Our Frugal Lifestyle

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Passionate about eco-frugality. I used to party hard, clubbing my way from pay-packet to pay-packet. Never getting ahead, just getting by. Then came our much wanted baby with no savings in the bank - only an old car. Changes were made to our lifestyle and we didn't turn back. In the past 6yrs we purchased a flat, found employment, lived below our means, built an emergency fund, purchased a reliable car and saw the financial benefits of our frugal lifestyle. Our only debt is our mortgage. Our aim is to manage our cash flow wisely, pay off our home quickly and eventually work for pleasure, not necessity. Join us on our journey, share insights, tips and tricks to help us and others to get ahead while having a good time.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

I Killed Our Mac

Last night I semi closed our MacBook to move from one room to another. However I did so with one of my ear pieces from my headphones on the keyboard. I totally destroyed the screen :-(

We don't have many shops repairing or selling Macs in my town. First I went to the shop that repairs and sells Macs. I was quoted $900 for a new screen ordered and replaced - ouch! Our computer was 3 years old and I needed a new one pronto so $900 and days of waiting was not a solution I was after. So instead I looked at new MacBook Pros, got my quotes and headed to the next shop.

The next shop had the same MacBook Pro for $3 cheaper. It was 10:00 am and the shop was already full of bumping shoppers loading up their arms and pulling out credit cards. I was there with my little note book full of scribbles and prices. I told them I had already been shopping around. I showed them my broken MacBook. They oohed and ahhed over my lovely white Mac that's already old skool and chatted amicably about my broken screen as customers jostled for their attention. They asked when did I need it. I said "Before my partner gets home from fishing"... They laughed, talked a little about the fishing comp and bundled up my gear ( I bought some extra software I'd been meaning to purchase for ummmmm 3 years) they threw in a FREE $69 MacBook Pro sleeve for my witty efforts.

At the checkout as I waited I saw no cash in sight. As my turn came up I pulled out my camera to take a quick shot of my cash on the counter "For my blog" I said. They laughed and chatted excitedly as they counted my cash, making jokes about the amount and about being lucky to not be mugged. I had handed over $2005 in cash! Seeing the cash in the flesh makes it real. Gives real value to the item. Makes it painful and makes me aware of the hours of work I've put in to buy this Mac. Even to the staff who are used big sales this amount in $50 notes was eye popping.

So my friends that was my Incredibly Expensive Day. Hope your day was much much less.

12 comments:

  1. Oh nooo, what a nightmare! I have to admit, you wouldn't catch me wandering through town with that much cash! Congrats on finding a better deal, and where's this photo?? :)

    My day WAS much less expensive, although I had to fork out another £91.70 to get up to Nottingham on the train (for a PhD interview!).

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  2. Know those kind of expensive days. I have a lap top with a screen problem - and its so old that it would not be economical to fix it.. sigh. One day old faithful will bite the dust. Such a shame as it hase everything and more that I need on it. Sigh.

    My sympathies.

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  3. oh dear, I'm so sorry about the mac. A friend of mine did the same thing to hers in college.

    Amazing how people are shocked when we pay in cash, isn't it? It makes me want to pay cash even more frequently than I do! I'll get un-addicted to my check card eventually.

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  4. Byallen, No pics yet as we need to transfer our items from one computer to the other including our programs such as photoshop. This has been more difficult then originally thought as the other computer no longer has a functioning screen to select the files :-(

    Eeek, Anew computer was $1700. So getting it fixed for $900 just didn't feel like the right choice. In the long run I think spending more was the most economical solution in the long run. I hope this computer will last us at least 5 years.

    Hi Anti Hoarder, Very silly accident to have with a computer. It comes from trying to rush and not treating our stuff with enough care. Lesson learnt here as the cash was painful to hand over. However Macs are getting cheaper then what they were last time we purchased one.

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  5. That stinks! Hope you enjoy many years with your new one though.....

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  6. Couldn't you have claimed it on your insurance.

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  7. Thanks Dude - Enjoyed your post about teaching your skills to your daughter.

    Deb, We are one of those rare families without insurance. We never really had anything of value in our simple life to have a need for insurance. But I may need to look into it and see if there is a suitable home and contents insurance for people like us who don't have much.

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  8. What's the most eco way of disposing of used computers / electronics?

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  9. I have just awarded your blog a Leibster award. You can go to my blog at www.primrosehappysnapper.blogspot.com to see all about it

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  10. Ms Dig, I will find out.

    Deb, Thank you. I will do this latter. I'm a bit behind in blogging and catching up with link ups. Still trying to get everything from our other computer. We need to purchase a connector :-(

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  11. Oh my goodness. How did I miss this event? Can't you put everything on a flash drive/thumb drive and transfer it with that? Mine was transferred that way. It works. And, it is cheaper than the cable to connec the two machines. By the way, people close things in their laptop all the time, according to people at Office Max. I have broken the rim around the screen. This is the third laptop I have had and I very literally broke all three!

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  12. Hi Practical, No we tried - but as we can't see our screen we can't click on any files to transfer across. I work in IT and asked the very saver IT people. The the cable is the best solution.

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Thanks for commenting - I love getting feedback, sharing experiences and learning from you.