<prompt> Human: So my laptop I use for school has been falling apart at the hinges since freshman year now a senior, and its looking like I need a new one. I am planning on building a desktop computer, as I have found I really dont ever need my laptop in class. My question is this, I have enough money to purchase the parts outright, however I am always hesitant spending large sums of money in the fear that in an emergency, having a couple thousand saved up can be a life saver. So I have been considering taking out a small studentpersonal loan of somewhere in the ballpark of 1-2k. This is a fairly small loan, and I have the funds to pay it off as quickly as I wish. This way, I dont have to watch 4 figures drain out of my savings, and it gives me the flexibility to pay for the computer in increments I see fit. Is this a good idea?  <response>: First off, if you are talking about 4 figures 1-2k? for building a computer, that sounds like way more computer than you really need for school. In fact, 1k on building a desktop sounds suspiciously like gaming computer to me.You should probably evaluate how much you really need to spend on a computer, figure out if that is affordable with what you have saved up, and if not, just save up for a couple of months to buy what you need. 