|
|
Post by cannmom on Oct 1, 2015 19:57:38 GMT
How often will you pay someone else to do something vs. doing it yourself? My SIL just made a comment about sewing Scout patches on a uniform. They go on the pocket and she was talking about how difficult it was. I laughed and told her I pay someone to do that. It's not worth the time and effort to me to do it myself; I would rater drop it off at the seamstress and be done. On the other hand I vacuumed and detailed our car today instead of having it done. Mostly because it was just easier to do it myself. I didn't want to drive into town to have it done.
My DH and I had a conversation the other day about when you reach a certain age and can afford to pay others to do some things it just makes more sense to hire someone. We know some people that will never pay for something to be done so they either half do it or don't do it at all. Makes no sense to me as these are people that can afford it.
There are lots of things that we do ourselves, but sometimes when life is busy it's just so much a sanity saver to let someone else do it. How often do you pay for someone to do something you technically could do, but choose not to?
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:58:58 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 20:02:16 GMT
We do a lot ourselves even if we have money to have it done for us.
And spray adhesive works great on those patches. Or if you have to sew. Do a blanket stitch around the outside just barely catching the border thread of the patch.
|
|
~Susan~
Pearl Clutcher
You need to check your boobs, mine tried to kill me!!!
Posts: 3,259
Jul 6, 2014 17:25:32 GMT
|
Post by ~Susan~ on Oct 1, 2015 20:13:21 GMT
It really just depends on what it is. DH and I are fairly handy, but sometimes having the time to do it is a problem.
|
|
|
|
Post by mikklynn on Oct 1, 2015 20:13:48 GMT
The Girl Scouts sell a product called Patch Magic, I think. I know I bought it online for DIL after spending hours sewing on DGD's patches!
For me, I pay to have things done that I don't have time to do or HATE to do. I do not enjoy yard work, especially after work or on my limited free time over the weekend. I pay for all my yard work to be done.
Also, I pay for things that can be done quickly by someone else that would take me hours. A perfect example is window washing. The team comes and does all my windows inside and out in 2 hours. It would take me an entire day or more. Plus, there is the hassle of hauling out the extension ladder and moving it for every window.
|
|
Kerri W
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,836 
Location: Kentucky
|
Post by Kerri W on Oct 1, 2015 20:13:49 GMT
Badge Magic from the scout supply store is A-MAZ-ING! Your SIL can leave her badge sewing days behind forever!
DH travels quite a bit for work and I work full time, parent by myself during the week and volunteer a lot. We hire quite a bit done. Our earning potential is higher than what it costs to have many things done by somebody else, so that's how we prioritize. One quick example...it costs $1 to have DH shirts ironed. They pick and deliver. It's a no-brainer for me to pay $10 every couple weeks to get his shirts done rather than spend an hour or two doing it myself. I wash, but I don't iron.
|
|
|
|
Post by femalebusiness on Oct 1, 2015 20:35:50 GMT
I am struggling with this. My husband and I have always done everything ourselves. We are not only handy but the Hubs is skilled. However, I have hit a point in my life when I have plenty of money to pay someone to do the things that I don't want to or can't find time to do, but my husband hates having someone else do work he can do. We have a crappy old van that we use strictly for hauling things from Home Depot and it sits in front of the house. It has needed paint for the last fifteen years. I want to just take it and get a cheap paint job on it to clean it up. He wants to paint it himself as we've always painted our cars ourselves. He has built several custom cars. So there it sits, ugly, because he won't paint it but won't have someone else do it. That's just one thing waiting to be done. I have a ton of things like that that I just don't want to have to do myself. I swear the next time he takes a trip someplace I have a list of things that I'm going to have someone else come and do while he is gone. So if I had my way I'd go on a hiring spree and have all my pending projects taken care of. He will die with unfinished projects.  |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:58:58 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 20:39:20 GMT
I am struggling with this. My husband and I have always done everything ourselves. We are not only handy but the Hubs is skilled. However, I have hit a point in my life when I have plenty of money to pay someone to do the things that I don't want to or can't find time to do, but my husband hates having someone else do work he can do. We have a crappy old van that we use strictly for hauling things from Home Depot and it sits in front of the house. It has needed paint for the last fifteen years. I want to just take it and get a cheap paint job on it to clean it up. He wants to paint it himself as we've always painted our cars ourselves. He has built several custom cars. So there it sits, ugly, because he won't paint it but won't have someone else do it. That's just one thing waiting to be done. I have a ton of things like that that I just don't want to have to do myself. I swear the next time he takes a trip someplace I have a list of things that I'm going to have someone else come and do while he is gone. So if I had my way I'd go on a hiring spree and have all my pending projects taken care of. He will die with unfinished projects. We repainted a car. Go have it done! |
|
|
|
Post by teddyw on Oct 1, 2015 20:39:39 GMT
Some things are just done better by s professional like window washing. I also love to have a painter. We used to do all that ourselves but now we don't have time and can afford not to.
