Surviving this Hard Times

Like most people out there right now during this hard times I keep thinking of ways to save an extra buck for something else. One money hole is the car like or not you have to change your oil and brakes when they wear out. Solution get a tool box and get ready to get your hands dirty. After driving around with breaks so worn that i was starting to get worried they might fail anytime, I decided to change them for myself. I was suprised how easy the whole process was, it only took two minutes max to change out the pads. But my biggest problem was raising the car armed with a screw driver to operate the jack in a series of quater to half turns at best on the jack. It was around 15 to 20 minutes before the tire was off the ground.
Now with two cars the cheapest mechanic would have caused me $168, by doing it myself am looking at just $68. In future am looking at getting a hydraulic jack for around $30 to make my jo
b easier next time. Since my oil change is due am thinking of getting some ramps for around $34 and doing it myself, last time I went to walmart and had a high millage oil change I had to sit down when they hit me with the bill $45 for an oil change this made my head was spin, at least the minimum they could have done was use a top end product for that kind of change. By doing the job myself the first time am figuring i will save enough to offset the cost of the ramp, with all my future oil changes averaging $15.

To make a long story short with a little sweat and learning you might be surprised by the amount of money you might be able to save yourself by simple jobs around the house. My work mate armed with a plumbing manual tore down his bathroom plumbing after he saw a leak coming through the wall. At the end of it all a job which would have cost him $3000 minimum ended up costing $400.