Friday, June 25, 2010

Playing the "do-it-yourself" Card

Do-it-yourself projects can be extremely fun, save you money and allow you an incredible level of customization…win-win, right?  Unfortunately, not always.  It’s all too common for do-it-yourself projects to turn into break-it-yourself, ruin-it-yourself or the ever popular start-it-yourself-and-leave-it-unfinished-for-the-next-two-years projects.  There are several factors that contribute to whether you’re destined for a happily ever after ending or one that leaves you nailing your grievances to the Home Depot door.  Allow me to break it down by using the following formula:

Result of project = Amount of interest in project + Amount of knowledge regarding project + extra time to complete project

The higher the “number”, the better your chances are for success…if you’re seeing zeros in any area, it’s probably time to abort mission.  Before you go comparing the estimates you received to your do-it-yourself figures, make sure you do it with eyes wide open.  MSN created an awesome free tool that allows you to measure the formerly hypothetical question “what is your time worth?”.  Click here to try it out.  Calculate how many hours you anticipate the project taking (don’t forget to add in time for research, clean up, etc.) and do the math…is it still worth it?  

For some projects, the answer will be a resounding “yes”- we’re gonna tackle a few easy do-it-yourselfers next week.  Have a fantastic weekend and don’t forget to check back Monday.

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