Do It Yourself-How to Save Money as a Millionaire Nurse

Do it yourself, or DIY.  Companies like Lowe’s and Home Depot, have made billions convincing people, they can save money by doing it themselves…..

So how does that relate to Millionaire Nurses?  Well let me try to explain.

Now, personal finance can be quite simple really!  If you spend less than you earn, then put the difference in an account that can grow.  Overtime, you will grow wealth.  Ta Daaaaaa!

So what the heck does that have to do with DIY????

Well, the part about spending less than you make.  How do you do that?  Well you have to increase your earnings, or decrease your spending.

So DIY addresses the latter-it is one way to decrease your spending.   If your house needs painting, and you can DIY for 50% less than having a professional do it, then you have cut your spending.

The hard part of this is deciding how much your time is worth, and whether you can do the job, and truly save money.

Let me start with a quick story.  A friend of mine, is a wonderful do it yourselfer.  By that I mean, he has skills way beyond most with carpentry, plumbing, yard work, painting……  So putting in a new dishwasher was not really a big worry to him, why pay someone to do it.   So of course, the cut-off valve on the hot water line, broke off in his hand.  A third-degree burn, and a new hardwood floor later, he has a new dishwasher, and a bunch of new bills.

How do you decide if you can handle a DIY project?

Photo by rioncm

• You have the tools and knowledge, or have a trusted helper with both.  Online video’s and explanations help, but when you get into the trench’s the experience is what will get you through “your projects” differences compared to the average.
• The project really doesn’t require an expert, just labor.  Raking leaves is in this category-painting would be to some,  but not to me-I mess up everything when I try to paint.
• It doesn’t involve electricity-this post in the Wall Street journal about DIY discusses the number of injuries from self-installed ceiling fans-supposed to be “easy” for DIYers….. (Imagine how you would feel, watching your house burn, and you were responsible?)
• It doesn’t involve water.  This one is borderline at times-changing the inside of a toilet, is not too dangerous, even I have done it. (no gynecology jokes please!)  But think about water on your second floor, ceiling damage, rotten walls…….
• It is worth your time.   If you can work part-time, making twice or more what you could pay someone to do the job for you, hire it out-work a few extra hours to pay for the project.

Now there are times when it is difficult to measure these projects.  Sometimes even though you could pay someone to do it for you, it is like therapy-raking leaves, or washing the car are like this for me.  It is mindless, and relaxing. (Don’t tell my wife!)

So share your Do It Yourself project gone bad!  You can stay anonymous.

Tags: DIY projects, save money at home, save money by doing it yourself

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 7th, 2010 at 5:11 pm and is filed under personal finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.