Mark Frauenfelder Won't Kill Chickens - Page 2 of 2

Mike: The DIY lifestyle that grew out of that experience, in its purest form, is also a rejection of crass consumerism. But you’ve said you still struggle with credit cards from time to time, so I’m guessing you live somewhere in the middle. How would you describe your lifestyle now?

Mark: Here’s my problem, and it’s stupid, because I’m sure there’s an easy solution: I put all of my business travel expenses on a certain credit card. Then, I procrastinate on turning in my expense report. So I end up paying the minimum amount due on the cards for a while, until I get around to filing the expense reports. And then when I get the reimbursement check, I deposit it into my checking account and tell myself I will use it to pay off the credit card. But again, I often procrastinate, and end up using the money on other things instead of paying off the credit card. It’s not a big deal, but it’s big enough that it annoys me, because I hate carrying a balance.

[Article: A Smart Read – Managing Debt for Dummies Smart Read: Managing Debt for Dummies]

Mike: I’m right there with you. I’ve got a year of cell phone expenses due to me and it’s all because I’m too lazy to print out the bills. But I digress. Do you think the DIY life saves you money in the end, or is it more of a hobby that costs money? (One of my best buddies, Gordy, made the cigar box guitar too!)

Mark: That’s really cool that your friend makes cigarbox guitars! To answer your question, DIY costs money and saves money at the same time. What I mean is, the tools, floor space, time, materials, etc. can cost a lot of money. In terms of materials and time, making your own sweater probably costs more than buying one from Walmart. And some DIY projects can be really expensive, such as making and flying remote control quadracopters with video cameras mounted on them. But, if you become passionate about making things, you might end up spending less time going to shopping malls, nightclubs, expensive restaurants, vacation resorts, etc., because you are engaged in a fulfilling and rewarding activity at home, and you don’t need to buy diversions to keep you happy.

Mike: I was also wondering if you follow the collaborative consumption movement—also known as the sharing economy? Do you see it aligned with the DIY movement?

Mark: I don’t really follow the collaborative consumption movement per se. But I am very interested in the “hackerspace” movement. All over the world, people are chipping in to pay rent on spaces where they can work together on DIY projects. These places have soldering irons, oscilloscopes, 3-D printers, laser cutters, CNC shop tools, etc. They are great places to make things, and great places to meet other makers. People often end up collaborating with each other on stuff.

[Free Tool: Obtain your Identity Risk Score from Credit.com]

Mike: Do you have a favorite project from the book?

Mark: My favorite project was raising chickens. Every aspect was enjoyable: building a chicken coop, raising the baby chicks, watching my kids play with the chickens and care for them, and collecting the amazing eggs that they laid. I wish that the new house we moved into didn’t have so many coyotes, raccoons, eagles and bobcats or I would keep a ton of chickens around.

Mike: Do you eat the chickens too?

Mark: I eat chicken, but I could not bring myself to kill and eat our hens. They became pets, and it would have been like eating our cats. I know I am a hypocrite, but I love eating chicken too much to give it up! (I’m making chicken soup in the Crockpot right now.)

Mike: Cat is delicious.

Mark: 🙂

[Featured Product: Need credit monitoring options?]