I have written about the “no-hassle factor” in the past, and today I am taking a deeper dive into the idea. The basic idea is that it is often worth it to pay somebody for their expertise rather than do things yourself. However, some of the resources I’m sharing are free, you will just need to invest your time into them.

What is Outsourcing?

It is originally a business term designating how a company might hire another company or consultant to perform a task. For instance, many small businesses use payroll companies to handle all pay-related tasks from paying employees to submitting taxes. Using that same principle, many people will hire an accountant to do their taxes. For instance, I have a background in accounting, but since I’m not currently working as one, I use a CPA to ensure my paperwork is all handled correctly.

What Kinds of Tasks Can Be Outsourced?

If you think of your life as a business, it makes sense to make sure things are done as well as possible to maximize your bottom line. I consider my personal bottom line to be my happiness or satisfaction. So, in no particular order, here are the tasks I would outsource if the cost wasn’t a factor. Housework, yard work, accounting, driving, grocery shopping, making phone calls, returning unneeded purchases, maintaining my tech items, and grooming pets are all things that someone else could do far better than I can.

Here Are Some Great Resources

• An overall home-keeping resource is the blog Living Well, Spending Less. Ruth has 10 years of experience giving advice, designing planners, and motivating people.
• Money management probably doesn’t sound like a fun read to many people, but the blog Budgets are Sexy is on a mission to change that. J. Money writes almost daily about wide-ranging financial topics in a fun, conversational style.
• If you run a small business, or want to work smarter at your job, Ari Meisel of Less Doing is a fantastic resource. On his site are links to his podcast and TED talks, or you can sign up for either online courses or his occasional in-person seminars to really maximize your business and save you time.
• Bob Lotich of Seedtime has been blogging about money management since 2007 to help his followers and clients manage their money within biblical principles. He is a certified financial educator. As he points out, most of us were only taught to balance a checkbook and the rest was up to chance. It’s time to learn how to manage money instead of just tracking it.
• Are you the kind of person who loves to read reviews to help make your decisions? Three Thrifty Guys are bloggers who share tips from their experiences and recommend products they personally have had good success with. Their posts range from baby products to travel tips to reviews of money-saving apps.
• Do you feel as though if you only had more time, you could focus better on your life? Well, BillCutterz is in business to save you both time and money. If you have ever made a phone call to a service provider to try to get a better rate on your monthly bills, you are aware of how much time it takes. As for me, I absolutely hate making these painful phone calls, so I love the fact that BillCutterz does it for me.
• I could read blogs all day, but I suspect my job would suffer if I did. In a perfect world, I would spend a lot of time reading Bottom Line, INC, because their topics cover all aspects of life. There are currently 18 separate blogs so it’s easy to find topics that interest you, and on their homepage, you will see the most current posts from several different ones.

In summary, outsourcing saves us time, which is our most valuable asset. The time you save from outsourcing can far outweigh the nominal expense. Gaining more quality time in our lives is an exciting prospect that equates to a fulfilled life less burdened by mundane and sometimes aggravating tasks. What do we all wish for? More time and happiness. Outsourcing can provide both.