Lesson 3: Take care of what you have

- [Instructor] Three. Take care of what you have. There is one thing we all have that we want to last a long time. Our bodies. Simple attention to proven preventive practices will save you a lot of money. Taking care of your teeth, for example, can save thousands in dental bills. And eating what you know agrees with your body. Judging by your energy, not your taste buds, may save you thousands in expensive procedures, not to mention your life. Extend this principle to all your possessions. Mend ripped clothes, resole worn shoes, replace your computer's old hard drive or add more RAM. Regular oil changes are known to extend the life of your car. Cleaning your tools keeps them functioning at peak performance. How many hairdryers and vacuum cleaners have choked to death on hairballs? Dusting your refrigerator coils conserves energy and could save your refrigerator. One big difference between living beings and machines is that machines are not self-healing. If you ignore an occasional headache, it will probably go away. If you ignore a funny noise coming from your computer or your car, you may incur major and costly damage. Many of us have lived with excess for so long that it no longer occurs to us to maintain what we have. "There's always more where that came from," we tell ourselves, but more costs money, and more may not, in the long run, be available. We need to rewire our brains to think repair rather than replace.