Yesterday, I became a man.
Finally, at 25 years of age, I completed one of the most basic rites of passage for a modern man: I changed my own oil. Granted, it's not the first time I've ever worked on my car. I've even done more substantial repairs like replacing the starter but, knowing that I have the ability to maintain my car in such a basic way is empowering.
And it made me think: Freelancing is very closely related to self-sufficiency. By the very nature of it, taking our employment into our own hands, we throw ourselves into a self-reliant lifestyle. And, as the economy does... whatever it's doing, more and more people are making an effort to become more self-sufficient.
So, I made a decision to expand the scope of this blog into the more broad realm of self-sufficiency. I will cover car and home maintenance, gardening, cooking and (in conjunction with my other blog) home remedies.
Just to illustrate the value of being more self-sufficient, consider my DIY oil change: Typically, a shop will charge me about $50 to change the oil and try to sell me all sorts of garbage I don't need. The oil and the filter cost me about $25 dollars, for a savings of about $25. Which is a pretty big savings. Granted, there may be an initial investment of ramps if you don't already have some. Personally, I borrowed some. But, if you plan on taking care of your own car, it's worth dropping the $50 or so on a set.
Often, people feel as though they just don't have the time to do things like this. But consider the following: The shop I usually go to is about 15 minutes away, for a total trip of 30 minutes. It takes them 30 additional minutes to change my oil when business is slow. That's a hour but it could easily be more if they are busy. It took me 45 minutes to change my oil the first time, figuring some things out. I'm confident that now that I know what I'm doing, I can do it in 30 minutes. Which means that I'm saving both time and money.
So look for how-to's sprouting up here and on The Walking Encyclopedia, and feel free to ask me to cover a specific topic.
(A more detailed post on how to change your oil will follow next time I do it so I can provide pictures.)
