I am addicted to do-it-yourself projects. DIY projects have been a money saving option that has turned into a hobby for our family.
If you’re reading this, you’re probably addicted to DIY too. Do you save a lot of money doing the work yourself instead of hiring a crew? Do you look back at your DIY projects with pride knowing that you accomplished something?
Isn’t that a wonderful feeling?
Although we work together, my hubby does most of the labor for all of the projects around the house. He also fixes our cars, repairs our appliances, and is willing to work on any project in order to save money. Doing projects ourselves has saved us thousands of dollars over the years!
However, when a project or a problem arises that he can’t fix–it’s a struggle for the both of us.
What do you do when a project comes up that you can’t do yourself?
Handing over a project to someone else can can be very difficult for DIY people. Paying someone else to do a project can feel like rubbing salt in an open wound.
It doesn’t have to be that way! Today I’m sharing some very good reasons why it’s good to let someone else do a project.
Things To Remember When You Can’t Do It Yourself
Some projects are better off in someone else’s hands. I have some really close friends that are awesome DIYers. But when it comes to painting rooms, they hire that out. Why? Peace in their marriage. They would often end up in arugments during painting projects. After noticing that happen a couple of times, they made the wise choice to have a professional step in. It was worth every penny.
Give yourself permission NOT to do it. When you release yourself from the responsibility of doing a project, it can become easier to see the benefits of having someone do it for you. Believe me, there are tons of benefits–just keep reading.
Instead of dreading this situation, enjoy the fact that you’re not doing the work! You get all the benefits of a finished project without all the work. Just think–you won’t have to lift a finger or deal with an aching back!
Time is money. Perhaps the savings in your time and schedule will be worth the expense from your wallet. Time with your family is priceless and you’ll have a lot more of it if someone else does the work.
A professional might do a better job than you will. Sorry if that statement stung a little but it’s true. Sometimes we have to put our pride aside and say that we can’t do it all & that’s okay. You might learn a couple of new things while watching the project in someone else’s hands.
All the times you’ve saved money on projects will allow for spending on this project. This has really helped my husband and I when we can’t do a project ourselves. All the money we’ve saved over the years doing other projects ourselves easily gives us freedom to pay for help once in a while.
Hiring a crew can be more cost effective than doing it yourself. If a project requires you to learn a new skill that is highly difficult, it may be more cost effective to have a professional step in.
Invest in the safety of your loved ones when the job is dangerous. Last month we handed off a dangerous job to a professional crew and I’m so glad we did. Our roof was leaking into our master bedroom. My hubby wanted to replace the roof himself since he has experience in roofing.
Here’s where the danger comes in. Our two story house sits on top of a walk out basement, which means the back of our roof is almost 30 feet above the ground! If he fell off the roof, it would most likely be deadly. Even if he did install the roof, it wouldn’t have saved that much anyway.
Thank goodness we hired professionals to install our roof. The day our roof was installed the heat index was well into the 100s and there was NO WAY I wanted my husband up there. Our roof had three layers of shingles on it that had to be removed before installing the new shingles and the crew of 6 people hired had the huge job done in one day. His safety was worth every penny.
Remember–you can’t do every project yourself & that’s okay! I hope this helps you enjoy a little more freedom.
If I don’t know how to do something and I can afford to get help, I go for it. It’s smarter and safer that way too.
Yes Tyler I agree–in a lot of circumstances it is safer to hire someone to do a job you can’t do yourself. Plus it’s a lot easier on your back!
I’m with you on this one. There are times to hire a job out. Sometimes you are limited on time (like when our well went out when we had a houseful of family during our family reunion in July) or for jobs you don’t want your DH to do (like getting down on the ground under the car for hours when he’s got severe arthritis in his knees). It goes against the grain for a DIY’er to hire out, but sometimes it’s the most prudent thing to do.
But I think most people in this world hire out TOO much rather than DIY’ing it. We need balance.
Yes you’re right–balance is the key! Your point about getting the job done quickly is a good one–especially when you have family on the way!
You are so right Carrie! Thanx for the great article. We did our bathroom on our own and it was a very hard period in our relationship. Next time we will hire somebody! It will be the better solution in some cases…
Renovations and projects do put added stress on relationships. Sometimes it’s worth it while other times it’s better to hire the job out. It really depends on what each person is willing and able to do. Thanks for stopping by!
I can relate to this pretty well, we did a kitchen-makeover couple years ago and I wanted to show my wife how many things I’m able to to do with my “own hands” … long story short, I don’t think we’ve ever been that close to a divorce as back then 🙂
Yes–that’s a great example of when it’s best to let someone else do the work!