I had a new laptop, I just didn't know it yet.
My work's laptop screen just turned black one day. I've sold my own macbook a few months back and was searching for a new one. So my laptop suddenly became a desktop. Then I recalled that there is a dusty macbook air 11-inch back from 2015. I've bought a new battery and installed linux mint and there you have it, a new laptop, at least for as long as I get a new one.
So there was a free laptop out of the blue.
If you have a need for one sometime, check your house, you might have one too.