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Saving for a iMac!

J

JollocksRX

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2011
2
0
Hello. I'm a 13 year old british kid who does 3 paper rounds and gets £32.00 a week.

It's gonna take me 6months of hard work. Is it worth it?

Also, any tips on making the time go faster :D

(First Mac by the way)

-Joel
 
Depends on what you want to use the Mac for.
Have you taken a look at used Macs yet? Do you need the newest Mac? Btw, even though Macs can run Windows, they are not the best gaming machines, therefore getting a dedicated gaming Windows computer might be cheaper if games are your interest.

Anyway, to learn more about Mac OS X:

Helpful Information for Any Mac User by GGJstudios
 
Reply

No I'm not using for gaming (primarily) (maybe a little StarCraft 2) but ill be using it for school work, Graphic Design, Video editing etc.

Anyway, thanks for your reply.

-Joel
 
I can't say I've ever had to wait that long for something I wanted to buy - But its up to you if you are happy to save up that way. From the sounds of it tho, you have decided to spend none of your income at all, until you purchase the mac...you may find that a little hard. Copuld you ask a parent to purchase you one, and pay them back monthly etc? Or claim it as both xmas and birthday present for the year?

With that being said best of luck to you - I'm sure you won't be dissapointed.
 
Any tips? Yeah; save up and forget about what you're saving it for! You'll only spend your time gawping at them on the Apple site or in shops.

Is there anything else you can do to get some money? Like buying/selling on eBay, helping out with jobs, selling old equipment?

It doesn't get much easier as you get older too. I recently sold my (albeit unused) Macbook so I could afford an A4 Wacom and 64gb iPod touch! I had more disposable money when I was in my late teens ;).
 
Tomorrow said:
I admire your determination and willingness to work for something. Good to see that in younger people these days. :)
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+1 I'm only 26, but I had to work for things I wanted as a kid. My girlfriends kids refuse to work for anything though, they think since they are kids it is their right to have it. Of course this means they don't have anything beyond food, water, shelter, clothes, and hygiene products.

@OP I would say it is worth it. Trust me, there will be moments of "I'll never get all the money saved up for this", but when you do, you will appreciate it that much more.
 
Tomorrow said:
I admire your determination and willingness to work for something. Good to see that in younger people these days. :)
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Seriously, that's awesome. I've seen kids on here whine about the $1500 computer that their parents just bought them, saying it wasn't good enough. Great to see a kid your age wanting to work for it. If that's what you want, by all means, go for it.
 
alust2013 said:
Seriously, that's awesome. I've seen kids on here whine about the $1500 computer that their parents just bought them, saying it wasn't good enough. Great to see a kid your age wanting to work for it. If that's what you want, by all means, go for it.
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agreed! Well done man i don't see many kids working for much nowadays. Just a bit of advice, buy apple care. You dont want your well earned mac dying on you and having to pay obscene amounts to repair it. Good luck dude!
 
Good plan of yours. I too am saving up. But it helps when I don't exactly know what it is I'm going to get with the money. It might be the iMac, it might be a newer MacBook Pro. Either way, it's like my "new mac fund".

And as someone mentioned above, it doesn't get easier when you get older. I'm pushing 40 and I'm still saving up for things. When I was younger it was much easier to save and spend I think.

That said, there was a time when I had nothing in my new mac fund. But now I have a good amount. Granted a lot of it was selling a lot of unused music gear I had, but the money was raised one way or another. My goal is to have enough for the quad iMac.

But just keep at it. I have no idea how long it'll take me to save the rest, but there was a time not long ago when I thought it would take me a lot longer to get where I am. As someone said above, it really does help to save and forget what you're saving for. Way easier said then done, but if you can just put away your money without constantly counting it and thinking about the end goal, and keeping busy with other things in your life, the time will go by a heck of a lot faster.
 
I know what it's like to save up for stuff and I do get tempted by like DVDs and stuff so usually takes me a bit longer than the bare minimum but I'd say that you will feel more satisfaction if you buy it yourself. Refurb though do have good deals so don't completely dismiss them just because they aren't the latest and greatest. Good luck though with buying your iMac and hopefully you get it soon.
 
Merthyrboy said:
Refurb though do have good deals so don't completely dismiss them just because they aren't the latest and greatest.
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You get the exact same models with refurbs as you do in the store. They are excellent bargains if you are on a budget (and who isn't?!) :)
 
ZilogZ80 said:
You get the exact same models with refurbs as you do in the store. They are excellent bargains if you are on a budget (and who isn't?!) :)
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+1. I know the refurb online store will be the first place I'll be looking when I am ready to buy a new computer.
 
JollocksRX said:
Also, any tips on making the time go faster :D
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Get a lot of sleep. Sleep alone will take up a good 1/3-1/2 of your day, depending on what kind of sleeper you are.

Do a lot of reading. When you're not doing your normal things, read to take up the free time. You'll be surprised how much time will go by just reading a few chapters of a novel each day.


Dagless said:
Yeah; save up and forget about what you're saving it for! You'll only spend your time gawping at them on the Apple site or in shops.
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Ain't that the truth?
 
respect respect ,not many at your age even would think about that they can get money by working for it

and yes it's worth it , that way you know its YOUR iMac , you worked for it

so you are learning a important lesson which you will remember for the rest of your life

...money does not grow on trees and does not just fall into your hands ;)

....if only the people in our government would know that , but they still believe money grows on trees in my garden ..just a bunch of spoiled kids i believe who never had to work for money:(
 
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The best thing that will come of this is you'll treat it with care because you'll know what went into buying it.
 
JollocksRX said:
Hello. I'm a 13 year old british kid who does 3 paper rounds and gets £32.00 a week.

It's gonna take me 6months of hard work. Is it worth it?

Also, any tips on making the time go faster :D

(First Mac by the way)

-Joel
Click to expand...
I'm in the same situation. I'm 14 and I'm going to be mowing lawns to save for it. I already have enough money for the iPhone 5 thankfully. Anyways good luck! And if you are an Apple fanboy like me it will be worth it!
 
Ah, it's good to see young kids saving their money and earning it with hard work. I've seen many spoiled little brats brag and whine about the Alienware and Apple computers their parents buy them. Earning the money yourself will make it so much more satisfying to get.
Chances are you'll want to get the most out of your money; I suggest getting a smaller iMac refurbished.
 
Good on you for saving up! Only 6 months eh? I have been saving for a BTO iMac for 18 months now. I have sat through 2 revisions, the 2009 and 2010 and as soon as the 2011 version is released I will buy that one. It will be so worth the wait. Good luck little dude.
 
Hi Joel.

I think the purchase is worth it. I had to saved up for most of my MBP and it took a while since I'm 14, but it was completely worth it.

I recommend you go with an Apple refurbished product to save yourself some money.
 
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