Laura Young is a wife from Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, UK, who found an unusual way to tackle the cost of living crisis – she rents her husband for a bit of extra cash.
Young and her husband James have three kids, and she got the idea after she heard about a man who was making a living of putting flat-pack furniture for others. So, she decided to rent out her handy DIY-loving husband to others.
She said that James had already transformed the family home by building custom beds, fitting a kitchen, and making a dining table from scratch, and he’s also good at painting, decorating, and carpet laying. So, she got the idea to ‘rent’ him for a price.
“He’s good at everything around the house and garden, so I thought why not put those skills to use and hire him out?” – she said.
She went on to create a ‘Rent My Handy Husband’ website, placed ads on Facebook and Nextdoor, and gained a lot of attraction. She received many replies, although some people misinterpreted the ads.
“People are genuinely interested.
“There have been a few that got the wrong idea and thought I was hiring James out for something else entirely! Even with the cost of living crisis, I’m not planning to do that! Most people think it’s great. They say it’s sometimes hard to get builders to quote for little jobs as they are not interested.
James is perfect for things like putting flat packs together, putting up trampolines, building shelves and installing things. – she added.
James added that the extra work fits in well with his schedule, especially after he gave up his job as a warehouse night shift worker to help Laura with their three children, two of whom are autistic.
Laura concluded that even though he has been diagnosed as on the spectrum himself, this makes him very thorough and excellent at the DIY jobs that he does.
