Speaker 1: Episode one Frugal Tech, what to buy, when to buy it,
Speaker 1: and tips for saving on electronics. Welcome to the Frugal
Speaker 1: Friends podcast, where you'll learn to save money, embrace simplicity rights,
Speaker 1: and live rich your life. Here your host Jen and
Speaker 1: Jill m. Welcome to the Frugal Friends podcast. My name
Speaker 1: is Jen, my name is Jill, and today we are
Speaker 1: bringing you a long awaited episode. But we specifically waited
Speaker 1: to bring this listener request to the week before Black Friday,
Speaker 1: but it was scheduled many many moons ago, many many
Speaker 1: moons were Yeah, we've been thinking about this topic for
Speaker 1: a while. Yeah, and uh, what we are about to
Speaker 1: say about Black Friday has probably has been going on
Speaker 1: for the entire month of November. But we're not going
Speaker 1: to just talk about Black Friday, but it will be
Speaker 1: a big part of this episode. So that's that's what's
Speaker 1: here to come. But first, our sponsors debt Free Christmas Planner.
Speaker 1: If you have the best intentions about controlling your holiday spending,
Speaker 1: but every year it feels like you forget something, Jen
Speaker 1: has made a free Christmas planner to help you record
Speaker 1: every cost and stay on budget this holiday season. This
Speaker 1: planner will help you keep track of your spending on
Speaker 1: family traditions, recipes, dinners and parties, gifts and so much
Speaker 1: more to make sure that you don't miss anything. So
Speaker 1: then you use the planning chart to make sure you're
Speaker 1: on track to saving the right amount next year. If
Speaker 1: this sounds like something you need, head to Frugal Friends
Speaker 1: podcast dot com slash holiday to get your free planner
Speaker 1: m thank you, Jill uh In. Today's episode is also
Speaker 1: brought to you by Craigslist Posts. Before Facebook Marketplace in eBay,
Speaker 1: there was Craigslist. Remember the free section miss connections, buying
Speaker 1: and selling in sketchy places just to make or save
Speaker 1: a quick buck. Craigslist Posts wants you to remember where
Speaker 1: you came from. And yeah, you may be able to
Speaker 1: rate buyers and sellers and stock their Facebook profiles before
Speaker 1: you meet them now, but where's the adventure in that
Speaker 1: Craigslist Posts. They're still around if you're ever desperate, Well,
Speaker 1: said Craigslist post, did like those miss connections. I would
Speaker 1: go there every once in a while, didn't Craigslist, Man,
Speaker 1: It's still around, It still exists, and it has gotten
Speaker 1: even more sketchy. Be careful, careful. It makes me feel
Speaker 1: bad about that episode we did on Popcorn Finance where
Speaker 1: we teach Chris how to use ciglist, and that was
Speaker 1: back when it was still acceptable, so long ago. Oh man. UM.
Speaker 1: But anyways, today we are talking about frugal tech. UM.
Speaker 1: The last Black Friday episode we did UM was episode
Speaker 1: thirty and we talked about does Black Friday actually save
Speaker 1: you money? Uh, So, definitely listen to that one if
Speaker 1: that's something you're you're kind of waffling on. UM. But
Speaker 1: today we are talking about how to save money on
Speaker 1: not just new electronics but also used ones too, because personally,
Speaker 1: that's how we save a lot of money on high
Speaker 1: priced tech electronics. But you don't want to do that
Speaker 1: for everything, and there's definitely rules to follow, so we're
Speaker 1: looking at both Jail. What's your take. Yeah, I think
Speaker 1: it's good to zero in on some of these tech
Speaker 1: pieces because they are usually our most costly things when
Speaker 1: we're talking computers and TVs and head owns and microphones
Speaker 1: and cameras and obviously what goes on and on. But
Speaker 1: it's important to consider with these high ticket items, what
Speaker 1: are the ways that we can save the most money
Speaker 1: and still get a quality product. So, and usually this
Speaker 1: is the time of year that we're considering buying our
Speaker 1: tech things, so we're happy to give you all the
Speaker 1: insider info on this. Yes, I am personally looking for
Speaker 1: a new webcam because I'm going to be doing a
Speaker 1: lot more UM Live presentations and with the group coaching
Speaker 1: that I'm launching. After the first year, I I cannot
Speaker 1: I can no longer rely on the Mac video I'm noticing,
Speaker 1: so we're not compared to other people's webcams. So that's
Speaker 1: kind of where So that's what I'm waiting on UM
Speaker 1: and looking for. So I found a lot of this
Speaker 1: specifically relevant to me, So we'll we'll look at the
Speaker 1: new stuff UM at first. And this article is from
Speaker 1: Take It Personally person Personally, it's like personnel and then
Speaker 1: Nelly dot com and it is seven great ways to
Speaker 1: save money on electronics. So I love how they open
Speaker 1: up this article with giving us this advice that the
Speaker 1: best deals come when you have time to do your homework.
