I spend a lot of time fixing things, for myself and others. (Computers, electrical, plumbing, etc). While I learn a lot, I wonder sometimes if it would be better to pay a professional and do something else for which I am more ‘valuable’. Do you do the same, and do you find it worthwhile?
Unless you’re actually using the time that it frees up to make more money, that’s not a useful exercise. If you’re just thinking that you could make more money, but you didn’t actually do it, then you’re just paying to have time to - whatever it is that you do with that time. Which could still be valid, but it’s a different judgment proposition.
Plus, being able to do things yourself means they can get done on your schedule, assuming you actually do them. You’re beholden to no one’s schedule and energy but your own.
I enjoy fixing things, even other people’s shit, so I categorize that time as entertainment instead of work. It’s time I’d otherwise be using to doomscroll on Lemmy.
Entertainment value nails it
It varies.
In most cases it’s more a question of “What is the risk if I do this myself?” and “If I completely fuck this up, is it going to cost more to fix than just calling someone who knows what they’re doing before that happens?”
If the answer to the above doesn’t involve a fire in my walls or serious water damage like with electical or plumbing, and the cost to fix mistakes is low, then sure, I’ll try it myself first.
Interesting, my dad is often complaining about the opposite, what is the risk if he let’s it do someone else? It’s because he has reasons to make things in a particular way which some professionals dismiss and do differently. And then he finds out way too late and then can’t really do what he planned or it involves a lot of extra work to work around the limitation.
I get this too. However, you’ll usually be able to tell the professionals your end goal during the quoting process and if your requirements are reasonable, they’ll work with you.
If they won’t do that, then you get to ask yourself the next question:
- Do they have a good reason to refuse? (safety [either theirs or yours], regulations, etc)
If not, then you can just refuse the quote and work with someone else.
More often than not, the professionals know what they’re doing and will be able to work around your requirements, and if they can’t, they’ll have competitors that can.
Generally speaking I do things myself because it’s cheaper, in that it lets me allocate cash in higher quality versions of things than I would otherwise be able to afford. I grew up pretty poor and that was how my family did things. Car breaks, that’s why you buy a Chilton’s. Appliance isn’t working? You can always order the part for a tenth of what it costs to have the appliance guy tell you what’s wrong. AC quit working? Those capacitors are super easy to replace and only cost $7.
Now I could pay people to do more things for me, but it’s only under certain circumstances.
Sometimes it just boils down to something my Dad told me underneath a car (or a house maybe) like 30 years ago: “Nobody is gonna care about your shit more than you do.”
- Fizz ( @Fizz@lemmy.nz ) 7•2 months ago
If you go by my job then it works out to about $15 an hour. That’s my wage x hours worked per day \ 24. But that’s not very useful since there are stituations where i choose to spend my time instead of hire a professional “less”.
But personally I value my time differently based on the activity. If I like the activity my time is worth very little but if I hate the activity it can be expensive. I’d rather spend 3 days figuring out how to do something myself than hire a professional because I find the process of learning and DIY to be very fun and fulfilling. But at the same time I’d rather pay to have my house cleaned even though it would be easy and cheaper for me to clean it myself.
If the request is helping a friend in need then my time is free no matter how much I hate the activity.
I always think in terms of time, and I have a spreadsheet to track my “actual hourly” i get from work and side hustles so I can know which are working best for me. When evaluating items to buy, I think about how much time it would take me to buy the item instead of the amount in dollar or whatever since the dollar’s value changes with time. This also helps me because I generally try to not think in USD to begin with since I mostly use Bitcoin. At first, I tried thinking in BTC but it’s volatile enough that this is not much any better than thinking in USD. Tying things to hours makes more sense. If you know your “average hourly” it’s easy to determine whether or not to fix something yourself or hire somebody else to do it.
Holy shit it’s a crypto bro
A lot more than it used to be. But I’m also getting lazier. I used to spend all weekend learning some new tech on my computer and now I can’t be bothered.
$my_age/hr
Will it get done if it costs too much to get someone to do it? Do I think I can do it?
If I added up all of the home, auto and technical maintenance I have done in the last month as farmed out to a professional I would be broke ALL THE TIME or the things would not have gotten done.
SO many things can be looked up and even found as full instructional videos now.
I generally look at it as if there is special knowledge, skills or tools needed also if I could make things worse… If not I will try and do it myself.
Is it an easy job? 50€/hr
Is it an easy job, but during a busy time? 100€/hr
the same above, but difficult 85/150 the same above, but a consistent gig 35/50 the same above, but with dietary restrictions and a bridzilla? 200/500
can you afford it? 1,000€/hr
Do I like you? free/minimal upcharge.
It depends. I personally like solving tech problems, so I don’t mind doing that myself. But for things I don’t enjoy like cooking, I am willing to pay quite a bit to outsource that work to someone else. Even with the modern inflated restaurant prices I still eat out a few nights a week.
Twenty bucks, same as in town.
More than I can afford, unfortunately
Sometimes having the problem removed is worth a lot.
Sometimes the time waiting for the professional is not worth it.
If it can be done for less than $200, I pay and move on.
I haved fixed several appliances which stayed working for years after.
1meal/hour