Circuit Tester

A standard 120-240 volt range circuit tester costs around four to six dollars and comes in handy for lots of electrical test functions, particularly outlets and switches. A few bucks to potentially save your life isn’t a bad investment (you know you made worse investments during 2000 and 2001). This battery-operated tool lets you know if a receptacle is "live" (running energy) without knocking you flat on your feet, blowing out fuses or singeing wires.

Tip: Before you use a circuit tester, always make sure the tester is working properly by plugging it into or testing it on an outlet you know is working.