Drip, drip, drip, the noise reverberates from your kitchen.

One of the most common, and annoying problems  home owners experience are leaky faucets. Most simply do not know how to deal with the problem. But thankfully, you don’t have to be a plumber to get it fixed.

All you need is 5 dollars.

If your up for the task and want to show that you can throw your weight around the house then by following these simple instructions you can become the true King of your household (with plumbing skills).

These are the materials you will need:

• Philips screwdriver
• Adjustable wrench
• A set of washers.

1. Always, turn off the water to your sink. Usually you can do this by locating the two valves underneath your sink. If you can’t or if their calcified, then head downstairs and shut off all the water to your home. Make sure to drain any water in the pipes by letting it out.
2. Cover the sink hole with a cloth so no tools or bolts fall into your pipes.
3. Pop the top of the faucet handle so you can get at the screw. Remove the screw.
4. Now use the wrench to take the nut off.
5. You should be able to see the washer or washers. Take them out and examine them. There may be some visible damage on one of them, such as a crack or a rip or even a whole part missing.
6. Take the washers and head to your local Home Depot or Home Hardware. You should be able to purchase a new set for less then 5$.
7. You may also see that it’s kind of dirty in the gap where the handle was, if you have a tool for it then clean it out. This’ll allow the washer to sit better in it’s proper position.
8. Now replace the washers and follow the instructions in reverse until you have your sink reassembled.
9. Find your spouse, and show them that you can and do fix things around the house.
10. Bask in your glory.

Congratulations! You’ve just solved the most common problem to occur at home. Now didn’t the garage need a new paint job…

I used to drive to work each morning. It was a part of my life as anyone else’s. Although I have always been close to my work place, only 5km, actually exactly 5km by the route I went. I could have walked, but I am not a morning person. I like my mornings to be done and over with.

But then something changed. A funny hydrophobic, inflammable, lipophilic substance decided it was going to control our fates. Suddenly prices everywhere were going up and the biggest pain was gasoline. And gas just kept going up, and up and up an…. (you know how it goes).

As I was trying to figure out where I could cut down on some costs it hit me. Cut down on your biggest expense and you will make the biggest savings. Thats the key and as it happened to be, my biggest expense was gasoline. I started to cut down.

• Walk to your destination if it’s less then 3km away.  You’ll burn some 200 calories and save gas. Lots of people don’t walk due to safety issues in there areas, never risk your life just to save a little money.
• Even better, bicycle to your destination. Not only will it cut your time down by 80% but you’ll burn even more calories and if there is a climb, on the way back it’s a downhill.
• If you have to drive learn to cruise. Pump your car up to the speed limit, (disclaimer: I do not condone speeding, it’s bad and illegal, use at your own legal and physical risk) and then let your car cruise down to 20km/h under or so. Yes you will tick off other drivers like crazy, but you will also save a lot of money on gas.
• Car pool! Why not, you sometimes don’t even have to drive and it saves loads of money plus you get to be closer to your co-workers.
• Make sure your tires are inflated. I happened to drive on a flat for a few days and finally realized it after a passer by waved me down. After fixing the hole, which was caused by a huge nail, I instantly noticed my mpg go up by around 7mpg. Yeah, it was impressive :D.
• Get rid of all that extra weight and shed a couple pounds. The lighter your car, the faster and the more economical it is.

I’ve been following these tips for years and the money I have saved is in the thousands. Plus I am in better shape then before, more active and my car has a longer life due to less stress on it. For the last couple years I have been walking to work in the Winter and biking in the summer. In the years 2006 and 2007 I didn’t use a car to get to my workplace once throughout the whole year and you can do the same.

Really, it’s not that hard.