What are you willing to pay for?

[emw]

I was thinking about this yesterday as I was performing one of the more, um, distasteful tasks associated with being dog owners with a fenced-in yard - picking up poop. It was the first time I'd had to do it in about 2 years because, well, we pay somebody to do it for us.

Yes, you heard right, we're too lazy to pick up after our own dogs, and someone is willing to do it for us, so we pay them. Horrible, huh? I don't mow the lawn or clean my toilets either.

Don't get me wrong - we're not rich (these things cost about $300 a month) - but we both work full time and have two small children. I guess I feel that spending 4-5 hours each weekend doing these chores is more time away from my children, so I guess I justify it that way.

Anyone else out there shell out hard-earned cash for things you'd just rather not do yourselves?

[Nickygoat]

It's very common here to pay somebody to walk your dog. £8/ hour is the going rate, I believe. That doesn't sound a lot but they usually walk about 5 or 6 at a time.
And Prince Charles' butler puts his toothpaste on the brush for him. i never worked out if this was because he was too lazy to do it himself. or had never learnt :eek:

[PlaceofDis]

hmmmmmmm

i dont think there is anything so horrendous that i would pay someone to do it for me, except the garbage men. i have no issues changing my own oil, picking up after my dog, cleaning my room and fish tank, no problem taking care of the yard (started to get a nice tan doing that yesterday), etc

but whatever floats your boat floats it.

[iGary]

I used to spend a few solid weekends a year detailing my car.

I pay a couple hundred bucks to have the whole car waxed, engine cleaned, interior steam cleaned etc. My weekends are ususally full of marathoning, training or business activities. It's totally worth it.

We also pay a cleaning service to come in the house and give it a top-to-bottom cleaning twice a year. Mind you, we're retentively clean, but windows, carpets (we get them steam cleaned) base boards and dusting of things you'd never think of...I just don't have time. It's worth the money to me.

Everything else we pretty much do ourselves, but those are our two things that take up too much time.

[EJBasile]

I have a cleaning lady that comes in every two days. I don't really know what she cleans because I'm the only person that lives in my house and I'm not messy. I think she mostly dusts and vacuums.

After and before winter I have a sevice fertilize my yard. In between I mow my 3.5 acre lawn myself- I actually enjoy it. Throughout the spring, summer, and fall, I have landscaper people take care of plants. I have a pool company open, clean, and close my pool. I don't change my own oil in my cars. I have the John Deere dealership service my tractor and push mower. Then theres the gas to heat my house, $80 cell phone plan, electric bill, phone bill, cable bill, cable modem bill, etc bills.

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says....I pay my friend's daughter to come in and vacuum for me...nothing I can't do myself but I'd rather not and she needs the $$ for university....oh yeah!

[wdlove]

On a routine basis I don't have the money to pay someone else for a job that I could do my self. I'm not mechanically minded so my wife gets the car taken care of at the dealer. We have a maintenance agreement on our furnace, so a company comes in the Spring and Fall to perform preventative maintenance.

Plan on doing some remodel/maintenance work on the house in the future. So will need a general contractor. Then seem to be very busy, so its hard to get work scheduled.

[emw]

On a routine basis I don't have the money to pay someone else for a job that I could do my self. I'm not mechanically minded so my wife gets the car taken care of at the dealer. We have a maintenance agreement on our furnace, so a company comes in the Spring and Fall to perform preventative maintenance.

Plan on doing some remodel/maintenance work on the house in the future. So will need a general contractor. Then seem to be very busy, so its hard to get work scheduled.It's odd - I love to do work on the house, and will avoid hiring people to do that, as I've become pretty good at it.

So I guess home improvement is okay, but "home maintenance" I don't like.

[Phat_Pat]

I pay for Comcast Digital Cable which never seems to be working correctly.

Why should i pay extra for 5 HD channels that are either skipping or getting a black screen thats says. "Please wait. This Channel will be avilible shortly."

And one of them is called "special events" and to be honest the only thing i have seen on there is there stupid logo "SEHD". Whats the deal-o with that?!

and INHD1/2. I don't want to watch people climbing a mountain or swimming. Damn, i Just want something good from that crappy company. (Comcast that is)

/rant

[joecool85]

I was thinking about this yesterday as I was performing one of the more, um, distasteful tasks associated with being dog owners with a fenced-in yard - picking up poop. It was the first time I'd had to do it in about 2 years because, well, we pay somebody to do it for us.

Yes, you heard right, we're too lazy to pick up after our own dogs, and someone is willing to do it for us, so we pay them. Horrible, huh? I don't mow the lawn or clean my toilets either.

Don't get me wrong - we're not rich (these things cost about $300 a month) - but we both work full time and have two small children. I guess I feel that spending 4-5 hours each weekend doing these chores is more time away from my children, so I guess I justify it that way.

Anyone else out there shell out hard-earned cash for things you'd just rather not do yourselves?

Why don't you have your children pick up the dog's poop? Kids like to pick up poop anyway.

[MongoTheGeek]

Why don't you have your children pick up the dog's poop? Kids like to pick up poop anyway.

The best part about having a teenager. They do onerous chores. After my tussle with the big C my 17 year old won't let me mow and barely lets me carry stuff.