Personal Finance
$400 to change a lightbulb? Appliance repair costs are no joke
Author Stephanie Dhue’s difficult-to-repair microwave.
Courtesy Stephanie Dhue
I bought a General Electric microwave oven in 2020 for $355. Recently, I noticed the interior light was out.
I told my husband, since he’s the one who takes care of repairs in our house. He took a look, only to learn that this wasn’t going to be an easy fix. The lightbulb is built into the unit so that it requires taking the microwave apart to change, and a technician is recommended.
It sounds like the setup to a lightbulb joke: How much does it cost to change a microwave bulb?
The answer, however, wasn’t funny. When my husband and I started gathering estimates, we learned that the labor costs involved could be up to $400, maybe more — and that didn’t include the cost of the lightbulb.
While my lightbulb situation may be somewhat unique, experts say it is not uncommon to learn the cost of repairs is more than the cost to replace an appliance.
Gay Gordon-Byrne had a similar experience with a microwave she purchased to match a stove. The microwave touchpad stopped working.
She figured out how to do the repair herself, but said the manufacturer tried to charge her $600 for the replacement part. Instead, she bought a new microwave for $175.
“I tell the story all the time because it’s so emblematic of what’s wrong with appliances these days,” said Gordon-Byrne, who is the executive director of Repair.org, which advocates for the legal right of owners to repair their own devices.
Figuring out the cost for a repair
My first call to repair our microwave was to the appliance store where I made the purchase. The service center told me there would be $140 charge to come out, and they couldn’t guarantee that the technician would have a lightbulb on the truck. The service representative suggested I simply purchase a new microwave or shop around for other repair options.
Next, I went to the GE site and filled out a form for service. I learned that the charge for a technician to come would be $125.
One of the the main reasons why it’s so difficult to fix things is because they’re designed with kind of a hostility to repair, or an ambivalence to repair.
Nathan Proctor
senior director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign
When the technician called, I explained the situation and that I needed to know how much it would cost before he came out. He told me he would charge for labor and parts.
How much? Since the microwave sits in a cabinet above the counter, to remove it would be a “two man job,” he said, and could cost upwards of $400 for the labor. What if my husband and I took the microwave out and placed it on the counter? In that case the labor charge would be closer to $200, but that wasn’t an exact estimate. It also didn’t include the cost of the lightbulb.
I canceled the visit and the technician said there would be no charge.
When I asked GE Appliances why the microwave was designed this way, a spokesperson responded via e-mail that microwave lights are designed to last the lifetime of the product and failures are very uncommon in their products. The light fixture is more than a standard bulb that has to be encased behind a metal enclosure.
“It’s not a simple screw-in and requires electrical training and background,” the spokesperson said. “Given the high voltage nature of microwaves, it not safe for consumers without a deep electrical understanding to operate on the interior of a microwave.” She also noted that service techs are required to test for emissions to comply with strict standards set by the U.S. government.
How ‘right to repair’ laws may affect options, costs
Studio4 | E+ | Getty Images
State lawmakers and consumer advocates have been trying to make it easier and cheaper for consumers to get their devices repaired.
Several states — including California, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota and New York — have implemented so-called “right to repair” laws. Typically, the laws require manufacturers of certain devices — such as consumer electronics or appliances — to make parts, physical and software tools and repair information, like schematics, available at a fair and reasonable price. These laws can make it more straightforward for consumers to do repairs themselves, and widen professional repair options, too.
Colorado and Oregon have passed right to repair legislation that will go into effect in the next year, and more than a dozen others have introduced bills, according to Repair.org.
“We are just now starting to see the impact of legislation that we’ve been working on for 10 years,” said Gordon-Byrne. The earliest right to repair bills were filed in 2014, she said — including the first, in South Dakota, which failed — and “we really only got the first three laws in place to start July first of this year.”
There are limits to what these laws can do. Typically they only cover purchases made in recent years, and can be product-specific. New York’s law, for example, doesn’t include appliances. Some states have separate laws to cover specific products like autos, farm equipment and electronic wheelchairs.
At the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission said in a 2021 report to Congress that “restricting consumers and businesses from choosing how they repair products can substantially increase the total cost of repairs, generate harmful electronic waste, and unnecessarily increase wait times for repairs.” The Commission has also brought warranty-related enforcement actions and this summer sent warning letters to several manufacturers about their warranty practices.
