Working Hard on the Roof

Before I moved to Guatemala, I considered buying a house in the South of France. For the same price, I would have gotten a rundown home that I would have had to fix up myself. I pictured myself doing carpentry, masonry, and design work. But realistically, I would have ended up watching YouTube tutorials, making costly mistakes, and eventually hiring a pricey contractor out of frustration. I’m not very handy, and though the idea of saying “I did it myself” sounds cool, I would probably have gotten tired of living amid debris and dust and sought help anyway.

Everyone Has a Price

It would have been painful to pay someone around $200 a day to fix my house. However, in Guatemala, $200 gets me a smiling, hardworking handyman for six days a week for a month. He set his own salary, and I didn’t haggle. Every day, for eight hours, he’s on my roof clearing scorpion-filled palm leaves, carrying construction blocks, trimming tall trees, and doing many tasks I gladly pay him to handle.

In Paris, I once fixed three bikes for my mom, even though the local sports store charged $20 to change a flat tire. It only cost me $4 for a new air chamber and half an hour of my time. Just last week, a mechanic charged me $8 to work for an hour on the car and replace a valve. I wouldn’t spend half a day studying a manual to save $8.

We all have a price at which we prefer to do things ourselves rather than pay for assistance. Although I don’t have hard data, I believe that your hourly wage might be your price. If you earn more at your job while someone else works on your car or home, you’ll probably pay for the convenience.

Have I Turned Lazy?

The short answer is yes, a little bit. I think I would have accomplished twice as much last month if I hadn’t had help. I would still need the basics: a roof that doesn’t leak, a bug-free house, and some mosquito nets. Maybe after a few months, I would have taken on other projects. It would have taken a long time, and I’m definitely paying for the time and convenience of letting others handle it. Since labor is so affordable, it feels like money well spent.

Lazy, Lazy?

There are some things I’m not ready to delegate. When I lived in Guatemala City a few years ago, I had a maid who cooked and cleaned for me. I hated it. Although it’s nice to have someone make your bed and tidy up, there’s always another person in your home. You can’t fully relax, like having a movie and ice cream marathon on the couch while the maid cleans around you.

I also didn’t like her cooking. I’d buy a nice steak for lunch and find her cooking it at 10 am, then overcooking it half an hour before lunch. No matter how many times I asked, I never got a medium-rare steak. My boyfriend caught several maids stealing; one even had a shrine with personal belongings of him and his family in her room! I prefer to leave my things out and not worry about my money disappearing every time I return home.

Sometimes, I think it’s silly to spend my time cleaning and cooking instead of developing my land or using the skills I spent five years acquiring. But some wealthy people overdo it, and many kids here grow up primarily with their nannies. Maybe I’ll hire a maid once a week for a good cleaning and laundry, but since I have a lot of free time, I don’t see the point right now.

Affording Help Gives You Choices

Having the option to hire help lets you choose what you enjoy doing, like cooking, and delegate the hard or boring tasks to others. Right now, builders are moving 5000 stones to construct our new house. My back and hands are more valuable than what they earn.

This allows me to spend time writing, socializing, or just relaxing. Like any other expense, it’s a conscious decision to allocate my money on things that matter to me. And yes, I am a bit lazy.

If you could afford help for almost everything, would you do it?