WEBVTT - When to DIY or Hire a Pro #437 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.960 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel, I'm Matt, and 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.640 today we're discussing when to d I y or hire 0:00:05.680 --> 0:00:26.439 a pro. I see, I caught you off guard a 0:00:26.480 --> 0:00:28.320 little bit with my introduction. I like you when you 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:31.040 shake things out to the show instead of the I 0:00:31.920 --> 0:00:34.600 Matt uh sometimes like to keep it short and sweet. 0:00:34.920 --> 0:00:38.239 I'm Matt, and welcome to How the Money. Today we're 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:40.320 talking about Yeah, we're talking about d I y ng 0:00:40.360 --> 0:00:43.680 it because Joel, you and I are frugal dudes, and 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:46.440 we tend to be borderline cheap, and oftentimes what that 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.240 can lead us is down this path of d I 0:00:49.560 --> 0:00:51.760 y ng things when instead we should be hiring a pro. 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:54.640 And then on the flip side, sometimes we are automatically thinking, oh, 0:00:54.680 --> 0:00:56.240 you gotta hire a pro for that. I don't know 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:59.160 anything about that, but when in reality there are ways 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:01.440 that we could save a lot of money by doing 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:03.680 it ourselves. I think, especially in today's society, there are 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:08.120 a lot of people that prioritize that prize convenience, and understandably, 0:01:08.160 --> 0:01:11.120 so I think we lead busier lives. I don't know 0:01:11.120 --> 0:01:13.000 if that's a good thing, but I think it's a 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:17.880 true thing. And so hiring people, hiring more services, and 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.440 hiring a pro more frequently become starts to become the default, 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:23.040 starts to become the norm, and so we want to 0:01:23.120 --> 0:01:25.720 question that too. So in today's episode, we're gonna try 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.320 to provide somewhat of a framework for thinking through some 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:31.640 of these decisions. But Matt, before we get to that, 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.240 I saw commercial on TV the other day for something 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:39.000 that I thought was long dead, and yet it remains. 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:42.160 The penny bidding websites. Do you know what those are? 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:46.040 Have you seen penny auctions? Yes, so, like ten twelve 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:48.360 years ago, those were a thing. And what you do 0:01:48.480 --> 0:01:51.560 is you buy like a bunch of bids. They seem 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.640 really really inexpensive, and you you stockpile these bids on 0:01:55.640 --> 0:01:57.920 these websites and you're bidding for things like, I don't know, 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:02.200 like Apple laptops or headphones or different tech sort of items. 0:02:02.480 --> 0:02:06.880 That camera, yes, and that camera might sell for sixty 0:02:06.880 --> 0:02:09.800 dollars when it's actually worth seven fifty dollars and it 0:02:09.840 --> 0:02:12.680 seems like a deal. But the problem is is not 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:17.320 the final price that is incredibly cheap. It's that you're 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:19.519 paying money with every single bid to try to win 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.480 that item. And the clock gets reset every time somebody 0:02:23.560 --> 0:02:27.080 bids exactly every time there's a bit well on like 0:02:27.200 --> 0:02:29.480 deal Dash in particular, that's a real popular one. Like 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.680 I think every time you bid, it just raises the 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:34.040 you know, the price of the item only by one cent, 0:02:34.280 --> 0:02:37.160 but it also adds ten seconds to the remaining time 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:39.760 on the ticker. Uh. It is not like an eBay 0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:42.239 auction where the end time is the end time. The 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:44.760 end time continues to get reset and you continue to 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:46.760 plunk money down hoping that you're going to get it 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:50.160 discounted whatever it is item, and you almost always lose. Yeah. 0:02:50.160 --> 0:02:52.359 I think the term that comes into play here is 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:55.480 sunk cost fallacy, because you think, oh, well, I've I've 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.040 put so many bids on this one item, I can't 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:00.120 give up now, and so you continue to bid on it. 