MAF Sensor is bad

[hdpt73]

reason i don't want to change it is it's 400+ dollars. my reasoning is if it's not going to hurt the car and just give me bad gas mileage then i can hold off on it. i'm buying a house and getting married very soon so if it's an annoyance thing (the yellow light) then i have more important things to spend my money on right now. but if its going to blow my engine (gas/air mixture) then i'm going to change it asap. engine is smooth as usual. i notice when i disconnect the battery for a few minutes and then reconnect it again, light goes off for a few hundred miles. then it comes back on again later. anyone ever try to get married and still have money left over? is there anywhere i can buy the maf for cheaper?