have had that lasted less than 3 years. The first they replaced because it was still under warranty (with this one that just died). I am going to investigate if they’ll replace this one too, but I’m not hugely hopeful since it was a replacement of the last defective one (meaning, I didn’t buy this one, and I bought the last one longer ago than the original warranty). We’ll see. I’ve got n email in to customer service as we speak.
But anyway. We have configured things in a temporary solution (I am using my spouse’s monitor to write this at the moment) but that won’t work for the long term. We both need functioning computers, with monitors, in order to do our jobs. In a perfect world, where we weren’t in debt and were more prepared for the day to day ups and downs of life, this would be the catalyst needed to go to the end-point solution of finding me a laptop computer so I can work more effectively. But, we’re in debt, and I don’t want to buy a bargain basement laptop just to have a laptop, so instead, we fix the part that is broken, ie buy me another monitor. A band-aid, but it makes more sense for us right now. I’m not going to pull money out of our emergency fund to buy me a laptop when I have a desktop computer that functions just fine.
Ah well. The monitor just couldn’t wait another year to self-destruct, I guess. At least now I can get a flat panel.
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September 15th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Ugh, that’s really frustrating. I hope you’ll be able to find a good deal on a monitor (I’m sure you will). My local craigslist has a ton of lcd monitors for sale for $50 to $75. Some might be had for even less! Good luck
September 15th, 2008 at 8:24 am
I feel your pain; my six-year-old printer stopped working a few weeks ago, but I limped along using my parents’ printer and a flash drive until we could save up the money. (My parents live about 10 minutes away.)
We’ve finally got a new shiny printer, and I’m glad we didn’t charge it. You’ll be so much more grateful for your new monitor once you find one!
Good luck.
September 15th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Be sure to check out Freecycle.org, too. My local Freecycle always seems to have someone giving away a computer monitor. Worth a shot, anyway!
September 15th, 2008 at 9:14 am
I find lots of monitors at the second-hand and charity stores for practically free (i.e. $1-5) on a regular basis. They’re not the latest and greatest, but I’ve had good luck with electronics from these stores, especially the smaller no-frills kinds where people just got tired of them and wanted bigger and better.
September 15th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Aggh, I hate when that happens. I have an extra monitor I have been trying to Freecycle (it’s an older style, I think Dell), but no one wants it. I’d send it to you if I could figure a way to do so and ensure it got there in one piece. Of course, it has child drawings in sharpie all over it, too… but it works beautifully!
September 15th, 2008 at 10:27 am
You’re right to be careful about what you do. When you are trying to get in debt, it’s best not to add to it. Good for you to holding off and getting out a cheaper way. My first laptop was on a credit card. My second however, was not - I learned that mistake. We bought it when we got our stimulus check. I’m glad we did too - it’s comforting knowing that this thing is paid off. Hang in there!
September 15th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I too was going to suggest freecycle, craigslist, or a local thrift store. Take advantage of those people who always want bigger/better/faster/more and get yourself a cheap monitor.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Hey! We have a monitor we’re not using!
I’s not a flat panel, but it works just fine. If you want to pay shipping we’ll send it on (you are in the US right?). Might want to compare costs though, not sure how much it would cost to ship. Might be cheaper to do craigslist of freecycle and just pick it up locally.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
What crazypumpkin says (at least for now) as well as local garage sales. Lots of folks have old CRTs they’re basically willing to give away.
September 15th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
If you live in Chicago I can give you one of the two monitors I have just sitting in my closet.
September 15th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
I’ve had the same laptop for five years now, and I’ve typed so fast and so much on it that everything except the keys where my pinkie finger reaches are blank. The F and J keys both have holes in them (No, I’m not kidding). The F10 Key is missing entirely.
Recently, in the last two weeks, the F key lost one of the tabbies that it clings to the keyboard with and kept popping off. So although I researched how to get a new keyboard for it (and it’s expensive), I opted to pull the (way underutilized) right-hand ctrl key off and switch it with my jumpy F key. They’re about the same size, but the tilt is wrong (the F key tilts down, the ctrl key tilts forward, due to their original placement on the keyboard).
My home row is now A S D Ctrl G H J K L ;, which makes me giggle. My BF looked at it one day and went, “Uhm…”
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Yeah, what everyone else said. I’ve been trying to unload a decent Samsung monitor on Kijiji for months, and even at $15, there are no takers. But yeah, flat-panels are going for decent prices now, so if the budget allows for a new one, enjoy.
September 15th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Since you’re looking for a solution that will last until you can get the laptop that would be a more lasting solution, find out if university nearest to you has a surplus store. Michigan State University has a surplus store that is an excellent source used stuff. It has basically everything that is ever bought & used to run a campus from dorm furnishings to computer equipment to chairs used to equip the Breslin Center. It’s a great source of cheap stuff, much of it very gently used.
September 15th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Someone was giving away a flat panel on my freecycle the other day… definitely a good place to check.
September 15th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
i think having a laptop is convenient and worth the price. i get bargain basement laptops and they’re fine unless you do hardcore graphic editing and the latest games. i think if you work, the amount of work you can get done while mobile is huge. it totally pays itself off in a few months of actual work you might of put off until you got home.
September 16th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Dell=junk
If you do get a laptop, get a Macbook.
I am getting ready to get one and everyone that I have talked to that has made the switch away from Windows has said that they will never go back!
September 17th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
If you need a monitor for free, put a request into your local freecycle group. I have been a freecycler in my area for about a year now. I have not only gotten some good stuff, but got rid of things too.
I tried for years to get rid of my tube style(CRT) monitors. I had 17″ and 19″ monitors that worked fine. Finally after a couple months I came accross a couple college kids needing some monitors for their dorm. Got rid of them finally.
I bet there are dozens of people out there like me with a couple old CRTs in the closet that they would love to give you free… you just have to ask.
Good luck.
I got lucky a couple months ago and was able to justify to my boss that I needed a laptop for my automation programming on the production floor (kinda sorta needed it, but more so for at home, LOL). Thinking outside the box got me a 1200 dollar dell wicked cool laptop. Beats buying my own.