Outsourcing everyday tasks to professional service providers adds to the financial burden of an already strained economic status of a household. Although seeking professional help may bring better results, and save time and effort that can be focused somewhere else, there are instances where do-it-yourself skills might bring similar results for a fraction of the cost. While such skills may differ from household to household and from a person to person, there are five do-it-yourself skills that are useful in general to many people as a means of saving money.
Fixing the plumbing
Although untrained individuals should not attempt complete plumbing work, simple fixations such as clearing jammed drainpipes, replacing a faucet, turning off a water main and fixing a broken sprinkler head could be learned by reading a do-it-yourself manual within a short period of time. Such tasks can save at least $50 – $60 per each call and when considering the number of times such a call needs to be made within a year, the saving could be huge.
Changing car oil
Among the maintenance work related to a home vehicle, changing its oil could take considerable amount of money in the long-run although it can be done at home without a fuzz after going through a car maintenance manual. However, it requires investing certain amount of money on few simple tools as well as spending sometime familiarizing with the vehicles setup before attempting do-it-yourself oil change and car maintenance.
Cook at home
Eating out all the time may not only be costly but also unhealthy for most people. Thus, buying the raw foods and cooking meals at home could save considerable amount of money while giving a healthier outlook to the everyday meals. However, one should be careful not to indulge on preparing fancy dishes, which can be cheaper outside than preparing at home. At the same time, one should be wary of discarding eatable food items without being used, which could significantly add to the cost of preparing meals at home.
Pet grooming and vet care
In both these instances, considerable amount of money could be spent on simple activities such as removing ticks and treating a small wound or else for clipping lengthy hair of a pet dog. Most of these tasks could be carried out as do-it-yourself tasks although one should realize the importance of visiting a professional occasionally to get some expert opinion. At the same time, conditions, which may appear serious or persisting, should not be handled by the owner but should be cared for by a professional.
Sewing and mending
Sewing a button back on to a shirt should not be a task done by a professional but a do-it-yourself activity. Similarly, when the zipper break or seam rips, it is not necessary to visit the tailor or throw away the cloth in hope of buying a new one. Thus, sewing and mending as a do-it-yourself task can save considerable amount of money as it prevents the person from buying new items when the usable cloths develops a ‘malfunction’.
Apart from the five common do-it-yourself tasks described in this article there are many other tasks that can save money depending on the person’s competence and the circumstances. Knowing as many ‘do-it-yourself activities’ as possible, or having the will to learn such tasks should be the ideal way forward when it comes to cutting unnecessary household spending. The savings from doing it yourself can then be diverted to other essential tasks.