Speaker 1: And I cannot highlight this enough that if we give
Speaker 1: ourselves time to do our research and to know what
Speaker 1: the best product is and then to be able to
Speaker 1: look for the best deals, that's when we're going to
Speaker 1: save money, not when we're just in a store shopping
Speaker 1: the aisles and saying, oh, yeah, I do kind of
Speaker 1: want one of those. Throw it in the basket. You're
Speaker 1: not usually going to get the highest quality product or
Speaker 1: the best rate, so that's it's not even a win
Speaker 1: win even if the place is advertising a deal on
Speaker 1: these higher cost items. We really want to give ourselves
Speaker 1: time to do our research, both for quality and for savings. Yeah,
Speaker 1: definitely refer back to our holiday impulse spending episode to
Speaker 1: know that deals and coupons and discounts are one are
Speaker 1: a marketing strategy because impulse purchases are made on sale
Speaker 1: and clearance items. So do your due diligence, do your research,
Speaker 1: and do not impulse by on a deal is not
Speaker 1: a deal. Yeah, impulse by on a three dollar shirt,
Speaker 1: but don't impulse by on like a large screen TV.
Speaker 1: So there are seven tips on here, so we're just
Speaker 1: gonna go through them, and the first one talks about
Speaker 1: just the time of year, and so they do say
Speaker 1: that right now is the best time of year to
Speaker 1: buy some of your larger electronics. They mainly are referencing
Speaker 1: like TVs and computers and that kind of thing, but
Speaker 1: particularly as it relates to TVs that the end of
Speaker 1: the year, certainly Black Friday through December, and then usually
Speaker 1: before the Super Bowl, which happens in January, typically yours crossed.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it happens in February. Right, I'm not going to
Speaker 1: try and pretend like I know sports. Uh. That's that's
Speaker 1: a good time also to be looking for deals because
Speaker 1: a lot of people are purchasing, you know, they're better TVs.
Speaker 1: And then and I know we're not talking about used
Speaker 1: right now, but that's also for us used purchasers, a
Speaker 1: good time to be scouting out not Craigslist, but maybe
Speaker 1: Facebook marketplace for the people who are getting rid of
Speaker 1: their old stuff. They have made that impro purchase. And
Speaker 1: then I'm like, we don't have any money up to
Speaker 1: get rid of this. Your their trash is your treasure.
Speaker 1: A men? A men. So the second one on the
Speaker 1: list is buy older versions. And so I specifically like
Speaker 1: to do this with iPhones. So I want to buy
Speaker 1: a new iPhone. That's I mean what, I use my
Speaker 1: phone for a lot in my business, and so I
Speaker 1: want a new one, but I don't buy the newest phone.
Speaker 1: I'll buy the I'll buy the second version, like the
Speaker 1: older version once the around the time the new one
Speaker 1: is coming out, So that is when all of the
Speaker 1: deep discounts go on the second newest model. Yeah yeah,
Speaker 1: you don't need the latest and greatest. Usually a couple
Speaker 1: older versions will do just fine. I learned that lesson
Speaker 1: with college textbooks. You don't need the newest edition, so
Speaker 1: you don't lie it to tell electronics too. The third
Speaker 1: on this list, we already mentioned it. You already know it.
Speaker 1: This is just serving as a reminder shop around. This
Speaker 1: doesn't just apply to your high ticket items. It applies
Speaker 1: to renovations on your home services products. You name it.
Speaker 1: Shop around. So and again, we do well if we
Speaker 1: give ourselves time to research. And I like what this
Speaker 1: article mentions about preparing an advance being proactive. If you
Speaker 1: know that maybe your computer has a year of good
Speaker 1: quality life left in it, start researching now what you're
Speaker 1: gonna want next. Pay attention to what your current needs
Speaker 1: are in the ways in which you want to grow
Speaker 1: into a new device, and start researching. Uh, similar to
Speaker 1: start budgeting. Start growing your knowledge about that thing, about
Speaker 1: what you're gonna need, so that when the time comes,
Speaker 1: not only do you have money saved up for it,
Speaker 1: but you also have a good idea of the type
Speaker 1: of product that you need and who has the best deals.