Critics of right to repair legislation say the patchwork of state laws are too broad and may do more harm than good.
“These state proposals and state laws could lead to a lose-lose situation in which manufacturers are harmed because it undercuts their profits, and consumers are harmed because they either see a decreased kind of quality of these products or an increase in price,” said Alex Reinauer, a research fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Some products designed ‘with a hostility to repair’
Consumer advocates say state laws and the FTC actions help, but haven’t solved the problem.
“One of the main reasons why it’s so difficult to fix things is because they’re designed with kind of a hostility to repair, or an ambivalence to repair,” said Nathan Proctor, the senior director of U.S. PIRG’s Right to Repair campaign.
To give consumers more information, US PIRG is also launching a new effort to bring repair-score labeling to the U.S. Right now, “there’s no way to tell what products are designed to be serviceable, and therefore last, and be resilient and durable,” Proctor said.
France already has this kind of system, he said, and the EU is rolling out a “repairability index,” with a rating system that scores a product based on factors including a repair-friendly design and the price and availability of parts. Scores range from zero to 10, with higher numbers indicating a more repairable product and greater longevity expectations.
However, those scores are subjective and may not hold up over time. For example, if a manufacturer discontinues making a part, that reparability score may not longer be accurate.
Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Reinauer is keeping a score of his own, using a spreadsheet that compares the Ingress Protection (IP) rating, which grades how a product stands up to water and dust intrusion, with the reparability index. He says that comparison doesn’t favor repairs.
“When a when a product is more repairable, typically it’s less durable,” said Reinauer, “so there are trade-offs in this.”
Do-it-yourself help
Halfpoint Images | Moment | Getty Images
Depending on the nature of the problem and safety issues involved, a repair may be worth trying to tackle on your own. Appliance owners may find help from others online.
“Researching the broken item’s issue on the web often leads to information and guides posted by others who have encountered the same issue, or a similar issue and how they addressed it,” said Peter Mui, the founder of Fixit Clinics. Product owners can get help with a do-it-yourself project at a Fixit Clinic or online at Discord.
I’m weighing whether it’s worth trying to fix our microwave ourselves or to just live without an interior light. We could try to make it a fun community DIY event, but we risk a repair failure. The microwave model we have now typically costs between $420 and $480 new, if we want to replace it — but I promise I will not buy another appliance without checking if I can change the lightbulb.
Feels like there’s a bad joke in here somewhere.
Stephanie Phillips | Getty Images
“Markets go up and down, but students’ goals remain the same,” said Chris McGee, chair of the College Savings Foundation.
529 plan popularity has soared
In 2024, the number of 529 plan accounts increased to 17 million, up more than 3% percent from the year before, according to Investment Company Institute.
Total investments in 529s rose to $525 billion as of December, up 11% from a year earlier, while the average 529 plan account balance hit a record of $30,961, data from the College Savings Plans Network, a network of state-administered college savings programs, also showed.
“The industry is coming off its best year ever in terms of new inflows,” said Richard Polimeni, head of education savings at Merrill Lynch.
However, “in terms of the current market volatility, that creates some concern,” he added.
Even as concerns over college costs are driving more would-be college students to rethink their plans, college savings accounts are still as vital as ever.
Roughly 42% of students are pivoting to technical and career training or credentialing, or are opting to enroll in a local and less-expensive community college or in-state public school, according to a recent survey of 1,000 high schoolers by the College Savings Foundation. That’s up from 37% last year.
As a result of those shifting education choices, 69% of students are expecting to live at home during their studies, the highest percentage in three years.
Despite those adjustments, some recent changes have helped make 529 plans even more worthwhile: As of 2024, families can roll over unused 529 funds to the account beneficiary’s Roth individual retirement account, without triggering income taxes or penalties, so long as they meet certain requirements.
Restrictions have also loosened to allow 529 plan funds to be used for continuing education classes, apprenticeship programs and student loan payments. For grandparents, there is also a new “loophole,” which allows them to fund a grandchild’s college without impacting that student’s financial aid eligibility.
Managing 529 allocations in a volatile market
For parents worried about their account’s recent performance, Mary Morris, CEO of Commonwealth Savers, advises checking the asset allocation. “What you need to think about is assessing your risk appetite,” she said.
