Painting vs trenching

Almost any task can be either outsourced or done yourself. It all depends on what you want, and that’s usually not a simple question.

A friend of mine has bought a home his family loves, but it needs some work.

Interior paint: He and his wife are taking this on. It's within their skills, and can be done in manageable chunks without much time pressure. He also values the time they spend working together, and expects they'll all value a certain pride of accomplishment once they're living within the rooms they've painted to fit their own tastes.

Replacing a septic line: This job he will absolutely hire out. It's hard physical labor that neither he nor his family will enjoy. It requires specific knowledge, skills, and tools. Once begun, it must be completed in a timely manner. And when it's done, absolutely nobody will sit and admire the work; if it's done right, everyone will forget about it. What's more, there are people who can do it faster and better than him, at half the cost (if he values his time by what he earns professionally).

Here's the thing:

There's no hard-and-fast rule about which tasks you should outsource and which you should handle in-house.

But it's worth considering your own skills, interests, and desired outcomes.

If you love doing the work and expect to care about how it's done, in-house may be the right choice.

But if you don't enjoy it, or care mainly about its functionality and less about exactly how it's done, you might let someone else handle it.

Either way, the cash outlay is not the only cost.

And having it done is not the only benefit.

All the best,
A.