The Forgotten Cost of DIY
Recently, my wife, kids, and I moved to a seven-acre plot of land out in the middle of nowhere.
We are surrounded by farmland and over an hour from the nearest metropolis. It’s quiet, it’s calming, and it’s invigorating in many ways.
Of course, there are some downsides to living so far out, especially for someone who loves bustling cities, admiring skylines, riding metros, frequenting cafés, or relaxing with a glass of wine at a bistro on the sidewalk long after the sun has set.
That being said, the country life is not new to me; I grew up on an acreage where I raised my own calf, my family had chickens (both for eggs and meat) for years, and I worked as a hired hand and sometimes-milkman at a dairy down the road from us.
Moving here was not something we planned out long in advance; it was something we discussed as an idea for sure more than once; but when the opportunity came up, it checked enough boxes for us to put things into motion.
Now that we are here, my mind has begun overflowing with ideas to build, create, grow, and generally become Joe Off-The-Grid.
It’s gotten bad enough lately that I’ve been binging DIY videos on how to create my own power wall. (In case you’re unsure of what that is, it’s basically a rechargeable lithium-ion battery intended for home usage, pioneered by Tesla; but others have been attempting to make DIY knock-offs, some achieving the ability to store up to 100 kWh!)
The time consumption required to make one of these can be significant. And that’s not the only thing I’ve been thinking of. Growing grapes for making my own wine, an acre of potatoes, an acre of garlic, mushrooms, herbs…the list has begun to become quite extensive. And frankly out of hand. (But it sure has been fun to imagine!)
Recently I have been forcing myself to begin making an accurate comparison between the cost it requires for me to buy a finished product and the cost required for me (time+money) to create the product. The time sunk into learning enough about something to not blow up the house. The energy required to do the project. And hope that it actually turns out in the end.
Obviously there are pros and cons to both ways.
But for electricity, in particular, I started to wonder: was it more efficient for me to find a way to just make an extra $250 a month to cover my current electrical bill — or spend 100 or more hours building a power-wall of my own?
It definitely is an important thought to consider, before jumping into anything impetuously.
Is it harder to replace the income required to pay for that service, or find a DIY way to do it?
Obviously, when I build something or grow something on my own, there is that irreplaceable feeling of satisfaction that comes from studying something deeply, and then actually finding success in creating that yourself.
But we all only have so much time in life.
And unfortunately, I have to choose which ones I will invest the time and which ones I will not. Sometimes it is just better to buy something and enjoy the product, in order to not only enjoy a much better product from someone who really knows how to do it but also to save myself the time to focus and hone in on the skills I really want to become expert at. The things I am more passionate about. Like writing. Like music. Studying foreign languages. Reading deep books. Programming computers. And travel. (Assuming we will get to do that again.)
And perhaps those pursuits that I spend the extra time on, honing, and becoming an expert at will pay off in ways such as having someone come in and install a solar system that provides the greener, off-grid energy that I was after in the first place.
