Laptop prices are poised to take a drop as Microsoft readies its new Windows 8 operating system.

Right now, it seems like the price point for a basic entry level laptop is hovering around $300. Back leading up to Christmas though, it was down as low as $229 for a 15-inch screen and it even hit $199 around Black Friday. But since the holidays ended, that price point has steadily climbed back up.

The impending rollout of Windows 8 should change that. The life is being sucked out of the computer and laptop market as people go on buyer's strike waiting for the new tech to come out. As for all those ads saying you can upgrade the OS you get now in a new computer to Windows 8, well, my experience is that it's never as easy as it seems, unless you're well-versed in techy matters.

Just know that the price of current generation Microsoft laptops will keep dropping through the spring and summer. So if you need a supplemental computer or just an economy kind of laptop, you will have a great window of opportunity this year, especially come June and July.

And when Windows 8 comes out, if you want to buy ultra cheap, you'll be able to pick up a used laptop or computer for a song. I'm talking from $99 to $179 by this fall or the end of next year! That right there constitutes bragging rights to me!

You won't have the latest and greatest, but you'll have something that will work just fine.