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:02.040 And with deal Dash in particular, each one of those 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.880 bids cost thirteen cents, which, yeah, like you said, doesn't 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:06.959 seem like much money at all. But all of those 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:08.920 bids added up on top of the fact that you 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:10.920 are trying to compete with these other folks trying to 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:12.720 get the side and for really cheap, it is not 0:03:12.960 --> 0:03:15.280 a good way to get a deal. Uh. And I 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:17.840 saw somebody once right about it. How it's a decent 0:03:17.880 --> 0:03:20.400 form of entertainment, right, like in the same way that 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.120 going y, Like if you want to go and gamble 0:03:23.200 --> 0:03:24.960 your money away and there's a chance that you might 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:26.560 get a big payoff, there's a chance you might get 0:03:26.560 --> 0:03:29.720 a deal. But it is not like uh, deal News 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:31.640 or slick deals, you know, a place where you can 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:33.840 go where you can expect to get a good discount 0:03:34.000 --> 0:03:36.440 on an item. Uh. It's definitely more like, yeah, it's 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:39.080 like a slot machine. Yeah, exactly, like the online version 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:40.760 of a slot machine. So it's just one of those 0:03:40.760 --> 0:03:42.320 things where I saw that commercially other day and I 0:03:42.320 --> 0:03:44.920 was like, I can't believe those still exist, Like I 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:48.280 thought those have been eradicated from the Internet, but sadly 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:50.320 they're not. They're not. There's still a bunch of out 0:03:50.320 --> 0:03:51.680 there well. And the thing is too, if you look 0:03:51.760 --> 0:03:54.119 them up, they get good reviews, Like they have nice 0:03:54.120 --> 0:03:57.720 positive reviews on Facebook or trust Pilot, like different sites 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:00.040 that you would go to and check the legitimate to 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:03.560 see of a site or a companies. It is. It's 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:06.560 incredibly surprising because ultimately what they're doing, it's not illegal. 0:04:06.960 --> 0:04:10.200 It's just kind of like a misrepresentation of what it is, 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.040 right because, like we said, you go there, you're expecting 0:04:12.040 --> 0:04:13.960 a deal, but in the end you're not walking away 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:17.080 oftentimes with the deal. Uh. And if you are getting 0:04:17.120 --> 0:04:19.200 a deal, that meant that there is like a whole 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:22.279 wine of people behind you that fail to get a deal. 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:24.359 Oftentimes you are spending a lot of money for the 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:28.160 opportunity to perhaps buy the item. It's like being not guaranteed. 0:04:28.160 --> 0:04:29.880 It's like being the eighth friend in your friend group 0:04:29.920 --> 0:04:34.120 to start selling Lula ro leggings. That's basically the position 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:36.320 you're put in, Like, oh man, what do you participate 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.760 in any penny bid websites? But Matt, let's I gotta 0:04:39.760 --> 0:04:42.919 find some new friend. Let's move on. Let's mention the 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:44.960 beer that we're having on the show today. This one 0:04:45.120 --> 0:04:48.800 is called rind Over Matter. It's why Bell's Brewing and Chris, 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.880 who works for Bells, dropped these off for us. So Chris, 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.160 we appreciate it. Looking forward to giving our thoughts on 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:56.360 this at the end of the episode. But for now, 0:04:56.440 --> 0:04:58.280 let's move on. Let's get to the topic at hand. 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:01.400 To d I y or to are someone for the job. 0:05:01.880 --> 0:05:04.760 I can almost hear Hamlet saying it in his to 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:08.640 be or not to be? And you're getting a little theatrical. 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.160 I never did any stage play. Did you ever know 0:05:12.400 --> 0:05:15.520 a kid? I did? We have a place in Atlanta 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:18.479 called the Shakespeare Tavern. I love going there, although since 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.600 I probably haven't been in like three years, but it's 0:05:20.640 --> 0:05:23.880 a delightful place to see a show. Um. But yeah, 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:27.600 this question of hiring someone to do the job for 0:05:27.680 --> 0:05:30.360 you or doing it yourself, it's not not nearly as 0:05:30.480 --> 0:05:34.320 existential as the question that Hamlet poses, and which is 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:37.920 just like brilliant writing right there. But it's it's a 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:41.200 Shakespeare I believe was the who penned it to the 0:05:41.240 --> 0:05:43.520 Bart he's a smart guy. But it's it's one that 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.479 we all increasingly find ourselves asking. Right. There's apps and 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.520 websites that offer to make our lives more and more 0:05:49.600 --> 0:05:53.320 convenient for a price, of course, And there's no need 0:05:53.520 --> 0:05:56.359 to scour the yellow pages like in the days of old. 