Two weeks from now, my oldest son would leave the house and start staying in a dormitory for his college studies. It’s been his dream to enter into a medical school. After long years of waiting, his dream will come true. He had successfully passed his application for college. He was excited and was ready to enter his new school. As a proud and supportive parent, I do anything for my son to have a good college life.

When we received the good news that my son was able to pass the college application, we already started planning fir his career. We had a thanksgiving celebration wherein we invited some relatives and friends. We bought things that he needed for his studies. We thought we did and gave everything he needed but there’s one we forgot. My son requested us to give him a personal computer that he can use. The moment I heard it, a brilliant idea suddenly came in my mind. Instead of a desktop computer, I told him to buy him a netbook instead plus a printer. He asked me what’s the difference between a desktop computer and a netbook. I explained that he would need a device like a netbook which he cannot only use inside his room but also while in class. And since he’s taking up a medical course, a lot of classes involve a laboratory and off-campus sessions. My son agreed with us and I was glad he was convinced.

He let me pick the best netbook for him. Since childhood, my son always depends on me so he allowed me to select a netbook when he knew I could let him do that.

I looked one on the internet since I had no time to go to the stores. There was a wide variety of choices. I thought purchasing online would be easier. I had no idea how hard it was to choose the best one. As much as possible, I wouldn’t let my son feel disappointed. One long evening, I sat down in front of the computer to be able to find a netbook for him.

After several hours of reviewing specifications from various brands, I was able to discover the Samsung NC10-13B. This handy, revolutionary netbook has astonishing features. This Samsung NC10-13B is very helpful and effective to use because its captivating and high-performance structures were carefully designed. Made with a 10.1-inch widescreen display of a 104 x 600 pixel resolution, wide hard drive storage of 160 GB and an expandable 1 GB DDR2 RAM up to 2 GB, this netbook would be a perfect school mate for my son.

He would incredibly love to carry this 2.8 pounds netbook., equipped with a 6-cell lithium-ion battery, he would probably use it for up to six hours. There’s also a wireless connectivity available for internet access.

I thought this was the ideal netbook for my son so I ordered one the same evening. When the day the netbook arrived, I gave him the Samsung NC10-13B. He knew at that moment that he’s really ready to begin his college life.

During Christmas, a lot of people think about how fortunate they are living a place where they have clean water to drink, good quality education, and excellent health system to prevent illness and so on. Often these quality of life can be easily be taken for granted. Not everyone can say the same, and most would agree that those of us who are the lucky should do our bit to help those in need in the community,

So, in a year when we are facing financial or economic crisis means most people simply can’t afford to spend as much on Christmas as they would usually – how is it possible to have your usual Christmas, and still have enough left over to give to charity?

In this article I will show you seven ways you can save money, and still support those who are in need the most.

The most obvious or simplest way is to support your chosen charity by buying their Christmas cards, instead of the ones you usually buy. The cost may be roughly about the same, but the charity ones will have a donation towards their cause included in the price.

What to get the person who has everything? Well, what about a dolphin, or a tiger, or an endangered species? There are many organizations that let you “adopt” an animal, which lives in one of their shelters, and your donation helps to cover its living costs. You can contribute the annual donation in the name of the person, and they will receive updates on how their animal is progressing.

Instead of buying the usual gift in a local retail shop how about purchasing your holiday gift (or present) from the charity’s shop? You might be thinking, “are they second items?” In fact they are not. For instance, Oxfam has a range of gifts made by people in countries they support, who get paid a fair days wage to make these gifts for Oxfam to sell. Other charities also buy gifts wholesale and
resell them to the public, imputing the profits back into the charity.

Even amongst the items donated to charity shops, there can be a surprising amount of bits and pieces that can be used as gifts for your friends and family. Look for things like unburned candles, collectables, books, and antiques, which can serve as a gift alone, or can be added together to create a larger present.

“Retro” and “vintage” clothing can cost at least as much as new in those fancy boutiques – but those of you with a good eye for fashion, and the patience to go through a lot of rails of clothes can make great, inexpensive finds that will be loved again. The best shops to find these gems are charity shops near affluent areas. More often than not, people in these types of areas will get rid of barely
worn clothes that may only be a season or two old, and donate them to the nearest charity shop.

Go online. EBay, for example, has a lot of various items being sold, with a percentage of the money being donated to charity. There are a lot of celebrities who sell items this way with 100% going to charity, perhaps your friend’s favorite star is selling something that they would love?

One final tip: The best time to go hunting for charity shop gems is in January when unwanted Christmas gifts are simply just given away.

You may be able to save money by buying smartly at your local charity shop, but don’t forget that by supporting charities, you are helping someone less fortunate this Christmas.