I'd like to have a lawn guy again but dh doesn't want one.
|
|
|
|
Post by dillydally on Oct 1, 2015 20:41:26 GMT
This is me as well. I'm cheap (frugal?) by nature so I don't like to pay if I can do it myself, but sometimes I just don't want to or it is going to take me so long that it would be cheaper to just pay someone to do it rather than spend my time. Right now I am about to call the stupid cable company to have them come install the stupid new modem that is supposed to be easy to install. Free if I install it; a fee if they come out. I am just worried about messing up our sound system that is way more technical than I am!
|
|
|
|
Post by femalebusiness on Oct 1, 2015 20:48:08 GMT
I am struggling with this. My husband and I have always done everything ourselves. We are not only handy but the Hubs is skilled. However, I have hit a point in my life when I have plenty of money to pay someone to do the things that I don't want to or can't find time to do, but my husband hates having someone else do work he can do. We have a crappy old van that we use strictly for hauling things from Home Depot and it sits in front of the house. It has needed paint for the last fifteen years. I want to just take it and get a cheap paint job on it to clean it up. He wants to paint it himself as we've always painted our cars ourselves. He has built several custom cars. So there it sits, ugly, because he won't paint it but won't have someone else do it. That's just one thing waiting to be done. I have a ton of things like that that I just don't want to have to do myself. I swear the next time he takes a trip someplace I have a list of things that I'm going to have someone else come and do while he is gone. So if I had my way I'd go on a hiring spree and have all my pending projects taken care of. He will die with unfinished projects. We repainted a car. Go have it done! I'm going to do that the next time he goes out of town for a few days. He'll never get around to it and it doesn't bother him a bit to have it junky, sitting out front. I just have to be sneaky to get it done. |
|
|
|
Post by stampinbetsy on Oct 1, 2015 20:48:27 GMT
I'm pretty cheap and Will do a lot of things myself, but hiring a lawn service is one of the best things I've done! Neither Dh nor I enjoy yard work, so it just wasn't getting done as often as it should. Now I don't worry about it.
|
|
melissa
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,912
|
Post by melissa on Oct 1, 2015 20:50:22 GMT
That's funny. I wouldn't think twice about sewing on a patch but I would gladly pay someone else to vacuum my car, as I did fairly recently. It was only a few dollars more at the car wash. The birds had taken quite a liking to my car and with the drought, we haven't had enough rain to wash their little gifts away!
|
|
River
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,627
Jun 26, 2014 15:26:04 GMT
|
Post by River on Oct 1, 2015 20:50:23 GMT
I pay for a housekeeper. It's the best thing I've ever decided to say screw it and hire it done!!
|
|
|
|
Post by scrappyoutlaw on Oct 1, 2015 20:53:54 GMT
DH and I are just getting started in life so we do everything ourselves that is safe to do. DH does electrical work, plumbing, car mechanics, and general handyman stuff around the house. We are however, hiring a tree trimmer to come trim up the canopy on our 70ft. maple. I look forward to the day when we can afford to have someone else take care of some of this stuff for us.  |
|
freebird
Drama Llama
'cause I'm free as a bird now
Posts: 6,927
|
Post by freebird on Oct 1, 2015 20:56:31 GMT
My husband is home mowing the yard, which he LOATHES but he won't pay someone else to come mow it. He'll also have a fit if .23 worth of bread goes moldy but thinks nothing of buying $200 in steaks. LOL I'm on the prowl again for a housekeeper and also an assistant at the shop. When it doesn't become worth it to me to do something anymore, or it costs me more to do it, I'll just pay someone else!
