I was inspired by Free Money Finance. FMF writes lots of series about financial topics, which I now realize is a really clever way of getting readers to come back to his site! (Boy, mappy, you really are bright sometimes.)
My first series, in honor of FMF, is about Doing-It-Yourself and why it’s good. I hope it’s going to be a three part series. Part I: Why it’s Good: When it saves you money. Part II: Why it’s Bad: When it doesn’t. Part III: DIY: How to figure out if it’s good or bad.
Reasons why it’s good:
1) It can save you money to fix something instead of buy a new one. (So obvious!)
2) DIY encourages you to learn something new.
3) It’s empowering to know you fixed/made something.
4) DIY-ing means you can save the money you would have spent on something else.
5) DIY can bring people together. Couples working on the house, Grandma teaching kids to knit, etc.
6) The DIY experience can teach you something about yourself. (Gee, I really like pouring concrete! But I really hate housepainting with crappy brushes!)
7) Knowing how to do stuff makes you popular with friends! (You’ll buy me dinner if I help you install the dishwasher? OK!) 
You might be able to turn it into a career. (Finishing a gutting and remodel of his home, a friend just quit his job as a policy analyst to become a general contractor.)
9) Time spent on a DIY project is time not spent doing money-consuming activities like dining out, drinking, clubbing, golfing at 5-star resorts, etc.
10) You’ll have skills to barter after the apocalypse comes!
I’m sure my readers can think of many more reasons. Please leave a comment if you can think of more! (include your name for proper credit!) I will append them to the list and link to your blog if you have one.
In general, I like feeling self-sufficient. I’m joking about the apocalypse, but it’s something my girlfriends laugh about. One of them is nicknamed ‘Bear Claw’ because there’s really nothing she can’t do. She can do EVERYTHING, spin yarn, knit wool, tool leather, flint an arrowhead, etc. I think she’s even a blacksmith.
Living near the Pentagon, I worry sometimes that I need more skills. My boyfriend and I have considered taking EMT classes since we like to make ourselves useful. During a crisis, I am a CAN DO person because otherwise, I’d be freaking out.
It’s good to follow the old admonishment, ‘Go make yourself useful.’ There are many rewards to it, personally and financially.
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