Speaker 1: Of course, if you did not have the luxury of
Speaker 1: being proactive and preparing an advance, it's still good to
Speaker 1: be as patient as possible and to do as much
Speaker 1: research as possible. To look at different both brick and
Speaker 1: mortar stores on what is being sold and at what
Speaker 1: price point, as well as online. Pay attention to reviews
Speaker 1: that people have left about the thing, all of the
Speaker 1: the specs on it. And of course this is not
Speaker 1: in the article, but if you're not an expert on
Speaker 1: that device that you need ask ask your friends or
Speaker 1: family who are. If you're in the market for some
Speaker 1: new technology but you don't know a ton about it,
Speaker 1: reach out to somebody who does so that you can
Speaker 1: make sure you're getting the best product for the best price. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and I want to add that that might include shopping
Speaker 1: around at paunt shops. So I got my MacBook Air
Speaker 1: that I am using um and have used for several
Speaker 1: years now at a pawn shop. UM. And if you
Speaker 1: check back episode we did all about pawn shops, and
Speaker 1: it's definitely worth looking at ones that carry UH electronics regularly,
Speaker 1: so you want to make sure that they have, Um,
Speaker 1: they have a lot of electronics, so the people that
Speaker 1: buy those things are familiar with electronics. You don't want
Speaker 1: to go to one that's like mostly jewelry or mostly
Speaker 1: like guns or whatever. Um. But yeah, so just be
Speaker 1: smart about the pawn shop you choose. But definitely a
Speaker 1: way to get a deal on your electronics. Yeah, We've
Speaker 1: gotten a lot of a lot of them there. I
Speaker 1: have yet to go to a pawn shop. I really
Speaker 1: enjoyed doing that episode with you and hearing all the
Speaker 1: deals you and Travis have gotten at pawn shops. But
Speaker 1: every time I drive by one, I'm like, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I don't know if I can go women, what's going
Speaker 1: to happen to me in there? I'll maybe maybe you
Speaker 1: and I should go together. Yes, they are, so if
Speaker 1: you are going, you want to assess the area before
Speaker 1: you go into one. Obviously, if you feel safe on
Speaker 1: the outside, you're most likely going to feel safe on
Speaker 1: the inside. If you don't feel safe on the outside,
Speaker 1: there's no telling how safe you'll feel on the inside. So, um,
Speaker 1: but there's a stigma around them that you know has
Speaker 1: been built for a reason. But for the most part, uh,
Speaker 1: I feel and I'm pretty picky, so I have standards
Speaker 1: and I will still go into a punch up for sure. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'd go with you. You'd help to make me feel safe,
Speaker 1: I think, okay good. Um. The fourth is probably my
Speaker 1: favorite one on this list, and it's consider what you
Speaker 1: really need. So I think about this all the time.
Speaker 1: Like in so, I work online all of my businesses,
Speaker 1: like educating people about personal finance on the internet, and
Speaker 1: I like I am in community with people that do
Speaker 1: the same thing, and I look at their setups on
Speaker 1: zoom calls or in YouTube videos, and then I look
Speaker 1: at my setup where I've like still got the same
Speaker 1: sixty dollar microphone, uh that I got. And then I
Speaker 1: had be like when we started recording this podcast, and
Speaker 1: we are the same pop filter and every same pop
Speaker 1: filter that Eric gave me for free, and we are
Speaker 1: like creeping in on one million downloads of this podcast.
Speaker 1: I just recently got a Bluetooth like keyboard, and I'm
Speaker 1: a professional writer. I so it takes me a long time.
Speaker 1: If I'm getting something, I have to actually really legitimately
Speaker 1: need it. Um. And that's just I just don't like
Speaker 1: having a lot of tech stuff just to have the
Speaker 1: best of everything. Like, I feel like everything I put
Speaker 1: out is totally on par with other people's. Yet I'm
Speaker 1: still using my my phone, not even like the latest version.
Speaker 1: I'm using the smaller version because I don't like how
Speaker 1: big iPhones have gotten, so actually downgraded to the smaller phone,
Speaker 1: and and and everything is fine. It's fine, guys. I
Speaker 1: do appreciate that about you, and I think that that
Speaker 1: is a perspective pet. We can grasp on too in
Speaker 1: a variety of areas of our life, right, not just
Speaker 1: with technology, but even what I need is different from
Speaker 1: what you need. So our microphones are different, which that's
Speaker 1: thanks to Eric because he knows different things about our
Speaker 1: vocal registers and what microphone is gonna work best for
Speaker 1: both of us. I don't know he's telling me to
Speaker 1: get another microphone, um, but that's the thing. What's somebody
Speaker 1: else has may not be what we need based on
Speaker 1: the type of content that we're putting out or what
Speaker 1: we do with our Like the computer I need is
Speaker 1: drastically different from the computer that my husband needs based
Speaker 1: on the type of work that we do on our computers.
Speaker 1: So consider what you as an individual need for the
Speaker 1: work that you do. Uh. And then even once you
Speaker 1: consider that, consider how do you actually need all of
Speaker 1: those things or can it be done in a more
Speaker 1: minimalist kind of way. And so I will say a
Speaker 1: caveat to you know, trying to have as little as
Speaker 1: possible is don't finagle and and have technology absorb a
Speaker 1: lot of time from you just to finagle doing with less.
Speaker 1: If you can save time by spending money on some
Speaker 1: kind of tech or electronic then your time is worth
Speaker 1: more like you cannot get time back. And if efficiency, um,
Speaker 1: so that is something really important. If something will save
Speaker 1: me time, then I will do like a software or something.
Speaker 1: That's what I'll spend money on. Number five on here
Speaker 1: is to trade in or sell old electronics. So this
Speaker 1: is a great tip, and certainly cell phone companies will
Speaker 1: offer some trade in value if you're going to be upgrading. Um.
Speaker 1: When we did our episode on buying and selling electronics
Speaker 1: is one of the things that we focused in on.
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of links in in that episode
Speaker 1: just about um, where to trade in or where to
Speaker 1: sell electronics, And we'll get the link to that episode
Speaker 1: in our show notes. But certainly you could just sell
Speaker 1: your old electronics on Facebook, Marketplace or eBay or online.