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:58.560 You just open the app, you find the highest rated 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:00.520 person at the rate you're willing to pay, and you 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.039 hire them immediately. And Matt, you and I were not 0:06:03.120 --> 0:06:06.560 against paying for convenience. We believe that time is more 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:09.440 valuable than money, right, Yeah, we would say that, but 0:06:10.040 --> 0:06:13.920 these conveniences can also act like a vortex sucking away 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:17.279 are valuable dollars which took time to earn. So we 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:19.440 kind of talk about how to deal with this conundrum today. Matt, 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.000 that's right, and so of course you want to make 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:23.719 sure that you're doing things right, which is why we 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:25.720 often will revert to hiring your pro but it also 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:28.839 it can get expensive if you're constantly paying for professional help, 0:06:29.160 --> 0:06:31.120 like if you're going to hire a doctor or just 0:06:31.279 --> 0:06:33.960 you know, going to the doctor, uh to diagnose the 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.719 mysterious illness, like that makes complete sense. But hiring someone 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:40.200 maybe to mow your lawn or to clean your house, 0:06:40.520 --> 0:06:43.440 like these are are more of activities and chores that 0:06:43.440 --> 0:06:45.599 are kind of in a gray zone because if you're 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:47.960 able bodied, like those are things that you could easily 0:06:48.000 --> 0:06:50.720 do yourself. And so in this episode, we want to 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.640 establish a helpful framework for making these decisions. And there 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:56.960 are good folks who with different income levels and different 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:01.559 goals and expenditures who will likely differ on which route 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:03.520 that they take when it comes to the different d 0:07:03.600 --> 0:07:05.960 I Y versus the outsourcing questions you know that pop 0:07:06.040 --> 0:07:08.680 up in their lives. There is no silver bullet right answer, 0:07:09.040 --> 0:07:10.880 but there are ways that we can think through the 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:12.760 questions in order to make sure that we come to 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:16.480 a consistently better decisions for ourselves and our our own 0:07:16.520 --> 0:07:21.040 personal finance situations. Most definitely, research shows that people who 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.680 prioritize time over money are actually happier at the end 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:27.800 of the day. There was a Harvard professor, Ashley Willens, 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.280 who did some research and she found that hiring out 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.160 small tasks like home cleaning can actually provide real value 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:35.440 for a lot of folks. So we don't want to 0:07:35.760 --> 0:07:39.880 dismiss that altogether, and it actually increases levels of happiness, 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:42.600 and that's that's more support for the fact that time 0:07:42.640 --> 0:07:44.640 is more valuable than money. Like I think for folks 0:07:44.640 --> 0:07:46.640 who may not have a whole lot of money, they're thinking, no, 0:07:47.520 --> 0:07:50.640 money is more valuable than the time right now. But ultimately, 0:07:50.680 --> 0:07:52.480 I mean, the main argument behind this is the fact 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:55.960 that we all have a very finite amount of time 0:07:56.000 --> 0:07:58.800 here on this earth, whereas money there it's it's very 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:01.920 open ended. There's an infinite, almost infinite amount of money 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.640 that you could make potentially, whereas we know that we're 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:08.600 not gonna live forever exactly, but that doesn't mean, right 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.040 that we should all bring a cleaning crew in our 0:08:11.040 --> 0:08:12.920 house to scrub the base sports every week and to 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.360 tidy up after us and just live a slovenly life 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:18.880 and and have the maid on duty at all hours 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.240 of the day while also