Handy (Wo)man

I grew up with a Dad who fixed everything. A few things I can remember are the cars, the washing machine and dryer, our dishwasher, computer, and a Blendtec mixer. He also tiled our kitchen floor, remodeled our upstairs bathroom, and who knows what else. When I grew up, I thought that's what I'd do too and save tons of money! Too bad that's easier said than done though.

However, lately I've decided to be brave and try a few things. I recently noticed my back high-mount tail light went out (well, actually the cop pointed that one out). Rather than pay someone to replace the light, I figured I was an intelligent woman with a master's degree and I could figure it out myself. And figure it out I did. I got out the huge car manual my Dad bought when they bought the car (which they handed down to me when I bought the car a few years ago). I found out how to get the light out, I took the light down to Auto Zone, and then came home and replaced it. I'm not sure how much a mechanice would charge, but it cost me $6.99 plus tax. Not bad.

The second thing I took a leap to save money on was our dryer. A few days before Labor Day, I was doing laundry. It was working well all day, but just as I was putting the last load in, it wouldn't start. We knew hiring somebody to come out to fix the dryer wouldn't be cheap. We had bought the dryer used at a garage sale for a good price just a few months ago. Since we got such a good deal and it was older (7 years), we decided to cut our losses and buy a new dryer rather than pay someone to fix it for who knows who much or for how long. So we headed down to Lowes and bought a new dryer that was on sale for Labor Day. As exciting as it is to get something new, it is just as bla to know you have to pay for it. During the kids' nap time, I went online and googled "my dryer won't start." After reading and watching you-tube videos for a while, I came to the conclusion that it wouldn't be hard to test a few parts. I went to Wal-mart that afternoon and bought a multimeter. Then when Brian came home from work, I had him take the back of the dryer off and test a piece called the thermal fuse. After using the multimeter, we realized that piece was the problem. I later went to the Sears Part Store and bought a new one for just $16! Brian replaced it on Friday and our dryer has been working great ever since. $16 is so much better than buying a new dryer!!