New Year, New Gear: Four Ideas for Saving Money on Your Next Tech Purchase

My next tech purchase is going to be a computer. I don't know for certain yet whether it will be a new Acer Aspire Netbook, a Google Chromebook (versions by Acer and Samsung), an iPad, a Nook Tablet, or a another custom-built Desktop PC. But it will be one of those items unless something particularly new and exciting catches my eye.

You see, as a geek by nature, and now retired, I have time to indulge my passions for computers and gadgets. But the down-side to being retired is that I live on a fixed income while the costs of living keep rising. So something I've had to get good at is being more frugal and being far more selective about the tech gear I purchase. And while there is really nothing new under the sun, and there are no truly new ways of saving, I thought the steps I take to plan for, and save money on, my regular tech purchases might help you through your next tech purchase.

Treat Your Tech Purchases as an Essential Household Utility

Given that I know I'm going to be spending for tech regularly what I do every month is just stash away a few bucks right off the top of my income (before I fritter it away on something trivial). I treat saving for tech gear as if I was putting money away for a regular bill that must be paid. As our iPhones, Nooks, etc. are becoming more and more essential to our lives that's not so much of a stretch of reality anyway.

So add a tech category to your household budget and stash away an appropriate amount of cash. When I do that I find I just never really miss the money and I end up getting the gadgets I want sooner rather than later.

Do Your Homework and Research Your Purchase.

Saving for any purchase also means getting the best value for my money. That's saving over the long-term; not just at the time of purchase. Regarding my tech purchases what I feel is most important in stretching my dollars is buying reliable, quality, hardware that will offer a long useable lifetime (and thereby provide an improved return-on-investment). And the only way to learn what hardware will last, and provide quality and value over the long-term, is to do my homework and research it in-depth.

No matter what I'm buying I always start with Consumer Reports. Regarding computer hardware in particular, Consumer Reports offers a great overview of the current generation of computers, a rough idea of what I can expect to pay for an off-the-shelf system, and best-value recommendations.

I then move on to Tom's Hardware for more specific information including detailed reviews of individual components and of complete, custom-built systems. (Tom's regularly featured "System Builder's Marathon" is particularly helpful because it often evaluates systems designed to fit some specific budgets.)

Tom's is also a great site to research any sort of tech purchase.

Buy In Mid-to-Late January

I try to never, ever, buy tech gear between Halloween and New Years. The absolute best time of year to buy tech is from mid-January through Groundhog day. That's because retailers are clearing overstock from the Christmas shopping season , because new models with higher profit margins are nearly ready to hit the shelves, and because the results are in from the latest Consumer Electronics Show about what's going to be hot and what should be dumped .

Buy Local. Buy Used.

Once I've completed my research and decided what to buy I don't automatically buy online. Yes, Newegg and Amazon might have some great prices on tech gear. But despite the current trend toward buying everything online, there are often great deals from local Mom-and-Pop computer shops. Regional Hamfests and computer shows are also great places to buy components and gear. Every computer I have purchased (except my daughter's MacBook Pro) has been assembled for me by a local shop from carefully-researched-and-selected, but not necessarily new, components. The result is that I have always ended up with a better computer than a typical off-the-shelf system for half the cost. And so can you if you follow these few simple steps.