TREAT A DIY PROJECT AS AN INVESTMENT
This article is Part 3 of 6 of
How to DIY: Your Total Guide for DIY Directions that Really Work
“But my Do-It-Yourself stuff are only a hobby.”
“It doesn’t cost that much money so why bother with serious budgeting?”
“I don’t know how to do those spreadsheets.”
“That would be great but I just don’t have the time to learn it.”
Of course, a DIY may just be a hobby (in the same way that many people also practice it as a lifestyle).
Right, DIY projects are supposed to be cheaper than hiring people or buying stuff instead of sweating it out yourself.
Sure, many of us don’t know what to do with numbers and figures in cells and tables.
Understood. We have so many things to do that learning a new skill, especially complicated looking ones just don’t fit into our already hectic schedules anymore.
The typical resistance to injecting a more business-like (and therefore more serious or more complicated?) approach to DIY projects is understandable. For one, we used the term investment, and what comes to mind are jargons like rate of return, profit, losses, risks, the list goes on. Truth is, DIY can be the easiest to manage investment you’ll ever dip your hands into, and the most rewarding, if you listen to the lessons, learn from shared experiences, apply what makes sense and practical to you, and keep all of them in mind and at heart.
Treating your DIY project like an investment is not a complicated thing at all, unless you purposely want to make it so. Truth is, once you’ve got the hang of budgeting and controlling the important areas of your project, it comes so easy and you’ll find it a valuable discipline that you may not want to dip into a DIY venture of any size without looking at it as an investment.
A well-planned DIY project can really save you a lot
We have established that cutting back on some good bucks is one of the compelling reasons most savings-conscious people want to do DIY projects. Understandably so.
The mainstream popularity of DIY among many individuals and households can be traced from the periods of global economic crisis from the 1990s, where cutting corners here and there were necessary to cope with the effects of the financial setbacks in the US economy. Needless to say, doing things yourself rather than buying ready-made things or contracting the services of professionals became a popular move to face the challenges of the times.
Angela Colley, writer for Money Talks News highlights the importance of factoring in the value of time when you tackle a DIY project. “In my opinion, spending 45 hours on a project isn’t worth it if I’ll only save $100 off the cost of hiring a professional. I’d rather pay the money and preserve my free time – but the true cost vs. value of time is up to you.”
Monette White, a 32-year-old make-up artist in New Brunswick, NJ did just that, factored in time (and effort) in deciding whether to give her husband a special Do-It-Yourself anniversary dinner at home (on a Monday), or simply make a reservation in a nice restaurant. “I wanted to create some special memories at home, and I know how to cook, so that pretty much settles any anxiety on having the food turn out well. I made a budget list for a 3-course dinner which ran up to around $180, since I needed stuff like seasonings and flavorings, and they don’t come cheap. I also needed to buy new linen, just to make the table fresh and add color,” Monette shared.
Factor in the value of your personal time when you do a DIY project.
Factoring in time cost and other things, she said, “Add to that the hours I spent scouring recipes and cooking videos online instead of doing some freelance makeup gigs, plus the anxiety of pulling everything together before 7pm. Two days before our anniversary, I decided to scrap the whole thing, called our favorite restaurant and made arrangements with the manager, who gladly offered to make things special for us, a treat for having us as ‘regulars.’”
On their anniversary night, she was completely stress-free with just having to focus on herself and not slaving away in the kitchen for the most part of the day. The couple had a good table and blueberry cheesecake, on the house. The best thing is, they spent under $130 for the dinner, inclusive of a round of Zinfandel for each of them and a generous tip. “I never even included wine yet for the $180 grocery list! It’s one of those days that a DIY gourmet dinner won’t work for me. Maybe some other time, to create special memories at home which is priceless in itself. But on a Monday night, it just won’t work,” Monette said.
BUDGETING AND MONITORING
Treat your DIY project like an investment
Let us say you have honestly assessed your skills and ensured the availability of resources and backup help to guarantee a level of success for your Do-It-Yourself project. The planning and preparation part does not stop there.
Before embarking on any made-at-home or made-by-me activities, make an estimate calculation of the savings you will enjoy from doing your DIY project as against getting skilled help or buying new items. For some DIY projects, the savings are very obvious so a mental calculation is all you need, yet still, assessing your DIY savings is a way of giving it a professional management touch. In businesses, one assesses costs-savings-profits, taking into consideration all resources used. Your DIY project should have the same good management and control.
Depending on the size and complexity of your DIY, you can make a really professional calculation job complete with spread sheets and all to account for every cent spent versus saved; or just put everything down in simple pen and paper.
A. Jot down the DIY expense item and opposite this the cost. Do the same for the ‘paid service’ or ‘purchase new’ options. While the non-DIY option will incur you skilled or professional fees (labor) and also materials, not to mention overtime work fees and maybe food or snacks for the worker, you may be surprised that there could only be one group of expense in your DIY column, your materials. And they don’t cost beyond a few dollars. If you already have them available or can scour them for free, the DIY cost is almost zero.
B. You may also want to give value to your time spent doing the job. If these spare time can be used to earn for doing another thing (like a second job or a freelance work), put the “cost” of the time spent (or how much you should have earned doing income-generating work instead of your DIY project). If none and that time is really a spare time or a hobby, then the cost is zero.
C. For effort, which is the equivalent of “labor” on the non-DIY options, since you are not a professional, you may have lower labor fees compared to a professional or skilled worker. The difference is the savings you get from doing the job yourself. Actually, since you won’t really be paying yourself, you can include all the value of the paid service as savings entirely.
Whatever thinking you approach this, it just highlights the fact that you are saving a great deal as against paying for skilled or professional services or new purchases.
Do you know the two keys to a successful DIY project?
Read DIY Guide Part 2: How to Plan and Prepare for your DIY Project
Raring to kickstart your DIY idea?
Read DIY Guide Part 4: How to Get Ahead with your DIY Project
Got a DIY lesson or experience that you would like to add up to our learning bank? Feel free to share them!
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