|
|
bethany102399
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,860
|
Post by bethany102399 on Oct 1, 2015 20:57:19 GMT
This. Including scout patches, lol. I have a lady at work with Ninja sewing skills. She hooks me up. I've heard mixed reviews on badge magic, plus now that she's bridging to brownie, I'm wanting to preserve her patches/badges in a shadowbox but not the vest itself. I'd have to cut the vest apart if I used the sticky stuff.
There are times I think, yes I could make that cheaper, but I'm paying to save my sanity and for someone else's time.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:58:59 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 20:58:16 GMT
Depends on what it is. Some things we'd rather do ourselves. Some things we know we're better off paying someone even if it's something we could do. We've been talking about putting down patio bricks in part of the backyard. We've gone back and forth on doing it ourselves vs paying a landscaper.
Redoing the basement stairs and the front porch will definitely get done by professionals.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:58:59 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 21:01:59 GMT
I hate to paint, so I always pay someone to do that. I also avoid phone calls whenever possible, so I pay an assistant to make my business-related calls whenever possible. We're in a townhouse now so lawn care isn't an issue, but years ago when it was, paying for lawn care was a no brainer.
On the other hand, I don't mind cleaning the house, so I don't have someone do that except for big stuff like rug cleaning and window washing.
If I could hire a personal chef, I would...because I hate cooking.
|
|
akathy
What's For Dinner?
Still peaing from Podunk!
Posts: 4,546
Location: North Dakota
Jun 25, 2014 22:56:55 GMT
|
Post by akathy on Oct 1, 2015 21:03:05 GMT
I'm older and alone so I pay for a lot of things to be done for me. Some of them like window washing and a cleaning lady are things I've paid to have done for many years.
I have a couple guy friends friends that will come and help me out occasionally and my grandsons do what they can but I have to have a handy man for a lot of things. I hire out my yard work.
|
|
|
|
Post by papersilly on Oct 1, 2015 21:03:26 GMT
i am the opposite. I will sew but I will not clean my car myself. I have someone come out to the office to clean my car. I have a cleaning lady too. I do the everyday stuff but once a month, she come for the heavy duty stuff.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:58:59 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 21:05:35 GMT
It just depends. We recently needed a new garbage disposal and I was pretty sure that I could install it myself. Moreover, I *wanted* to try to install it myself (DH is thoroughly un-handy, so him installing it was out of the question). I figured I'd give it my best shot and if I didn't do it right, I'd have a plumber come fix it (even though I realize that would be more expensive than having one do it from the beginning). Well, I did it without issue and it works perfectly. It took me less than an hour. Plus, I actually enjoyed it because it felt like an accomplishment.
I don't feel that way about everything, though. We are going to redo the floors downstairs with some high quality laminate. I know we *could* do that ourselves but hell to the no. The amount of time that would take on evenings and weekends and the likelihood of screwing up some measurements and having too much waste... far too high. We can pay pros to knock it out in a couple days and be done with it. Worth it to me.
Large projects we are pretty likely to hire for. Small projects, I'm fairly likely to take on myself. And as much as I want a housekeeper, I just can't bring myself to hire one when I work from home. Dumb, I know.
|
|
|
|
Post by leannec on Oct 1, 2015 21:08:44 GMT
We do almost everything ourselves ... mainly because dh is very handy and cheap  |
|
|
|
Post by ChicagoKTS on Oct 1, 2015 21:16:01 GMT
We both work long hours and neither of us is particularly handy so we do pay for numerous things to be done around the house like cleaning, window washing, handyman stuff. Now that our dog is quite old, we have someone come in midday to walk her but that's more out of necessity than just having someone do something we would rather not do or have time.
