Why My Broke-Ass Bought a Used Chromebook

OR — Why I do Things I “Shouldn’t”

Let’s begin with a bit of backstory.

I’ve been eyeing used Chromebooks on FB Marketplace for at least four or five months. There’s a local seller with tons of them, and he’s selling them at dirt-cheap prices. Of course, I already have a laptop, so I kept writing it off as something that wasn’t a necessity. Thus, I should not purchase one.

Yet, time and time again, I’d think of these damn things and consider buying one.

You see, my baby MSI laptop is about seven years old and hates its mere existence most days. There are things I can do to fix it, but I don’t have that kind of time and money right now.

And… I’d love to stop killing it slowly. (Fugees reference anyone?)

I’ve legitimately taken it on the road with me. I was delivering as a Dasher and watching Tony Robbin’s summit live on Zoom one day, trying to take notes periodically.

Here’s a first-person view of what that looks like.

…Yes, I cleaned the dust off my stereo eventually.

And yes, my laptop is inside a case, on top of an external fan stand… and positioned atop a cardboard box in front of my passenger seat.

I’m innovative; what can I say?

But as much as I love to solve problems in creative AF ways, it’s less than ideal, as you can probably imagine.

Getting a much smaller Chromebook would be a godsend for working on the go. First off, it’s smaller and lightweight. An added benefit: almost all of my work can be done on the system.

So…

Fam, I scored a convertible Asus Chromebook for only thirty dollars. It’s in fantastic shape, and I had it up and running in no time flat. I’m writing about it right this moment.

I finally freaking did it.

Okay, Taras, What point are you trying to make here?

We often fight for purchases that could improve our lives in immense ways. Why? Because we “shouldn’t” buy them.

There was a time in my life when I would overspend all the time and buy whatever I wanted, completely disregarding financial responsibilities until they hit me in the face. I had to program myself to stop doing this, but all that did was flip me to the opposite end of the spectrum.

Balance has never been my strong suit.

If you find yourself on one side of this spectrum more than the other, I want you to know there’s hope for you.

• Sit on the idea for a bit — you don’t need to wait five months like I did. But give it enough time to ensure you want or need the thing.
• Consider the pros and cons — like making a list, even if it’s only mental. I knew both the pros and cons, but what I wasn’t considering was...
• Know the WEIGHT of the pros and cons — this is tricky because it’s not simply about count. Many times, we might say, “Well, there are 5 cons to 3 pros. Guess it isn’t meant to be.” But weight is much more than that. For me, more than anything else, the weight is TIME. The time it takes to get everything together and brought with me is absurd. The time to set it all up is also ridiculous. The time spent trying to get my main laptop working some days is silly (and frustrating). The ability to grab and go saves me a dramatic amount of time, and that’s time I can spend working… which is the entire point in the first place.

So, the next time you’re questioning a purchase, genuinely understand the WEIGHT of your pros and cons. Sometimes, what you gain from it is damn near priceless.

Remember, money comes and goes, and time just goes. You won’t get it back. Time trumps money every single day.

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