Karin Dalziel's Journal

I recently got a little bit of money (OK, not really a little bit) and I have been pondering what to do with it. I have debated a lot of (pretty selfish) things - a TV, lots of video games, a new computer, etc. etc. The thing I have been considering the most is a laptop.

On the surface, it seems like a natural- I will be traveling to conferences, I am getting my master's mostly online, and, well, I love computers and gadgets. I was almost set to buy a Macbook yesterday - after all, the University has some for $900 ($200 off regular price) and there's only a few left. And it's a Mac! how could I go wrong?

In the end, though I realized that I don't really need a laptop. It would be pretty useful in a few situations, but in general, it would be one more thing to lug around. I have all my applications and files on a keydrive, and it's seldom that I don't have access to a PC. I can live without the internet for a few days (really!). I don't really want the trouble of finding a hotspot just so I can check my email, which is probably spam anyway. I can print out things I want to read ahead of time to keep myself busy - printing out 40 pages will only be about $2.50, and beats reading on a screen.

So, no laptop for me right now. I'm not going to write it off completely- I know what I want in a laptop, so I can keep my eye out and grab one if I see a really great deal. Usually when I decide to wait on something like this I come across a great deal within a few months.

So what am I going to do with the money, you ask? I'm going to (finally) open up some mutual fund accounts. I might use a little to buy some new work clothes.

It's satisfying to know that there's nothing I really want that I don't already have. I really have it good.