Dear Cheapie McCheapster,

Thelma Thousandaire

Dear Thelma,

Have you any idea how expensive private school is? Bill has three kids now, it's no wonder he needs money. But if you don't have the money to give him, Cheapie has this advice:

1) Avoid compulsive upgrading. Cheapie herself used Office 97 for almost seven years, until an editing client complained about formatting problems. (She ran out and bought Office 2003 that afternoon.) Skipping two rounds of software upgrades saved a few hundred bucks right there.

2) Try shareware for niche applications, as you don't need to pay for it unless you like it. The licensing fee for those that can help your business is usually low. Download.com and Tucows offer many great options.

3) Consider remanufactured equipment. The PC vendors take returned equipment, repair it, and resell it at low prices with full warranties. Cheapie bought a great laptop this way.

4) Is the vendor publicly traded? How is the quarter going? When does the quarter end? Chances are great that as the quarter wraps up, the company will push to get a few more sales by offering great incentives to buyers. Cheapies's remanufactured laptop was bought in the last week of March - the company’s quarter closed on March 31 - and came with no interest, no payment financing for six months.

Cheapie sends her kid to public school, so her extra funds go to shoes.

Your penny-pinching pal,

Cheapie McCheapster