When I was a young mother with two small children , and had finally divorced my mother-in-law (MIL) , money was extremely tight . I started looking at things from the point of view of , is this a necessity , an investment , or something we'd just like to have . Sometimes , there was an overlap . Let's say there was a leak from the toilet in the bathroom . That could be considered all three - a necessity , an investment , and something we wanted fixed . But the next bit was how to get it fixed - could I fix it myself , did I need to hire a professional , or could I fix it with a little instruction from a friend , and which would cost me the least in the long run . So shut off the intake valves under the toilet tank , clean up the water , then collect my kids , my credit card , and go to the library. That's right the library , to borrow a book with carefully drawn pictures and explaintions about how to remove the broken bit and how to replace it , then a trip to the Home Depot/Lowes to pick up needed parts and tools . Fortunately , I already owned a lot of tools so didn't need much . If , on the other hand , the problem had involved a gas leak in the furnace , that , would have called for a professional . While I was capable of disassembling the furnace significantly enough to clean it , I don't mess with gas connections . I chose to recognize my limitations / lack of knowledge , so for that , a professional would have been in order .