Pros and Cons of the DIY Lifestyle (Do It Yourself)
Pros of being a DIY’er
Save money – It’s almost always wayyyyyy cheaper to do anything yourself rather than hiring it out. Especially if you count your labor rate as $free.99! You might as well have something to show for it if you have a free Saturday to kill. Like a fat bank account from all the money you saved tackling that lawn reseeding project on your own. You can also often avoid some pretty ridiculous parts markup from repair shops by sourcing your own parts online.
Save waste – Instead of throwing away something that’s broken, fix it! There’s no need to discard something with a simple problem. You’d be surprised how often us DIY’ers acquire appliances or tools that need a simple adjustment or a fuse.
Save time – Have you ever been excited to get a job done only to have the service provider quote you a lead time of 6-8 weeks? You can start TODAY if you DIY it!
Personal satisfaction – This is a huge pro of being a DIY’er for me. You’ll know the job was done right, you’re happy with the results, and you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished!
“If you want something done right, do it yourself.”
-Charles-Guillaume Étienne
Gain skill – You must learn to become a DIY’er. These skills are continually added to your growing repertoire. While you may not be a master of anything, you can be a jack of all trades. Along with the mental tools, you’ll acquire the physical tools for the job as an investment into future opportunities to use them.
Help others – You’re immediately able to provide more value to your family and community with this increase in skills. Help your mom change a light fixture. Teach your neighbor to change a tire. Give your children the skills to maintain their power wheels.
Start a side hustle – When you practice any skill enough, and now have the right tools for the job, inevitably you’ll be able to start charging others. Turning a DIY into a do-it-for-someone-else-for-profit job is a great outcome.
DIY Cons
Expectation vs. reality – Sometimes what you read is possible really is possible… just not yet for your skill level. When you want a perfect outcome and there’s an imperfection in your DIY project it can be discouraging.
It’s hard! – For real! Professionals make a lot things look quick and easy. They’ve honed those skills for profit, and you can too.
Risk of mistakes – It might take more than one attempt to do a project. The lesson of missing a step and having to do it all over again is just another opportunity for practice!
“We do’s her nice cause we do’s her twice.”
-Dad
Can take more time – Contrary to the saving time Pro above, sometimes DIY can take far longer than paying an expert. A painting crew will come in and turn your house around in a day or two, while it’ll take you 3 weeks of taping, cutting in, rolling, up and down the ladder.
Can be costly – Also contrary to the saving money Pro above, learning lessons (by making mistakes) can be very costly. You’ll need to consider how wasting materials, accidentally damaging expensive components, and making more work than necessary will factor into your project. Sometimes just the tools to do the job right are cost prohibitive. The professionals get to amortize tool cost over many jobs. If you’re only doing a task once consider borrowing, renting, or buying second hand tools and re-selling afterwards. Possibly cleaning up and selling those tools for a profit after!
Might not be legal – This an odd case but a real limitation in some projects. Always follow your local laws and regulations on building code, requirements for licensed professionals for some fields. Especially watch out for that pesky Home Owners Association!
