Frugal Laptop Computers: Purchasing Theory, Extended Warranties and Making Your Laptop Battery Last Longer

I finally purchased my FIRST laptop computer!! Yeah!! (I know I'm a little behind the technology, but my budget was always holding me back from buying a second computer.  Laptop prices have really come down in the last few years and now they can really be affordable.  And, now that I use my desktop for everything including watching television,  and making telephone calls, I find that a laptop really helps shoulder the load.)

laptop computer

I ended up buying the least expensive one at a local department store.

I have a theory that I think is  very frugal when buying computers:

I always buy the least expensive model that I can find (of course it still must have all the features I need or want).

Why? Because in around 5 years, not only will the hardware and the software be outdated, but the hardware will begin to wear out as well- and if your disk drive goes - then you need to buy a whole new computer.

So my thinking, is that buying the least expensive model will not hurt my wallet as much now and my sense of frugality later when I have to shell out the money to replace it yet again.

Extended Warranty

I save money by NOT buying the store hardware extended warranty.  Instead, I use the EXTENDED WARRANTY on my Credit Card. This saves me a whole lot of money $$.



How does this work?  I found out that each credit card has a similar plan:

Master Card: Most computers come with a 1 year warranty, so when I purchase it with my MasterCard, they will automatically double the length of the warranty (if the original warranty is 12 months or less).  All I need to do is to register my computer's original warranty and I am covered for 2 years.  MasterCard also has a 90 day buyer security program that protects the computer against theft, fire or accidental breakage.  How great is that!!!!!

Visa also has a warranty plan - it will double the free repair period under the original manufacturer's written U.S. repair warranty up to 1 additional year if the original warranty was 3 years or less.

American Express has this same type of plan too!

What you need to do:

• Fill out your computer warranty online or mail it in.


• Keep a copy of your Credit Card receipt, your store receipt, and your original warranty.

Anyway, now that I have a laptop, how do I make my battery last as long as possible?

Li-ion battery

I checked into it and found out that the batteries are now Li-ion batteries - lithium and ion. And, the Li-ion batteries are different from the older Ni-cad batteries in how you charge them and use them.

(1) Do not let your Li-ion battery fully discharge. Fully discharging your Li-ion battery will shorten its life span. (This is different than the Ni-cad batteries that work better if you fully discharge them once in a while.) This applies to cell phones with Li-ion batteries too!
(2) Do not keep your battery in your laptop while connecting to your electric power supply. This can overheat your laptop and also overheat your power supply transformer. The extra heat will wear out your laptop and transformer much faster.
(3) Do not work on your computer when charging your battery. The extra heat will wear out your laptop faster. Just charge your computer when it's shut off for about an hour and then unplug it from the transformer.

(4) Do USE your battery at least once a month. If you don't use your battery, it will shorten it's life span as well.  Remember to not let it fully discharge and to recharge it before storing it again.