As many of the regulars know I have recently begun a new project, Single Woman’s DIY Guide. Some of you thought I had lost my mind when I directed the site towards a relatively small group of people. Of course, as I have been working on the project as time permits I am discovering that not only single women are readers. Sure, lots of them are friends, both male and female, and to be quite honest many of them are not single — or women.
Anyway, I bring this up because I got a phone call yesterday from a young man who lives in the old neighborhood. He began by reminding me that he is not a “woman” and suggested that he would have been happier if I had named the site something else. Well, what do I know?
As the conversation went on, after all the social amenities, he told me that he had taken his car into the shop earlier in the day. He had noticed a small leak. Apparently, when he would move his car he had begun noticing that there was a very small area of wet where the car had been parked. He thought that maybe he had a hose or something small that needed replacing. Well, he took the car to the shop only to discover that he would have to have intake gaskets replaced. (I have no idea what they are.)
I interjected that I was so sorry that his car was not working properly. I think I added that I hoped the repair was not too expensive.
The young man replied that the cost was over $500! Well, maybe that’s not a lot of money for some, but for this young man just starting out on his own — and for this old lady who has been around for a while — $500 is one of those expenses that is above the pocket change level. Oh, I know he heard me sigh. But, he laughed!
The young man went on to thank me for telling him that he should always pay attention to the sounds, smells, feel, and look of his car. In other words, he knew to be aware. Then, he mentioned the Single Woman’s DIY Guide. To be honest, I knew I had never written anything about an intake gasket — perhaps, I will now after I find out what it is and what it does. Anyway, as he continued to tell me about his day I was puzzled.
Finally, he announced that he had never been so happy in his life. Now, look. I try to stay positive, but up to that point I was having difficulty finding anything good about a $500+ car repair bill.
So, here is the gist of the rest of the conversation. The young man admitted that he hated to listen to his parents because they were always nagging him about taking care of one thing or another. Well, he is young. And, he also admitted that the last thing he wanted to do was to go home and tell his parents that his car needed a major repair and ask for the money. He said they would only respond with an “I told you so.” Well, yeah. That’s what parents do. They don’t mean for it to sound so demeaning. But, parents often have had experiences that they try to warn their kids about. And, trying to remember my younger days, I can remember that I hated those times when I had to swallow those “I told you so” comments.
Well, here’s the good news. Some readers of The Guide may not think of this old lady’s unsolicited advice as “DIY.” Anyway, this kid has been a reader since my first article. And, maybe because the advice was not coming from his parents, he paid attention. In fact, he had opened a savings account and had been putting a little away for his emergency fund. To make this long story shorter, this young man had been putting a little money away each month. In fact, he said he had “sacrificed” Starbucks to get his first $1,000 in the savings account.
When the mechanic told him that the cost for the repair was a little over $500, the young man said he smiled. He had enough money in his emergency savings account to cover the costs without depleting the savings. Of course, the kid said he would have to sacrifice Starbucks a little longer to get the account back up the thousand dollar mark. But, the good news is that he had his car repaired and didn’t have to ask his parents for a penny.
I was happy for the young man. But, I have to tell all of you that I was really overwhelmed when he thanked me for writing the article on savings. In fact, he sent me an email suggesting other topics he wanted me to write about. Some of them I will write about. Others I don’t know a thing about. But, I am thankful that this young man was able to see his glass as half full, rather than half empty. I am grateful that he rang me up to encourage me to continue writing. And, most of all I am so glad that the young man actually thinks I had a positive influence. His parents would have told him the same thing. Sometimes it just takes a different voice to make kids hear.
