Did it myself and saved $140!!!

[umarider]

Let's hear it for that little voice inside us that tells us that "Yes we can"! My 2000 Camry had really hazy headlights and the repair shop wanted $150 to remove the haze.

A little online research and I found the process for removing the haze wasn't too complex, it just required assembling a variety of buffing agents/sandpaper, etc. Then I decided to see if there was a kit for doing the job. Found one for $8.97, brought it home and 20 minutes later I have gorgeous, clear headlights! Now I am looking forward to the next rainy night of driving instead of dreading it! (Couldn't see a thing when the headlights were hazy unless I had the highbeams on).

Yay for doing it yourself!

[hibana]

Good for you! So many things are so easy to fix yourself, but somehow everyone thinks it's impossible!

My dh did this to both of our cars and it made a huge difference. They were so bad before that he was looking at getting new headlights, so we saved a bunch of money that way.

Last time our cars needed inspection, one failed because of some blown bulbs. The inspection station re-inspects for free if you bring your failed car back before a certain amount of time has elapsed. I bought new bulbs and changed them myself in the parking lot of the auto parts store using a pocket knife, then had the car re-inspected. That saved the cost of the second inspection and labor for having a shop fix it.

Also I repaired the screen on my cell phone using a cheap used one found on ebay.

[Pariah]

That's great! It is such a good feeling to DIY, especially if it saves you a lot amount of money.

[sunnysandiegan]

[just_lily]

Awesome!! Google is totally my friend when it comes to DIY.

Our dishwasher was completely toast but we couldn't afford a new one. I lived without for a while, but with a home daycare it was really hard.

We finally picked up a used one at a used building supplies store (like Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, only local) for only $50. We then had to install it which took three hours and some more google research. But nobody got electrocuted, we didnt flood the kitchen, and we got a good working dishwasher for $50.

[MyLittleWarrior]

That's awesome. I remember when I put a shot glass through my garbage disposal and jammed it. After a quick google consult I was able to get it unjammed and just ran the rest of the glass thorugh (it's actually supposed to be good for the disposal, cleans it out and sharpens blades?). What did we do before the internet?

[umarider]

The internet can certainly be a tool of empowerment!

[butterfly1976]

That's awesome!!! I always felt such pride when I could do things on my own. Google is a wonderful thing!

[surrogate]

wow! all of ya'll are empowering! And now I want to go to the habitat store and find a dishwasher lol

[MrsMike]

Awesome! I have also found really helpful how-to videos on YouTube.

[EmsMom]

You all rock! I am inspired! But I should mention for the less do it yourselfy person out there, if you need a new headlight bulb for your car, if you ask very, very nicely (low cut blouse might help), the very nice men at the auto parts store might just do it for you... Works for me!

[sinsaratea]

amen ladies! since i became suddenly single i have been having to figure out things too!

-hung a chandelier above my toilet [we're fancy like that, yo]
-repaired drywall
-air filter change in car
-headlight change
-fixing the gas grill
-learning to mow the large lawn and maintain the mower
-setting up/repairing network connection on computers

and some other stuff i can't remember right now. google and youtube are my primary resources--and i like being empowered!

[34me]

i always change my own oil (and dh's ) but somehow the thing on the back of the oven that the cord attaches to totally blew one night. I took a couple pics with my digital camera brought them to the appliance parts store (where they complimented my photography) and for $10 I fixed my oven!