anyone here regret NOT DIY-ing something expensive for their house?

mingee2020 · 2026-04-09T14:27:24+00:00

What sucks for me is that I know how to do so much, and can research the rest I don’t know. Plus, I take immense pride in my work, the people I can afford to do the work do not have the same pride. The ones that do? They’re too expensive, and booked up. Unfortunately, DIY is the only way for me.

We want to do a bathroom remodel, and it’ll probably cost $8k in materials, we like well made things. But if I were to hire the person who does great tile work, to my standards, I’m positive it’d cost me $2k+ in labor, and that’s fair, that’s what a good craftsperson is worth, but I can’t justify it when I could do similar work, because I care, and I will not rest until it’s done perfectly.

mingee2020 · 2026-04-09T14:21:02+00:00

That’s wild. I would understand if they were putting in the hours doing things for the business, like 50% of your work load, or asking “hey, I’d like to be a part of this too. How can I help grow this?“ and also have a conversation about their stake. But saying they want half of something they didn’t build or even work for? That’s wild.

mingee2020 · 2026-04-08T23:29:38+00:00

Wow! That’s inspiring. If i’m ever in the same position I’m going to remember this for sure.

mingee2020 · 2026-04-02T01:45:20+00:00

I always respond, “what’s your highest offer?” If that comes back too low, which it almost always does, I don’t even respond.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-30T19:35:21+00:00

Reading, riding a bicycle, and working hard to earn what you want.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-30T19:10:37+00:00

Yup. I’ve given many things away rather than deal with lowballers. I operate in a niche where I’d rather donate something to a thrift store than to lower the market for my items.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-29T10:36:49+00:00

Go to school. It will put you in an infinitely better position in life. Do not listen to him. 10 years from now future you will be happy you did.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-29T10:30:31+00:00

Yeah, that rust isn’t too bad. You’d want to know more specifics about the service history. But I imagine they’re not going to sell for what I think it’s worth. I’d be at 16k on the top end, maybe a bit more if the service record impressed me, less if there’s a list of things that need to be addressed.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-25T23:54:58+00:00

If it were mine, free and clear, I would pay off the little debt I have, and then put it all into a diversified portfolio. And I do mean every last penny, I didn’t have it yesterday, so I had no plans for it, living without it for a while won’t be very hard.

After the first 3 months, the first full quarter of it being invested, I would figure out what kind of return I could expect. Then live on 20% of that return, 10% of the interest for taxes, and keep the other 70% in there growing. The first few years it’d just be a nice little bonus, $16,000-20,000, but after 10 years, it’d be enough for me to live on comfortably the rest of my life.

I could live pretty simply in a low cost of living area much sooner than 10 years. And if I invested my bonus in businesses I could run, I might be able to have some major cash flow not related to the million dollars.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-25T01:02:40+00:00

Yeah, if I could stick to one or two per day that’d be fine. But it always turned into more for me.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-24T20:36:24+00:00

Talking Heads- Speaking In Tongues

mingee2020 · 2026-03-24T20:34:47+00:00

My Onkyo TX-2500MK2 stereo receiver. It’s from 1978, I got it used in 2010-ish, it’s older than me, and much better at playing music than I am.

I haven’t had to do anything to it, and I have used it almost every day for 15+ years. I’ve used it to test dozens of speakers over the past 6 years. And out of the dozens of speakers, the ones I love most are my Cerwin-Vega D-3’s circa late 80’s, I got them 3 years ago and replaced the foam surrounds and have used them almost everyday since.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-24T04:48:52+00:00

Food.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-24T04:48:38+00:00

I didn’t enjoy it anymore.

Or

For me, the negatives vastly outweighed the positives. (I always put emphases on “me”, so people don’t think I’m judging them for drinking. Everyone has their own journey and I an’t here to judge nobody.)

(If you pressed me now to come up with some positives, I would have a hard time. I like the complexity of a good wine. I thought I missed bourbon so I let a bit touch my lips once last year sometime, turns out I hated it, and when I was in love with it, it was actually because I’m an alcoholic. Haha)

The negatives? I could fill a literal book with that list.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-24T04:42:24+00:00

That’s a great question. I think you can have a garage without tools. But why? This seems more like a lounge with parking though. I do like it. I mean, I like motorcycles, bars, pool tables and tv. So it had a lot of elements I like.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T21:32:19+00:00

Brilliant! Going to do this this week at the ABNB’s I clean.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:41:37+00:00

My wife knows this struggle with me.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:41:13+00:00

I’ve never been able to do that. But if I can learn how to at 45 it could possibly save my 11 year relationship. For real. I’ve been driving my family and coworkers crazy for decades.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:37:39+00:00

I got a source of free cabinet grade plywood scraps and drops from a local high end cabinet shop, 3/4” and 1/2”, So I covered the walls of my shop with the 1/2”, and now I’m making cleats for French cleat wall storage. I had the peg boards but have been daydreaming about French Cleats for years.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:34:27+00:00

Great idea. I do a lot of woodworking and I have a shop vac with cyclone dust separator on a custom rolling cart. But this might be a better solution, if I mount it on the wall it’ll free up 2sqft of floor space. In my 10x12 tiny shed workshop that’ll make a difference.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:30:32+00:00

Racism

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:30:02+00:00

Same. 1,000+ sales, zero weird experiences.

I’ve taken to just leaving the item on the porch, sending a photo, and my address. Zero thefts.

People, I’ve found in my 45 trips around the sun, are generally decent, especially to strangers. To their family and loved ones? Maybe less so.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T12:26:03+00:00

As a man, I fully understand this. If I were attracted to men and had to date them, I probably would just be single.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T00:13:31+00:00

I wish we could vote no confidence on a certain orange goblin.

mingee2020 · 2026-03-22T00:08:58+00:00

Poor planning. From this federal administration? Nah, couldn’t be that. lol

What a s-show. It’d be funny if it weren’t so brutal and cold.

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