Dinosaur computer done in by huge asteroid

Ryan used his birthday money last year to buy himself a little netbook, and then passed his Gateway laptop down to me.  My own netbook had been acting very foolish, so his ancient (4 year old) computer felt like an upgrade.

Not for long.

For the past couple of months, it's been turning itself off, taking a long time to load even the simplest thing, giving me the dreaded blue screen. And yesterday, it threatened to take its last breath.  Everything's backed up, but it's time to get a new computer.  

The Laptop in hospice. We're keeping it comfortable for now.

Mudderpucker, I didn't want to spend money on this.  We'll hopefully make about $100 selling the two old computers to offset the cost of the new one, but I'm still bummed.  

Some people would be able to use their iPads or ultra-smart phones in the meantime, but we have no such things.  We've kept our house free of expensive devices in order to meet our other financial goals (including vacation next year).  Anything we do have has been a gift or acquired through odd jobs.  The van is our only car, I dress like I rolled out of the rag bag, and whatever we do purchase is used and usually quite inexpensive.  So that makes buying something new even harder for me to stomach.

Good side?  Large monitors are inexpensive, so that'll be nice.  And this will be a desktop computer, meaning we'll get more for our money.  Plus, this one won't overheat like the oversized laptops often do.  So at least spending the money will have benefits.  

Over the next few months, if I'm not around as much, assume I'm on the corner selling lemonade and peddling homemade sweaters I make from our carpet lint to help our budget out.

P.S. While I know there are people who go without computers in their homes, that's something I just won't do.  I'm at home without the car half the week and enjoy using the internet to connect with others. And one day, I will figure out how to use the webs to make millions (selling lawn chairs, for instance).