When we compare the options of doing tasks ourselves and paying to have them done, we often overlook the intangible benefits of doing the work ourselves, such as the joy it creates.

Comparisons often begin in strict financial terms. You may look at the cost of changing the oil in your car and conclude that you can spend much less money by doing the work yourself. At the next level of comparison, you may consider the value of your time and conclude that doing it yourself is actually more expensive. Taking it even further, you should evaluate the joy you get from changing your own oil. If that's an activity that makes you proud and that you enjoy, then the time you spend doing it doesn't really cost as much as you calculated your time to be worth.

The value of your time is really what it costs to do activities that you don't enjoy. Assuming you calculate your time to be worth $50/hour, you wouldn't conclude that going to your child's soccer game “costs” you that amount if you like watching the game. The investment of your time is worth it. Doing your taxes, however, may warrant the calculated cost. It all depends on the joy you get from the activity.

If work were pleasant, you wouldn’t have to be paid nearly as much as you are to get the job done. The opposite also holds true. You would gladly do activities that you enjoy for little or no money. When comparing the cost of doing those tasks yourself versus paying someone else to do them, your joy will likely skew the comparison in favor of doing the work yourself.

At first glance, offering different prices to people for the same product or service sounds like discrimination. In the business world, it goes by the name Optimized Pricing and happens all the time.

From borrowing money and purchasing insurance to booking a trip, Optimized Pricing is a growing trend. This practice basically consists of offering the price that a company believes a consumer is willing to pay. That’s why an airline ticket is likely to cost much more near Christmas; enough people are simply willing to pay higher prices to travel at that time of year.

While optimized pricing has been around in the travel industry for a long time, much of its growth is in the financial services industry. Perhaps that is being driven by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Regardless of the reason, mortgages and home equity lines of credit are now commonly being priced in this way.

One way to combat Optimized Pricing is to comparison shop for items that are often priced this way. Rather than simply going with the first company you find or renewing existing services, check with other companies first. Finding a better deal doesn’t mean that you can’t use the first company. You can also use the other offers as leverage to negotiate lower costs from all providers. I played this back-and-forth game when shopping for a mortgage with great success.

Like so many aspects of personal finance, awareness of an issue like Optimized Pricing reduces much of its danger. Until every company uses this method, being aware of what a product or service should cost and shopping until you find that price can help you avoid overpaying due to Optimized Pricing.

I’ve dubbed eating lunch out “The Budget Killer”, but that title could easily be applied to a related activity: going out for a drink.

At least when you eat out, the cost of a meal is within range of what it would cost to make it yourself. The premium you pay on food can be justified by the skill it takes to cook most meals. Alcohol, despite the lack of skill generally required for its preparation, is usually priced at least 3 times higher when purchased at a bar or restaurant. Specialty drinks, which do require some skill to prepare, fetch even higher price multiples. In many states, alcohol is taxed at much higher rates than other consumables, meaning that actual prices are even higher than you might first suspect.

Critics would say that the prices at a bar are as much for the atmosphere as they are for the drinks themselves. The positive benefits on a person’s social life are used to justify the added cost. It’s true that you will have the opportunity to meet people at a bar, but a large number of low quality contacts are probably worth less than a few higher quality ones. There are surely cases where high quality contacts are established at bars, but that is likely the exception rather than the rule.

If you are not ready to give up the bar scene, try reducing the amount you spend by mixing in free or reduced price non-alcoholic drinks. You’ll save some money and probably feel better the next day. Even if you don’t regularly go to bars, cutting alcohol out of your other dining experiences can have a huge effect. Including taxes, alcohol can easily account for one-third of the cost of a meal, which means that cutting it out can either save you a lot of money or allow you to eat out more often at your current spending level.

From a purely financial perspective, few things are more overpriced in relative terms than drinking alcohol at a bar or restaurant. Even without getting into the health benefits of drinking less, cutting back on this alcohol consumption can dramatically reduce your spending.

Rental centers allow you to rent everything from furniture and appliances to computers and high-end electronics. Monthly fees may seem low, but renting often ends up being even more expensive than buying.

When my wife and I relocated for her job, her company paid for furniture rental until we completed our move. Included in the package were a small couch, coffee table, end table, 2 lamps, 2-person kitchen table and chairs, 3-drawer dresser, bed frame, and mattress. Her company was charged $116 per month for the rental.

The first thing we noticed after the delivery was that the items were of much lower quality than what we had seen in the showroom. The items were certainly well worn. While we only had the furniture for one month until we sold our house and moved our own furniture, the experience taught me a lesson: renting furniture is really expensive.

