Budgeting for a new PC

Oops, one of the items I didn't even consider for my budget for the coming year was a new notebook computer. My current computer, a two-year old Toshiba Satellite, is working fine and could serve me well for another whole year or even two, but you never know.

My "standard" budget for a notebook computer is $1,500 every two years, with the hope that I can get three or even four years out of it. Based on technology advances and the fact that I no longer need to do any serious software development work on my home computer, I'm expecting to downsize that budget to at least $1,250, if not down below $1,000.

I feel fairly confident that I can go another eigthteen months with my current machine, but I should have factored replacement into my budget anyway.

I should also budget software upgrades (Office, FrontPage.)

Opps #2, I forgot to include the annual subscription renewal for anti-virus software.

I haven't done budget plans out into 2009 yet, but I would put $1,250 for a new computer out in June 2009.

-- Jack Krupansky