Speaker 1: You don't have to do like a trade in necessarily,
Speaker 1: but that can help offset the cost of what maybe
Speaker 1: you've just put into your your newer electronic. Absolutely, so
Speaker 1: as I try and look for that episode, I'll find
Speaker 1: it later. It's fine, um And then the next one
Speaker 1: is another one that I tend to do. It kind
Speaker 1: of piggybacks on like just buying older versions. It's go
Speaker 1: middle of the road. Um. So low end electronics save
Speaker 1: you the most money when you purchase them, but they
Speaker 1: will cost you more over the life of the item. Um.
Speaker 1: But high end products aren't always worth the extra money,
Speaker 1: especially if you're not going to use all those features.
Speaker 1: You don't need to buy them, um. So always try
Speaker 1: and go middle like mid range where you can. So
Speaker 1: this is something I try to do. I will get
Speaker 1: the the higher end brand and then just go middle
Speaker 1: of the road for features. So yeah, that's kind of
Speaker 1: what I'm trying to do with this webcam. There's actually
Speaker 1: a lot of I mean, so now there are a
Speaker 1: lot of webcams out there. There were probably not that
Speaker 1: many in but but I am looking for one that
Speaker 1: I can grow with because I'm looking to record video,
Speaker 1: not just look okay on zoom calls. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: think going middle of the road is possible when we
Speaker 1: look at recommendations and reviews. So when you're let's say
Speaker 1: you're searching on Amazon for something, looking at not only
Speaker 1: the reviews and how many stars that they have, but
Speaker 1: the Amazon also. I love to use this function like
Speaker 1: similar products or other things that others have bought, and
Speaker 1: you'll usually see something that's maybe a little bit more
Speaker 1: expensive or less expensive, and how they pair as far
Speaker 1: as their features and ratings go. Um, that's been super
Speaker 1: helpful to me as I've bought not just tech but
Speaker 1: appliances as well. Um, I've been in the market for
Speaker 1: a blender and I don't I mean, I'd love a
Speaker 1: vitem X, but I'm like, there's gotta be the middle
Speaker 1: of a of the road, and I am finding something's
Speaker 1: really just based off of going through um Amazon and
Speaker 1: looking at that like others others have used or others
Speaker 1: have purchased or similar products. So I I love looking
Speaker 1: at the wire cutter and it's owned by the New
Speaker 1: York Times now, but they tend to try and go
Speaker 1: middle of the road with their reviews, so they'll they'll
Speaker 1: review like when I was looking at webcam reviews. So
Speaker 1: the tech websites are all reviewing the best of the bass,
Speaker 1: and the wire Cutter tries to do both. Um and
Speaker 1: they added a lot of the lower cost ones in
Speaker 1: there this year. Um and they still found like one
Speaker 1: that was kind of mid range definitely more expensive, but um, yeah,
Speaker 1: so the wire Cutter is a is a great resource
Speaker 1: for UM reviews in comparisons awesome, got it linked in
Speaker 1: the show notes. Last, but certainly not least, Number seven
Speaker 1: is ask for price or matching discounts. So of course
Speaker 1: many stores will price match competitors prices of the same item.
Speaker 1: And sometimes I've wondered this, like why would I work
Speaker 1: hard or do you even try to talk to somebody
Speaker 1: to get the same price. But they made a good
Speaker 1: point that if you have a financial incentive to shop
Speaker 1: at one retailer over another retailer, that could be a
Speaker 1: reason to go for a price match. If you've got
Speaker 1: a credit card with a certain retailer, you get points
Speaker 1: or whatever, then seeing okay, will they price match this item?
Speaker 1: And then I also get some of these bonus points
Speaker 1: for purchasing with them. Uh, you can ask what kind
Speaker 1: of discounts are available as well. Sometimes places will be
Speaker 1: able to say, you know what, there's actually a manufacturer's coupon,
Speaker 1: or if you download this app or whatever. You never
Speaker 1: know what what it can do to ask a sales
Speaker 1: associate for what are all the options? And possibly I
Speaker 1: know that Best Buy even has a like a refurbished
Speaker 1: section within their store oftentimes, and I think even online,
Speaker 1: it's possible that that a store associate could know we
Speaker 1: actually have this similar product in the refurbished section that
Speaker 1: you could get for even cheaper. It's also just a
Speaker 1: place to start to when you're looking for something less expensive,
Speaker 1: but it is still yeah certified so yeah, and best
Speaker 1: Buy has a great price match, uh like guaranteed to yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1: And places like Apple and Microsoft and other companies will
Speaker 1: even offer student discounts. So certainly, if you've got a
Speaker 1: student in your home, consider taking advantage of those programs
Speaker 1: to be able to get discounts on your electronics. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: So let's let's transition into used electronics, because this is
Speaker 1: actually where I like to look first. But I don't
Speaker 1: waste a lot of time looking for something used if
Speaker 1: I need it, so I will definitely, you know, look
Speaker 1: all over, get all the channels and see what's out there.
