Jan 21st, 2009
When Spending is Frugal
A few months ago I picked up an Acer Aspire One netbook (which is what this post is being composed on). It’s become an essential part of my personal and professional routine. It cost me about $400; is such a purchase frugal?
Right now I’m contemplating getting a 500 gigabyte portable hard drive (currently on special) to back up my MacBook; is this purchase frugal?
Sometimes frugality isn’t about not spending money. In the first case, the benefit I get from my Aspire One–being a lot lighter than my MacBook as well as really portable, I can blog pretty much anywhere, any time–as well as the alternatives for something really portable (like a MacBook Air) being possibly considerably more expensive, I can justify its purchase. In the second case, since I don’t have a great alternative for backing up my MacBook (the 160 gig drive I have for backup is still large enough but won’t be for much larger), it can definitely be frugal vs. the alternative of dealing with lost data.
Sometimes it’s frugal to spend money when you look at the alternatives and the other possibilities. If the alternatives are more costly or more inconvenient, the frugal way may be the one that costs you up front–but doesn’t in the long term.
I don’t see how getting a second laptop could possibly be considered being frugal. Sure you bought a cheap one (I have an acer too!), but it wasn’t necessary, therefore not frugal.
Frugal isn’t just “not” spending, it’s getting the best value for your hard earned money!
Hi Sam,
In my case, it absolutely is necessary to have a backup notebook. My MacBook is currently in the shop, and if I didn’t have this, I’d be in serious blogging trouble! Besides that, since I rely on it for work, a second notebook is definitely needed for times the other goes out. It’s not any less frugal than a backup hard drive; if I don’t have that, I have no chance of doing work!
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