Okay, first of all as a person about to become (for the second time) a Mississaugan (ugh) married to a semi-pro thrifter THANK YOU for that map (though where we're moving to is far from here, which is why the remark, "Mississauga's not that bad," will cause me to want to reflexively slap the mouth that says it).
Second, I've shifted my whole mindset around entire categories of consumer electronics to *only* buy used, typically on FB Marketplace.
Computer monitors, for example: the monitor I'm typing these words on is a nearly 20-year-old 17" Samsung that's great for writing on because it's the old 4:3 ratio that's much better suited to writing & editing than a widescreen. I bet anybody reading this could get a comparable screen for under $50. That's why I will never buy another computer monitor new: I know I'd be overspending by $100s. And to anybody thinking, "oh but I don't know about the cables," I promise you, you're not more than 30 minutes away from understanding everything you will ever need to know about what plugs into what: for 99.9% of us the best way to connect a monitor is using whatever cables we've already got, plus an adapter if needed (no, Macs do not require special adapters) to close the gap. Learning what ports you've got on your computer is step 1 (Google is free). ShopperPlus has been my preferred non-Amazon source for stuff to plug stuff into other stuff, but once you know what you need you might find it on the shelf at a thrift store for pocket change if you take the time.
Okay, first of all as a person about to become (for the second time) a Mississaugan (ugh) married to a semi-pro thrifter THANK YOU for that map (though where we're moving to is far from here, which is why the remark, "Mississauga's not that bad," will cause me to want to reflexively slap the mouth that says it).
Second, I've shifted my whole mindset around entire categories of consumer electronics to *only* buy used, typically on FB Marketplace.
Computer monitors, for example: the monitor I'm typing these words on is a nearly 20-year-old 17" Samsung that's great for writing on because it's the old 4:3 ratio that's much better suited to writing & editing than a widescreen. I bet anybody reading this could get a comparable screen for under $50. That's why I will never buy another computer monitor new: I know I'd be overspending by $100s. And to anybody thinking, "oh but I don't know about the cables," I promise you, you're not more than 30 minutes away from understanding everything you will ever need to know about what plugs into what: for 99.9% of us the best way to connect a monitor is using whatever cables we've already got, plus an adapter if needed (no, Macs do not require special adapters) to close the gap. Learning what ports you've got on your computer is step 1 (Google is free). ShopperPlus has been my preferred non-Amazon source for stuff to plug stuff into other stuff, but once you know what you need you might find it on the shelf at a thrift store for pocket change if you take the time.
These are great tips! Especially love to hear about non-Amazon specialty options!
I'm a total shill for ShopperPlus' "PrimeCables" line of do-dads and all their badly-translated Quebecois marketing copy.