Expand Your Skillset Constantly
The other day, I changed the headlight assembly in my car after one of my headlight bulbs blew out and melted the hard plastic around the socket, making it impossible to connect a new bulb to the existing unit. I got to thinking about how much it would’ve cost me to take my car to the shop and have this done, had I not known how to do it myself.
My local auto shop is full of experienced mechanics who know what they’re doing. Problem is, they charge me $90/hr whenever they work on my car. When my blinker switch (technically referred to as the multi-function switch) went bad last year, I got a price quote at around $400 for the shop to fix it. Instead, I bought the part for about $30 from Auto Zone and spent the better part of a Saturday afternoon replacing it myself. Granted, it was a fairly involved task – I had to take apart the steering column and remove the ignition cylinder, among other things, to get to the switch itself – but it was well worth the extra trouble to save so much money. And I’m not a “car person” by any means, so don’t think I have a knack for mechanical work in the least.
Replacing the headlight assembly might not have saved me a ton of money (the part cost $52 and would have taken less than half an hour for the mechanics to install) but it was also a matter of convenience – I did the job in my driveway as opposed to hauling it across town to sit in a hot waiting room amid the uncomfortable stench of coffee, motor oil and cigarettes.
What I’m getting at here is that it would benefit you to start thinking of your skills and knowledge as a source of passive multiple streams income in the form of money saved. While I don’t ever recommend performing a repair, maintenance, or installation job you don’t feel comfortable with, I do advise you to stop throwing money at your house, your car, your boat, or whatever, and do some research first. At the very least, knowing how something works or how something is done will help you to be more conscious of what is happening around you each day. While you’re researching the inner workings of a repair or maintenance job, you might just find that it’s something you can knock out yourself. At best, you can develop your repertoire of handiwork by getting your hands dirty.
Some examples of things you could do yourself instead of paying someone an exorbitant rate to do so:
- Installing kitchen cabinets.
- Minor auto repair and maintenance, such as oil changes, topping off fluids, replacing filters, changing fuses, bulbs, or batteries.
- Drywall repair.
- Electrical outlet replacement.
This is my disclaimer: As I’m sure you’re well aware, be careful when dealing with anything involving electricity, use caution and ask for help and advice from friends who may know more than you do, and most importantly – don’t attempt anything that requires a special tool or professional certification unless you are fully qualified to do so, such as charging your air conditioner or smoke-testing your plumbing system.