How To: Save Money on Your iPod

If you have decided to participate in the digital age and you love music, then chances are you have an IPod. If you don't have one, then chances are you soon will. In the world of MP3 players and online music purchasing, there isn't a player on the market more popular then the IPod.

Still, with all of the convenience and comfort of apple's most popular invention, it's still a lot of money to keep up with the rest of the world. IPod's, even the lower storage models like the Shuffle and the Nano, can be rather expensive. If you tack on the cost of extended warranties, purchasing songs, repairs, and an eventual replacement of the IPod due to damage beyond repair, the price for the leader of digital music players is pretty steep.

I've had my IPod for a couple of years now, and I've picked up some valuable, cost saving tips along the way. Let's see if I can help you keep the cost of purchasing and owning an IPod low.

The first thing you need to do is think about your purchase before you make it. If you go onto the Apple Store website, you'll see that they only offer the video IPods. There are no more 3^rd or 4^th generation models available there. That doesn't mean you still can't get a brand new one and for an affordable price. I recently saw a 4^th generation 20GB IPod being offered online for under $180. That's $70 less than the Apple store is offering a 30GB Video IPod. What the difference? Answer: The video capability. If you're rolling your eyes or thinking that you must have an IPod with video, then think about how often you would really use. I have never ever thought to myself "God, now would be a great time to have video capabilities. If you won't use, don't pay to have it. The same goes for the storage size. Do you really want 5,000 songs on your IPod, or would you be ok with 2,000? This can factor greatly into the amount of money you'll spend.

And if you are gonna buy a Video IPod, make sure you look at Apple's refurbished section. This would be the equivalent to buying a certified pre-owned car. Apple certifies it good enough to see and offers the same warranty for that as they would a brand new one. Plus it's generally $50 cheaper. So if you're looking for an IPod, think about what you really want.

Once you decide which IPod you want to purchase, the next thing I would recommend is to buy yourself an extended warranty. Especially if you buy the refurbished kind, then the money you saved could be spent on an extended warranty which will give you two years of support. With two years of support this should help you to feel easy about your purchase.

The next thing to do is to buy yourself a protective skin. How many times have you dropped your cell phone? It's just as easy to drop your IPod and it can be just as costly. Getting yourself a protective skin can protect your expensive purchase from being harmed by bumping or dropping it. It makes sense to keep it protected and it only will cost you a few dollars.

You'll want to put music onto your exciting new purchase. Here's what you do. First, get all of your Cd's and put them onto your ITunes. If there is anything else that you want that you don't have, borrow it from a friend. Save yourself the money of having to get it yourself. Also, programs like Sharetunes will allow you to copy songs from a friends IPod. Also, there are sites that allow you to get music for free. I cannot advise you to use those sites, because they are more than likely illegal, but it's something to keep in mind if you so choose to go down that road.

Finally, if your IPod does break or begins to malfunction, investigate before you replace. First, go to the Apple Store and speak to a genius about the problem, they'll diagnose and you'll know what it is you're looking at. If you can, try a third party to repair your IPod. There are dozens of them on the net and they'll generally fix your problem, whatever it may be, for under $100 dollars. It might seem like a lot of money but it sure beats the price of a new IPod.