I just moved from San Francisco to Menlo Park so I could be closer to Facebook campus.

Some paint got ripped off the walls when I removed double-sided tape holding up light paintings.

I messaged four people on Yelp to get an estimate on getting it fixed. Only one of the four responded - here’s the quote:

estimate

I struggled with whether or not to pay for it, or try to do it myself. I wasn’t sure what it entailed. I asked my coworkers their opinions, and nobody was sure. Turns out, fixing drywall and repainting is super easy. My apartment complex supplied the paint, so it matched perfetly.

When I came back to tell my coworkers I fixed the wall myself, their response was “Wow you saved $400!”. But I saved $666.67! In California, my income tax rate is basically 40%. I would have to earn $666.67 in pre-tax.

If I didn’t do that work myself, I would’ve had to earn $666.67 to pay for it. It’s important to value your purchasing decisions like this.