I decided to go shopping and price comparative furniture to what we had received. Of course, my prices were for new furniture, which would be considerably more than the used furniture we rented. The breakdown was as follows:

Assuming you were to buy new furniture versus renting, you’d pay for the furniture within the first 8 months at the rental rate. Furniture may be more of a need than some other rental items, but want items follow similar pricing. If you were to buy used furniture, of comparable quality to the rental, from a thrift store, yard sale, Craigslist, or a similar second-hand source, it would pay for itself even more quickly.

Renting for a very short term may be more cost effective in certain situations. If you are looking to satisfy an ongoing need, however, then buying will almost always be less expensive. Confusing wants and needs makes us even more inclined to rent things that we really can’t afford. The irony is that while we may rent to save money, it usually ends up costing much more. Run the numbers for yourself before making a rent versus buy decision and you’ll likely come to the same conclusion.

What can Yoda teach us about surviving a recession? Plenty, as it turns out. The Jedi Master's teachings reach way beyond just defeating the Dark side of the force. Yoda for President in November? A good idea, this might be.

Take lessons from Chewy

"Go, I will. Good relations with the Wookiees, I have."

Without Chewy keeping up maintenance Millennium Falcon flying, would the Empire ever have been defeated? Unlikely.

A good mechanic isn't cheap, but a basic auto mechanics class at a local tech school or community college could save you hundreds each year. Plus, actually knowing what you're doing beats banging away with a wrench hoping the hyper-drive will kick in.

Farm like a Skywalker

"How you get so big, eating food of this kind?"

Yoda didn't like Luke's processed food. Maybe he knew the environmental impact it had, or that it just tasted like crap.

A simple vegetable garden can pay dividends in fresh produce all summer long. Beans, tomatoes, onions, all easy to grow crops are these. Forget trips to Whole Foods; just turn your yard into a garden. Not only is fresh produce good for your body, it can also be a frugal way to feed those young wannabe Jedi rascals running around your house.

Don't predict loss

"Careful you must be when sensing the future, Anakin. The fear of loss is a path to the dark side."

Even mighty Jedi warrior Yoda could not always predict the future. You think you have a chance?

Don't stop putting money in your 401K or other investments because you fear a market collapse. You never know when the market will turn and you don't want to out of the game when it does.

Always have an escape plan

"Meditate on this, I will."

If you got laid off next week, would you be prepared? Yoda trained over 800 years as a Jedi. You don't need that much preparation, but a few solid hours of scenario planning will do.

Save up 3-6 months of expenses. Pay down debt. Polish and update your resume. These tips should be part of your plan in case something goes awry. You need to be prepared for a financial crisis. The last thing you want is Boba Fett knocking on your door.

Call on your allies

"Help you I can! Yes, mmMMMmm!"

Before Yoda's self-exile, and even after his death, he had a network of Jedi to keep him informed of events and give input. What does your network look like?

Keep in touch with old colleagues and friends, even if it's just via a quick 5 minute phone call or Facebook message. Try to contact at one to two old co-workers or friends a week. You never know when you might need to ask for a favor. Likewise, helping others in your network is always good galactic karma.

Don't let fear paralyze you

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

Yoda knew the power of fear. Like many great leaders of our time, Yoda knew that fear can cause us to make unwise decisions.

Even if the economy goes into recession, the majority of American's will not be losing their homes, their jobs, or ending up in soup lines. If you prepare yourself, financially and mentally, you'll be just fine. Don't let fear cloud your judgment and keep you from living your life to the fullest.

Forget the fancy vacation. Go camping with the Ewoks

You must feel the Force around you. Here, between you, me, the tree, the rock... everywhere!

Hit the great outdoors this summer for a financially savvy and exciting vacation. Camping, fishing, swimming, smores, campfires... tons of fun can be had within national parks across the country.

With the dollar still in the tank, there's no need to travel abroad this year. If camping isn't your thing, consider taking a week off to just spend around your own town. Turn off your cell phone, put away the iPhone and take your kids out to throw the ball around. The little Ewoks will keep you busy all week.

Pay down your debts

"Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose."

Han Solo's debts almost got him and his friends killed at Jabba's palace. Being under the sway of ludicrously high interest rates on your credit cards make not get you killed, but it sure isn't a great way live.

The Dark side of the force (Credit Cards, Banks) wants you paying high interest rates forever. Turn away from the Dark side! If you need to borrow money, get rates as low as 7.88% at Lending Club. You can even get loans for up to $25,000. Now surely that's enough to pay off Jabba and maybe even upgrade your T-16!

Miss something, did we?

Share your best Yoda-inspired tip for surviving a recession in the comments section!