Frugal Tech | What to Buy, When to Buy New & Tips for Saving on Electronics
Episode 135, Nov 20, 2020, 08:00 AM
Tis the season for purchasing new TV's, phones, tablets, and more but buying new and impulsively can cost a lot of money! On this episode we're talking about what to buy, when to buy new, and tips for saving on electronics.
Sponsors:
- Debt Free Christmas Planner- If you have the best intentions about controlling your holiday spending but every year it feels like you forget something Jen has made a FREE Christmas planner to help you record every cost and stay on budget this holiday season. This planner will help you keep track of your spending on family traditions, recipes, dinners and parties, gifts and more to make sure you don’t miss anything. Then use the 2021 planning chart to make sure you’re on track to saving the right amount next year! If this sounds like something you need head to frugalfriendspodcast.com/holiday to get your free planner.
- Craigslist Posts: Before Facebook marketplace and eBay, there was Craigslist. Remember the free section, missed connections, buying and selling in sketchy places just to make or save a quick buck. Craigslist posts want you to remember where you came from. And yeah you may be able to rate buyers and sellers and stalk their Facebook profiles before you meet them now but where’s the adventure in that? Craigslist posts they’re still around, if you’re ever desperate.
Check out more info about Black Friday deals with our episode about whether Black Friday actually save you money Ep 30
Notable Notes:
What the Internet has to say:
What Jen + Jill have to say:
- “The best deals come when you have the time to do your homework”
- 1. Consider the time of year; best time to purchase electronics is the end of year and January
- 2. Purchase older versions
- 3. Shop around!
- 4. Consider what you really need
- 5. Trade in or sell old electronics
- Link to episode on selling electronics
- 6. Go middle of the road
- Check out www.wirecutter.com for middle of the road items
- 7. Ask for pricing discounts
More from the Internet:
This article from The Balance Everyday provides us with helpful tips on what we need to look for when purchasing used electronics
More from Jen + Jill:
- Research the model
- Look for external damage
- When possible, buy certified
- Perform a test
- Test with your accessories
- Bonus: contact manufacturer to see if the serial number has been reported as stolen
BILL OF THE WEEK - Thank you Johanna from Miami for sharing your bill about your $75 co-pay for ultrasound! What an incredible gift to 'meet' your unborn child!
Lightning Round
Extensions to download to save you time and money
- Honey- you can track price history for up to 6 months and add an item to your Droplist and get a notification when the price drops to a certain price. It also tries coupons from all over the internet. On top of that, when you use honey you get gold points that you can redeem for gift cards and if you sign up through frugalfriendspodcast.com/honey you’ll get 500 bonus gold points which equals $5 toward a gift card!
- Paribus- tracks delivery and price drops at over a dozen stores but I use it for Amazon, Target, and Best Buy. and if it finds a price drop at the store you purchased or is delivered outside the delivery window the item at Paribus will contact the seller to file a claim and get you a price match or whatever money it can get you. Many retailers are extending their price match policies for the holidays and we all know how inconsistent package delivery can be so this is a great one to have. paribus.co
- Rakuten- get cash back on you online purchases and if you’re not using it already you’ll get $10 bonus cash back after your first $25 purchase at a store that offers cash back when you sign up at frugalfriendspodcast.com/rakuten
- unroll.me- it rolls up all your promotion emails into one daily email that you can get in the morning, afternoon, or evening, your choice. I’ve used it for years, love it. It keeps my inbox cleaner so I can still be part of newsletters I want to be part of but I don’t have to look at them if I don’t want to and there will be a lot of promo emails going out through the end of the year.
Don’t forget to visit frugalfriendspodcast.com/holiday to get your free Debt Free Christmas Planner so you can keep your holiday shopping on budget.
Wrap-Up:
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Thanks for listening! See you next week!