The Opportunity Cost of Doing Your Own Home Repairs
When most people think about home repairs, or really any type of repair, they typically think in terms of monetary cost. However, there are more costs than just the ones that hit your wallet. Doing a home repair by yourself can take a lot of time, effort and frustration, and may even end up costing more than hiring a professional in the first place.
If you’ve never thought about the cost of home repairs in terms other than money, it can be helpful to consider the hidden costs. Being aware of these can help you make the right decision about hiring or not hiring a handyman to come and help you.
In the following sections, we’ll explore some of the costs that you may not have considered:
Opportunity Cost of Time
One of the most important opportunity costs to consider when undertaking any task is time. While an economist might consider an opportunity cost of time in strictly monetary terms, the concept also covers any other activity you could have been doing instead.
Let’s look at an example. If your gutter is broken and it will take you two hours to fix it, that’s two hours that you could have been doing any other activity. And it may end up being more than just two hours. The opportunity cost includes any time spent shopping for hardware, researching the issue, fixing the problem and testing your work.
When you hire a handyman, the only time you spend interacting with the job is the time spent calling, meeting and paying the handyman.
Opportunity costs of time work differently for everyone. For instance, someone who enjoys hands-on work might find that spending time working on home repair tasks is enriching and therefore worth it. On the other hand, someone who works long hours might find that it’s more effective to pay someone to do the job rather than spend their relaxation time on a difficult task.
Tool Costs
Not every job can be done with your own two hands. Many tasks require specialized tools that you may not have. Even if you keep a well-stocked toolkit in your home, chances are that you won’t have the right tool for every job.
In order to a job on your own, you need to have the tools. In some cases, the cost of buying or renting tools can exceed the cost of hiring a handyman. Unless you’re planning to repeat this particular home repair several times, buying the tools may not be worth it.
Time Spent Building Skills
Just because you have the tools and the time doesn’t mean you have the skills to do a task. If it turns out that you don’t have the skills, then you’ll need to spend time acquiring them.
Depending on the task you’re trying to accomplish, building the necessary skills can actually take a lot of time. Consider how much time you’re willing to spend learning a new talent before you commit to actually learning it. In many cases, it’s more effective to hire a professional who already knows how to accomplish the task at hand.
How Hiring a Handyman Can Help You Reduce Opportunity Cost
Hiring a handyman has many benefits. It’s a tried and true way of reducing your opportunity cost. In many cases, the amount of time you spend shopping for hardware, looking for tools and developing skills leads to an overall cost higher than the monetary cost of just hiring a handyman.
The next time you have a home repair that needs to be addressed, consider whether the cost of a handyman is actually saving you time and money.
Get Home Repair Help from American Home Protect
No one would disagree that hiring a professional costs money, but what if you could reduce the cost of hiring a handyman? That would make the opportunity-cost savings even greater.
A home warranty from American Home Protect helps people like you access affordable handyman services so that you can work toward the home you want for a price you’re willing to pay. It’s a unique benefit that we provide all of our warranty customers. So, click the button below to explore our home warranty services and get a quote today.