18 Times Confidence Met Reality and Turned Into Comedy Gold

Who among us hasn’t ambitiously declared, “It’s not difficult, I’ll just fix it myself!” All you need to do is turn it on and off, unscrew and screw it back. What can possibly go wrong? As it turns out — almost everything.

This article features stories of people who wanted to save money by taking matters into their own hands, but ended up paying 3 times as much for the lesson learned.

I used to get my nails done at a salon, but now I have to save money. I spent the entire evening on my manicure: base coat, polish, drying, waited half an hour just to be sure. And in the morning I woke up to this.

When renovations became a flower exhibit:

• Long time ago, when I first started living on my own, my brother and I were doing some renovations for the first time in our lives. We had no experience, but we had enthusiasm and tons of energy. If we messed something up, I’d start stressing, but my brother would say, “Don’t worry, we’ll hang a flower there, and it’ll look nice.” This happened several times.
  We finished the kitchen around midnight, hadn’t even washed our hands yet, sitting there exhausted. My brother looks around dreamily and says, “It’s going to be beautiful: the whole apartment filled with flowers.” © justas1s / Pikabu

Mom decided to make a cane for Dad herself. Well, at least she tried.

My parents: “We don’t need a paint roller.”

There is always hope for a figure skating prize.

• The porch was covered in ice. Purchasing de-icing materials was too costly, and then a neighbor gave us some granules, claiming they would melt the ice instantly. So, we poured the entire package.
  A couple of hours later, my husband went to check. I hear a shout, look out the window, and am speechless: My husband clutches the railing, performing some wild dance. His legs are sliding into a split, he tries to bring them back together, spins in place, eyes bulging, but doesn’t fall!
  I call the neighbor, “What did you give us? My husband has already won a rhythmic gymnastics competition there, and can’t come back inside!” And he’s laughing: “Did you dump the whole bag? You can’t do that! If you overdo it, it’s worse than any ice!”

My mom bought a new house and this is what the previous owners did to the pool!

Partner tried to dye our white couch because it had some stains. I said we should’ve got couch covers but no...

You need to set goals correctly.

• A coworker bought a forest plot overgrown with trees. He hired a crew and gave them the task: cut down all trees under 6 feet and 6 inches. He even measured the height with a tape measure and demonstrated on the foreman — they seemed to understand.
  A couple of days later, he arrives, steps onto the plot, and is speechless: all the trees are cut precisely to 6 feet and 6 inches. And they even asked for a bonus for the complexity. © Unknown author / Pikabu

Maybe a little more on the right

The trick didn’t work.

• A coffee stain appeared on the couch. Calling in a cleaning service was too expensive, so I remembered my grandmother’s home remedy, mixed a “potion” in a saucepan, applied it to the upholstery, and prepared for magic.
  At first, everything was great: the stain vanished before my eyes. But a minute later, my concoction started foaming so intensely that half the couch was submerged in a cloud of foam. I tried to remove the excess with a cloth, but the foam just kept coming with a sinister hiss.
  In the end, a huge white patch formed in place of the tiny stain. I had to buy a huge cushion to cover up the fruits of my frugality.

Me neighbors added a... foyer? Entry way? To their home and, well...

Thriftiness

• My coworker calls himself thrifty. He’s always on the lookout for anything that might be lying around.
  He’ll pick up a piece of pipe here, drain the leftover oil there. He collects and asks for everything everywhere. His entire garage is filled with random stuff. He changed the oil in his Audi’s engine with some pre-saved leftovers. The engine seized up.
  It turned out that it wasn’t oil, but some wood varnish. They spent 3 days trying to clean the engine, but all the channels were completely blocked. Now, my coworker is looking for a cheap engine. © Fatherbig / Pikabu

Girlfriend was helping cut my hair. She was doing a fantastic job until I heard a gasp.

Going home for Thanksgiving never ceases to amaze me at what my father can come up with.

When you’ve overestimated your skills

• Once, I decided to save some money and asked my friend to give me a haircut. He tells me, “My mom was a hairdresser and so was my grandma, it’s in our blood, don’t worry.” Well, okay, I think I’m about to get a trendy haircut for free.
  I’m sitting there, everything seems fine, then there’s silence, and suddenly my friend starts laughing so hard that I get nervous. 5 minutes later, he comes over with a mirror, and I see this mess: there are lines on my head like after mowing in the rain. In the front, there’s something like bangs hanging, and in the back — nearly bald patches.
  In the end, I had to shave it all off. Then my friend says, “Looks like I’ve taken after my dad.” © Not everyone will understand / VK

Tried out a student learning salon. I didn’t have high expectations but I asked the student if she was comfortable with the design I had in mind. She said yes. 3 hours later this is the result. I did just end up saying to give up on it.

My mother took up a hair cutting course 9 years ago. With just little practice she confidently lured my brother in for a haircut. This is the result.

A client had a complaint that the TV mount didn’t fit.

On the other hand, using professional help doesn’t guarantee a perfect result either. See for yourself here.