do it yourself

My frugal lesson for the week is DIY (Do It Yourself!). We recently discovered that our car's left rear brake light AND turn signal were out. Jon was busy with work and classes all week and wasn't going to have a good chance to look into it and I really wanted to relieve him of the burden to do so.... so I tackled the car issue myself!

At first thought I reasoned... it must be a short... if it's BOTH lights they wouldn't have both burned out at once, right? I called our mechanic (who is exceptional and very honest) who recommended trying to replace the bulb first on my own before bringing it in to the shop. It would be easier and cheaper they said...

Off to the autoparts store. I walked in... baby on hip... and explained my problem. They looked up what kind of bulb our car required in the computer... and the grand total was $6.09! News to me that the turn signal and the brake light are the same bulb! I also got them to show me which screws to undo to get to the old bulb.

Later that day Baby Girl and I trekked out to the car (we live on a college campus and don't have parking close by). I sat her on a blanket in the back so she could watch me while I worked.

I must say... it was rather anticlimatic. Within a few mintues it was fixed! Just like that!

Jon was thrilled and I have so much more confidence now to try fixing things on my own that I previously may not have tackled.

This post is in conjunction with Frugal Friday over at Life as Mom. Check out Jessica's blog for more Frugal tips and to share tips of your own!