$5000 to spend....

I agree with Rarl...

Save the cash and hunker down. Good positions are not easily found these days. I've been out of business for 5 months and no real prospects. Listen to some tunes to help pass the days.

Good luck,
Edward

Ditto: Buy a treadmill and improve your health.
Peeps keep saying the economy is going to bounce back.
I don't see it. Unless we come up with a new source of clean cheap energy (like fusion) we are slowly but surely sliding towards the global standard of living.
My line of work (mainframe computing) was moved offshore
so some CEOs could have bigger bonuses.
You've been hit also. Who will be next?
And the beat goes on...

You guys all make a great deal of sense...perhaps too much! I agree with you, Dweller, about needing new energy sources.... and I do work on my health everyday (running, weights, etc.), so that's under control. So how about I step back a bit and think about new digital playback for less $$? ok, ok, I'll stop!

I'm in a somewhat similar situation although not totally w/o funds. Injured at work a little over a year ago & have been receiving WC since, so at least the bills are being paid. The kicker is I just found out a few weeks ago I can't go back to my job due to the weight restrictions & I just had my first meeting with a "specialist" to find a new "career". I'm due some money (8.5k) that I loaned my brother & am leaning towards a DAC (~3k) for my next upgrade. The rest will go to my Roth/savings for this year & then I'm back to square one.

What makes my situation tolerable is I (we) have no debt other than the house & even that is no biggie, so what I'm getting at here is for anybody who likes to buy audio or autos or whatever that is expensive is not to go into debt over it. It took me 12 yrs. to clear up my debt & although my credit was & is perfect, I knew I was only a few paychecks away from trouble.

If your finances are in good shape & the money you are contemplating for an upgrade could also be used for an investment that you could risk taking a big hit on (read buy upgrade then have to sell at 70% loss) then by all means get it & don't look back. If after thinking this through you have doubts then of course don't venture into these waters. The old "Let me sleep on it" actually comes in handy in these instances.

Bottom line is this is supposed to be a fun hobby but if there are conditions that cause uncertainty/trepidation, then steer clear & make sure to keep it a positive experience.

All good advice.

I was unemployed for almost a year. Living in the Silicon Valley and working knee-deep in technology start-ups, I got hit hard when the bubble burst. Whoa be to those who get burned by the latest bubble - real estate! But I digress.

You might be surprised by how long it takes to find something "suitable".

As it was, I ended up taking a job that I didn't love after almost a year of being unemployed just to keep food on the table. I sold the house and moved to a less expensive area. And I was only making 1/5th of my previous salary.

Only now, (3 1/2 years later) am I doing something that I love. Even still, it's in a totally new field and it'll probably be another 3-5 years before I'm making what I used to.

The economy has been improving, but remember that past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. There's a whole lotta' potentially choppy water ahead, so proceed with the utmost caution.