How to afford a laptop on a small budget?

Question

Hello, I am currently a student at a community college, but yesterday I got my acceptance letter to a 4 year University. Basically, I want to prepare now (financially) to get the things I will need to go away (the school is not located where I currently live). Of course my parents are there to help, but we are definately not rich. I realllly want a laptop or a computer for school, but don't know how I will ever be able to afford one. Are there any tips on how to get one for cheaper?

Answer 1

I'm sure your questions will get lots of great responses! Here are a couple ideas:
Dell computers always seems to have great deals on notebooks/laptops. I have an older one and have had no issues with it at all. They have a lot of online deals and you might be able to get a discounts if your school participates in their educational discount program. There is also a pretty decent financing option (in some cases they have "same as cash" options for up to one year--if you think you can pay it off by then).

Apple is also a favorite (if your more of a Mac person).

Finally, you could probably get a good deal on a refurb or used model--but with prices relatively affordable nowadays, you could easily go new as well.

Good luck and congrats on your acceptance!

Answer 2

Your best bet is through Dell or a similar distributer. Big companies like that get special deals on parts because they buy so many, and you have the advantage of tech support and warranty if something happens to it. You could get a new Dell on the low end for under $400, though you might need to buy a monitor online.

If you're not necessarily concerned with those things, you can always buy a used notebook or desktop on eBay. Heck, you can probably get an IBM Thinkpad notebook with a Pentium 4 for $100 there. But you won't get the warranty or the tech support.

Answer 3

Don't get one with all the bells and whistles,

don't go for the wide-screen,

take a pass on the expensive extra software unless you really need it,

use shareware or freeware when you can - openoffice is supposed to do most anything that the microsoft office suite does, although I haven't confirmed that myself. Search for "freeware" and "shareware" followed by whatever tools you need or want, and you may find free versions of the programs. (Understand that these are NOT copies of the microsoft programs - they are separate programs, written by other people, that do similar tasks. Many may read and write files in the same format as the MS programs)

consider a used computer, if you can find one that's relatively new and comes with a warranty. Ask friends who know computers what stores in the area carry used equipment, and who sells reliable stuff.

Answer 4

Wal-mart actually has a couple of good laptops...HP's if Im not mistaken and they are pretty inexpensive....thats where I got my daughters desktop from.

Then there is HSN or QVC which depending on the laptop and price you can get the laptop and make payments on it which is what I did with my desktop and my mom did with her laptop. Both are gateways and were sent to us straight from gateway.

There is the rent to own option which in the end costs more than if you had paid out of pocket, but the monthly payments are kind of low and they usually come fully loaded.

If you dont mind used you can try:

Pawn shops

Ebay

Newspaper

Answer 5

Circuit city has laptops for 600.00 and if you have a steady job open a credit line with them. They give you 6 months to pay it off before the APR kicks in. So basically 100.00 a month. Its a good deal!