Old Dog, New Tricks

Despite the adage, I'm learning lots of new things. I've always been pretty handy around the house -- inspired by a combination of frugality and stubbornness -- but there were many tasks I thought would be too difficult. Today, with the help of my friend, I drywalled the area where my new cabinets will be installed, the part under the kitchen sink and behind a bunch of wires and hoses. It's probably not perfect, but we did it ourselves and it cost little more than the price of materials. (I'm proud to say we found two sheets of drywall, the right thickness, for 70% off.) I actually would have been happy to pay my contractor to do this job, but after promising he would show up by Thursday to take care of it, he never called or texted. Maybe I already said so, but his being undependable forced me to cancel yesterday's scheduled cabinet installation. I was really pissed. Now that the drywall is finished, cabinets will go in on Tuesday. After that, we'll just need to do some trim work and everything will be better than before the water damage -- way better.

In addition to learning drywall skills, I can now pull up carpet and padding, pry up tile, remove baseboard, and scrape off popcorn ceilings. These are all very useful skills and (again, pardon me if I've already said this) as a result of my friend's know-how and my newly-discovered talents for such work, we have decided to buy and flip houses, doing all (or almost all) of the work ourselves. We're going to start small (after I sell my mom's house) and build up a cash flow. It won't be tomorrow or next week, but I think we'll do it in the upcoming months. She will put in more sweat equity since I'll be out-laying the capital. She can be kind of a pain (and I'm sure she thinks the same about me!) but overall we work well together. And we'll both learn more as we go along.

One thing I really like about doing hard work -- apart from the satisfaction of seeing the end result and saving money -- is the exhaustion that comes with it. Thaat might sound odd, but I think there are few things more satisfying than being worn out from doing something you would otherwise have paid someone to do. Today was my only day off -- tomorrow is a big grading and planning day; I worked a half-day scoring shift yesterday; my classes meet Monday through Thursday -- and, while I might have chosen to spend it a different way, I have a feeling of great accomplishment. And I can add the money I saved to my travel fund. It's a win-win.