DON'T OVERSPEND ON A COMPUTER

 I used to work for Radio Shack back in the late 80's.  I had a customer come in who was a senior in her 70's.  She brought in a smoke detector that my boss had sold to her and she wanted help making it work.  I took one look at it and gave her a refund and sold her a better detector for much less.  You see, the one she brought back was a wired detector - commercial grade.  All she wanted/needed was a simple unit with a battery for her home.  To say I was irritated is an understatement.  I never wanted to be that guy who sold just for profit.  I wanted to be the guy who gives them the right tool for what they needed.

That still goes today.

So, ask yourself this.  Why do you need a new computer?  If the one you have is still running and has a modern and supported operating system, with plenty of free space, then there is no need to upgrade.

If you do need to upgrade, then ask yourself what you need.  Most seniors aren't gamers.  We just need something to send and receive emails.  We also need something to write letters and keep lists and maybe recipes.  If this is what you need, then find a decent modern system for under $800.   Even laptops can be less than $1000.00.  Also, you shouldn't have to upgrade your printer or monitor either.

What kind of system do you need?

• Laptops - Are portable.  You can take them anywhere you need to
• Desktop - Not portable, but they usually have larger hard drives
• Tablets - Also portable.  Smaller screens, but they are easy to learn
  

What programs will you need?

Microsoft Office - with the following

• Microsoft Outlook - Allows you to send and receive emails
• Microsoft Word - Allows you to write documents and letters
• Microsoft OneNote - Allows you to keep lists and recipes
• Microsoft Excel - Allows you to computer a budget and maintain organized lists like names and phone numbers

Note:   When you buy Microsoft Office, make sure you use the actual software version that gets installed on your PC, and not the cloud version

Internet Browser - Allows you to view Web pages.  Chose 1 or 2 of these

• Microsoft Edge - Comes bundled on all Windows PC's
• Google Chrome - Find and download this browser
• Firefox - Find and download this browser