.png "English"){kind=small}
I am in such a foul mood right now and I need to explain why I have not been posting the past few days.
Normally, I have lots of posts written up that I can schedule in advance. I have some of those posts but... My laptop died recently and I went into full-on panic mode about how on earth I could afford to replace it. Luckily, one of my credit cards allows me to purchase items and pay off interest-free over a period of time. Yay, right? No. Not right.
I scoured Amazon for hours (using my phone) and finally found a laptop that I could for payments within my reach - if I scale back on food and everything else for a while. I spend a couple of days reading reviews and consulting with the Reddit community. I slept on it for another couple of days and, finally, I place the order and go to bed feeling relieved.
It was the chirp of a text message that woke me up very early the next morning. The card with the payment plan had not gone through for some reason so Amazon used my backup card.
If you ever want to go from drowsy to awake like a coked up Scarface, finding out that a few hundred unplanned bucks was just charged to a credit card. I know the meaning of "heart in the throat" now.
Of course, the first thing I try figuring out is why the first card didn't go through. When I was checking out different computers, I had actually ordered and cancelled at least 4 of them because of changing my mind or hearing from a review. Apparently, even though I cancelled, some of those orders at least touched my credit card enough to throw my pending balance off.
Okay. What to do, what to do??? Well, the backup card also has a feature allowing me to spread out payments - that feature is not quite as interest-friendly as the other one, but at least it saved me from getting walloped all at once with a huge charge.
I spent the next few days, using my phone for everything. Did I mention that I am half-blind? And I have trouble texting even a 20-word message? Yeah. So. I am paying bills and checking and replying to important emails, etcetera from my phone. So much fun. I think I had at least 2 headaches a day.
Well, the replacement laptop arrived this morning and I am in tears.
What was listed as a 15.6" screen in the description turns out to be a 14" screen. I don't hate the screen. I can see the screen just fine and it's a freaking visual delight after looking at my S8+ screen for several days. The problem is that the tiny screen comes with a tiny keyboard.
I contacted the Seller and they don't have any other 2-in-1 like this one in my price range. Yay. Finally, I decided to just try going straight to the source (something I forget at times because I am so used to using Amazon).
Guess what? ?????? Dell had a nicer version of the laptop and with the keyboard I want. Because I have been dilgent and careful with the small amount of credit I have, they qualified me for financing.I will be able to pay this thing off in a shorter period (interest-free) and stay within my monthly budget.
And by getting a "nicer" system, I mean that instead of 4GB ram and 128GB drive, I am getting twice the RAM and hard drive storage for about the same price because of a promotion. The protection plan cost the same thing but is for 2 years instead of 1 and is not just basic but will cover drops and spills.
So I am pretty relieved right now. The only downside is that I was toocheap, er frugal to pay for expedited shipping so I won't have the system until June 15th. That't just fine with me; just means more time to slap this measly budget of mine around.
Notice that I am trying to hurry and get some things done online before I wipe this computer and pack it up for return!
This has been a good lesson for me. I have been reminded that, sometimes, Amazon is not always the best place to purchase things - especially pricey items.
Until I get back to a bigger screen, this will be the last post for a hot minute.
Peace
--Free
Normally, I have lots of posts written up that I can schedule in advance. I have some of those posts but... My laptop died recently and I went into full-on panic mode about how on earth I could afford to replace it. Luckily, one of my credit cards allows me to purchase items and pay off interest-free over a period of time. Yay, right? No. Not right.
I scoured Amazon for hours (using my phone) and finally found a laptop that I could for payments within my reach - if I scale back on food and everything else for a while. I spend a couple of days reading reviews and consulting with the Reddit community. I slept on it for another couple of days and, finally, I place the order and go to bed feeling relieved.
It was the chirp of a text message that woke me up very early the next morning. The card with the payment plan had not gone through for some reason so Amazon used my backup card.
If you ever want to go from drowsy to awake like a coked up Scarface, finding out that a few hundred unplanned bucks was just charged to a credit card. I know the meaning of "heart in the throat" now.
Of course, the first thing I try figuring out is why the first card didn't go through. When I was checking out different computers, I had actually ordered and cancelled at least 4 of them because of changing my mind or hearing from a review. Apparently, even though I cancelled, some of those orders at least touched my credit card enough to throw my pending balance off.
Okay. What to do, what to do??? Well, the backup card also has a feature allowing me to spread out payments - that feature is not quite as interest-friendly as the other one, but at least it saved me from getting walloped all at once with a huge charge.
I spent the next few days, using my phone for everything. Did I mention that I am half-blind? And I have trouble texting even a 20-word message? Yeah. So. I am paying bills and checking and replying to important emails, etcetera from my phone. So much fun. I think I had at least 2 headaches a day.
Well, the replacement laptop arrived this morning and I am in tears.
What was listed as a 15.6" screen in the description turns out to be a 14" screen. I don't hate the screen. I can see the screen just fine and it's a freaking visual delight after looking at my S8+ screen for several days. The problem is that the tiny screen comes with a tiny keyboard.
 |
| The Dell sitting on the ASUS |
I contacted the Seller and they don't have any other 2-in-1 like this one in my price range. Yay. Finally, I decided to just try going straight to the source (something I forget at times because I am so used to using Amazon).
Guess what? ?????? Dell had a nicer version of the laptop and with the keyboard I want. Because I have been dilgent and careful with the small amount of credit I have, they qualified me for financing.I will be able to pay this thing off in a shorter period (interest-free) and stay within my monthly budget.
And by getting a "nicer" system, I mean that instead of 4GB ram and 128GB drive, I am getting twice the RAM and hard drive storage for about the same price because of a promotion. The protection plan cost the same thing but is for 2 years instead of 1 and is not just basic but will cover drops and spills.
So I am pretty relieved right now. The only downside is that I was too
Notice that I am trying to hurry and get some things done online before I wipe this computer and pack it up for return!
This has been a good lesson for me. I have been reminded that, sometimes, Amazon is not always the best place to purchase things - especially pricey items.
Until I get back to a bigger screen, this will be the last post for a hot minute.
Peace
--Free