being completely broken. Right, Right, 0:08:21.440 --> 0:08:24.240 It's important to remember how high the price of convenience 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.880 can become. And that's really on multiple levels. I'm not 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.440 talking just monetarily. Convenience spending tends to be get more 0:08:31.480 --> 0:08:35.960 convenient spending the more we become accustomed to something, the 0:08:36.000 --> 0:08:38.560 more we tend to gravitate in that direction. You start 0:08:38.600 --> 0:08:40.320 doing it in one area, and it's just easy to 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:42.600 let it bleed into other areas of your life. Like, 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:44.800 let's come back to that house cleaning example. Did you 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.840 hire someone to start cleaning your house on a regular basis? 0:08:48.040 --> 0:08:50.160 Now it's probably gotten just a little bit easier to 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:53.520 hire out that grocery delivery service, and so there can 0:08:53.520 --> 0:08:56.160 be kind of this domino effect when it comes to convenience, 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:58.520 and at some point the bleeding has to stop, right, Yeah, 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.040 it's a slippery slope once you start to go down 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.600 this path of hiring out for convenience and paying for 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:05.840 things to be done for you. But it's also important 0:09:05.840 --> 0:09:08.920 to to keep in mind that the actual costs of 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:12.000 goods themselves are going to go up when you prioritize 0:09:12.000 --> 0:09:14.920 convenience as well. So Joel, going with that grocery delivery 0:09:14.960 --> 0:09:17.240 example you just gave, you're gonna be paying more for 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.520 the groceries. You know, your pairs and your potatoes if 0:09:20.559 --> 0:09:22.760 you choose to have those delivered instead of picking the 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.560 Mountain person yourself. And so that's on top of the 0:09:25.600 --> 0:09:28.160 delivery fees that you're also going to be paying. And 0:09:28.200 --> 0:09:30.600 so with that in mind, your grocery bill could come 0:09:30.640 --> 0:09:33.360 close to doubling if you opt to take the convenient route. 0:09:33.559 --> 0:09:36.240 It's important to go into that convenience upgrade in your 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:39.000 life with your eyes wide open. But just because it 0:09:39.000 --> 0:09:41.359 costs more, it doesn't mean that this is an inherently 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.320 a bad decision. But coming to grips with what you 0:09:44.400 --> 0:09:47.320 are paying for that added convenience is going to be crucial. 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.760 You just don't want to trick yourself into thinking that 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.120 this is a good investment because I'm getting time back. 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:55.439 Don't bring the eye word and you know, I know 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.680 my mom always like she she I've given her grief 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:00.840 away too many times about using the eye word, calling 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:03.600 something an investment that's actually just a consumer purchase. You 0:10:03.600 --> 0:10:05.200 are consuming that, And she'll say it, and then she'll 0:10:05.200 --> 0:10:06.600 correct ourselves and she'll be like, I know, I know 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:10.280 what you're gonna say. Don't say it, sorry, Mom, But yeah, 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.760 let's let's discuss the framework that we think is most 0:10:12.760 --> 0:10:15.800 helpful when you're deciding whether or not to d I, 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:18.960 Y or hire something. And we think that if you're 0:10:19.200 --> 0:10:22.920 too frugality minded, you're gonna end up wasting your time 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.640 in order to try to pinch every single penny. You'll 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:29.040 probably find that you'd be better off and that your 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.640 life would be a little bit happier if you would 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:33.880 just loosen the purse strings a little bit more and 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:37.920 pay for a convenience and and outsource something hire a 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.320 pro a little more often. You might even have more 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:44.440 time to dedicate to building your business or starting a 0:10:44.440 --> 0:10:50.280 passion project that could eventually significantly increase your income. But 0:10:50.800 --> 0:10:53.240 on the flip side, if you outsource too many things 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:55.520 to the pros, if you do take that slippery slope 0:10:55.640 --> 0:10:57.880 that we just talked about. It could cramp your budget 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.520 in a big way. You might find that you're not 0:11:00.559 --> 0:11:02.560 able to save or invest as much as you