Speaker 1: But if I'm not finding something that's right for me,
Speaker 1: then I moved to new Like I'm I'm not. I
Speaker 1: try to be good and and buy second hand as
Speaker 1: much as possible, but like, my time is valuable and
Speaker 1: sometimes I just need things new. But so I highly recommend,
Speaker 1: highly encourage you not to be afraid of used tech
Speaker 1: and used electronics. This I mean, so this laptop I'm
Speaker 1: using now was used from a punch up. The one
Speaker 1: I used before I got off a Craigslist yeah, and
Speaker 1: use it for many years and then gave it to
Speaker 1: my mother and now she's using it. And the Apple
Speaker 1: Watch that I'm wearing here used off Facebook marketplace like
Speaker 1: it's it's okay. Yeah. The only thing I own that's
Speaker 1: not used is my mattress and underwear. So yeah, you
Speaker 1: can't say that all of your microphones, Jill, you have
Speaker 1: like seven, my husband used them or they were like
Speaker 1: getting as gifts or one or who knows, but sure, okay,
Speaker 1: but this, uh, this next article is from the Balance
Speaker 1: and it is what to look for when buying used electronics.
Speaker 1: And I loved every single thing on here. So we're
Speaker 1: going through things five or six, all of it, all right.
Speaker 1: So the first one on here is research the model online.
Speaker 1: So know that we've already talked about research, and yes
Speaker 1: that's still true. Research research, research. Once you zero in
Speaker 1: on a used item that you're interested in, research that
Speaker 1: specific model, that year that that model UM, so that
Speaker 1: you can know and what we're looking for is ratings
Speaker 1: and reviews on that. Once a product has been out,
Speaker 1: people are going to talk about it, so find out
Speaker 1: what they're saying. Are is the product known to hold
Speaker 1: its charge? Or there are important things that you need
Speaker 1: to know about the life of that tech a year
Speaker 1: or two into use, or their common problems that happen
Speaker 1: within that model number of that particular tech, and be
Speaker 1: aware some things you might be willing to navigate and
Speaker 1: other things might be a deal breaker for you. But
Speaker 1: make sure that you know going into it what you
Speaker 1: need to be looking for, what you need to be
Speaker 1: aware of, and maybe how much longer that that item
Speaker 1: might have the life of it might have left in it.
Speaker 1: And the next is to always perform a test. So
Speaker 1: when you are buying something from someone UM, you don't
Speaker 1: want to meet in a parking lot or something. You
Speaker 1: want to meet out a place that has WiFi, that
Speaker 1: has plugs that you can sit down and actually perform
Speaker 1: a test on the electronic you're buying. So when I
Speaker 1: bought my laptop off Craigslist, we met at a Starbucks
Speaker 1: and UH, I used the Starbucks WiFi to make sure
Speaker 1: that it booted up. Everything was okay, it could connect
Speaker 1: to WiFi UH and UM, and it was a safe,
Speaker 1: safe space to back before cod Oh my gosh, this
Speaker 1: was I think two thousand twelve, so it was a
Speaker 1: long time ago. UM, but the good old Yeah. So
Speaker 1: you always want perform a test before you buy it.
Speaker 1: Next on this list is to look for external signs
Speaker 1: of damage. So while of course you want to look
Speaker 1: at dings and scratches on the device, you also want
Speaker 1: to look at different ports. Make sure that there's no
Speaker 1: signs of burning or jarring or foreign objects that have
Speaker 1: been placed into various ports on whether a computer, TV,
Speaker 1: or any kind of electronic that needs to be plugged in. UM.
Speaker 1: And also a lot of devices will have indicators on
Speaker 1: them if they've been near water or or have gotten wet,
Speaker 1: so make sure that and that's part of the research
Speaker 1: of the model. Back to tip number one, find out
Speaker 1: where those indicators are on the device, on the phone,
Speaker 1: on the camera, on the computer you name it, and
Speaker 1: then look for that that part on it to see
Speaker 1: if it has sustained any water damage. Um So, yeah,
Speaker 1: not just scratches and dings, but also all over the device.
Speaker 1: What kind of damage has happened to it. Next, evaluate
Speaker 1: whether it's compatible with your accessories. Um So, this is
Speaker 1: another thing you want to bring to your test. If
Speaker 1: you have a keyboard and mouse like Bluetooth keyboard and mouse,
Speaker 1: if you have an external webcam, if you have something
Speaker 1: that you use regularly you know with your electronic like
Speaker 1: I'm thinking computer, but you you think in your terms,
Speaker 1: then you want to bring that to wherever you're meeting
Speaker 1: and test your accessories with the electronics. So this doesn't
Speaker 1: necessariarily go if you're planning on getting new accessories anyway.
Speaker 1: Um But the like the article says, if you just
Speaker 1: invested in new air pod earphones, you won't want to
Speaker 1: buy an iPhone that has an older style your phone jack.
Speaker 1: So just take inventory of what accessories you don't want
Speaker 1: to part with and make sure they are compatible with
Speaker 1: the new electronic before you purchase m yeah, and that
Speaker 1: it can can grow with you. Obviously, the goal would
Speaker 1: be to then maintain that tech piece of tech for
Speaker 1: as long as possible. So that's where it might be
Speaker 1: worth paying a bit more money for a model that
Speaker 1: that you can also maintain for a couple of years
Speaker 1: at least, and and it's compatible with with your things.
