“I DON’T LIKE BEING too much of an example for people who just want to make money. If you wrest a fortune from life by buying little pieces of paper, I don’t think that’s enough. I never consider it enough of a life to merely be shrewd at picking stocks. If you’re good at just investing your own money, I hope you’ll be good at something more.”
What Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, said at the company’s 2015 shareholder meeting could be useful advice to most investors. I do, however, appreciate the irony of this advice coming from a man who is known almost entirely for “buying little pieces of paper.”
It’s much like when Donald Trump said, “Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.”
For too many years, I spent too much time trying to beat the stock market, reading Value Line, Barron’s or, even worse, Investor’s Business Daily, all part of my efforts to find undervalued companies that would lead to increasing dividends, investment riches and, of course, bragging rights with others who are similarly afflicted.
I’ve had a few scores. Master limited partnerships, Central Securities Corp. and Illinois Tool Works immediately come to mind. But after a while, I just lost the drive. Annual reports, which I previously found just boring, have now become insufferable. I’d rather get a root canal than read one more footnote regarding the Society of Actuaries’ new mortality improvement tables. I found my time better spent researching the Second World War, planning travel and sleeping.
One of the best books I’ve ever read, The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements, posits that those who join mass movements, such as Nazism, communism or the French Revolution, come from a cross-section of society: the misfits, the outcasts, the selfish and the sinners. Specifically, those who tend not to join mass movements are the “artisan skilled in his trade…. Nothing so bolsters our self-confidence and reconciles us with ourselves as the continuous ability… to see things grow and develop under our hand.”
Simply put, I have found producing or repairing a physical product far more satisfying than 100 spreadsheets. I have always respected those who work with their hands—people like the auto mechanic, the carpenter and, of course, the plumber.
This all came back to me when I was recently informed by my wife that hot water was now coming out of the cold water faucet in our bathroom. “That’s odd,” I thought, “did someone break in last night and replumb our home?” So I did what any man not schooled in the art of pipe sweating would do. I asked the internet. It took a while, but eventually I realized I had what’s known in the trade as a “crossover.”
Crossover in most residential homes comes from an issue with a single handle valve, like the one in your shower or kitchen. The thermostatic mixing valve or the pressure balancing valve fails and allows hot water to leak into the cold water piping. This can lead to scalding issues in the shower and excessive hot water consumption.
After using some Holmesian logic, and by looking three feet to the left of the bathroom sink, I determined the culprit was most likely the adjacent single handle shower valve. I won’t (excessively) bore you with all the details, but after replacing both the possible offenders—ever heard of the 50-50-90 rule?—the issue was resolved.
I can still remember singing the song My Way—specifically the line “I did what I had to do, and saw it through without exemption”—the moment I realized the hot water now knew its place and was staying in its own pipe.
I won’t tell you how long all this took. But let’s just say it was the longest workday I’ve put in since I retired five years ago. I told my wife that I was now a professional contractor, as the job took twice as long and cost twice as much as estimated.
When I went to bed that night, freshly showered, the sense of satisfaction I had was unimaginable. Honestly, it had nothing to do with the money saved by not calling a plumber, although that didn’t hurt. While a part of it might have been the challenge to my masculinity, I think it was more the physicality of it. Something was palpably wrong, and I made it right.
The feeling of satisfaction was better than any stock market win. It was so good, I’m even looking forward to dealing with the next house-related issue. Not necessarily tomorrow though, but maybe later in the year.
Michael Flack blogs at AfterActionReport.info. He’s a former naval officer and 20-year veteran of the oil and gas industry. Now retired, Mike enjoys traveling, blogging and spreadsheets. Check out his earlier articles.
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I’ve been a “do it yourselfer” for my entire adult life. During one memorable repair event, I made a still standing record 5 trips to the hardware store in one day! Today, at age 75, my success as a saver and investor has enabled me to delegate to other most any task that requires more than a screwdriver. And, my wife is much happier!
UofODuck, thanks for your comments. I’m thankful my event only took three trips.
My father’s definition of a do-it-yourselfer is someone that finally understands what they are doing and never has to do it again.
eew
I think the Naval Engineer in Mike just came back to life.
That satisfaction of fixing things, I surely agree. And with YouTube, it makes it more accessible. YT bails me out all the time. Before, it was why didn’t I just go to YT, where now its “Let’s go to YT”.
Michael Crosby, trust me in that a YouTube video played a role in my plumbing adventure. Though it wasn’t as detailed as I would have liked . . . I’m thinking I should have made my own.
If it’s within my comfort zone, I’ll do certain plumbing and/or electrical jobs around the house. I don’t mind paying for work I can’t do or don’t feel comfortable doing, but sometimes it is to save money. A recent “small” bathroom remodel just couldn’t seem to get finished. A painter wanted close to a $1000 to paint the bathroom. I’ve done a lot of painting so I had no issues with taking that off the list. A handy man wanted $500 to finish wiring and install the vanity light, hang 2 mirrors and put up 2 towel racks. It took about an hour and a half. I realize there are other costs than just the labor piece, but it still seemed a little high.