like. 0:11:02.920 --> 0:11:05.360 You might even find that you are going into debt 0:11:05.720 --> 0:11:09.560 in order to fund the hiring of these pros when 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.600 you could be doing some of these things yourself. So 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:16.040 for us, it's that frugal versus spendthrift. That's the framework 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:19.000 we're going to use in this episode to discuss when 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.840 it makes sense and when it doesn't. Hire that task out. Yes, 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.200 So being frugal versus spendthrift and kind of finding that 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.440 middle ground is what will be you know, keep coming 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.880 back to in this episode. It makes me think of 0:11:28.880 --> 0:11:31.240 two When I was starting out as a landlord, I 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:35.240 certainly was attempting to do everything myself. Uh, And I 0:11:35.320 --> 0:11:38.480 was spending a lot of time fixing things. I learned 0:11:38.480 --> 0:11:40.280 a lot during that period of life. Uh, And I'm 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:41.880 glad I did it for that that period of time. 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:44.560 But now I hire out almost everything. When it comes 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:47.000 to the different properties. For me to to spend time 0:11:47.160 --> 0:11:50.120 just diagnosing and repairing every single problem that's going to 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.640 rise to the surface on these different rental properties around 0:11:52.640 --> 0:11:55.680 town is gonna mean losing out in other important areas 0:11:55.720 --> 0:11:57.920 of my life. There's things that are more important at 0:11:57.920 --> 0:11:59.640 this point in time, right like building this business, doing 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:01.959 stuff with the family, personal goals. These are all things 0:12:01.960 --> 0:12:03.840 that are important that we all have to keep in 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:06.400 mind as we're trying to find that balance ourselves. Uh. 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.000 And just at this point to in my life, I'm 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:10.360 just in a different life phase. Uh. And if I 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:13.240 were to maybe be too frugal, this would actually keep 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:15.720 me from accomplishing some of those other goals. And so 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:17.520 that's what we want to encourage you to keep in 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:20.160 mind as you're trying to decide whether you're gonna d 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.960 I Y something or whether you're gonna hire a professional. Yeah, Mat, 0:12:23.040 --> 0:12:25.800 I've definitely encountered, especially in the business we're in. The 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:28.040 people we hang out with a lot of money nerds 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:30.400 people run the spectrum, but there are a lot of 0:12:30.440 --> 0:12:33.400 super frugal people in our community. And I appreciate it 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:37.040 because at heart, I'm a very frugal person. But sometimes 0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:39.080 that frugality, like I've heard people talk about, I don't 0:12:39.080 --> 0:12:41.000 know if I want to pay to go to that conference. Uh, 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:43.120 it's gonna be a few hundred dollars to pay for 0:12:43.120 --> 0:12:44.920 the conference, a few hundred dollars for the hotel, a 0:12:44.920 --> 0:12:46.679 few hundred dollars to the flight. You're talking a thousand 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:48.520 dollars at the end of the day. But I guess 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:49.880 the question I want to ask a lot of those 0:12:49.880 --> 0:12:52.360 people is, couldn't you easily get a thousand dollars of 0:12:52.440 --> 0:12:54.480 value out of that conference? Like what are you going 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.119 there for? What are you trying to achieve? And so similarly, 0:12:57.679 --> 0:12:59.839 you don't want to be too frugal and avoid a 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:03.680 big opportunity because it's gonna cost you some money. Um, 0:13:03.720 --> 0:13:06.120 And so yeah, we'll get to more about how you 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.760 make a decision between doing it yourself or hiring someone 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.240 else to do that task for you, how you actually 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:14.960 come to that determination. We'll discuss more after this break. 