Counting the Cost

Creative Frugality for Computer Users
How do you save money on
computer-related expenses?

"Granted, not everyone feels comfortable with a screwdriver and viewing the inside guts of a computer. But I have learned a lot about upgrading
and repairing computers. It's a lot simpler than I thought. I recently bid for a repair manual on eBay (on CD which includes around 50 different
Compaq laptops). Most people who work on computers do not work on laptops. It includes the model I have as well as many current models. I
can chose from one of them when I decide to upgrade to a new comptuer. The manual cost around $12.00 and has pictures and instructions on how to troubleshoot and repair. Most parts are easily bought on eBay. Sending your laptop away to have repaired can cost at least $100 each
time. This has saved me a lot of money. For those who are a little intimidated, there is lots of help on the Internet. When I have a problem, sometimes I just type a few keyword of my problem into the
Google search engine and have found tips to tricky problems I have been having with one computer or another.

Another money saving thing we've done is networking. We have several hand-me-down computers in our home and to avoid having to buy multiple printers and other items, we networked them. It's pretty easy once you do the research.
But I admit I have run into trouble with my computer and wanted to drop kick it out the door. That's when I take it in to the shop. I found a
place that will diagnose a problem for me for $10. Then I can either try to fix it myself by looking it up on the Internet (when my only computer was down, I had to go the the library and use one there) or have them fix it for $50.00 an hour.

Here are some websites for inexpensive ink cartridges: www.inksell.com and www.123inkjets.com I made a mess refilling ink cartridges between home and work so I gave up. I have found two web sites that have good deals on ink especially buying more than one cartridge at a time. I have an older printer and I got 5 cartridges color and black for $50." ~ Chris from Rocky Top, Tennessee

"One way that I save money on printing things out is I click print from the 'File' menu, then click 'Properties' and then click 'EconoFast.' I believe
this uses almost half the amount of ink. Since ink cartridges are so expensive, I feel this is a good way to make my ink cartridge go farther. I
almost never see a difference in quality. In fact I just printed a birthday card for my father-in-law using this, and he was very touched and said how
much he liked it.

It may seem complicated at first, but it's really VERY fast once you get used to it." ~ Charissa

"I always print everything on 'Fast Draft' and in the grayscale mode. This uses only the black ink and less of it than if you leave the setting on default. You usually have to go into preferences and set these options but it is well worth it." ~ Margaret

"I buy my ink cartridges on eBay. That way, I can basically set my own price for them (including shipping). I have never paid more than $15 for ink. As far as service providers go, I pay for the internet a year at a time. Not only do I get a discount on the price, but the company I use gives me get 2 months free." ~ Amy <><

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"One of my biggest computer-related expenses is the cost of printer cartridges. To save money, I refill a new cartridge myself 2 or 3 times before buying a new one. Refill packs are available at www.printpal.com, and they also offer refurbished cartridges for those who don't want to refill cartridges themselves (cheaper than new, but more expensive than doing it yourself). Of course, I also print on both sides of a page, unless it's a professional letter that I'll be sending out. For email service, I've used www.juno.com, which costs $9.95 a month, for several years. Service is usually good, although occasionally slow, and I've considered switching to their faster connection, which is $14.95 a month -- still cheaper than most services. People PC also offers internet access for $11.95 a month, which my church is going to try, but they haven't begun using it yet." ~ Tracy from Canton, OH

"We bought a very expensive all-in-one printer over a year ago, as it was a tax write-off for my husband's business. But we were nervous about using discount ink cartridges and voiding the warranty.

Finally, though, when I got unemployed this year, we broke down and tried a cartridge refill kit. (Ours was by IMS). My not-very- computer savvy husband is proud of the fact that he has mastered refilling the cartridges - black and color - and we have saved so much! I believe we spent about $20 for the set at a wholesale club, and we have months of service left yet from those bottles of ink.

I also have taught him to:

* 'print preview' on EVERY document before sending it to print, to make sure it looks and fits correctly on the page before printing.

* always (except on photos) set it to print in 'Grayscale' to avoid using the more expensive color inks AND

* always choose the 'printer friendly' link or copy and paste the text into Word, before printing so that you don't waste ink and paper on the ads, headers and unnecessary text most pages contain.

If it is worth printing out, it is worth doing in a clear copy!

We also flip over and re-use sheets for test printing, printing out quick reference emails, etc... so we don't waste paper.

Lastly - although some may not agree - we did some good investments:

* beefed up the memory to the higher (NOT highest) recommended amount for on our 18 month old machine - saves time every time I have to do my specialty calculations and photo work.

* waited and had that done when we had other maintenance work done (labor was billed by the hour) for the new processor chip... making the memory installation fundamentally free for labor.

* bought and installed a top quality, recommended anti-virus and firewall system. An ounce of prevention... (we didn't have one and thus had to have the service done - never again if we can help it!)." ~ Nikki

Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to share his or her ideas!