Do you want to 2011 to be the year you spend less and save more? Do you want to learn to be savvy in your spending?
I decided to kick off the New Year by sharing my top
11 tips for Frugal Living and Savvy Spending! I want to persuade you the being frugal is
NOT the same as being cheap or going without. Frugality actually means "
to avoid waste; using discretion; be economical".
So, for the next
11 days, I'll bring you a new tip each day. These tips are based on things I practice everyday and what makes me a "frugal" person. I don't feel I'm cheap (
I sure hope not!) and we definitely do not go without. We just choose to use discretion in what we buy, avoid wasting our money, and work how to stretch that dollar as far as it can go!
I'd love to hear your thoughts or helpful tips too! Leave me a comment below if you want!
Tip #7: Be Savvy with your Spending by becoming a "Do It Yourself-er"
I'm very fortunate to be married to a Do It Yourself kind of guy. If I can brag on him for a moment, he has done so many projects that have saved us thousands of dollars- he's built two decks in the time we've been married, torn down walls, installed a wood burner, built the window bench I always wanted, refinished floors, does most of the painting, landscaping, and more! Now, there are times I wish we had the money to pay someone to do the work for us (it's much quicker usually, but then again, hubby works a full time job, so I can't harp on him too much), but we know how much money we save by doing the work ourselves.
If you want to save some money this year, look at all the things you pay someone else to do. Could you do it yourself?
1) Yard Work: Do you pay someone to mow your lawn? There may be a physical reason you can't do it, but I wonder if you could save some money by hiring a local high school student? Do you hire a landscaper to work on your yard? Could you find a college student who is majoring in Landscape Design and pay them a fraction of the cost?
If there isn't a physical or health reason that you hire someone else to do it, try the Do It Yourself way for awhile. You may learn that you actually enjoy it, are good at it, and you'll save money! Even if you don't know much about landscaping, you probably know a friend with a beautiful flower garden or backyard design. Ask him/her for their help. Or, seek out the professionals at Lowe's or Home Depot and get some ideas and pointers for free!
2) Housecleaning: If you are paying someone to clean your house for health or physical reasons, just like above, you could probably find someone by asking around or hiring a college student and pay less than the big name companies. If you want to try the Do It Yourself way, try to split up the chores so that you aren't doing them all on one day. Before I had kids, Saturday was our big housecleaning day; I'd clean the house from top to bottom. Now that I have kids, I feel like I'm cleaning everyday! But if I break the chores up to one or two a day, it doesn't feel like I'm spending hours cleaning.
If you have kids who are old enough to help, in my opinion, they should be! If you want to reward them for helping with an allowance or other treat, you can. But they can help contribute to the family by doing small chores around the house. My kids are still little and the "help" sometimes makes more work for me, but they do simple chores now and when they get older, they will definitely help clean! :)
3) Painting- I know I am the world's worst painter and you wouldn't want to hire me to paint for you, but if you know someone who is creative and good at painting, ask them for help. Or, see if you can swap for something you can do for them.
4) Fix Up Jobs- you may not be a handy person, but you probably know someone who is. Everyone wants to save some money, so if you have some small jobs that need fixing at your house, see if you can offer your services to them! Can you make some freezer meals, mend some clothes, help with yard work, change their oil, or swap some other way?
What sort of "Do It Yourself" tips do you have to save money?
I love to buy things for others and stockpile for birthday and Christmas gifts all year long. Just like your grocery shopping stockpile= if you buy it when it's at a rock bottom price instead of when you need it, you'll save money!
