Independant Contracting

So I'm still looking for a job and I'm one week away from my MCTS (thunderous applause in the background) so to occupy my time I started doing repair / contract work again.

You know the routine... My computer's only 10 years old, I took it to best buy and they said, my kids never download anything, I was trying to clean my hard drive, ect. ect. ect.



So my biggest dilema is, how much? I know Best Buy has no qualms about lieing to customers and charging $70 to do nothing up to $250-$350 for average system restore or anti-virus installs, but I want to do better than that for the customers.

Right now I charge $20 per hour with a minimum 2 hour charge and a possible 10% discount for my church and school members. That seems a little low but how much is enough? Especially now that I'll be Microsoft Certified (all hail the mighty paper it is printed on).

If anyone out there has any suggestions for a pricing plan that works or has worked in the past, I'd love to hear your input.

Buying a PC #7 Extended Warrenties and Service Plans

In the final segment of buying a new PC I'd like you to consider the manufacturers warranty, the retailers extended warranty or service plan. 

I personally have never bought an extended warranty for a few reasons. 1, I always buy a mid-range PC and consider it 4 years disposable. 2, I work on my own PC. 

If you have a different view than me, then don't let anyone discourage you from buying one of these packages.  You know yourself and what you can or can't handle.  On the other hand, if your nephew dexter is pretty handy then a $20 and some brow beating might get all the repairs you'll ever need.