I spend a lot of time fixing things, for myself and others. (Computers, electrical, plumbing, etc). While I learn a lot, I wonder sometimes if it would be better to pay a professional and do something else for which I am more 'valuable'. Do you do the same, and do you find it worthwhile?
Unless you're actually using the time that it frees up to make more money, that's not a useful exercise. If you're just thinking that you could make more money, but you didn't actually do it, then you're just paying to have time to - whatever it is that you do with that time. Which could still be valid, but it's a different judgment proposition.
Plus, being able to do things yourself means they can get done on your schedule, assuming you actually do them. You're beholden to no one's schedule and energy but your own.
I enjoy fixing things, even other people's shit, so I categorize that time as entertainment instead of work. It's time I'd otherwise be using to doomscroll on Lemmy.
It varies.
In most cases it's more a question of "What is the risk if I do this myself?" and "If I completely fuck this up, is it going to cost more to fix than just calling someone who knows what they're doing before that happens?"
If the answer to the above doesn't involve a fire in my walls or serious water damage like with electical or plumbing, and the cost to fix mistakes is low, then sure, I'll try it myself first.
Generally speaking I do things myself because it's cheaper, in that it lets me allocate cash in higher quality versions of things than I would otherwise be able to afford. I grew up pretty poor and that was how my family did things. Car breaks, that's why you buy a Chilton's. Appliance isn't working? You can always order the part for a tenth of what it costs to have the appliance guy tell you what's wrong. AC quit working? Those capacitors are super easy to replace and only cost $7.
Now I could pay people to do more things for me, but it's only under certain circumstances.
Sometimes it just boils down to something my Dad told me underneath a car (or a house maybe) like 30 years ago: "Nobody is gonna care about your shit more than you do."
Sometimes having the problem removed is worth a lot.
Sometimes the time waiting for the professional is not worth it.
If it can be done for less than $200, I pay and move on.
I haved fixed several appliances which stayed working for years after.
I always think in terms of time, and I have a spreadsheet to track my "actual hourly" i get from work and side hustles so I can know which are working best for me. When evaluating items to buy, I think about how much time it would take me to buy the item instead of the amount in dollar or whatever since the dollar's value changes with time. This also helps me because I generally try to not think in USD to begin with since I mostly use Bitcoin. At first, I tried thinking in BTC but it's volatile enough that this is not much any better than thinking in USD. Tying things to hours makes more sense. If you know your "average hourly" it's easy to determine whether or not to fix something yourself or hire somebody else to do it.
Confucius once said "choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."
If you love what you do, the rest will follow.
