There are some things in early life that can either make or break you. For instance, having unstable parents as a small child will lead to a plethora of problems down the road in most cases. Similarly, having a super well adapted mom and extensive supportive family members might just lead to giving you a huge leg up later on in life. That’s how it has been for me, anyways, thanks to my excellent mom and her father, especially. My mom was great at teaching me how to be financially responsible and stretch my buck. My grandpa was very handy and knew how almost everything in the house worked. Thanks to him, I do too. He’s saved me thousands in my lifetime – heck, almost $1200 just last month when my AC system broke down. It was ungodly hot out that week – well over 90 degrees every day with insane humidity, and of course, my whole cooling system crapped the bed. I knew that I couldn’t afford to call out a professional HVAC technician during this heat stroke; surely they were charging and upscaled fee for their emergency services. With this in mind, I called up all the lessons that grandad taught me out in the yard, hunched over the old central AC unit. He told me how the compressor and motor needed to be delicately cleaned and cared for. He taught me the dangers of freon. And he walked me through the process of cleaning and inspecting my own air ducts for damages. With his wisdom on my side, I managed to repair my own cooling system. It only took a few days and a few extra trips to the hardware store.