(a third title option: “Why my washing machine agitator is two different colors”)
If you asked my husband which of us is more frugal, he would, without hesitation, name me.
And it is true that I am far more likely to obsess about expenses and savings plans and waste.
But in one way, Mr. FG is exceedingly more financially wise than I am. When it comes to the small things, I have him beat, but when it comes to larger expenditures, he most definitely has me beat.
For example, I can manage to get cereal for almost nothing, I can feed us three meals a day for a few dollars, and I keep the six of us clothed on way less than $50/month, but I am fairly useless when it comes to things like buying houses or cars or appliances.
For some reason, when the purchase is really large, I can sort of get caught up in the moment and lose some of my financial common sense. I’ll negotiate the price of a $5 item at Goodwill, but it will not occur to me to argue over a $500 charge when we’re buying a house. I’ve mended a shirt because I wasn’t willing to pay $8 for a new one, but I was willing to accept a low-ball check from the insurance company when my car got totalled.
My lack of sense with large purchases is pretty deplorable, that’s for sure. Thankfully, my husband is far more rational when we’re dealing with large amounts of money, and I’m sure that he’s saved us a pretty penny over the years.
Want a recent example? My older-model washing machine has been having a problem with the agitator. Basically, the dogs that hold the upper cam in place had broken off, so only the bottom portion of the agitator was actually…agitating.
After a cursory but frustrating search online for the replacement parts, I was ready to throw in the towel and just go buy a new washing machine (I know…that is pathetic.) I even logged onto Consumer Reports and started researching washing machines.
Fortunately, my husband is a little more persevering than I am when it comes to this kind of stuff, and he managed to find the information we needed. We ordered a dog kit and cam for about $30 from PartSelect, and much to my surprise, the package showed up the next day (I don’t have any relationship with PartSelect, but based on this experience, I highly recommend them!).
Armed with the package directions (I’m better at reading directions than Mr. FG is, so I usually read the directions and he does the work!), we disassembled the old agitator, cleaned it all out, and installed the new parts. I think it took maybe half an hour, tops.
Out with the old…
in with the new!
Unfortunately, the new piece is white instead of blue, so now my washing machine agitator is blue on the bottom, white in the middle, and blue on top.
But, I don’t really care. My washing machine works properly again, and my goodness! A $30 expenditure for parts is much better than a $500+ expenditure for a new washing machine.
It’s a really, really good thing my husband is around to save me from myself in these sorts of situations because without him, my laundry room would probably be sporting a new washing machine right about now.
And it’s a good thing for him that I’m around, because without me, his money would probably trickle away due to small expenses.
I think we make a good pair. 
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, what a GREAT story! I am glad you have a hubby like that- mine doesn’t know how to do any of that stuff. But he can cook!
Well, mine doesn’t really cook. lol I think he’s made about 3 dinners since we’ve been married.
But that’s ok…I’d rather cook than use ratchets!
My husband and I are the same way. Anything technical and I’m convinced it needs replaced or needs a professional – luckily, he takes over those things for me and saves the money for us
Stacy
Thanks for this post! Our washer is leaking…hubs took it apart last night to show me what part we needed. I will be ordering tonight! WAHOO – $500 SAVED!
My husband and I are the same way! We’re house-hunting right now, and he’s much more focused on inspecting potential houses, finding whatever happens to be wrong with them, and then taking that into account when thinking about making an offer. Me? If I love a house, I want to put an offer on it. Immediately.
Impulse control is definitely something I struggle with.
And cars? Forget it. I have no idea.
Nice teamwork! It is good that you know your strengths and weaknesses and work with them.
Ooh, that’s a wonderful story. My husband is a great negotiater and I am much too chicken to do that. I think we gals have to take a lesson from our hubs and be more assertive! Without that skill, I would be paying at least fifteen dollars more a month on a storage fee that we have to pay right now. Imagine that over a year!
My hubby fixed our washing machine that was doing the same thing. He pointed it out, but with my busy life and mind on other things, I didn’t take time to notice that much and I sure didn’t write a blog post about it. Shoot! You beat me to it! Great idea and kudos to your hubby.
Note to self: give my own hubby a pat on the back for not buying a new washing machine (which is normally his first inclination) and being more frugal by fixing our not so old one.
What a great pair – perfectly matched (as my husband says about us: we are not perfect, but we’re perfect together!)
Ask your hubby – any ideas about fixing an old dryer that needs 2 runs each to dry a load? (time to buy a new one?) And a leaking inkjet printer! Yikes.
Ellen, do a search using the words “(Brand Name of washer)” and “dryer complaints” or “dryer problems”. You’ll probably find lots of web pages to check out. That’s how I discovered the sites that sell replacement parts, and other sites that have detailed instructions on how to repair appliances.
I have a front load washer, and the door latch went out twice. The machine is only 4 years old, and the second time was passed the warranty. I didn’t want to pay to have a repair technician come out, and I found how to fix it and where to order it the particular part I needed. It cost less than $90.00! And it took my brother-in-law about 15 minutes to fix it!
It’s definitely worth the time to check on the internet.
