A Path Together

Combining financial lives

For Love or Money?

Joshua in Self Improvement

Apr|23|2008

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!


Frugal living can lead to a do-it-yourself lifestyle.  Tips abound on how to do everything yourself - from making you own laundry detergent to building your own footrest (all good tips).  But what happens when the DIY ethic ends up costing more money than just buying something at the store?  For the frugalist, is DIY all about saving money?

Last night I had my first woodworking class.  I can’t wait to start our first project - building a small table.  I get to do everything: design, purchase the supplies, and build the table from scratch.  It will be rewarding, but not cheap.  Let’s face it, going to IKEA and buying a table would be a lot cheaper and save a lot of time - time that could be spent on other money making ventures.  Maybe years down the road I will be able to save money.  Having woodworking and any other skills will be great when I finally own a home.  But for now, the cost of the class ($540) and the time are pretty expensive. 

Why did I decide to take the class instead of putting that money to paying down debt, saving for a home or investing? 

  • Money spent on education is an investment.  I’m not talking about ‘get rich quick’ seminars, I’m talking about academic classes or useful skills.  Hopefully I will get to use whatI learn for a long time.
  • Satisfaction.  Call me a control-freak, but I like the idea of doing everything myself.  Maybe that’s why it took me so long to get my blog off the ground.  Doing everything yourself can be a problem when running a business, but when building a table it is a great feeling.
  • Gaining an understanding of the resources we all use.  Learning about wood, or metal, or any other resource gives you a greater appreciation of why we use the materials we do.

 


6 Responses

  1. Allen Taylor

    23|Apr|2008

    Nice writing. You are on my RSS reader now so I can read more from you down the road.

    Allen Taylor

  2. Joshua

    24|Apr|2008

    Allen - thanks for the comment and the subscription! I hope you enjoy future posts.

  3. Political Disgust

    02|May|2008

    what made you think that the woodworking class was the best way to spend your $540 and get the biggest return? Is it because you think you will actually use these skills down the line to build furniture for your home and subsequently save real money that would have been used to purchase the same items at IDEA? Would taking a computer course or photoshop course (for example) have shown you an opportunity for a bigger long term return?
    i ask not to criticize. just curious on your thinking!

    —
    Political Disgust

  4. Joshua

    02|May|2008

    That’s a good question. I do plan on making some furniture in the future (I’m making a table right now). I want to be able to do as much work as possible in a house (assuming I could ever afford one in the Bay Area) - woodworking, plumbing, electrical. Lastly, I just want to make sure I have some various skills….

  5. Political Disgust

    02|May|2008

    so do you plan to take plumbing courses or buy plumbing books? and then the same with electrical. Of course this is all valuable, but I wonder if it is really to save money. Maybe you are a handy man at heart and would rather be working in more of a manual labor position where you are getting your hands dirtier on a regular basis. If this is close to being true then maybe the Bay area is not the place for it. Who knows i am just guessing! lol

  6. Joshua

    06|May|2008

    I think you are right - I would love to be a handy man. I also really like the job I have now, so it’s a tough call!


Leave a reply