Perks of living in a rental apartment
Before I was a homeowner, I lived in multiple rental apartments in the PA and NJ area. For any issues with the apt – heater not functioning, faucet leaking, tub not draining etc., all I had to do was call up the maintenance hotline and things were taken care of…for free!
Owning a home
A few years ago, I bought a 28 yr old single-family home which serves as my primary residence. Owning your own home is great although it comes with a lot of responsibility. If things break down, you simply can’t pick up the phone and call the maintenance guys. You got to research, compare, and deal with plumbers, electricians, handymen and other contractors. Thanks to sites like Thumbtack, this process is made much easier.
Expensive contractors
Anyone owning a home knows how expensive contractors are. They charge a minimum of $100 to fix things. Considering the high charges that contractors bill you, it does make sense to do certain tasks yourself so that you can keep the money for your saving and investing goals.
What tasks can I handle myself?
I’m not talking about difficult tasks such as replacing your furnace or cutting that gigantic tree in your backyard. Those jobs are best left for the experts. I’m talking about easy jobs ex:
> Painting your deck or fence
> Cutting small tree branches
> Lawn mowing, trimming, edging, leaf blowing
> Replacing old ceiling fans, chandeliers, outdoor lights
> Fixing a leaky faucet. This is as easy as just replacing the inbuilt cartridge
> Installing a new overheard bathroom exhaust fan
> Replacing the old faucets in your bathroom or kitchen
> Replacing the kitchen garbage disposal unit
The list is endless. For minor jobs, you can DIY (Do it yourself) instead of throwing hard earned money at contractors.
How do I learn how to fix things?
YouTube has all the answers that you need! Just search for the issue and you will find multiple videos showing you what tools you need, what precautions to take and step by step instructions. After watching a few videos, you will have the confidence to go ahead and tackle the job yourself. Thanks to YouTube, I have accomplished tons of DIY tasks and saved myself a lot of money in the process.
You can do it too
DIY may seem intimidating at first. I have a neighbor who told me that he stays away from plumbing and electrical tasks, but those are also a piece of cake once you watch videos and try things yourself. Be a handyman around your own home and happy DIY guys!!!
I replaced the kitchen sink faucet a few weeks ago after watching a youtube video. Took some time but saved myself atleast 200$ that I would have to pay the plumber.
Way to go! Every $ saved is a $ that can be invested towards your long/short term investing goals.
I used to do lawnmowing, trimming and edging myself but outsourced it a few yrs ago. It’s getting too expensive to hire guys to do the work. Looks like I’m gonna have to do it myself to save money 🙁
I’m currently renting and so I don’t have to worry about this but I like DIY. Hopefully that should save me big bucks when I own.
I love doing things around the house. Saves me money, keeps me active and brings me a great deal of satisfaction.
You got to maintain and take good care of your appliances and devices around the house so that they run longer, and costly repairs are avoided because lack of maintenance.
True! A friend of mine spent quite a bit to replace his furnace because he never changed the air filter. He just wasn’t aware that this regular maintenance had to be done. The costly repair would have been avoided if he had replaced the filter periodically.
A few mths ago my car dealer was charging me around 400$ to replace the struts on the hood. I did it myself for 25 bucks and 20 mins spent on the repair 🙂
Yeah, car dealer repair costs (parts + labor) are a rip off. I go to the local Firestone repair shop and the prices are much lower than the dealer price.
Get the right tools and products from home depot or lowes and repair things yourself. It’s fun and you save money.