Saved my family over $1000 this weekend

[SpecAg08]

This is really 2 stories in one that combined for some awesome weekend savings. Feel pretty good about it and wanted to share.

Story 1
Our TV just stopped working. Everything was normal and then just shut off and would not turn back on. No sound, no power light, nothing. I immediately started looking at new TVs (because I have a bit of a weakness for fancy gadgetry) and there are some pretty sexy LEDs on the market in the $400 price range. Before taking the plunge, I decided to exercise my frugal muscle and look at DIY repair. With some help from the avsforums, I determined that the most likely source of trouble was the power supply, and fortunately power supplies are one of the least expensive, easiest to replace components in modern TVs. After a quick trip to Ebay, I was able to find a replacement power supply board for about $30, and with a simple philips head screwdriver and 30 minutes of time I replaced the board and had everything working again in time for college football kickoff.

savings = $400 (new TV) - $30 (parts) = $370

Story 2
Last week I took our family vehicle in for some recall work and an oil change. I got a call from the dealership informing me that my cabin air filter, engine air filter, and tires needed to be replaced. I told them that I would replace the filters myself and that I wanted a second opinion on the tires. The dealership wanted $100 for the filters, I got both of them on amazon for $40 and youtube showed me how to install them. The dealer told me the tread on the tires was fine but the sidewalls were "dry rotted" (cracking) and all 4 needed to be replaced to the tune of $650. I did some research and the manufacturer has a 6yr/65,000mi warranty on our specific tire, which we were well within. So I called and they agreed that dry rot would be covered by warranty, but I needed to take the car to one of their tire dealers for inspection. Their inspector said that it was not dry rot, but "weather checking" and while it does not look very nice, the cracking is purely cosmetic and not dangerous.  He said there was a 1-5 visual scale that they use to determine severity and while I was at about a 3 the manufacturer will not replace the tires under warranty unless it is a 5, so if things get worse I should bring it back. Good enough for me.

Savings = $650 (tires) + $100 (dealer filters) - $40 (amazon filters) = $710

Total Savings = $710 + $370 = $1080

All in all, a good weekend.

[Greg]

Very cool.  My weekend savings were nowhere near that.  I fixed DW's immersion blender with a nylon washer and a hacksaw according to a YouTube video she looked up.  Took maybe 5 minutes.  Also fixed a snap on my kid's backpack but that didn't last, will need a different solution.

When you looked at the filters, did they appear to need changing?  Curious if it was a schedule thing or a visual assessment.

[SpecAg08]

The dealership told me it was a visual assessment, which makes their overcharge seem rather strange. They had already done the labor, and if they had just given me a good price on the parts (like $50 or so) I would have let them do it.

When I took the filters out the cabin air filter was really dirty and the manual says to replace every 25k so that was necessary. The engine air filter looked ok, the manual says to replace every 45k, but I had already paid for it so I figured it couldn't hurt.

[2ndTimer]

Wow, when I make a save like that, I celebrate my achievement  by walking to the grocery store and buying a donut for myself and the Hub to have with our own coffee.  You may not feel like being so extravagant though.