Decisions, Decisions.... Help Me Decide!

Hi Warriors,

Ok, it seems like money is always tight and there's always something else that needs to be bought. And I have a running list of "Things to Buy" as the money comes along.

Now, I actually have in my hot little hands about $1,000 I can spend on something. It doesn't mean that I shouldn't be spending the money on other necessary things (ahem) but for now, I could really squeeze and buy something I've been needing in the $1,000 range (maybe). So I'm looking at three different things but can get only one. Which would you choose?

1. Laptop computer

I have a destop, but that's it. No laptop and as I delve deeper into my business, I worry about having a backup computer if something should happen to this one. I'm also SICK of not being able to work on my stuff unless I'm at home in front of my desktop.

I know loneliness and productivity have been discussed here along with the merits of working from Starbucks or Panera Bread or wherever on your laptop. I would dearly love to have a laptop and go to my local Barnes and Noble and sit in the Starbucks there with my laptop.

2. Live event.

This discounted rate for prior customers just happens to be $1,000 and I REALLY want to go. I even managed to get the time off of my regular day job. (No small feat when it wasn't part of my already-scheduled vacations days. I had to beg, then bribe to get those specific days off.)

I've never been to a live event and this will NOT be a pitch-fest. But I'm still more or less in the beginning stages of my business and am not sure I can justify going to a live event when I only have sporadic income coming in right now -- nothing regular. The "prudent" side of me says to stick with the homestudy courses for now and put the live events on a back burner.

It's been mentioned here that people don't generally "get" what Warriors do and it would be so awesome to be around people who "get" it. I think the networking and learning with like-minded individuals would be so awesome. But again, at this stage of my business, can I justify it?

3. 1 Shopping Cart for 1 year

I've been piecing together my order/payment processing/affiliate/etc. processes and it's really almost more headache than it's worth. I've done it because I've felt 1SC was too expensive for me at this stage, but as I put my business together, I've been increasingly frustrated.

Yes, I know I could do the $100 monthly payment, but aside from the cost itself, I don't have the regular income/orders to justify the cost. So I've been planning on using PayPal (which I still would do if I had 1SC). But I'm struggling to find an affiliate program I like AND at the moment, I have no way to track ads, articles, etc. (1SC offers ad tracking services too.)

True, I still don't have the regular orders or volume to justify it, but if I paid it in one lump sum for a year, I wouldn't feel the bite every month.

Suggestions?

I could always do payments on a laptop and 1SC and pay the fee for the seminar in one lump sum. I've just been shy of adding any more payments to my obligations. I'm trying to REDUCE my monthly payments, not increase them!

There is a payment plan for the seminar, but the cost increases by $500 if I do that and I hate to spend an extra $500 just because I chose payments! Cash flow is an issue here, but I could really use the extra $500 for other things.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

I'm particularly interested in what others think about the value of live events. I already know the one I want to go to and am fully convinced of it's value to me. I'm just not sure if it's the right thing to do at this time. What was your experience with attending a live event and did you feel it was worth it?

Thanks,
Michelle