Skip to main content

A Little TV Research

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’d like to purchase a lightweight, flat-panel TV to replace my heavy analog one before my daughter starts walking. All of the articles I’ve seen about TVs toppling over on small children have this new mom very nervous.

I need to put aside money for the TV so that I don’t get tempted to charge. It’s possible that by the time I have the money saved, my little girl will likely already be walking. For now, as I wait for my savings account to grow, I’ve been researching TVs online so that when the time comes, I know what I’m buying and where I can get the best deal on it.

Looking at TVs solely on a computer screen, however, doesn’t give me all the information I need to make a final decision. I’d like to get either a 32-inch and a 37-inch screen, but without an in-person view, I’m having trouble choosing between the two. I’m all for the smaller and likely less expensive TV, as long as it isn’t so small that I have to squint to see it from my sofa.

So, while running an errand at Walmart the other day, I detoured through the electronics department to see how close the 32-inch screen measures up to our current TV. This didn’t help much. So, I tried to stand back from the 32-inchers at a distance comparable to that between my sofa and TV, and I discovered I’m not all that good at judging that either.

I did see something interesting, though: Next to each TV was an yellowish-orange tag showing its estimated energy usage. It looks like this:






People who’ve been TV shopping lately have likely already seen these, but this was new to me, and since I’m trying to trim our electric bill, I’m glad I can see this information at a glance. Since then, I’ve also seen the same info while shopping online at Walmart, Sam’s Club, Best Buy and Target, so I should be able to compare energy usage no matter where I shop. The lower the number, the more likely I am to buy.

More thoughts on these tags in Monday's post.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tackling the Electricity Bill

I got our latest electricity bill this past week. It went up. Again. I don't understand why. It's been a mild winter, so we haven't used the heater as much as last year. Plus, I've made a few small changes that I had hoped would add up to even a slight savings: I've cut down on the time the TV has been on. I haven't been perfect about it, though, because I still turn it on to watch something, decide to work on something else at the same time, then after an hour or so, I realize I'm not watching the TV at all. Wasted electricity. I've unplugged my alarm clock. When we first brought our daughter home, her pediatrician recommended we feed her every two hours for the first week or so. After the first night of pushing an awkward combination of buttons and waiting for the alarm time to advance every couple of hours, I realized it was tons easier to just punch the time into my cellphone alarm. I kept the bedside clock until about two weeks ago. I also unpl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Home Improvements

I've taken a week off in September to finish some home improvement projects that have been in progress for far too long. My challenge between now and then will be to both set aside and earn enough to buy the supplies without having to charge anything. Our biggest expense will be paint. We've got to paint our living room ceiling, living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and one bathroom to have our home "finished." Hopefully we'll be able to get that far with it, but my fear is we'll need longer than a week to complete it all because several walls need to be repaired in places first. I've got a freelance project in progress right now that will give us the bulk of what we'll need, but I don't think it will cover everything. Plus, I have to make sure I don't spend any of it between now and then on "wants."
Post a Comment
Read more

Walmart Cards

On Thursday last week, I made a hasty trip through Walmart to pick up items I can't buy at Aldi when I noticed a sign that said using a Walmart card at the Murphy Oil gas stations could net a 15 cents a gallon savings. Because I was breezing through the store on my way to drop my daughter off at daycare before I had to head to work, I just made a mental note to do a little more looking into it later. Well, I finally had the chance. The 15 cents a gallon saving lasts through Christmas Eve, and it's good only on a Walmart prepaid debit card or credit card. If the 15 cents a gallon were permanent, I'd consider getting the prepaid debit card. Because it's only temporary though, I've decided to try loading up Walmart gift cards instead, which gives a 10 cents a gallon savings at Murphy stations through Dec. 24. Hopefully, I'll make the time to fit it into my schedule because my car doesn't get the greatest gas mileage, and 10 cents a gallon could come in ha...
Post a Comment
Read more