Are post-ER tasks basically a new job?

[MichaelB]

I don't do any more of these DIY tasks now that I'm retired, I just do them at a relaxed pace - and with a far better attitude.

Same here. I also spend more time looking for and considering options, which wasn't possible when I didn't have the time.

My life/schedule seems a lot more complicated now than when the job blotted out most everything else, and sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed, but it is also a lot more fulfilling than the old grind used to be.

I totally get this. One thing the "working me" was very good at was blocking out most everything that did not require immediate focus or was not work related. Now there is a complexity in life that I find challenging but enjoyable.

 

[cfischer]

Amen.

The funny part about MMM is that he makes something like 100k off his blog now. I wonder if he would still be doling out the same advice if he didn't have that.

The author probably just got done visiting Mr. Money Mustache's site where retiring early means trading a day job for endless hours spent squeezing nickles.

That's certainly one version of early retirement. It's not the only version. Or necessarily the best.

 

[FUEGO]

Another counterpoint:

Last night I spent 2 hours disassembling 2 laptops, cleaning out the dust and debris, reseating a CPU and applying thermal paste to 1 of them. Probably saved $400 vs taking them to a computer shop (1 was my mother in law's laptop that had overheating problems).

My kids watched part of the time. They learned:

1. It's possible to fix your own stuff so it works better.
2. Youtube helps as I had to refer to that a few times for different technical aspects of disassembly and how to apply the thermal paste. Becoming an expert at something is just a few clicks away. Lesson learned: if you don't know how to do something it's possible to learn and improve your skills.
3. Having proper lighting, the right tools, and a good working area is important to do a job well.

I suppose working folks might have been "too busy" to do these tasks themselves and instead would spend 30-45 minutes driving the computer to the computer place, waiting in line, and picking up the item later (and $400 poorer).

 

[ronin]

I maintain 2 households: ours and my 94 yr old MIL's. Did plumbing and electrical work last week over there and fixed our gas dryer this week here. Still managed to go mountain biking every morning, although I got rained on yesterday (in sunny southern CA, go figure?). It's tough being retired. Now, where's my violin?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Fuego, you are right not to discount those lessons your kids see! I know that my father modeled extreme DIY skills in home repairs, car maintenance, and general handyman talents. I can barely recall an instance of a repair person in our home, growing up. It was just how things were.

As a result, I had very good notions when DH and I started dating. I always say that he had "handy potential" back then, and just needed the right incentives to "bloom".

I am really glad Dad showed us we could figure stuff out on our own. And I'm betting so will your kids.

 

[Options]

The author of this article is, in my opinion, over-thinking the issue.

For most of us, we do all of those tasks within our own abilities while working, we just have to cram them into the weekend and those tasks compete with the weekend free time.

I still do all of those tasks now that I'm FIRE'd, I just do them when I feel like it and usually at a much leisurely pace.

Absolutely. I retired from decades of doing work you couldn't pay me to do now. OTOH, I actually get greater satisfaction cleaning my toilet compared to that old working life. Seriously.

 

[GTFan]

The author of this article is, in my opinion, over-thinking the issue.

For most of us, we do all of those tasks within our own abilities while working, we just have to cram them into the weekend and those tasks compete with the weekend free time.

I still do all of those tasks now that I'm FIRE'd, I just do them when I feel like it and usually at a much leisurely pace.

This, 100%. And Youtube vids make it so much easier to tackle basic maintenance and repair stuff that I wouldn't have tackled before.

Those hours you are doing some expert's job are hours that you now have free, so it's really a comparison of $0 labor vs. whatever for many. To me it's not about the money and I agree that it's questionable to count on this to do an ERE, but it does save you a lot of it if you were otherwise just going to goof off.

 

[DrRoy]

The author of this article is, in my opinion, over-thinking the issue.

For most of us, we do all of those tasks within our own abilities while working, we just have to cram them into the weekend and those tasks compete with the weekend free time.

I still do all of those tasks now that I'm FIRE'd, I just do them when I feel like it and usually at a much leisurely pace.

+1 This fits my feelings pretty well.

 

[Sunset]

Fuego, you are right not to discount those lessons your kids see! I know that my father modeled extreme DIY skills in home repairs, car maintenance, and general handyman talents. I can barely recall an instance of a repair person in our home, growing up. It was just how things were.

As a result, I had very good notions when DH and I started dating. I always say that he had "handy potential" back then, and just needed the right incentives to "bloom".

I am really glad Dad showed us we could figure stuff out on our own. And I'm betting so will your kids.

The extreme opposite works as well.
My Dad was totally thumbs, he repaired nothing, he was smart and had a good job in later life and several degrees, but couldn't fix nearly a thing.

