When is DIY Cost Effective? Ah, the power of being able to say "I Did it Myself!" and the feeling that somehow you have saved untold amounts of money is very seductive and empowering. Yet, doing it yourself is not always the most overall cost effective path both in terms of time, money, and opportunity cost. So, how can you best decide when to DIY and when to hire an expert?

[Updated to add end graph] The American presidential race --- as in many other countries --- has become a staple on the news in India. I can stay quite clued in about who's winning what state while catching up with news about home. You don't have to look too far for reasons why people across the world are mighty concerned about who America's next president will be. Going by Indian news sites and Indian American blogs, it would appear that both communities have serious concerns when it comes to picking their favorite candidate for the top job.

When I first heard that news that a growing number of customer call center jobs were trekking their way back to the U.S., the first thought I had was,' what took them so long?' When I first read the news that infertile couples could hire a surrogate in India for a fraction of the cost of trying to do that here, I thought,'this is great news -it's is going to give hope to so many people.'