A rare Apple discount

Let me first say that I understand that by buying an Apple laptop, I am a bit above the spending curve for technology.  That being said, for those of us with an expensive taste for gadgets, this is a rare opportunity.

As an educator, I got an interesting email that led me to this deal.  With that in mind, I called Apple corporate.  I asked if I was able to get this iPod discount even if I’m not going back to college, but instead a teacher, and they confirmed that this was fine.  My point is that you can either buy it through your child going to college, or through your spouse who is an educator, or just yourself as an educator.

So here is my deal.  I know that it makes the ridiculously expensive only a little less ridiculous, but hey, it’s a pretty good discount.

My Macbook Pro was $1199 to start.  Through the Ed. Store, it was $1099.

I got a $100 rebate on a printer.  I purchased a $129 printer which will cost a net $29.

My iPod Nano 16GB was originally $179 and cost me nothing.  It was good for up to a $199 iPod touch, but I opted for the Nano since it takes video.

Finally, I got a copy of iWork for $49 instead of $79.

Instead of getting an upgrade on the hard drive, I purchased a 320GB external so I could do Time Machine backups.  It cost me $99.

So here’s the bottom line: total cost without the Education Store discount was $1787 for a laptop, wireless printer, external hard drive, iWork software, and iPod Nano.  With all my discounts: $100 off the computer, $100 off the printer, $30 iWork, $179 off the iPod (total cost), my cost is $1359.

It’s still an exorbitantly large amount of money, but I work several extra night, weekend, and odd jobs to be able to pay for my toys.  I’m not a fan of saving everything, I’m a fan of spending as wisely as possible on the things I love.

Apple is notoriously expensive and equally notoriously stingy with any kind of discount.  When I heard about this I jumped on it and you should too if you’re in the market for a new Mac.