Speaker 1: You might get a great deal on a non smart TV,
Speaker 1: but are you going to want those capabilities in your
Speaker 1: TV in the next one to three years, and it
Speaker 1: might might be worth springing for that smart TV. And
Speaker 1: finally on this list is whenever possible by certified used products.
Speaker 1: So this would be electronics that are refurbished, certified, and
Speaker 1: even carry a warranty. This is great, especially on your
Speaker 1: much more expensive products and i'd say appliances. Um, But
Speaker 1: that's that's where Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace can fall short,
Speaker 1: is that you're not necessarily buying something that is certified
Speaker 1: or has a warranty. We're mainly talking buying from distributors
Speaker 1: like Apple or best Buy or fill in the blank.
Speaker 1: On large retailer who has some of these pre owned
Speaker 1: electronics is Tronics. They themselves have refurbished them and are
Speaker 1: now certifying them again with maybe a lesser warranty, but
Speaker 1: still something to back that product. Especially if you're investing
Speaker 1: a decent amount of money, it's nice to have some
Speaker 1: of that peace of mind. I would include UM floor
Speaker 1: models into that list, So ask about floor model displays.
Speaker 1: UM see if you can buy one of those, and
Speaker 1: you can get a great discount on a floor model,
Speaker 1: and it usually comes with some kind of even if
Speaker 1: the warranty is lesser, some kind of protection. M hm uh.
Speaker 1: And that's all for the list, but I have a
Speaker 1: bonus one actually, UM So also contact the manufacturer to
Speaker 1: see if the serial number of that electronic has been
Speaker 1: reported stolen. UM So, with a lot of high price
Speaker 1: tech items, you can register it. You'll need to register
Speaker 1: it to get the limited warranty in there. You'll have
Speaker 1: to put the serial number of your product. And then
Speaker 1: if for some reason your tech is stolen, then you
Speaker 1: can report that as stolen and it will come up
Speaker 1: when the serial number goes through that yes that was stolen,
Speaker 1: this is who it belongs to or no. UM So
Speaker 1: it doesn't always work, but it is definitely something. With
Speaker 1: this computer that I bought at the pawn shop, I
Speaker 1: old Apple to see if the serial number was registered
Speaker 1: and if it had been reported stolen um and found
Speaker 1: out that it had not been, so I felt better
Speaker 1: about buying it. And they're supposed to do that at
Speaker 1: the punch shop, but I don't trust them, so I
Speaker 1: do it myself. Um that that did make me think
Speaker 1: of another tip for savings is a lot of times
Speaker 1: we can think, Okay, this is this is old, this
Speaker 1: isn't really worth anything. Let me just get rid of
Speaker 1: it and get new. But it's possible that your old thing,
Speaker 1: even if you don't have a warranty on it, could
Speaker 1: help bring you a discount. So example of this, I
Speaker 1: have Bows headphones, but they're starting to get really afraid
Speaker 1: the cord on it, and so I'm I'm like, okay,
Speaker 1: I need a new pair of headphones. But then the
Speaker 1: thought occurred to me, I wonder what Bows would offer,
Speaker 1: I mean, what kind of They don't have a warranty
Speaker 1: on them anymore, but how will they stand behind their product?
Speaker 1: And sure enough, they offer a discount on other products,
Speaker 1: Like I had to type in the serial number and
Speaker 1: all that, and then they gave me comparable products that
Speaker 1: they sell to these current headphones at a discounted price
Speaker 1: just I don't know for brand loyalty, I suppose um,
Speaker 1: But I'm really glad that I thought of that because
Speaker 1: I was just gonna get rid of them, like sound
Speaker 1: in the one ear has been going out something. I'm
Speaker 1: just gonna throw them out and replace them. But bos
Speaker 1: is actually offering me a discount on them. So something
Speaker 1: to consider, especially if something that you have is broken,
Speaker 1: even if you don't have a warranty on it. Sometimes
Speaker 1: certain retailers will stand behind their products and at least
Speaker 1: give you a discount on a new new item that
Speaker 1: you buy. Yeah, definitely, And you know what we stand
Speaker 1: by every week, every week, no warranty. That's right, it's
Speaker 1: time for the best minute of your entire week. Maybe
Speaker 1: a baby was born and his name is William. Maybe
Speaker 1: you paid off your mortgage, maybe your car died and
Speaker 1: you're happy to not have to pay that bill anymore.
Speaker 1: That's built Bufalo bills, Bill Clinton, this is the bill
Speaker 1: of the week. Hi, then and Bill, this is Johanna
Speaker 1: from Miami. And the favorite bill I'm paying right now
Speaker 1: is my seventies dollar CO pay for my ultrasound. So
Speaker 1: I'm fifteen weeks pregnant, and pretty much everything three because
Speaker 1: my husband has amazing insurance through his job except for
Speaker 1: those ultrasounds. But gosh darn it, it is worth every
Speaker 1: dollar that I spend to see what the heck is
Speaker 1: going on inside of there. So thanks for the show.
