The lawn mowing thread got me thinking. I just have a problem with paying people to do things that I am capable of doing myself. We have many half done projects because right now, my dh is still recovering from surgery and I can only do so much. But, no way can I bring myself to hire a handyman to help out. I think it just goes against my nature

For some weird reason, this does not apply to food. I have no problem paying for eating out

Anyone else have this hang up?

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Yes, I do. But, I have been going the bartering route lately. I have a friend who is a journeyman electrician, and I need someone to run electricity for a dishwasher. I could probably read books and learn myself, but I feel more comfortable getting a professional. So, I'm going to trade his work for us cooking him a nice dinner and giving him free babysitting. So, I don't have to pay, but the work gets done. Do you have any friends that you could get to help you in exchange for something non-monetary?

Well I used to, but my dh made me get over that really quick! For one, he works 50-60 hours a week so he doesn't have much time to finish things around here (well he does but when he's home he wants to relax or spend family time), if I waited for him it would take months to get something done. Secondly, he refuses to do housework says it makes better financial sense to hire someone b/c he makes more per hour working than it costs us to have the housekeeper. Really he's just lazy and hates to clean, but I gave up trying and having a housekeeper did stop all the fighting so I guess that one is worth it!

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If I can do it - or learn to do it, no way I'd pay someone else!

I'm usually good about finishing projects though.

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Only thing I can ever see myself hiring someone to do is clean my house. I can never find the time to have my house sparkling clean like I want it. If I could hire someone to do the chores that I hate-mopping and any on my knees scrubbing than I would do it.

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We don't eat out much at all, however do I mow my lawn (including the edging etc, myself all the time. I can see two sides to this : Looking at this through the eyes of a frugal family or even a more "common sense" approach, it does seem a little odd to pay other people to do things that you could do yourself.

However, I can also see it as a huge help to have ONE less thing I am responsible for. So for me, the money spent is spent to save my sanity!!!

I also can see the argument that maybe for some people who do pay for those services are thinking they can free up some time to spend with their families, especially if they are working parents. OR maybe they are helping out a friend who is in the business of mowing lawns, or whatever the service may be. Or maybe they are single parents and want to prioritize their time at home better.

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yes I do! Tho I am breaking down and plan on letting someone come clean my home (mop,dust etc) I have trouble dusting since I get soo stuffed up and cannot breathe to well if I do. and since I really want my house cleaned good when I coem home from the hosptial with a new baby (If its not clean I will hear about how lousy I am from my MIL thank god she will only be here 1 or 2 hours tops when she does come) anyway I just do not need to feel soo crappy about things when I have a new baby I feel that way about myself enough as it is soo I feel that this is 1 thing I can do to make me feel better.

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I would never pay someone to clean my house, that is a waste of money. No matter how much I don't like doing it (come on, who actually enjoys cleaning their home?) I will find the time, like when DD is napping or after she goes to bed at night.

As for other things, we will always do our own yardwork and painting ourselves. The only thing I think we would pay for is if we had electrical, plumbing, or gas problems. We can install our own light fixtures, but beyond that we need to hire someone. We aren't handy people by any means, but we also aren't afraid to try to do something ourselves.

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Sure...we pay people do to do things that we can't do, or don't want to do...for whatever reason. It really just depends on what it is. For us, it's not a financial thing, but a time thing. My Dh travels during the week, so the weekends are really important to us. To us, it's worth it to pay someone to do some things so we can have the time with Dh.

If I can afford to hire someone, I don't have a problem with that. My husband works a lot of hours, so many things just don't get done. It would be a relief to hire someone and not have it sitting there waiting for us to get it done.

I also think it's a gift to be able to afford to hire someone. It's a way of giving back. I know I'm so grateful to the people who hire my husband.