I don’t have a lot of time to surf the web everyday reading hundreds of different blogs, but one of the blogs I often skim over once or twice a week is The Simple Dollar. It’s a financial blog written for people who want to get a handle on their finances that is written by an average guy (and good writer) named Trent Hamm.

Trent’s latest entry is about a Do-It-Yourself project that went wrong for him. After attempting to replace a faucet he comes up against an obstacle that’s beyond his skills and has to call in a professional. In the end Trent comes to about the same conclusion I did with my own plumbing project that didn’t work out: From a financial standpoint it’s worth it to work on your own home, especially if you learn something. One “failure” of a project hasn’t turned Trent off tackling new projects and the amount of money he’s saved on all those other projects surely makes up for the cost of this one.

I also feel a little better knowing that Trent was also confounded by a small plumbing problem in the same way I was. My father and I actually tried to do exactly the same project Trent did: replace a faucet. And we came across pretty much the same situation: the faucet wouldn’t budge. We ended up removing the whole sink (which wasn’t sealed onto the kitchen counter the way it was supposed to be), cutting off the faucet with a hacksaw, and then replacing the entire unit. In that case I didn’t have to call a plumber, but I did have to rely on my father’s experience.

Though my father’s labor was free (okay, I bought him lunch) it was still a good experience because I learned a lot that day, too.

Information Improvisation
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