Generally, 529 plans offer age-based portfolios, which start off with more equity exposure early on in a child’s life and then become more conservative as college nears. By the time high school graduation is around the corner, families likely have very little invested in stocks and more in investments like bonds and cash. That can help blunt their losses.
Pay attention to your fund’s approach toward shifting from stocks to bonds, Morris said.
“If you are in a total stock portfolio, you may not want that ride,” she said: “You don’t want to get seasick.”
If the market volatility is still too much to bear, consider adjusting your allocation.
“One strategy is to start de-risking a portion of their portfolio and reallocate a portion into cash equivalent, which will provide a protection of principle while also proving a competitive return and peace of mind,” Polimeni said.
Still, financial experts strongly caution against shifting your entire 529 balance to cash. “The worst thing an investor can do in a down market is panic and sell investments prematurely and lock in losses,” Polimeni said.
Often that is the last resort. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, only 10% of investors liquidated their entire 529 accounts, and 20% switched to less risky assets, according to an earlier survey by higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.
How to help 529 assets recover
For those who must make a hefty withdrawal for tuition payments now due, Polimeni suggests considering using income or savings outside the 529 to cover immediate college expenses, and requesting a reimbursement later.
You can get reimbursed from your 529 plan for any eligible out-of-pocket expenses within the same calendar year. “Using that strategy gives another six to seven months for the market to recover,” Polimeni said.
Another option is to tap a federal student loan and take a qualified distribution from the 529 plan to pay off the debt down the road. However, if you’re thinking of taking out private student loans or a personal loan that starts incurring interest immediately, you may want to spend 529 funds first in that case, and defer that borrowing until later.
Once you have a withdrawal plan, you can — and should — keep contributing to your 529, experts say. Not only can you get a tax deduction or credit for contributions, but earnings will grow on a tax-advantaged basis, whether over 18 years or just a few.
“The major advantage is the tax-deferred growth, so the longer you are invested, the more tax-deferred growth you will have,” Polimeni said.
President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House in Washington, DC, on May 6, 2025.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images
Debate for the House Republicans’ tax bill is underway — and experts are watching to see which of President Donald Trump’s priorities make the final cut.
The House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax, released the full text of its portion of the bill Monday afternoon, and started to debate over provisions on Tuesday.
GOP lawmakers included several of Trump’s campaign priorities, including tax cut extensions, no tax on tips and tax-free overtime pay. Rather than cutting taxes on Social Security, the plan includes an extra $4,000 deduction for older Americans.
The early bill did not include a higher tax rate on some of the wealthiest Americans or plans to end the so-called “carried interest loophole,” which are both ideas that Trump supported.
However, the final bill could change significantly before the committee vote.
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The early version of the GOP tax bill would cost about $3.7 trillion over 10 years, according to estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation. That’s under the Republicans’ $4.5 trillion limit, which could leave room for other priorities to be added or increased during Tuesday’s negotiations, experts say.
“It’s really important for any additional tax cuts to be paid for,” which will impact individual provisions, said Shai Akabas, vice president of economic policy for the Bipartisan Policy Center.
As the debate heats up, here are two key areas to watch.
The battle over the ‘SALT’ deduction
With a slim House Republican majority, the limit on the deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT, has been a key issue in tax package negotiations.
Enacted via the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA, of 2017, the current $10,000 cap will expire after 2025 without action from Congress.
The House text released Monday would boost the SALT deduction limit to $30,000 for most taxpayers. This would phase out once modified adjusted gross income exceeds $400,000.
Some lawmakers have already pushed a higher SALT deduction cap, which could still be possible with wiggle room in the budget, experts say.
Child tax credit boost
Republican lawmakers also want to expand the child tax credit, a change that was passed via a bipartisan House bill in February 2024.
TCJA temporarily increased the maximum child tax credit to $2,000 from $1,000 per child under age 17, and boosted eligibility. These changes are scheduled to sunset after 2025.
The preliminary House GOP text calls for raising the credit to $2,500 per child through 2028, as long as both parents have a Social Security number. The $1,400 refundable portion, which is available without taxes owed, would be indexed for inflation.
However, the proposal “does nothing for the 17 million children who currently don’t get the full $2,000 child tax credit because their families’ incomes are too low,” said Chuck Marr, vice president for federal tax policy for the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
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