I saw how they always had to pay someone to fix stuff and we didn't have a lot of money.

This forced me to learn how to repair things and get pretty good at it.

 

[Sunset]

This, 100%. And Youtube vids make it so much easier to tackle basic maintenance and repair stuff that I wouldn't have tackled before.

Those hours you are doing some expert's job are hours that you now have free, so it's really a comparison of $0 labor vs. whatever for many. To me it's not about the money and I agree that it's questionable to count on this to do an ERE, but it does save you a lot of it if you were otherwise just going to goof off.

+1 for youtube , just watch a few in case someone does it wrong.

I do my chores when I want, instead of after work late at night or weekends.
I will hire someone for example to mow the grass, so we can travel freely.

I view being able to do chores as being independent and have always considered the ability to repair/build something as quite an accomplishment.

My recent accomplishment was replacing kitchen counters including removal and re-install sink and taps and tiling the back-splash.

 

[FUEGO]

Fuego, you are right not to discount those lessons your kids see! I know that my father modeled extreme DIY skills in home repairs, car maintenance, and general handyman talents. I can barely recall an instance of a repair person in our home, growing up. It was just how things were.

As a result, I had very good notions when DH and I started dating. I always say that he had "handy potential" back then, and just needed the right incentives to "bloom".

I am really glad Dad showed us we could figure stuff out on our own. And I'm betting so will your kids.

Very awesome. Of course I just got done with the plumber this morning doing work I could maybe do correctly for slightly less than he could do it for (he already has the tools I would need). And the plumber is trying to sell me on a few improvements that are probably needed (for another $425-450) for safety.

Very tempting. I'm lazy, don't get a huge thrill out of complex plumbing work, and can afford it (it's in the budget and we struggle to spend our 4% withdrawal as is). I have a video game I've been meaning to play but haven't had a couple hours to sit down to yet.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Wait, you passed up the chance to justify the purchase of "special tools"? That would never happen in my house! Sometimes we get lucky and buy two of the special tools, when the first one gets buried in the detritus of his shop.
But goofing off time also important, and those video games aren't going to play themselves!

 

[petershk]

Fuego: that's kinda what I was driving at with the experience vs financial economy.

For example... for years I told myself "I can't draw... I'm not talented enough" so I recently started to learn and surprise surprise like everything else it takes time but you can improve and improving and learning drives satisfaction.

It also causes my kids to see me learn and struggle which makes it easier for them to learn and struggle.

We try to tell our kids to focus, push and learn new stuff without asking ourselves when was the last time WE pushed and learned something new that was hard.

I think it's not always a good thing to measure things in terms of monetary value and whether we "like" it or not... there's value in doing something you don't like or have never done that goes beyond the cost benefit.

If my kids came home as said that they use their allowance to pay another kid to do their homework... or they said "well I'm good at math so I do math for 5 other kids so I don't have to learn those subjects I don't like" I'm not sure that I'd consider that optimal learning

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[cyber888]

Music Lover ...
It depends on the house. I use to have 2 houses (and now only 1 house) - a solid brick house vs. a log cabin. Both houses I built brand new, but the log home required a lot more maintenance. The brick house - almost none.

I did tons of maintenance on the log cabin, including building the cabinets, building log benches, repairing the deck/fence, staining and caulking the log exterior every 2 years, and cutting the grass on a 3 acre land. I also rented the cabin occasionally.

In contrast, the brick home's maintenance is mostly cutting grass and I re-stain the deck floor every 5 years, it's almost maintenance free. The most I spent after 13 years was to replace a water heater that was rated to last 12 years. I had to use a contractor to install the water heater, because the new water heater's 12-year warranty on parts and 3-year warranty on labor is only good if a certified contractor does it. So you see, there are times when it does not pay to do DIY due to warranty issues.

My owning a brick home does not really require advance or complex DIY skills, but the log home does.

I've always believed that people who lack DIY skills and/or do not like doing regular home maintenance should not buy a house unless they have enough money to pay someone to do those things. An apartment or condo is a better fit for those people.

I am someone who enjoys DIY projects and home maintenance...that's why I bought a house. I take pride in building a nice deck or fixing a hole in the drywall. Retirement simply allows me to take care of these things on my schedule.

 

[FUEGO]

Wait, you passed up the chance to justify the purchase of "special tools"? That would never happen in my house! Sometimes we get lucky and buy two of the special tools, when the first one gets buried in the detritus of his shop.
But goofing off time also important, and those video games aren't going to play themselves!

My "workshop" is an 8x12' storage shed that holds our push mower, all yard tools, 3 kids bikes, a ladder, random junk, and a 7.5' plastic Christmas tree (ask DW about that one...). So I try to keep specialized tool purchases to a minimum since I don't want the expense of building a larger shed to hold my new toys.

