• return2ozma@lemmy.worldOP
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    4 months ago

    Nearly 70% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, same percentage can’t afford a $400 emergency.

      • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        0
        ·
        edit-2
        4 months ago

        Quite a few trade skills are worth learning the basics of yourself. Fixing a minor plumbing problem can easily be $500 for a simple job, or $30 in parts and an informative video to do it yourself. It has been one of the consequences of telling everyone for decades trade schools are inferior to college. We are short on tradesmen, thus they are very expensive to hire.

        • Funderpants @lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          4 months ago

          As a homeowner who went through rough financial times 15 years ago, yes, YouTube and home depot will save your bacon.

        • Trainguyrom@reddthat.com
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          0
          ·
          4 months ago

          Fixing a minor plumbing problem can easily be $500 for a simple job, or $30 in parts and an informative video to do it yourself.

          Sometimes it’s not a matter of not knowing how to but being unable to actually do that task the way a skilled professional could. I have some rubber gaskets that wore out on a toilet, and managed to introduce new leaks in the process of fixing it, after spending about $300 on tools and parts (I had to Dremel out the bolts holding the tank to the rest of it since they were completely corroded on, plus replacing more parts as things didn’t quite fit together and kept leaking, plus my wife bought some $50 bolt cutters that we couldn’t use in the right space) and I ended up having to call a plumber to fix both the original problem and my failed attempt to fix it