Hey everyone,
I've been reading MMM religiously for a couple of months, and incorporating tons of the lessons into my everyday life. With the ten most recent posts left, I'm almost done reading the entire blog. I can feel my life improving in pretty much every way where improvement was needed, and I'm confident that I'll be financially independent in the next 6-7 years. However...
The main topic of the blog that I'm having trouble applying to my life is the DIY stuff. There are a few reasons for this:
- I live in an apartment in New York City which I don't own. There is virtually no space or need for carpentry, plumbing, or welding. I don't have a car (w00t), so auto maintenance is unnecessary and out of the picture.
- I grew up basically in New York City*. I think that a combination of things (urban upbringing, schools without classes like woodworking, a father who didn't really do much handy work, etc.) has led me to be really ignorant about this type of stuff.
- I studied computer science in college, and currently work as a software engineer. While I did learn some extremely basic physics, things like discrete mathematics, algorithms, and programming don't necessarily translate to DIY stuff the same way that engineering topics do.
Of course, I don't want to be a complainypants about this stuff and make up excuses for the rest of my life. I'd rather figure out what I can do to improve myself and save my future self some money. I was thinking the other day about what I do – or have the ability to do – myself that saves me money, but nothing is really impressive. I'm pretty good at cooking and refuse to buy lots of pre-made things (e.g. sliced bread), and I cut my own hair most of the time. I also have a bike which I ride almost everyday to/from work and other places, but the only problems I've ever had are popped spokes and wheels that are out of true. I can (and do) handle these types of problems, but these are also really small things.
I know small things add up over time, but I can't imagine that savings for these things are nearly as large as if I had the ability to buy a trashed foreclosed home for cheap and fixed it up all by myself, or with minimal help from contractors. When I see MMM talking about installing a metal roof, or increasing the thermal mass of his house, building a radiant heating system, etc., I'm extremely jealous. If I were to buy a house tomorrow, I would have two options: 1) buy a cheap, crappy house (likely foreclosed) and pay contractors a ton of money to fix it up or 2) buy a crappy house in disguise for much more money (polished-looking renovations but with no regard for energy savings, space, etc.).
I don't like these options at all, so here are my questions:
- How does someone like me get started with DIY stuff? I like books, but I'm open to any form of learning. Just remember, I literally know nothing.
- Did you get started at a young age, or did you learn as you needed to? In other words, is there any harm in putting off this learning until it becomes more convenient and/or necessary? Again, things like welding and carpentry aren't really compatible with my NYC apartment, and I have no financial incentive to try to renovate a home that I don't own (I probably wouldn't be allowed to even if I wanted).
- What else is there to do yourself to save money? For example, I know MMM has mentioned that his wife is licensed for real estate stuff which has helped them out.
- Is anything that's normally outsourced equal in saving power to things like carpentry, welding, and plumbing? Perhaps something that I'm able to learn more easily with my constraints?
Thanks! I'd love to hear your thoughts.
* Technically Weehawken, NJ, but there is really no difference from the outer boroughs except the sales tax is a little lower and the property taxes are
way higher. My house was about 10-15 minutes from Times Square through public transit.