Speaker 1: Really enjoy it. Congratulation Johanna. Congratulations. That's so exciting. What
Speaker 1: a fun bill to pay. Oh my gosh, that really
Speaker 1: really is. And it's true. It's you're it's so nerve
Speaker 1: wracking when you're pregnant and you're like, what is going
Speaker 1: on in there? Like let me at that ultrasound because
Speaker 1: I don't give you one every time. It's just like
Speaker 1: a few different times, and it's like, come on. And
Speaker 1: then I'm so thrilled to hear that you have great
Speaker 1: insurances and that like, this is just a fun thing
Speaker 1: to spend money on. I know because I talked to
Speaker 1: moms who've had like several kids, and I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: the ultratutions, it's whatever. Like I had one and I'm like,
Speaker 1: how did you survive without seeing inside your tummies? I
Speaker 1: needed to see for me. But graduate, congratulations, that's so exciting,
Speaker 1: and uh, yeah, your little nugget, Yeah, your little bill. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a little bit. Name name your child Bill? Yeah,
Speaker 1: please somebody do please if you have named your child
Speaker 1: William or Bill, please let us know at Frugal Friends
Speaker 1: podcast dot com slash Bill and tell us all about
Speaker 1: your bills that have to do with your babies and
Speaker 1: your baby bills. Yes, and now the lightning round. So
Speaker 1: we have four browser extensions for you to download to
Speaker 1: save you time and money when shopping for electronics. And
Speaker 1: I am definitely a minimalist when it comes to apps
Speaker 1: and extensions and and all of this stuff, but these
Speaker 1: are things that we really use and they really do help.
Speaker 1: So yeah, so here you go, coming at you a
Speaker 1: lightning speed. We got Honey. You can track price history
Speaker 1: for up to six months and add an item to
Speaker 1: your drop list and get a notification when the price
Speaker 1: drops to a certain price. It also tries coupons from
Speaker 1: all over the internet. And on top of all that,
Speaker 1: when you use Honey, you get gold points made some
Speaker 1: gold points that you can redeem four gift cards, and
Speaker 1: if you sign up through Frugal Friends Podcast dot com
Speaker 1: slash Honey, you'll get five hundred bonus gold points, which
Speaker 1: equals five dollars store to gift card. I feel like
Speaker 1: I just talked physics. You get gold points, you get
Speaker 1: five dollar gift card, you get this, you get that. Um,
Speaker 1: we're not sponsored by money. They are. This isn't a
Speaker 1: Philly it link. Use it or don't use it. Honey
Speaker 1: is still like it's it's a decent extension that can
Speaker 1: help you to save money and gives you stuff back.
Speaker 1: We're just giving you this so that you can also
Speaker 1: get five dollars. So use Frugal Friends podcast dot com
Speaker 1: slash honey and it equates to a five dollar gift card. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I'm using this because I when I'm searching from a webcam,
Speaker 1: I used Honey to track the price history of the
Speaker 1: one I want and saw that it is currently twenty
Speaker 1: dollars more expensive than its cheapest price. So then I
Speaker 1: set up an alert in the drop list so that
Speaker 1: it alerts me as soon as that comes back down.
Speaker 1: So that made me think about within Facebook marketplace, you
Speaker 1: can also set an alert, Like if you're looking for
Speaker 1: something specifically, you can set an alert. Hey, if anybody
Speaker 1: posts a couch, you'll get a notification right away. I
Speaker 1: only recommend that if if you know that you're looking
Speaker 1: for something specific. So that you can get the best deal.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying, like, get all these alerts to tell
Speaker 1: you about all the deals you can bend all this money. Ultimately,
Speaker 1: it can save you money. My husband does it all
Speaker 1: the time. And we just got a dope deal on
Speaker 1: a couch because he said that alert and then he
Speaker 1: was the first one to reach out and we were
Speaker 1: the first one to go get it and we scored
Speaker 1: big and that that couch is dope. Yeah, it smells
Speaker 1: a little bit like dog, but we're getting away and
Speaker 1: getting the smell out going away. So the second one
Speaker 1: is parabus. UM. Parabus tracks delivery and price drops UM,
Speaker 1: like at a dozen stories or something, but I use
Speaker 1: it mainly for Amazon, Target and best Buy, And so
Speaker 1: it finds a price drop at the store you purchased
Speaker 1: an item or if the item is delivered outside of
Speaker 1: the delivery window UM, and then Parabus will contact the
Speaker 1: store to file a claim to get you a price
Speaker 1: match or whatever money it can get you. UM. It's
Speaker 1: not as robust with Amazon, but UM with other places
Speaker 1: it will like do do it on your behalf um.
Speaker 1: And many retailers are extending their price match policies for
Speaker 1: the holidays and I mean, we all know how inconsistent
Speaker 1: package delivery is this time of year, so this is
Speaker 1: a great one to have and you can get that
Speaker 1: parabus dot co, so p A, R I, b U
Speaker 1: S dot C O nice. The third one is Racketin.
