This Sunday on ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, 2008 American Idol winner and multi-platinum seller David Cook pitches in to help a family build a new house for their sick daughter. Cook uses Skype to call in to WalletPop's Jason Cochran and give the behind-the-scenes story of his stint as a volunteer handyman. He also talks real estate. No, really!

Before he was yanked from obscurity by the Fox TV show, Cook was on the edge of financial disaster. He was shacking up with a friend from Tulsa, in debt, and working hand-to-mouth as a painter. Sometimes, he had to make the hard choice that so many Americans have to make these days: Do I pay the rent this month or eat?

Cook recounts those days with Jason, and he reminisces a little about the first big purchase he made when he knew he had more of a financial cushion. Here's a hint: "I'm a bit of a wino," Cook says.