Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

I’ve been scouring local retail stores and the Internet, looking for software deals. My daughter received a “pre-owned” laptop as an early graduation gift, but it needs reformatting something fierce. Unfortunately, the Windows OS disks did not come with the laptop. Before I will allow her to connect the laptop to our network and the Internet, the machine must be reformatted. I was looking around online for prices on Windows XP (which we decided she would use), and was appalled at the cost of the operating system! I was so, so tempted to just install Ubuntu (which is free)! But for my daughter’s sake, I can’t; a lot of her programs wouldn’t work and she is accustomed to XP. Retail stores still had this seven-year OS for $200! My eyeballs were a-popping! I surfed around eBay, and prices were lower… but to be honest, I’m not terribly keen on eBay, especially when it comes to electronics and software. You just can’t be sure that it’s the real thing until you buy it. Too risky for this cautious shopper.

I have been using online “retail” stores (like Tiger Direct, Overstock, Amazon), and even with shipping costs, these stores still win, hands down. I have had good experience with them. However, if you are shopping online, be sure to check for coupons and promo codes first! This is a must. My sidebar has a list of good shopping links, so check them out. I have yet to add Coupon Chief, my new favorite coupon store. I think they have every store on the planet, even have Bluefly coupons for the intense shopping fans, and even Home Depot coupons, lol!

I have found online stores to offer better deals. If you are looking for even better discounts, always check for coupons and promo codes. Check my “Shopping” sidebar for my favorite stores and links.

Update: Coupon Chief link added. Check out the links if you shop online. As I discover more discount sites, I’ll add them. Look in the sidebar for the dropdown menu “Shopping.”

Well, we got part of our tax refund! We’ve been waiting for a while. My husband did the taxes using Turbo Tax, an e-filing system. I assumed he’d been able to file for free (last time I paid attention to tax filing, he got it free). However, I caught wind at Common Sense With Money that e-filing is not free anymore! Is this true?? I asked hubs, and he said it cost us $30 plus tax! Yow. I guess those free days are over. At least the filing is relatively easy!

By the way, I’ve heard that if you are a member of State Farm Insurance, you can file for free, up to $50. This is a great deal, so take advantage of it if you can. We, however, do not have any policies with State Farm, so we must still pay.

E-filing is very safe and secure– just be very careful that your network is secure and you have software firewalls. We don’t want criminals to steal your hard-earned cash and go on Gucci handbag spending sprees and carnival cruises, do we? Although, after doing the taxes, a cruise isn’t a bad idea right now…

The kids and I recently went to an electronics store. I had to get something or other there- forgot what it was now– but when we walked into the place, we were absolutely awed by the monster-sized televisions and their huge popup tv lifts. I cannot believe the size of TVs these days. I love the lifts, though. I prefer to have my televisions up and out of the way, so they were very nice.

Also what astounded me was the size of computer monitors today! Sure, I’ve seen photos of the 25″ flat monitors, and read about them online. But I hadn’t seen one until then. Holy moley, those things are absolutely gorgeous. The price is mighty ugly; some were a thousand dollars.

It’s nice to see that such incredible and beautiful devices can be made, but it is all a little extravagant for my frugal brain. I’d only get a 20″.

I’m starting to burn out a little. I want to blog about all the nifty programs I’ve discovered, but computer repair and maintenance at home have me completely pooped out. I run a few other blogs, in case you didn’t know (see sidebar for links). My latest project, besides blogging and fixing computers, is to get electricity back to the upstairs, so that we can have bathroom lighting again. I enjoy the wiring end of it, even though it is laborious; but I dread ripping apart the plaster walls and repairing the holes. Ugh ugh ugh.

Right now, I must concentrate on fixing up the computers. Defrag, clean out hard drives, etc. It has become my customary exercise every late winter. When spring arrives, the home remodeling and gardening won’t leave me much time for indoor computer work.

I’ll get to blogging about the nifty programs I’ve discovered. I promise!