Last month I wrote a post about keeping my contractor honest. In a nutshell, I was concerned about his backing away from his promise to present receipts for materials when asking for progress payments. I handed him a check with a little extra in it, thinking the bonus payment - an advance on the labor portion of the project - would give me the edge and help put him back on the right line.

I'm pleased to report my investment paid off handsomely. Today I settled the entire project with my contractor. I have all receipts in hand and a clean accounting for the entire job.

Best of all, the labor costs didn't run as high as anticipated. The check I wrote today was significantly less than the amount I had intended to pay my contractor at project conclusion.

I have a neighbor who believes the proper way to keep contractors honest is to watch over their every move. He's notorious for pointing out mistakes and nit picking jobs. He delights in saving a few dollars by asking for a discount for results that don't meet his standard for perfection.

He wonders why good help is so hard to hire. What he doesn't understand is that the good help simply no longer wants to work for him.

People take care of people they like to deal with.

If you'd like to read it, here's the original article I wrote about keeping your contractor honest