by Beks
We called our neighbor’s friend to take a look at our furnace. He pulled the whole thing apart, scattering pieces across my living room floor. I eyed him while making dinner in the kitchen, clutching a glass of cheap Merlot, praying his work wouldn’t exceed the unspoken $200 limit I’d placed on it.
Thirty minutes later, he left to purchase parts.
Thirty minutes after that, he returned to install the parts.
An hour after that…
I heard the furnace exhale hot air into our living room.
Woo Hoo! No furnace replacement necessary!
The bill? $179.93.
We were ecstatic about the cost. Much less than we expected. As I reviewed the bill after the repair man left, I noticed his hourly rate – $75. Three times what hubby charges for side work.
Yes, the guy was worth it and I was happy to pay but now all hubby and I can think is…
Hubby doesn’t charge nearly enough. No wonder he’s so busy all the time! We’ll have to review his 2012 prices.
Beks is a full-time government employee who enjoys blogging late into the night after her four kids have gone to sleep. She’s been married to Chris, her college sweetheart, for 15 years. In 2017, after 3 long years working the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, they paid off more than $70K and became debt free. When she’s not working or blogging, she’s exploring the great outdoors.
Yeah seriously not enough for side work! If my math is right, my husband charges double what you are charing for side work, and you are in southern California! He needs to double his rates.
Might be the best $200 you ever spent if it ends up making your husband earn twice as much on his side jobs next year! 🙂
So it’s not OK for DH to be underpaid, but it’s OK for you to be?
I always tell anyone who is not salaried: if you are too busy, you should raise your rates until you aren’t. It is sage advice an older contractor passed on to me that I repeat every time I can.
Oh the joys of home ownership. I am glad to hear you got away with less than $200 repair on your furnace, my furnace is the only questionable component of my house and I dread the day it puts me out some serious cash.
New to your blog, keep it up!