When it comes to DIY repair jobs and other housework, I always calculate if it makes financial sense for me to actually do it myself or not.
Take for example this paint transfer on my car.
Determine the Cost.
I’ve done my fair share of routine maintenance to my car and figured doing it myself would be a cheaper alternative than taking it to an auto body shop.
It only took me a few minutes of searching on the internet to find exactly what I was looking for, a video tutorial on YouTube.
I began looking around the garage for the things I needed. Luckily, I already had most of the required materials but for illustrative purposes, let’s pretend I didn’t have any of it.
If I had to purchase all of the items for this job, I calculated that it would have cost around $70. The best part is that all of these products can be used over and over.
I predicted that the job would take around an hour. Using the average hourly rate of a personal financial advisor in Indiana, that would be $45 of labor.
After looking at the total estimated cost for me to do the job, which was $115 ($70 + $45), I decided it was worth my time to attempt the repair myself.
I followed the video’s instructions and, as predicted, a little while later I was scuff-free!
The Value of Time and Money.
So what does this have to do with finance? Well, a lot, actually.
Calculating the trade-off of doing a project on your own versus outsourcing the work plays a huge role in making everyday budgeting decisions. And the smarter decisions you make with your time and money, the happier you’ll end up being.
Money Isn’t Everything.
Of course, there are other, non-monetary, factors to consider before deciding to outsource a task or not.
It may not make a lot of economic sense to mow your own lawn, but many people find it therapeutic and enjoy doing it themselves.
Along those same lines, it may not have saved me a lot of money to remove the paint scuff from my car, but I appreciate the challenge of learning a new skill.