And I'm lazy and you're right. Those video games aren't going to play themselves. Though my latest game purchase that my kids caught me playing today is a trick. It's actually computer coding disguised as a video game (Human Resource Machine) from the same developers as another couple of games that they love. So now they want to play this game too when they will secretly be learning programming. DW can't complain about this use of my time at all.

 

[HFWR]

I pay for mowing, and once a year hedge trimming, but do most other chores, and most household maintenance.

But that's what got me FIREd, so I'm used to it. As time passes, though, crawling under sinks to fix a shoddy "professional" drain installation, like I did a couple of days ago, as well as other assorted torture that comes with maintaining a house, has rapidly lost its charm.

 

[FUEGO]

But that's what got me FIREd, so I'm used to it. As time passes, though, crawling under sinks to fix a shoddy "professional" drain installation, like I did a couple of days ago, as well as other assorted torture that comes with maintaining a house, has rapidly lost its charm.

Yep. I'm about to go up on the roof tomorrow to fix a small leak around a vent. Last time I was up there I was thinking to myself "Self, will I still want to do this to save $100-200 in 10 years when I'm 45? In 20 years when I'm 55? In 30 years when I'm 65?". I know some day I won't want to (or won't be able to) get on the roof (or in the crawlspace or underneath a sink) to do these DIY maintenance tasks.

 

[Hermit]

Yep. I'm about to go up on the roof tomorrow to fix a small leak around a vent. Last time I was up there I was thinking to myself "Self, will I still want to do this to save $100-200 in 10 years when I'm 45? In 20 years when I'm 55? In 30 years when I'm 65?". I know some day I won't want to (or won't be able to) get on the roof (or in the crawlspace or underneath a sink) to do these DIY maintenance tasks.

I'm 66. I sheathed my roof last year, but had a roofer do the shingles. My knees were telling me I didn't need to be doing that! If I'm any sort of measure, you have a lot of DIY time left.

 

[unclemick]

+1

Life is a lot more fun these days than it was when I was working.

The author doesn't seem to realize that with sufficient funding, one can HIRE a handyman, gardener, auto mechanic, and so on. We don't have to do these things ourselves. The author isn't really talking about retired vs working; he's talking about money vs no money.

My Wife had to pause in her gardening so the gardener could do the lawn and trim the shrubs. I haven't changed oil, washed the car, or done any extensive remodeling since 2006. Some but not much.

heh heh heh - doing it myself early on means I can afford not to later on. Pun intended.

 

[FUEGO]

I'm 66. I sheathed my roof last year, but had a roofer do the shingles. My knees were telling me I didn't need to be doing that! If I'm any sort of measure, you have a lot of DIY time left.

But will I want to?

Financially I'm planning on phasing out my DIY in my 50's or 60's.

 

[Hermit]

But will I want to?

Financially I'm planning on phasing out my DIY in my 50's or 60's.

I guess it depends on what you like to do. Finances are not part of the decision for me. I have been making and fixing stuff my whole life. I like that more than traveling. I know folks that are still at it in their 80's. I hope to be one of them. On the other hand, my knees hurt some now and when I am doing something where I have to be on my knees, they really give me fits. Those things I will hire out unless I really want to do them and put up with the pain.

Hermit

 

[Focus]

But will I want to?

Financially I'm planning on phasing out my DIY in my 50's or 60's.

I never phased it in! I'm impressed by all the DIYers here. My dad wasn't into DIY, even when money was scarce, so I never acquired more than the most basic skills. I could do some real damage.

 

[Walt34]

But will I want to?

Financially I'm planning on phasing out my DIY in my 50's or 60's.

That's where I am. At 66, I just hired lawn mowing service this year and I stopped doing plumbing work several years ago. Could I do it? Sure, but we have the money to not have to do it so I'm not.

BTW, anybody wanna buy a lawn mower?

 

[Hermit]

I never phased it in! I'm impressed by all the DIYers here. My dad wasn't into DIY, even when money was scarce, so I never acquired more than the most basic skills. I could do some real damage.

My dad wasn't a DIYer either. He always call a plumber. I rarely called a plumber until building this house. Some things I don't want to screw up. Putting plumbing lines under the concrete in the basement is one of them. That would be real damage!

 

[HFWR]

That's where I am. At 66, I just hired lawn mowing service this year and I stopped doing plumbing work several years ago. Could I do it? Sure, but we have the money to not have to do it so I'm not.

BTW, anybody wanna buy a lawn mower?

I have two mowers, a weed whacker, and a blower. None will start, and they're waiting for me to clean/rebuild the carbs. They could be waiting awhile.