I broke the screen on my second iPhone this morning. The first time I ran right out and purchased an unsubsidized specimen to the tune of $600. So in love was I, after only a few months of ownership, that I couldn’t bear a moment apart.

Now I find myself trash talking the smart phone game entirely and it’s like the phone is calling my bluff. But also punishing me for next three months until my contract is up and I can either GTFO or pony up for a new ride. This time I don’t have $600 to throw around, so buying a new phone mid-contract is right out. Not to mention I’d be spending $600 for something I know is being updated by Apple in the next two months.

I considered mailing the phone out for repair, which seems to run about $50-100 depending on where you look. Even that’s a little spendy for my current position. So then I thought that one of those clear adhesive films they sell to protect the screen might just hold the broken shards together long enough to get me to the end of the road, but as I was in the store to purchase such an item, a service guy told me that he’s had to fix the screen for his girlfriend no less than three times.

And he’s done it himself! Oh, do tell. He told me to search for iPhone digitizer on the eBay and there I would find kits for DIY repair in the neighborhood of $15. Turns out they’re $8. I figured that was worth a shot to get me through the next three months, and maybe more if necessary.