by Danielle Park
Juggling Dynamite
Our neighbour is a plastic surgeon with a busy cosmetic practice; his licence plate reads “DOIT4U’. It’s become something of a punchline at our house when commissioning our kids, home from school for the summer, to help with jobs around the house. ‘Do it for you,’ we joke. In reality, of course, there is a legit connection here. Doing repair and maintenance jobs ourselves is quite literally money saved by not having to pay others and, as we have pointed out to (the chagrin of) our children from time to time, savings we can then use to support offspring through a debt-free education. Win for them!
Benjamin Franklin is credited with popularizing the expression: “A penny saved is a penny earned,” and he was, then and now, right on the money. Popular culture suggests that if one has resources (cash, income and, in recent years, just access to credit), they can afford to pay others to do jobs for them. In reality, though, most people who have accumulated savings and net worth tend to do more themselves to spend less and save more.