Guys, for years there were two things I said I'd NEVER pay someone else to do for me.

1.) Mow my lawn

2.) Wash my car

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In recent years, I've been focusing on getting up to par, education wise, with the level of management I aspire to reach. (MBA) So, my free time is minimal. Consequently, I've "outsourced" my lawn service for the last 2-3 years to the tune of $37.50/week. I've outsourced my car washing too. I think I hand washed our cars one time each last year, and not a single time on the F-150. Every time was automated @ $6 - $8.00 a pop.

So, have you guys outsourced to save time, or do you still do it yourself to save $- and the pride of knowing "you did it yourself". As I walked through Sears the otherday, looking at all the cool lawnmowers (They had a sweet Honda key start, self-propelled for $299) I thought (This would pay for itself in 10 weeks).

I guess after I finish up, I'll get back to doing it myself again.

What about you guys & gals? Who mows your lawn, and washes your truck.
What other "can do it yourself stuff" do you do yourself, or you have made the decision to "outsource"?

 

I mow my own lawn!

I wash my own vehicles!

(I don't wipe my own butt though....I'M RICH TOO!)

 

Damn! $37.50 a week just to mow your lawn? How big is your yard?
If I lived closer I'd do it for $30 a week, and I'd still feel like I was ripping you off.

 

While I still mow my own yard, I'm considering outsourcing upkeep on it. You know, power raking, fertalizing... the crap I can't keep track off. This week my neighbor was outside as I was leaving for work laying down his "Step 2" fertilizer. Who's got time for that crap when there are toys to be purchased and beers to be drank?!!!

 

I do everything myself. One thing Ill never pay anyone to do is work on my vehicles. Spent two months walking two hours everynight to get to work till I got the new engine in the Explorer.

Far as washing it I go to those self serve places, spend $5 and get it really clean. The garden hose doesnt have the pressure to get mud off very well

 

Yeah, it's a rip...

In my day, I mowed yard the size of mine for $6.00.

If I had the free time, and my brother in law wasn't so sorry, we could knock out the yards on my street alone- and if we did them for $15.00 each, we could make $600 in a day. I'm sure we'd get them too because nothing but older folks live around me along with some lazy teens (Nintendo Generation).

In my hometown, lawn services would not survive, because all the able bodied kids in the neighborhood would take the jobs.

But, I don't want to mow that many yards myself- plus it would take twice as long- plus with edging, bagging, etc... I could burn 2 hours on one yard by myself. Lots are pretty decent sized. Once I loosen up, I could mow one in 30 - 45 minutes.

 

I mow my lawn and wash my truck.

The wife's ride gets an annual spring trip to a detailer for a thorough cleaning inside and out because I don't want to freeze my **** off keeping 3 clean all winter (my truck, a dd and her vehicle). Then it is maintained at home until it gets cold again (and hunting seasons give me an excuse to run away from home ).

I started paying someone else to change the oil in them with our last two vehicles. The '97 F150 was a PIA to get the oil filter off of and she had a Malibu (now my dd) that you can't fit a beer can under, let alone get under to change the oil.

I've had free oil changes on my '05 and her '05 Escape at the dealership. I will probably look back into doing that again myself when it runs out... so long as they're not a PIA like the last two.

 

Well since I am a college student that lives in a apartment. I don't mow or get to hand wash my truck. But my roommate works at a carwash oilchange joint. So I hand him the keys and gets them to wash my truck for free. But if my dad asks me to go down home and cut the yard I will ( he is paying for school and all )

 

I still do most of the work around the house myself. I mow about 3 acres of grass every week, do all the flower beds and that hoopla to spruce up the yard, I plow in the winter, I wash my own vehicles, I do regular maintenance on my own truck, I'll do anything related to carpentry and a little bit of plumbing, etc., etc. I guess you can just say that I do everything that my abilities allow me to do. If I feel as though I'm getting in over my head (like having to replace a leech field or something) then of course I will have the experts do it. But regular maintenance and little fix-it jobs, I still try to do myself. I like taking care of my own things.

 

I'm definately a do-it-yourselfer.

Things like working and taking care of my truck, or my restoration Trans Am, I do myself. Naturally this is a hobby so it would bot be outsourced.

We are doing some remodeling to the house this summer. New laminate floors, New shower in the basement, complete bathroom remodel upstairs, new kitchen cabinets etc. My budget for this project was $5000. Can I get all that done including labor within budget? No way. The labor estimate on the upstairs bathroom alone was $2400 (highest bid was $7000). So what's the solution? We're doing it ourselves.

So far we're almost finished with the floor and I've torn apart the downstairs shower. Currently trying to dig through the concrete for a p-trap.

I would love to pay someone to do all this, but it's just not feasible. We may yet hire someone for the main bath, but then the kitchen will have to wait.

So far the only things I've outsourced at the house is aeration (I dont have a machine) and gutter cleaning (what a pain). As my online business continues to grow, and I've gotten more and more side work as a programmer, I've considered hiring a lawn service.

However, that's still $20 for an hour worth of work. There arent many programming gigs of mine that pay that and can be counted on every single week. I would love to outsource that, but probably not this summer.

If Labor weren't so expensive, I'd be more inclined.

Oh yea, washing my truck. It rarely gets washed.

 

its not really a rip off, many landscapers pay gas, parts for the equipment, insurance for the job and commercial insurance on the vehicles, and etc, i know because one of my uncles use to own a landscaping company but sold it to a much bigger one because competiton was outragious and profit was nearly nothing

 

i mow my own yard, wash my own truck and even make my own repairs, if there is something that i can do myself i do it, i dont like to pay people to do something that i can do just as good if not better

 

If you haven't started/committed to this already, think about it, but DON'T DO IT...

That is the biggest regret I have regarding an "upgrade" to our home.

We'd considered hardwood, but it was a lot more expensive, so we went with laminate. 800-588-2300 (EMPIRE)....

While it looks good, and is durable/scratch resistant under normal conditions, your pucker factor will increase exponentially if you spill liquid on it. You can't mop it, it's very slippery in socks, and it just doesn't feel as good underfoot as hardwood (or carpet, or tile, or linoleum).

If you're upgrading your home, a nice grade of carpet will not only be cheaper, but it will make you happier, I assure you. If you're doing it for allergy reasons, spring for the hardwood (You'll be glad you did) or go with ceramic tile.

Take it from someone with the den and living room done in wood laminate... It seemed like a good idea when it was just me and the wife. When the baby came along, and fell on his face because of how slippery the floor were- I fully realized how big of a mistake we made getting that damn laminate.

If I had another $6,000 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd have it all ripped out, and replaced with a high-grade carpet, and maybe just do the den in hardwood.

 

As I write this the pool guy is cleaning the pool, and the housekeeper is cleaning the bathroom... Tomorrow the gardeners come. I do work on my own vehicles, and wash them myself 80% of the time... Im not wealthy but I'm happier doing what Im good at with my time to pay for these people to do a job better then I would have done...

 

Apparently Hersh needs to learn how to read

"So far we're almost finished with the floor and I've torn apart the downstairs shower. Currently trying to dig through the concrete for a p-trap."