Thomas Taylor, the comfort zone is a good guide, though I occasionally try a job just outside my zone, of course knowing that if things don’t work out (and I don’t kill myself) I can always call a professional.
Well, I called a professional to fix the vents on the roof, re-seal them and re-paint them where the builder’s subcontractor used the wrong paint for aluminum. He also installed a deflector for the large stove vent on the roof, which leaked water during Hurricane Harvey into our cabinet over the stove. Builder denied he could fix it and this professional knew exactly what to do.
I’ve’ also hired the painters that do the one-year touch-ups for the builder to repaint the stucco trim around the entire house at year six of ownership. It’s elastomeric stucco paint from Sherwin Williams and that was worth the money. I bought the paint while it was on sale and they provided the labor and tools.
So, it is all in your control, do you plan for such expenses (I do) or are you just a DIY person at heart?
Randy Starks, I don’t necessarily plan for these expenses, though owning a home means they are inevitable. Another benefit of DIY, is after each “project” I am that much more knowledgeable when dealing with a contractor.
After reading Random Walk by Malkiel, the writing was on the wall. Wall Street is an Uneven playing field and INDEXING is the winning game. From that its all history. It’s an irrefutable method/theory that has been verified since 1975. Anyone disagree??
you’re preaching to the choir—it’s why we are here. If you want debate, you will have to to out on Wall Street and get on a soap box. You will get debate.
As long as it is not in a taxable account. Why? Well, mutual funds pay/report capital gains to the IRS and YOU have to report them and pay taxes on them at ordinary income tax rates, well your modified income tax rate.
“STCGs are taxed as ordinary income, as are mutual fund distributions of dividends and interest, and this ordinary income tax rate is higher than an investor’s long-term capital gains tax rate.”
Shareholders can choose to receive distributions in cash or reinvest them into their account. Even when distributions are reinvested, shareholders pay taxes on the amounts they receive (unless their assets are held in a tax-advantaged account, such as a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA).
As you are a student of the history of WWII I recommend the below link to a video originally produced by PBS about Oflag 64 a Nazi POW camp where US officers were imprisoned in Poland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28edrjjr8Yg&ab_channel=RobertGallloway
Decades ago I was fortunate to be able to accompany my dad to a reunion of the 709th tank battalion he served in under General Patton. A theme of achieving a goal with limited available resources was part of what I took away from that reunion.
You might enjoy a PBS series titled:
”Craft in America”
The people highlighted each show are true crafters. The things they can create with their hands are beautiful.
As I have zero skills with that sort of thing I find each episode simple amazing.
Remember the man in Boston who built cabinets and performed other very skilled carpentry on PBS? He inspired me to hire professionals, but I’m certain he in particular was unaffordable.
LOL at 50-50-90 rule. Reminds me of this comedy bit where the comedian posits that your odds of correctly inserting a USB plug is 33%. You try it one way–it doesn’t work. You try it the other way–it doesn’t work. You try it again the first way, and it works.
Totally relate to this as a fellow non-handy man. I always tell people, “I’m not handy, but I’m a bit of a dandy.”
The personal satisfaction resulting from either “I fixed it!” or “I did that!” is immense. The time it takes, especially if you’re retired, is usually irrelevant. Congrats!
Michael, you are far braver than me, I would never attempt any plumbing repair, except maybe a drain issue, that way, no risk of turning the home into the Pacific ocean . I limit myself to landscaping/gardening, not highly skilled, but, I do a better job than a “pro” , that is, I do not pile mulch up against the trees and shrubs, and I do not cut corners, and cut the lawn high, rather than scalping, it, etc. Great exercise, saves a lot of money, and a much better result.
Anyone who knows anything at all about landscaping would not make mulch volcanoes against trees or scalp the lawn. Those people aren’t pros.
but I want to get the grass cut as few times as possible in a season. that is why I shave it. it may be bad for the grass/lawn/looks, but it is good for me.
Well done Michael. Diagnosing plumbing, and electrical, anomalies can be a tremendous challenge. Crossover can also lead to cold leaking into the hot water, and people being unhappy with the hot water temperature. So they turn up the temperature setting on the hot water heater and risk scalding (as you mention) in a different location. Always be cautious when raising a hot water heater set point – that may not be the root cause.
Rick, thanks for this! I believe this may be the long-standing issue with our kitchen faucet. I finally have a potential solution to pursue. Humble Dollar is the best 🙂
I hate plumbing repairs – they always take four times the estimated time to finish, and I never own that special tool gizmo that the youtube video says is needed for step 6. I was recently reminded of this when sitting in for my son’s bathtub remodel – the plumber used three tools that I had never seen before. The few times I have successfully repaired plumbing, I too strut around like Clark Kent for a few days.
John Yeigh, I do agree with you despite the proverb that states “it is a poor craftsman that blames his tools.” This job thankfully did not require a special tool, though two diamond tipped drill bits were required to enlarge the hole in the porcelain tile.
We all have those diamond tipped drill bits the size needed in our tool collections, don’t we? LOL
we have them when we are finished, yes!
If your portfolio has become too stressful, you can always transfer it to me. I’d be glad to help, a friend in need is a friend indeed.
Enjoyed this – a very relatable post – thanks, Michael!