Ugh, my ex husband can’t cook OR fix anything. I’m definitely not settling for less in the future. My next husband will be a gourmet cook, handy in fixing pretty much anything, have a great personality AND be super hot!:P
Congrats on the washer! That is awesome. My husband usually fixes stuff like that, but I definitely help. My undergrad and master’s degree are in mechanical engineering, so I love to tinker with things. heh. Sometimes maybe a little bit too much.
Oh, and I just wanted to say that I will be trying your pants to skirt experiment sometime this week or next. I hope they turn out as cute as yours. I promised myself I wouldn’t sew anything else until these two baby quilts I was working on were finished. And I finished them Tuesday night!! YAY!! So it is skirt making time.
The pants have been sitting next to my sewing machine for the last month. Hopefully just the scraps will be sitting there by sometime next week!
Grats to both of you for fixing the washer! We had a similar thing happen with our tractor recently. We couldn’t get it started, so we did all the routine maintenance ourselves. After that didn’t work, a friend offered to take a look at it. Turned out it was just a mouse’s nest inside the engine. Saved us hundreds of dollars and now we know to put a dryer sheet in the engine to avoid mice next year!
I’m presently single and fortunately for now I live in a Housing Authority and the appliances I use when they brake down the maintenance man comes and fixes it. One of my dreams is to some day own a house, there is a house that is close to where I live that I would some day move into or have built.
One of my challenges is to make the food I buy last to the end of the month and spill over into the next month. Since I’ve subscribe to the frugal girl I have noticed an improvement. I bought a large package of toilet paper from AlDI’s and it lasted for three months. My grocery bill didn’t go over my limit this month. I’m still in the Red with some things I owe. I recently increased my giving and opened a checking and savings as a step of faith. I’m using my art talent to make wedding gifts for close friends children, that are getting married in July. My goal is to be frugal (80,10,10) without being cheap and still be generous.
Great story ! My husaband says I always just want to call a guy to fix stuff (I do — i am not a DIY person) and this has actually goaded him into doing a lot of things himself; that and his frugal nature. He switched out toilets all by himself, with me swearing the whole time that he should just “Call the guy!” Likewise, snaking our drains with the mini-snake, fixing some car stuff, and anything related to the computer.
I definitely (and fortunately) chose the “right guy” whose skills complement my own (or lack thereof
— sounds like you did, too!
One more thing, It is so easy to click, click on the internet and buy things you really don’t need. I click on the Gevalia offer for the different coffee flavors. There was a special offer of getting a coffee mug (the kind for traveling), I gave it to my brother, he drinks a lot of coffee. But still, it would have been better to go buy it at Walmart. I repented and ask God that if He would bless the work of my hands, cause additional income to come in, I would get out of debt and STAY OUT. So I really need to watch that Click, Click.
Cynthia, keep reading this blog! You can click here to your heart’s content, and all you’ll do is learn more tips about managing the resources God gives you. How cool is that!
And we’re all cheering you on, because we’re all on the same journey.
what a cute story. but i would def want a new washer. i am waiting for the day to buy a nice front load pair. yeah, you are so good. we are working on getting out of debt($36,000 in college)(thanks to Dave Ramsey~Financial Peace University). it was the best $100 i ever spent. we are going to be putting our house up for sale in the next month.
You know what I love about this post? The face that the only waste from this ordeal was that small washer part… instead of an entire washing machine! Kudos to you for fixing a large piece of machinery and making it last a little longer instead of just buying a whole new big honking thing.
Frugal *and* green. I love it.
My dad fixed just about everything that broke in my house growing up. If he couldn’t fix it, chances are it was truly broken. I apparently inherited that gene. When my first washing machine broke, I found a repair book on that model (we bought it used0 and then ordered the parts we needed. Both my husband and I fixed the washer because it was a two person job. Although generally I play Mrs. Fix-It because I like to do it and it keeps me off the streets at night
Great job fixing the washing machine.
This sounds a lot like my husband and I. He’s great at buying cars, appliances, and saving money on insurance and things that add up. I have never had a car payment because we buy 1 or 2 year old cars for cash, and that about cuts the price in half. Then we sell the older one and buy a “new” one and I’m always driving a nice car for very little money, and no interest.
He’s also very “handy” and has saved us countless thousands around the house by repairing things. I appreciate the financial savings, and I’m also glad not to contribute to the disposable culture. If something can be fixed, it should be.
Sounds like you two really pair well together — it’s very similar with my household as well. I am not a negotiator, and he would never sort through the clearance aisle or use coupons… so we split our types of purchases accordingly.
Sort of an off-the-subject question, but I was wondering if you make your own laundry detergent. I’ve heard that it’s INSANELY cheap to make at home, but don’t know how!
I read this post and all the comments to my husband. He said I might want to mention that when we moved 2 years ago, we let our appliances go thinking to upgrade (and not pay to move them) and discovered, to our dismay, that new doesn’t always equal better! We’ve had on-going repairs on new name-brand appliances!
We also find the quality to be inferior to our old appliances! Kudos on working together to best complement your strengths! Yea! Cheeryshirley