So my trusty old Dell laptop is finally on its last legs. The screen keeps doing this weird flickering thing and it takes like ten minutes just to boot up and let me check my email. I really need to get a replacement soon because I manage the budget for my neighborhood garden club and doing all the spreadsheets on my phone is driving me absolutely insane.

I saw that Amazon Prime Day is coming up next week and I was thinking maybe that would be the best time to buy something. The problem is I have absolutely no clue what I am looking at when it comes to computer specs. Like I see words like RAM and Intel and SSD and my brain just completely shuts down. I apologize if this is a really dumb question but I genuinely have no idea where to start.

My budget is pretty tight, I really want to keep it under 400 dollars if possible. I basically just need something that can handle Google Sheets, watching some Netflix in bed, and browsing the web without lagging. I don't play games or do anything crazy like video editing.

Are the Prime Day deals actually good for laptops or is it mostly just companies trying to get get rid of junk they couldn't sell? I keep seeing ads for these brands I've never heard of that are super cheap but I'm scared they'll break in a month. If anyone has seen any good deals listed yet or has advice on what brands to look out for that would be amazing. What should I even be looking for in my price range?