|
|
|
|
Post by maryland on Oct 1, 2015 21:26:22 GMT
I am struggling with this. My husband and I have always done everything ourselves. We are not only handy but the Hubs is skilled. However, I have hit a point in my life when I have plenty of money to pay someone to do the things that I don't want to or can't find time to do, but my husband hates having someone else do work he can do. We have a crappy old van that we use strictly for hauling things from Home Depot and it sits in front of the house. It has needed paint for the last fifteen years. I want to just take it and get a cheap paint job on it to clean it up. He wants to paint it himself as we've always painted our cars ourselves. He has built several custom cars. So there it sits, ugly, because he won't paint it but won't have someone else do it. That's just one thing waiting to be done. I have a ton of things like that that I just don't want to have to do myself. I swear the next time he takes a trip someplace I have a list of things that I'm going to have someone else come and do while he is gone. So if I had my way I'd go on a hiring spree and have all my pending projects taken care of. He will die with unfinished projects. Sounds like us! We have been missing a shutter on one window for 10 yrs.! We can't buy the same shutters, so my husband doesn't want to spend the money to buy new shutters. But we go to the beach for a month each summer. And we would go more if I would agree to it. Yet he doesn't want to spend money on shutters. I said we could get the shutters new for that window and hold off on the others. So it may not even be noticeable that they are not the same size.
I hate having stuff sit around waiting to get done. He doesn't have the time, so I would love to pay someone to do it.
|
|
|
|
Post by gmcwife1 on Oct 1, 2015 21:27:44 GMT
I would rather pay then do it ourselves. We've never sewn a patch on dd's 4-H or Tae Kwon Do stuff. I don't sew at all so it's not something I would even try no matter how easy it is for others.
|
|
|
|
Post by kristi on Oct 1, 2015 21:36:09 GMT
I would say we hire most things out.
My husband travels for work, I work & we have kids involved in multiple activities. Time is a an issue for us.
The major reason though is that we are not handy! I actually had someone come & hang a very large/heavy photo last week. The hourly rate was worth it to me to get it out of the hall, on the wall & fill some holes while my husband was out of town.
|
|
|
|
Post by disneypal on Oct 1, 2015 21:37:26 GMT
If I am capable of doing something and have the time to do it, I always do it myself (even if it isn't enjoyable) But..if it isn't in my skill-set or I have a big crunch on time, then I will pay someone if I can.
The only exception is moving...I discovered it is totally worth the money to hire movers - they are faster and have the right equipment and people to get the job done a lot easier. I will ALWAYS pay movers (I have the skill and usually the time to move but they are just worth it) |
|
|
|
Post by peano on Oct 1, 2015 21:39:48 GMT
I come from a family where my father was the least handy guy on earth. So we always called a "guy" until my brother was old enough to reliably do stuff. So I married DH, whose family wouldn't dream of calling a "guy" and so DH thinks no job is beyond his scope. Over the years, I have learned what jobs are, in reality, beyond his scope and call in professionals as necessary. It's been a hard lesson learned. Right now we're having painting estimates done for 2-story foyer area that DH insists that he can do even though he has a terrible fear of heights.  And next is a brick walkway of DH’s that is a hot mess. |
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Aug 18, 2025 21:58:59 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 1, 2015 21:49:16 GMT
I've reached an age and stage in life where I will gladly pay a professional to avoid the hassles and inconvenience.
|
|
|
|
Post by lesley on Oct 1, 2015 22:07:28 GMT
I would love to pay someone to do all the prep work on my mum's old house that I will move into - one day sometime this year. However, I don't have the money for someone to strip wallpaper, remove ceiling tiles and a false ceiling, lift carpets, paint a new fence, and remove some woodwork. DS and I are basically capable of those jobs, although it is slow progress because of health issues. I'm going to have to pay someone to replaster, lay carpet, do joinery stuff, and wallpaper. And electrical work too. And then I have to plan and get built an extension, including a bedroom, bathroom, and a kitchen. I need to keep as much money as I can for that! Oh - and I'm cheap too!  |
|
_on_the_beach.jpg)
And next is a brick walkway of DH’s that is a hot mess. 
