The Worst $3,200 I Ever Saved

[Bora Yalcin]

So, being a new investor I'm always looking for ways to save money. My thinking was by doing some things myself I can funnel the saved cash into the next deal, or I can gain experience by being hands on when possible, or that thing on a project myself will help my daily cash flow. 

Using that mindeset I decided to paint my most recent project myself rather than have it contacted out. The best bid I received on the interior painting of the home was $3,200. After discussing it with my wife and brother (my partners) we decided to handle the paint ourselves...it was a mistake.

We did a good job, and we've painted before, but it was still a mistake. The project took us almost three weeks, where the professionals could have finished in just one week. We only had two days a week to go over there and do the work becauase of our full time jobs. In addition it exhausted us, because when we werent working we were thee painting.

Most importantly, it took time away from working on our business because we wee so busy working in our business. We couldn't network, analyze deals, look at other markets, arrange financing, or anything other than paint to be honest.

What we learned is that sometimes it's important to spend the money to free up time and energy to work on moving forward and building your business. Don't make the same mistake.