Did you always like your bath? Or oatmeal? Or school? or your friends? Or parental advice?

I didn't! But, like all meaningful things, I do now.

Dad used to say "It's not what you LIKE that makes you fat -- it's what you GET!"

So, enthusiastic short-cutter that I was, I hit the world determined to "get" everything!

Sure enough, eventually I got fat.

not much for looks but a Helluva Sauna

This week's tip:

So, you want something! That's normal & healthy, isn't it?

THEN, you get this urge ----

"Hell, I'll just BUILD one!"

Are you one of these die-hard do-it-yourselfers who would

much rather build something than buy it?

While you're piling stuff up & making room in the garage,

 

Talk yourself into it!

Think of the money you'll save!

And think of the satisfaction you'll have!

And think how the whole family could get involved-

and think about the great bonding experience, etc etc.

Sound too good to be true? It is!

The overlooked word here is : THINK!

 

Stroke yer ego!

Granted, you're pretty good at most everything.

Heck, you can make pancakes without a recipe,

and you know enough to soak bricks before laying them.

And raising kids? That's pretty-much a snap nowadays.

So let's explode the myths first:

So what SHOULDN'T you build yourself?

Well, quite a few things when you think about it:

You MIGHT be able to assemble a webpage ( with practice and a good program)

but how long would it take you to create an accurate wrist-watch?

Not a Big Ben, just a $12 one. That lights-up in the dark. And fits anybody's wrist?

How about a deep-fryer? Blender? Remote? Ignition switch?

 

So you're beginning to hear me now. You can catch a night-crawler

& use it for bait & save a little there, just don't try to CREATE one!

I've seen women building Grandfathers' clocks, kids building forts and

grown men amassing fortunes, but NOBODY I met EVER built a night-crawler!

 

Building your own cabin can be fun. It can also lead to a nasty divorce!

I can show you a few eternally-vacant mosquito-ridden, poorly insulated "surprise" cabins

which turned-out to be not quite the "paradise" the builder's family had envisioned.

 

Up here, everybody needs a little snow plowed. Shoveling driveways can be almost

fun for awhile but if you need to move too much, too often,CALL somebody!

Can you support a rig, tires, plow, insurance, parts, gas & time for maybe $300 a winter?

So maybe the answer to projects lies at the end of these questions:

Who will it benefit?

Can I do a satisfactory job?

In a reasonable amount of time?

How much could I buy one for?

At what sacrifice to myself & family?

What will the thing ULTIMATELY cost?

Why not just work longer hours, then just save-up?

 

And most importantly:

How have I managed to survive this long without one?

 

Now, look back at your CLEAN garage -- THAT'S worth something, isn't it?

Go get something cold to drink.And smile to yourself for having beaten the urge!