Despite all the positive news we've had about the economy recently, we know that in reality, money is still pretty tight behind the scenes.
When it comes to spending money on your home, it's often because you have to rather than because you want to, although that doesn't make it any easier when you have to part with your hard-earned cash.
It does make it more understandable that you'll do whatever you can to try to cut those costs to make sure those improvements end up making as small an impact upon your finances as possible.
However, you have to balance that need with the fact that - as with many aspects of working on your property - you need to think long term and a job you end up cutting corners on to save money in the short term could turn out to be a bit of a false economy if you then need to have it re-done a few years down the line.
When it comes to plumbing, choosing whether or not to employ a qualified plumber or a general handyman is a prime example of how opting for the cheaper option is likely to cost you over a longer period of time.
Don't get us wrong, we know there are handymen out there who are fine, accomplished plumbers, but generally the jack-of-all-trades kind of person who you are likely to encounter will be able to talk a good talk and even do a job that seems to all be in order, but it won't be as good a quality as someone who plumbs full-time.
So, why should you always opt for a pro?
Longevity
This has to be one of the main reasons why you'd opt to choose a plumber over a handyman - as you don't want to end up having to pay for the job again sooner than you might expect.
One of the reasons why this might be the case with a handyman is that a plumber will almost certainly have a better knowledge of what products will offer better, longer-lasting value.
The latter is more likely to be in the know when it comes to what parts will probably fail sooner because they will spend a greater amount of time reading trade magazines and speaking with suppliers like ourselves.
Whereas a handyman may see value as simply getting the cheapest product as they probably have very little background knowledge over why a certain part is more expensive than another that does the same job, a master plumber will recognise that the best way to spend money is to invest it in tools and devices that you can rely on for many years to come.
Hidden costs
Of course, the real danger of hiring someone who isn't a specialist is that there's a greater risk of them not doing a complete job, costing you more money as a result.
For example, if you're having a new shower tray fitted, then ensuring it is sealed to an adequate standard, otherwise this could result in leaks that eventually could cause structural damage and damp to the rest of your house, which would mean serious cash needing to be spent to fix it.
Other hidden costs could include pipes that aren't fitted together properly - causing them to leak and make your home less water-efficient - and general botch-jobs that you might not be happy with because there just isn't the professional finish to them you might expect, which you might end up eventually choosing to get re-done by a professional anyway.
Again, we want to emphasise that there are handymen out there who are quite skilled in their plumbing work, but unless you know them and can personally vouch for them, why take the risk?