09/03/2026
Everything is expensive right now. Groceries, utilities, vehicles, repairs, basically everything.
We can complain about it, and sometimes rightfully so, but there are also some things we can take control of ourselves.
Today I changed the oil in our van myself for the first time.
Let’s use easy numbers and say an oil change costs about $100.
My oil and filter cost $54, so every time I do it myself I save about $46.
Of course, getting started wasn’t free.
Jack: $100
Jack stands: $35
Oil drain pan: $15
Funnel: $4
Total invested in tools: $154
At roughly $46 saved per oil change, those tools pay for themselves after about 3.3 oil changes.
So basically, sometime during my 4th oil change, everything I bought has paid for itself.
After 10 oil changes, I’d have spent about $1,000 paying someone else.
Doing them myself would be about $540 in oil and filters + the original $154 in tools = $694.
That’s already $306 saved, and I still own the jack, jack stands, drain pan and funnel.
And the jack and stands aren’t just “oil change tools.” I can use them for brakes, tire rotations, repairs and other vehicles for years.
I’m not saying everyone needs to start doing their own mechanic work. There are plenty of things I’ll gladly pay someone who knows more than me to do.
But with prices where they are, I’ve been thinking more about this:
What am I paying someone else to do that I could reasonably learn to do myself?
Oil changes. Home repairs. Growing some of our own food. Raising some of our own food. Building things instead of buying them. Learning how to fix something before automatically replacing it.
You’re not going to control the economy.
But you can control how much of your money you hand over because you never learned how to do something.
Sometimes spending a little more upfront on the right tools and learning a new skill is what saves you money for years afterward.
Today it was just an oil change. 🔧
But $46 at a time adds up.
Edit. I did already have a cheap wrench and socket set from Walmart.
