If you drive a high-mileage vehicle, your headlights probably aren’t as clear as they used to be. All of that exposure to sunlight is tough on plastic, and over time it causes headlights to become foggy and yellowed. That doesn’t look very nice, and it isn’t very safe either. Foggy headlights don’t give off as much light as they should, and that really hurts your ability to see – and be seen – at night. In fact, Consumer Reports did a study, and found that foggy headlights can cut your visibility by as much as 80%. Yikes!

Fortunately, cleaning your headlights, can remove that foggy haze in a matter of minutes. My husband cleaned the headlights on our Jeep yesterday, and I documented the process, so you could see what was involved. Check it out. [Read more…]

Earlier today, while headed back from thrift shopping, our Jeep hit 200,000 miles. So, naturally, we did what any frugal person would do: we pulled over and snapped a picture of our odometer. Because hitting the 200k mark is cause for celebration. It might even be something to brag about. Forget about fancy cars and car payments; driving a car until the wheels fall off – that’s much more impressive.

And I even have a plan in the works to flaunt our high-mileage status. More on that soon. But, in the mean time, I’d love to hear from other high-mileage vehicle owners. How many miles do you have on your ride? Are you on your third transmission and your second engine overhaul? This is your chance to brag.

See Also:

• How to Organize Auto Records

In the 11 years that my husband and I have been homeowners, we’ve had:

• Our neighbor’s tree fall on our house
• Another neighbor’s tree fall on our garage
• A sewer line back up
• three gas leaks
• A power surge fry our downstairs HVAC unit

So, it’s fair to say we have a bit of experience with the “what could go wrong?” side of homeownership, and because of that, we’ve taken a few extra precautionary measures to ensure that these problems (and others like it) don’t come up again. These are inexpensive fail-safes that I think everyone should implement, but unfortunately most people don’t even know they exist. So, let’s change that.

I’m going to tell you what we’ve done to protect our home, in the hopes that you’ll implement these measures in your home, and then tell your friends about them so they can do the same. Because spending a few bucks on preventatives is so much better than spending thousands on repairs.

And now, here’s what we did to diaster-proof our home. [Read more…]

Washing machine hoses. You probably bought a set when you bought your washing machine, installed them, and then forgot about them. Am I right? If so, you’re taking a major risk. Because washer hoses, they wear out.

Stand there and watch the next time your washing machine fills up, and you’ll see just how much pressure those hoses are under. It’s crazy!

And if your washing machine hoses are over five years old, you’re really flirting with disaster. Because if one of those hoses fails, guess where all of that water is going to go. Yep. Right into your house. That’s bad if your washer is in the basement, and really bad if your washer is located on another level of your home.

Because, let’s be clear on this point: If a hose fails, it will continue to pour water into your home, until you catch the problem and manually shut off the valve. There is nothing to stop it. No fail safe to save the day.

Just imagine how much damage could occur if a hose were to fail while you were at work or worse while you were on vacation. We’re talking catastrophic flooding. We’re talking call your insurance agent, pay your deductible and hire a construction crew to come tear out damaged dry wall and flooring. It is not a good way to spend your time or your money.

So, pay more attention to that washer hose. Replace it if it looks worn; and swap it out every five years, even if it looks fine. It’ll cost you $20 tops, and it could help you avoid thousands of dollars in damages.

According to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, the average washing machine failure costs $5,308 after deductible

Suddenly inspired to replace your washer hose? Here’s how it’s done. [Read more…]