Speaker 1: You all have heard us talk about racketin man if
Speaker 1: we were talking about racketin before we even had an
Speaker 1: affiliate link to it, honest goodness, it's so great. You
Speaker 1: get cash back. You don't got to deal with points
Speaker 1: give cards. Those are great too, but racketin just gives
Speaker 1: you called hard cash, so you you get cash back
Speaker 1: on your online purchases. And if you're not using it already,
Speaker 1: first time users get a ten dollar bonus cash back
Speaker 1: after you spend on any purchases. It doesn't even have
Speaker 1: to be on one purchase. You can buy from a
Speaker 1: bunch of different stores. Once you reach spendings, you just
Speaker 1: get ten dollars back. UM when you sign up with
Speaker 1: our promo code Frugal Friends podcast dot com slash racket
Speaker 1: in UM. Definitely use it. I can't say enough good
Speaker 1: things about just getting money in the mail. It just
Speaker 1: has to be at a store that has cash. It's
Speaker 1: cash back eligable so you spend your twenty five dollars,
Speaker 1: you get ten dollars back and whatever cash back percentage
Speaker 1: they're offering. It's great. I love racket in UM. And
Speaker 1: then the last one is unrolled dot me. It rolls
Speaker 1: up all your promotion emails into one daily email UM
Speaker 1: that you can decide whether you want to get in
Speaker 1: the morning, afternoon, or evening. And so I've used it
Speaker 1: for years. I love it. It keeps it's free, UM,
Speaker 1: it keeps my inbox cleaner, and I can still be
Speaker 1: part of store newsletters that I want to be part of,
Speaker 1: but I don't have to look at them if I
Speaker 1: don't want to UM. And they are definitely gonna be
Speaker 1: a lot of promo emails going out through the end
Speaker 1: of the year. So this might be a really good
Speaker 1: thing that if there's a store you want to keep
Speaker 1: track of what sales are going on there, UM, but
Speaker 1: you don't want to be reminded of it all the time.
Speaker 1: It's unrolled, so you n R O L L dot
Speaker 1: m E. And also another free offer that we have
Speaker 1: for you today, don't forget to visit Frugal Friends podcast
Speaker 1: dot com slash holiday to get that debt free Christmas
Speaker 1: planner so that you can keep all this tech shopping
Speaker 1: on budget. M thanks everyone so much for listening. We
Speaker 1: want to thank you for your kind of views on
Speaker 1: iTunes and Stitcher, like this one. Okay, here we go.
Speaker 1: This one's from Sweden, all the way from Sweden, and
Speaker 1: then I'm going to try and pronounce it just because
Speaker 1: it's gonna be fun for everybody. It's a hot hot
Speaker 1: God luck, God, ha God, look my cad look something great.
Speaker 1: Podcast happens to be five stars. The rest of it's
Speaker 1: in English, so here you go. Hopefully I can get it.
Speaker 1: Making economics seem less scary and more fun. Frugality makes
Speaker 1: me feel empowered, and so does this podcast. Green heart emoji.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much to be here for you, and
Speaker 1: thanks for listening all the way from Sweden. How crazy
Speaker 1: is that is that we have a listener in Sweden.
Speaker 1: I bet we have more than one in Sweden. Jen's
Speaker 1: is why we got to go on our tour. I
Speaker 1: know we're gonna definitely, I mean, we'll see. We also
Speaker 1: want to thank our friends who share these episodes on
Speaker 1: social media. So when you share the latest episode and
Speaker 1: tag us on Facebook or Instagram at Frugal Friends Podcast.
Speaker 1: We're adding you to our monthly drawing, and for every
Speaker 1: five tags and reviews we get each month, we're giving
Speaker 1: away a copy of the Frugal Friends Workbook. So keep
Speaker 1: leaving those reviews on iTunes or Stitcher. Send us a
Speaker 1: screenshot to fugal Friends podcast at gmail dot com. It's
Speaker 1: the only way that those reviews get entered into the drawing.
Speaker 1: And tag us on social all the ways will get
Speaker 1: you into the running for a Frugal Friends workbook. And uh,
Speaker 1: happy shopping, Happy Thanksgiving mm hmm, And and hang out
Speaker 1: with us and the Frugal Friends community group on Facebook
Speaker 1: and tell us your tips for saving on tech and
Speaker 1: other things. We just want, we want all, we want,
Speaker 1: All them. Tips by Frugal Friends is produced, edited and
Speaker 1: mixed by Eric Syria. So when I was doing research
Speaker 1: for this article, I realized that Black Friday has already started. Whoa, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's uh. Stores are taking advantage of people just being
Speaker 1: at home and buying, and well, they want to keep
Speaker 1: people out of the stores, so they're like, we're gonna
Speaker 1: we're gonna start Black Friday in October. Hey, there, Halloween
Speaker 1: hasn't even started or happened but Black Friday has scary
Speaker 1: great deals, So I mean, I wonder though if it
Speaker 1: will help people. I don't It could go either way, obviously,
Speaker 1: but help people space out their Christmas purchases and not
Speaker 1: spend as much all within the two weeks prior to Christmas,
Speaker 1: or they're just going to spend so much in these
Speaker 1: last three months towards the end of the year. We'll see.
Speaker 1: I'm just staying off the internet, That's what I'm doing. Sure,
Speaker 1: i am. I'll be here, but talking, talking, but not buying, right,
Speaker 1: That's what I'm trying to do, all right, Folks, buy
Speaker 1: a game.