I'm a bit short on time, here, but I like the title A LOT!
There are pros and cons to hiring anyone. Being the economy what it is, however, IF you can find it in you to do it yourself, by all means...DO IT.
For me, what I've found as my own "personal trainer" is allow myself only 1 minute of exercise. That's it. No matter HOW much I laugh, like, "Ha...woose, you can do better!" That's it.
It knaws at you in a way. SoOo, the real goal is NOT letting yourself do more than you allow.
So, the next day I'll "let myself" do 3 min. of treadmill (and so forth and so on) - no weights. Those are for the next month