The holiday season is almost upon us, with turkey dinners, snowy mornings, and carolers to look forward to. Also sinks clogged with leftovers, minor electrical fires, and hard drives fried by electrical storms the all-too-common casualties of frosty weather and winter festivities that can bust a holiday budget with one after-hours call to a technician.

For emergency services, unprepared consumers can typically expect to pay time-and-a-half or even double the usual rate, experts say. For a licensed plumber, for example, that could mean an hourly rate of $100, plus travel time and materials. Even in trades that don t have union-mandated rates, nighttime house calls often mean working in the dark, which is difficult and dangerous. Also, when it comes to negotiating on price, they have you over a barrel: The quicker you need service, obviously, the less leverage you have, says Steven Cohen, president of the Negotiation Skills Company in Pride's Crossing, Mass.

You might get some leeway if you ve already developed a working relationship with a reputable, reasonably priced provider before any emergency. Many electricians, plumbers and other professionals are sole proprietors who count on repeat business, and thus might be more willing to cut a deal if you re already a customer, Cohen says. Some round-the-clock operators or chains may also have more reasonable rates.

But a little extra homeowner know-how can prevent problems or even turn some would-be emergencies into easy fixes without that service call. Here s what you need to know to save money and headaches.

Electricians

Common calls: Tripped or burnt-out breakers.

What you ll pay: A certified electrician pulls in up to $29.11 per hour for regular work, and as much as $44.26 in overtime pay, according to data tracker PayScale.

Prevent it: Holiday lights are involved in roughly 170 home fires each year, causing almost $8 million in property damage, according to the National Fire Protection Association. So don t overload your circuits, and use power strips and extension cords with care. Stephen Bedford, the owner of Bedford Electric & Design in Peoria, Ariz., says he gets most of his emergency calls around the holidays when people link multi-outlet power strips or simply try to operate too many electrical devices simultaneously.

Save on the spot: Reset the breaker. If you don t know how, you can learn in the moment you can t electrocute yourself this way, says Bedford. Start by unplugging or powering off whatever device(s) you were using when the power failed -- one outage is a good sign that you shouldn t microwave tea while trying to blow-dry your hair. Then, open the lid, turn it off and turn it back on, he says. (There are several step-by-step guides If the breaker trips again immediately, then call an electrician.

Plumbers

Common calls: Burst pipes or main sewer line clogs.

What you ll pay: By union contract, a journeyman plumber in Minneapolis earns $40.07 per hour, for example. Tradesmen receive time-and-a-half pay for emergency work outside their scheduled Monday through Friday workday. On holidays, they earn double.

Prevent it: Roto-Rooter says its business takes off around Thanksgiving, with calls up 21% for the four-day holiday weekend. But a lot of drain problems present symptoms, a company spokesman says. Take action when you first notice standing or slow-moving water if it happens in one place, that s a problem specific to that fixture; when it shows up in multiple places, it s more likely the main sewage line is blocked, he says.

Save on the spot: Shutting off the water flow buys you time to call out a plumber during regular business hours, assuming you can deal with not using that toilet or shower for a few hours, says licensed plumber Tom O Grady, the president of Effective Plumbing in Bronx, N.Y. Know where to find the shut-off valves for each fixture, as well as the main water-line shutoff for the house in the event of a burst pipe. It s usually in the basement or near the water meter box in your yard.

Tech Support

Common calls: Computers that won t boot or work intermittently.

What you ll pay: Regularly, you d pay $75 per hour for at-home service, or $55 per hour for walk-in repair at Allocate Tech in Sacramento. For an on-site visit or after-hours service, the firm charges $95 per hour (with a minimum one hour commitment).

Prevent it: Fall electrical storms can wreak havoc on home computers, says Michael Carnell, the founder of Charleston, S.C., information technology firm Palmettobug Digital. In addition to backing up your documents, photos and music regularly, if a storm is coming, Carnell suggests unplugging your computer from its power source and the modem to protect it from power surges and brownouts.

Save on the spot: Unless you need to immediately access computer content not saved anywhere else, wait until morning. In cases where the hard drive has sustained damage, waiting won t do any additional damage. Letting it sit may make your blood pressure higher, but it s not going to make the computer any worse. Carnell says.