So, several years ago, I inherited a computer. It has served me well. I've replaced the hard drive and power supply, I've added a DVD burner, and upgraded the graphics so it runs 3 monitors! Hooray. However, lately, it's become a bit flakey and slow, and this morning the graphics card seems to have decided to head for the happy hunting ground. So I'm faced with a dilemna. I'm generally opposed to buying new computers. In fact, I never have. Up until a little over a year ago, I'd never actually purchased a computer at all. Since late 2006 we've purchased a refurb desktop, choosing the cheapest one, and a "scratch & dent" laptop. Previously I'd inherited them from people who were upgrading. Then upgraded parts as needed. It's worked well for me, and with Linux, has kept me quite happy with the performance at the same time. (I don't game so photo editing is the only thing I do that requires real power.) The time has come to look at replacing my primary machine though, and it's looking like I'm going to be shelling out some cash. As you can see from the charts in the sidebar, I'm trying to keep as much cash around as possible though.

My options, as I see them, are (from least expensive to most, short term):

1. Just replace the dying graphics card
   This is also the least work required, as it won't involve much more than swapping a card and updating some drivers. However, this only fixes what's currently broken and doesn't give me any long-term benefit.
2. Replace the motherboard/processor/RAM/graphics and audio
   This is the most labor intensive, and may not actually be substantially cheaper than replacing the whole machine.
3. Get a new desktop computer.
   This will require the usual headaches of transferring data, settings, and such. Also will likely cost the most.
4. Get another Laptop.
   Dispense with a desktop as a primary machine, and buy another laptop so that TBWITWW and I each have our own. The most expensive option, and still has the disadvatages of a new desktop, but with less space taken up and less opportunity to upgrade in the future.

#1 appeals to the cheap old man part of me.
#2 appeals to the uber-geek part of me.
#3 appeals to the "just get it done and shut-up about it" part of me (also known as TBWITWW).
#4 appeals to the "have less crap" part of me (which is actually quite small).

What would you do?

So far so good. My goal last week was to drink at least 64oz of water per day. I have, so far, achieved this every day. This week's goal is to eat breakfast every day. I've been having a cup of yogurt with bran grape-nuts type cereal in it. Hopefully this will help me manage my appetite and energy level better.

I haven't made much progress on the budget front yet. Its frustrating, as I don't really know where to start assembling the data. Do you keep a budget? If so, how do you go about it? I want something that's easy to maintain, and doesn't involve a lot of duplicating data that I'm already entering in Money. (The budgeting functions in Money leave a lot to be desired.)

I'm going to try to set some goals for this year. Rather than resolutions, which tend to be the fairly ambiguous, I'm going to try to use the SMART formula for setting the goals. The goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

To this end, I think I'm going to start by setting a monthly goal and weekly goals. The monthly goals will be a project to complete by the end of the month. The weekly goals will be more along the lines of habits I want to work on developing (or breaking). I'll report progress as I go, but I'll need help. I'd appreciate if all you readers keep me honest on this. If I don't update my progress, feel free to harass me about it.

To that end, my first goals are: for the month of January--to create a budget to help reach our new savings goals; and for the first week of the month, to drink at least 64oz of water each day. So... here goes.