For a long time my wife and I stuck with out little 19 inch CRT monitor television, because we felt it would be way too much money to buy an LCD flat screen HDTV. After all, we are both notorious cheapskates, and very frugal with our money. I just couldn’t see the point in buying a larger tv (even though I desperately wanted one and always thought they looked amazing).
But one day that all changed. I stopped asking this question, “Can I afford an LCD HDTV?” and instead I added 1 little word to the beginning of that sentence: HOW.
By asking “HOW can I afford an LCD HDTV?” I changed the question so that it required creativity and thinking. By thinking in a different way, I was able to come up with a way to view this purchase as an affordable option. In fact, my LCD television cost me very little! So if you are wondering if you can afford an HDTV, here is how you can afford to buy one:
- Remember that you can sell your old one once you get a new one! It doesn’t matter if you have an old outdated TV, you can still get SOMETHING for it! Slap it on craigslist.org or another classified site, and sell the television for as much as you can get. You can probably easily get at least $20-50, which can help a lot.
- Look for online sales. Black Friday isn’t the only time online companies have sales on LCD flat screen tv’s. They have year long specials and deals if you keep an eye out. So shop online, read reviews, and look out for companies advertising sales!
- Coupon codes–before you checkout with the company, don’t forget to do a quick check to see if there are any available coupon codes online. This can save big bucks! You can also check sites like eBay or others to see if you can find coupon codes or real coupons.
- Use a credit card with big points. If you can afford to pay off your credit card right away, then I absolutely recommend using one with great points! You will get quite a bit of points by purchasing such an expensive item, and this may translate to an even further discount.
- Use bing, or any other promotions to save money. Check to see if bing is using cashback, or if any other company or search engine offers any cashback specials. You can usually use these in addition to using.
- Sell your blood or plasma–Okay, this may be getting desparate, but you can always donate blood or plasma for some quick cash. Sometimes you can earn a couple hundred dollars within a day or two. Never say never…
- Be creative! The list above just gives you a few ideas, but don’t stop there. Rack your brain to see if you can sell anything else you don’t want. Like any old stuff in your garage, old video games, etc. You can always sell some stuff to help finance your new TV.
How My Costs Broke Down in My TV Purchase:
If you use my tips above, you will be surprised to see that you can save a significant amount of money, and yes, the TV you want may be within your grasp. Here is how I personally was able to easily afford my new 32 inch Dynex flat screen LCD HDTV. Here is the breakdown of my costs/expenses:
Cost: $299.99 + tax=328 (shipping was free).
Minus: the following
- My old 19 inch CRT- $25 on Craigslist
- My old digital converter box (didn’t need since the new tv’s come with them built in) $25 on eBay
- Credit card points: double, so I earned 630 points, which equates to about $5 off
- Used Bing cashback- Saved me approximately $20
That brought my total costs down to about $253, shipped to my front door. In addition, I was able to sell some other stuff on eBay to help cover this expense (Like a couple of video games, old software, etc.). So overall I probably only spent my hard earned cash of about $50-100 on the TV itself. Not only that, I will probably recover that cost when it comes time for another upgrade! If the TV dies, the parts that still work could probably fetch at least $100 on eBay! So will recover that in full.
Keep in mind that this TV will probably last between 4-10 years of great quality. So let’s assume it lasts 6 years. $100/6= only $16.67 a year. Who can’t afford this small amount per year?? Just about anyone can that can afford to read this article!
So don’t ask whether you can afford a TV if you really want or need one. Instead ask HOW you can afford it. Think outside of the “box” and and get creative. You never know, you may end up looking like the guy I saw buying a big screen lcd at Walmart very soon… Good luck!