Self install of appliances was a success! We did end up having to buy three additional tools for converting from a drop-in to a slide-in than we had starting out: a jigsaw, a carpenter's hand saw, and an oscillating grinder. Luckily I know at a minimum the jigsaw will get a lot of use in the future. Still, even with all these tools, it was WAY cheaper than paying for install. Even if we *hadn't* had to cut down cupboards, it was going to be $300+ for installs. Add the cupboards? I have no idea how much contractors cost, but I'd venture a guess we saved $800 or so on the whole deal.
Followed up the day with some frugal fun: friends came over to have a big ol' mess of taco salads and we watched Grand Tour on amazon prime. We didn't even drink. Cheap cheap.
Today, because I guess we're not tired of home repair (lol), we're going to turn off our water main and replace all our supply taps with 1/4 turn ones. Get rid of those old leaky gasket little bastards... We will also flush the hot water line for my sink in the master, since it's been clogged since the last time we turned off the main. (Related: replacing hot water heater is on the to-do list... sediment clogging tap on it, plus it's 22 years old) We bought the taps on amazon like 2 months ago, where they were $0.25 less per than at Home Depot. Yay planning ahead!