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:25.079 All right, gentle, we're back for the break, and so 0:13:25.200 --> 0:13:26.760 let's go ahead and talk about the different ways to 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:29.199 determine whether you should hire someone or stick to the 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.040 d I y route. And before we get like super 0:13:32.120 --> 0:13:34.000 nuts and bolty with it, you're gonna say, lick your fingers, 0:13:34.000 --> 0:13:35.600 stick it in the air, see which way the winds blowing, 0:13:35.640 --> 0:13:40.000 and then trust your guts, leaving a chance. What is 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:42.560 dinner from last night telling you, like in your dreams 0:13:42.600 --> 0:13:44.840 what you should be doing. Uh. No, Like we are 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:46.560 going to get get more practical with it. But one 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:48.480 of the things I think it's worth mentioning is to 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:51.880 keep in mind that paying for convenience it can cost 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:54.600 us more than just money, right, more than just dollars. 0:13:54.800 --> 0:13:56.400 Let's kind of take a step back here for a second. 0:13:56.440 --> 0:13:59.959 Our modern society, it's just built in so many ways 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:04.480 around the idea of convenience and specialization as well. For instance, 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.760 most of us don't grow or kill all of our 0:14:07.760 --> 0:14:10.120 own food. There's a level of convenience that we have 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.160 inherited where there's a pretty small number of farmers who 0:14:13.240 --> 0:14:15.160 grow food for us, and then they ship it off 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:16.720 to the grocery stores and we go there and we 0:14:16.760 --> 0:14:20.520 purchase it with our money. It's easier to do this, Yes, 0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:22.160 and like this is a good thing because it's a 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:25.760 lot easier, uh, And it's way more efficient versus us 0:14:25.880 --> 0:14:29.200 making our own food, our own clothing, our own homes. 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:32.560 But I often think if I had to live back 0:14:32.600 --> 0:14:35.800 in the day, I would not have survived. I'm pretty 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.880 sure I wouldn't. Like, they didn't have podcasting back then, 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:40.880 so but you would have found something you you would 0:14:40.880 --> 0:14:43.720 have been good at. Maybe. I mean so, I wanted 0:14:43.720 --> 0:14:45.800 to mention that because I feel like we've taken convenience 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:49.400 just beyond the realm of just specialization, because the most 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:51.440 convenient things are often just worse for us in many 0:14:51.440 --> 0:14:54.200 other ways. I think that they can often make us lazier, 0:14:54.560 --> 0:14:56.400 you know, or at least like more unhealthy. And like, 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.600 for instance, like I think about fast food, it's obviously 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.560 gonna be worse for you than like most any meal 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:04.760 that you would cook for yourself at home. Uh, And 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.680 so just think about the other side effects of prioritizing 0:15:07.840 --> 0:15:10.640 too much convenience. Were making the argument that it can 0:15:10.840 --> 0:15:14.560 you know, atrophy useful skills that we know, were you 0:15:14.600 --> 0:15:16.680 to push through the pain, that that would help you 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.120 to hone. You know, these are skills that make us 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:23.560 just engaged and more well rounded individuals and citizens. And 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:25.080 I know that's definitely what I'm looking for more of 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:28.280 in my own life. All Right, it's homemade McRib sandwiches 0:15:28.280 --> 0:15:30.360 from my family's night then Matthew, we're not going out 0:15:30.400 --> 0:15:32.600 for him. But yeah, I think you make a good point. 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.600 I think inconvenience can actually be good for us in 0:15:35.680 --> 0:15:39.840 so many situations in life. And yeah, I think you 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:41.680 can take that to the extreme and you could say, 0:15:41.840 --> 0:15:45.440 I'm gonna go purposely getting a traffic jam because inconvenience 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:49.400 is good. But no, that's not what we're saying, No exactly, 0:15:49.680 --> 0:15:52.000 But yeah, there's this sweet spot when it comes to 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:55.360 paying for conveniences in our lives, and if you let 0:15:55.400 --> 0:15:58.000 that pendulum swing too far to one side or the other, 0:15:58.360 --> 0:16:00.920 it's likely to have those other negative of side effects. 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:04.200 And yeah, that's why we're fans of getting on our bikes, 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:07.600 let's say, for short and medium rides in particular. Sometimes 0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:10.560 we get there just as fast, but not always, and 0:16:10.840 --> 0:16:13.320 it takes a bit more planning, especially as the weather 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:15.160 is getting colder and I gotta put on my gloves, 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:18.160 like I gotta, I gotta gear up before those rides, 0:16:18.520 --> 0:16:23.040 uh these days. But those inconveniences, when they're embraced, actually 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:26.239 become beneficial for me from health and a lifestyle perspective, 0:16:26.600 --> 0:16:29.040 even though I lose a few minutes here and there. 