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Personal computers are a relatively new advancement in technology. Computers were not commonplace a few decades ago, and a time when the Internet was not around (at least not for any personal, practical purposes) is still a recent memory for many people. Even in the 90′s, many families did not have computers, many more did not have the Internet, and very few people had anything to enhance a computer, such as back-up storage and memory upgrades. Computers have advanced quickly, and now there are many things you can do to improve your computer.

Many people only use a computer to get on the Internet and play Solitaire. Other people spend 10 hours a day in front of a computer. Whether you use a computer once a day or all day, there are a few basic investments you should consider that can save you time, money, and energy.

The first of these investments is an external hard drive to backup the information on your computer and to free more memory on your hard drive. External hard drives generally run between $60-150, depending on the size; however, they can work wonders speeding up an overloaded computer and can save you a lot of hair-pulling if you need to restore your system.

Another smart investment is a memory upgrade. This can speed up a slow computer in a pinch. Memory upgrades have a big price range ($60-600) depending on the size of the upgrade, but are generally worth it.

There are many ways to improve the computer you have. A walk through a computer store will give you a dozen ideas.