The time has come!
Finally, I already bought a laptop. It was the most needed resource that I can use for my work and studies.
It was always stopping me to accomplish the things that I need. I lost a lot of opportunities because of not having a laptop.
We have one laptop that my parents provided to us. But due to lack of finances, they only bought a low-end laptop which I am still thankful that they bought it. I appreciate it.
But I am an impatient and low-tempered kind of person. I am always getting mad when it is lagging. However, it still allowed me to earn from my previous clients on Upwork. I already used it for my two clients and earned a decent amount of money.
Since I also have siblings, they are also using the same laptop and it is kind of hard for me to have a cycle like this: use it, then stop because someone will use it.
My brother needs it the most since his course is computer-related and I only use it for work.
You might be thinking, why use a laptop instead of a phone? You can call me picky or stagy, but I prefer working on a laptop instead of a mobile phone.
I feel more productive using the former and finish more tasks compared to my mobile phone.
And finally, I can buy the thing that I need and want.
Last April 10, 2023, I decided to go to SM Angono to buy the laptop that I was looking for. I have a habit of researching a lot of stuff about something that I want to buy before purchasing it. This gives me more time to think and evaluate if it will stay for a longer time.
After watching a lot of recommendations and reviews, I decided to target this laptop: Asus Vivobook M16.
It has 8 GB RAM and the ideal features for what I need. I also watched a review from Laptop Factory on YouTube and they said that it is also good enough for students who are looking for a budget-friendly laptop that they can use for 2D AutoCAD.
The potential consumer of this laptop is students because it comes with lifetime access to Microsoft Office which gives me thought to buy it.
The moment of truth, I came to the store of PC Express in SM Angono and asked for the unit that I am looking for.
They said that they still have stocks for the mentioned laptop. I immediately said that I will purchase it in cash. Its price is ₱37,995.00
It was funny that I immediately told the salesman that I will buy it. It is because I always feel discriminated against when looking for laptops in a supermarket. It might be my age.
I remember going to the store and people barely assist me even if I want to buy something.
Minutes later, the salesman approached me saying that they only have one stock of Asus Vivobook M16 and it is the one which is displayed in their store. I don't want to buy the displayed item (I don't know why, really.)
So I asked, “What's the brand that can be an alternative for this unit? A brand that I can use for AutoCAD”
I want it to be affordable. I only have ₱40,500.00 in my wallet. It's the maximum money that I can use to buy. I'm all in with it.
The salesman said if I am looking for a laptop that I can use for AutoCAD, don't go for Asus Vivobook M16 because it has no Graphics card which will make it slower while doing projects in software.
So I asked him what they can recommend and they said MSI GF63 Thin.
I was unfamiliar with this brand MSI, the salesman said it is available for ₱46,995.00 but if I were going to pay in cash, I will have a ₱2,000.00 discount which ends up with ₱44,995.00
It sounds great, but I don't have enough money so I left the store for a while saying that I will think of it.
I contacted my mother asking for extra money if they have it. But she said that she doesn't have one. I understand since the money that they are earning is only enough for us.
So, I asked my Aunt who offered me a loan before without interest or anything. She just wants to help me. Unfortunately, she was inactive on Facebook when I contacted her.
I watched YouTube videos about the MSI GF63 Thin laptop about its specs and reviews. It was a good laptop with good features. It has the same feature as the laptop that I wanted to buy which is Acer Nitro 5, the only difference is MSI has only one fan which makes it lightweight and thin which is its selling point.
I wanted to buy Acer Nitro 5, but it is way more expensive than MSI.
I don't want to waste my time, I am already convinced to buy MSI. The only problem is the money.
Then I remembered that I still have a balance on my Binance account which was around $83.00. It was a token that I am losing a lot since April 2021 (the start of the bear market). But since I am already holding this token for years, I decided to pull it out to fulfill my needs in buying a laptop.
I immediately trade it and transferred it to my Gcash so I can easily withdraw it.
Buying the laptop
I came back to the store to purchase the laptop that I was saying. I told the salesman to explain the specs of the laptop, I also asked the things that I want to know about charging, its battery usage, warranty, and others.
I also told him to put some apps that I need. He also convinced me to buy the Microsoft Office Lifetime Access for ₱1,000.00. I think I was driven by his sales talk. Nevertheless, I want to purchase it legally because I am having doubts about using pirated software.
I also told him to give me AutoCAD software. He said that the account is already lifetime access.
I stayed there for more or less 1 hour for preparing everything that I need.
He even asked me if my parents gave me the money to pay for the laptop, I told him not, it was my savings. It is where he gave me a discount for Microsoft Office. His first offer was ₱2,500.00 lol. But gave it to me for only ₱1,000.00 it's still a budol after all. I'm just gaslighting myself.
I brought the laptop to our boarding house alone. I was kind of nervous about bringing this huge box to the public thinking that bad people will come after me.
At night, I also unbox the laptop and tried using it.
The laptop has freebies:
- 32 GB USB Flashdrive
- Wireless Mouse
- Mousepad
- MSI Bag
It is already worth it for me.
I am happy to buy something that I need with my own money. It makes me proud of myself that I can buy these things at my age. I do not consider this a liability because I will be using this in my studies and work most especially for blogging.
For now, I cannot be more active in writing because I am so busy at school since final terms and exams are coming. I have a lot of stuff to do before work.
On the other hand, summer vacation is nearly approaching. Hopefully, I can be a regular student and pass this school year. It is hard to become an irregular student. If I passed it, I might be focusing on grinding to my website and other writing stuff. I want this laptop to become an asset and generate more money for me.
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