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:30.920 So yeah, we would say, look at the trade offs 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:34.320 you're making when you opt for convenience over the more 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:37.600 inconvenient choice, because some of those things that you're gonna 0:16:37.640 --> 0:16:40.600 be missing. They're not worth it's not worth giving those up. Yeah, 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:42.520 I mean especially, I mean I feel like health is 0:16:42.560 --> 0:16:45.320 one that you could eventually quantify, like twenty thirty years 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:46.840 down the road. But your health is just one of 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:49.240 those things where there are it's the accumulation of tiny 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:51.800 little decisions all along the way that lead to a 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.600 healthier outcome. If you can't say that this action leads 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.120 to this outcome, it's something that it's just a little 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.760 more ambiguous, even though there are certainly direct, hard costs 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:03.040 down the road when it comes to our health. Yeah, 0:17:03.080 --> 0:17:05.240 I saw a stat recently, Matt that I think more 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:07.639 people smoked for the first time in twenty years, like 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.320 the uptick. There was an uptick in the amount of 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:14.200 people smoking cigarettes. And when you think about it, one cigarette, 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:16.479 it's probably not a big deal, but it's that one 0:17:16.560 --> 0:17:21.920 cigarette every day or five cigarettes every day, the accumulation activity. 0:17:21.960 --> 0:17:23.400 And it's the same thing with that one bike gride. 0:17:23.400 --> 0:17:24.720 It's like, well, one bike ride is not gonna make 0:17:24.720 --> 0:17:26.800 a big difference, but it's at one bike ride, all 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:28.800 those bike rides added up is going to make a 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:31.760 massive difference. Yeah, And so there are some of these intangibles, 0:17:31.840 --> 0:17:34.760 and for you, it's gonna vary because there are different 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:37.000 things that we all get out of certain activities. Like 0:17:37.040 --> 0:17:39.879 I even think about certain kind of mindless, you know, 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:42.679 drone like activities that you might be like, oh, I 0:17:42.760 --> 0:17:44.680 am too good for that, Like I need to put 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:46.200 my mind to use, I need to put my body 0:17:46.200 --> 0:17:48.280 to use doing other things. But like even just think 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:50.000 about the fact that there are things that we can 0:17:50.040 --> 0:17:54.639 do that allows us to decompress where our minds aren't engaged. 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:57.520 And oh, it turns out that leads to maybe being 0:17:57.520 --> 0:17:59.520 able to get a better night's sleep because you've had 0:17:59.560 --> 0:18:01.240 a period of time where you were able to reflect 0:18:01.280 --> 0:18:03.480 on the day. There are different things that are built 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.480 into some of the different types of work that we 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:08.680 do that aren't directly correlated to money, and so we 0:18:08.680 --> 0:18:10.159 want you to keep those things in mind. Get a 0:18:10.200 --> 0:18:12.040 chance to think more deeply about something as supposed to 0:18:12.119 --> 0:18:16.320 just shallow Twitter style thoughts exactly. Uh okay, So that's 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:19.600 more like a more philosophical way of approaching how to decide, 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:21.520 you know, if you're gonna pay somebody to to take 0:18:21.560 --> 0:18:23.320 care of something for you. But let's kind of get 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.399 a little more practical with it, and we want you 0:18:25.440 --> 0:18:28.440 to count the cost, like the upfront costs associated with 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:32.040 whatever it is that you're looking to spend on services. 0:18:32.080 --> 0:18:34.919 In particular, it's not just the sixty dollars every two 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:37.639 weeks for that long service. Instead, we want you to 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.760 run the numbers and confront the true recurring costs of 0:18:40.800 --> 0:18:43.280 this decision. And so if you do the math on that, like, 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.920 over the next five years, this quote unquote convenience, that's 0:18:46.920 --> 0:18:49.879 gonna cost you about seven thousand dollars, Whereas you know, 0:18:50.000 --> 0:18:52.080