There are numerous limiting beliefs that hold people back from making/saving money. From beliefs that they are not smart enough to understand investing, to thinking that they could never survive with only one car, or living in a smaller house. One major area that I believe people hold themselves back in is in fixing things themselves. They accept lies that they are not handy, or that they could never figure out the issue. One of the greatest things about our modern age is that in almost every case someone has already laid out the steps for you.
As I was growing up wasting hours and hours going down the YouTube rabbit hole of music or comedy videos, usually when I should have been sleeping, I would have never imagined that it would also be a tool I have used to save me hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. Listed below are just a few stories where I harnessed the power of the internet and the power of YouTube to solve a problem that I would have had no idea how to fix without these tools.
While I have been enjoying my #funemployment we had an electrician come to our house and examine some work that needed to be done. One of the things he examined was a ceiling fan in which the lights had stopped working. They told us that they could install a new light kit that would cost around $30-40, but suggested that if we were going to do that that we should just purchase a new ceiling fan as it would only be $20-30 more. He said that what probably happened is the plastic switch attached to the pull chain stopped working. I will be forever grateful that he mentioned this piece because as soon as he left I began researching the issue online. I found numerous articles of people replacing the plastic part themselves and took apart our fan to find the correct part number. I ordered the $6 part on Amazon and with my mom’s help installed it in about twenty minutes, not only saving us money, but hopefully extending the life of the fan for years to come.
While I grew up with a mountain bike and rode it with friends as well as my family, I was never one of those children depicted in movies riding bikes with their friends whenever they had a free moment. I enjoyed the riding that I did, but I never learned a lot about bicycles or how to fix them. I amazed a friend recently, read within the past two years, when I posted an Instagram story of me changing my first bike tire at the ripe old age of 32. How did I figure out how to change it? YouTube, and a really nice security guard at the theatre. I also had an experience last year where the rear derailleur on my bicycle would not shift gears. I took it into a local bike shop and they were going to charge me $20 dollars to fix it and I would have to leave my bike overnight. Leaving my bike overnight would necessitate me spending money on Uber/Lyft to get from the bike shop to my Airbnb, from my Airbnb to work, from work to my Airbnb, and then finally back to the bike shop the next day. So, in reality this $20 fix was really going to cost much closer to $60, and based on how my bike traveled on tour I would probably encounter the problem again. While I could not even begin to imagine the steps needed to fix the problem, I knew I could not make it much worse than it already was. I rode my bike to work, pulled out my all-in-one bike tool, and opened a YouTube video. Within 30 minutes I had fixed the derailleur and taught myself a new skill that I have used a few times since when my gears were not switching correctly. I still know very little about bicycles, but I am very good at following step by step videos.
I have joked for years that when it comes to cars I can check my oil and that is about it. While I am in no way, shape, or form a mechanic, I have been able to harness the power of YouTube and the internet to save my Dad and I hundreds of dollars. A few years ago I noticed that the cruise control stopped working in my truck and thought it was odd, but not a huge deal as I did not use it often. A friend who was following me a few days later informed me that my brake lights were also not working. Cue: Problem. I hopped online and learned that a part GMC had used in my truck would build up gunk that prevented it from making an electrical contact and needed to be taken out and cleaned. I found a video that showed how to do this and was able to fix my truck with a little bit of elbow grease and some research. My Dad had taken his truck in for the same issue and was quoted somewhere in the neighborhood of $450 to fix the problem. After doing more research I learned that GMC had manufactured a new model of the part that did not cause a build up and I was able to find them online for about $10. I bought a new one for my truck, and one for my Dad’s, and installed them both in about five minutes.
I tell these stories not to brag, but to encourage you to not let yourself be held back by the belief that you are not handy or that you cannot fix things. I encourage you to begin to adopt a do-it-yourself mindset. The next time you have something that needs repaired, I encourage you to take just ten minutes and research it online and/or watch a YouTube video about the repair. If it seems feasible I encourage you to try it and let me know how it goes. If it does not seem feasible call a professional.
By doing some repairs yourself you will not only save yourself money, but you will also save yourself time as you do not have to wait between the hours of four to eight for a technician to arrive. One of the other great benefits of repairing things yourself is that as you begin to solve problems and fix issues you will gain confidence to tackle even bigger projects.
Disclaimer: With the above being said, there are definitely issues that you should hire a professional for and I am not saying that you should literally do everything yourself. While I did repair our ceiling fan, we still hired the electrician to fix other issues in our home as electricity can be extremely dangerous. Stay safe and be smart!
