There is a good frugal rule of thumb to keep in mind:
If you do it yourself, you are automatically saving money.
Obviously, the amount of money you save depends on the complexity and extent of the task but if you have skills, doing things yourself, rather than vending them out, is usually the way to go.
● Landscaping. I don’t mow my expansive lawns or fertilize, but I do nearly everything else myself. I trim the front yard bushes, and save for trees, I plant most things myself. I also tend my vegetable garden entirely on my own. I can do these simple tasks myself and they save me considerable funds.
● Baking. Bakery treats are expensive, so I bake most everything on my own. I also preserve at home. This is a skill I have so I don’t buy expensive preserves or baked goods.
● Cleaning. Save for twice annual deep cleans, I do all my own house cleaning these days. I do the bathrooms one day a week and the kitchen another day and on a third, I alternate various other cleaning tasks that do not require a weekly clean. It is just two of us and we are very tidy so we don’t have a whole lot to clean. If you have a houseful of kids like my daughter, I have two simple words of advice for you: Chore Chart.
● High tech. Nine times out of ten I can troubleshoot the cable or a typical computer issue. Same with a cell phone. Working for years in high tech means I picked up a few tricks along the way, so we start with my skills when those issues arise. The vast majority of the time, I can solve the issue without bringing in outside expertise.
● Touch ups. I have really decent painting skills so for any house touch ups or paint projects, I happily do them myself.
● Pet Grooming. My precious pup requires monthly grooming, so I mostly take care of that myself. She probably prefers that the mobile groomer pamper her but that is an expensive proposition so the second Wednesday of every month I personally see to it that she gets a warm sudsy shower, fur conditioning, nail grinding, message, the works.
● Organizing. It is crazy to me that people actually pay other people to organize and purge their belongings. Really? Organize your own stuff. This is a skillset everyone should have. The formula for organizing is very easy: pull everything out and divide the items into three categories/piles: discard, donate and keep. It is that simple. Put everything you are keeping back neatly. And moving forward don’t buy more. I recently completed my autumn closet/wardrobe purge and while I am donating 30+ items of clothing, I am not replacing most of them. This is because I did recently buy 11 vintage items, but I am not making up the 17+ deficit. I have decided that my wardrobe needs space to breathe. I still have more than I need and bonus is that now I can see much more easily what I actually have.
● Decorating. If you don’t have this specific skill, you can find free apps online to help you figure out how to best lay out a room and decorate. Like wardrobe apps that help you put together outfits from what you already have in your closet, decorating can be a lot of fun. And as much as I love and respect the art of interior design and the enormous talent of interior designers, most of us simply don’t need to spend an arm and a leg to make our home beautiful.
Of course, there are always going to be some tasks that I normally do not do myself. Hair coloring, nails and anything remotely mechanical are skills I lack to do properly myself. Same goes for something major like plumbing or a tree felling in the Enchanted Forest which requires very specific tools, big equipment and a specialized skill set. Plus, it is downright unsafe to try and cut down a large tree yourself. I would never risk it just to save a few bucks. In addition, my partner handles the cars, and he likes them very clean and well maintained. He also doesn’t mind paying for those tasks. Were the cars my responsibility, I would likely wash them myself but that’s his choice. One of the smartest things we do in our relationship is that we never tell each other how to spend our own money. More relationships fail because of money issues than for nearly any other reason. My partner and I could not have more contrasting views and ways of dealing with money but because we respect each other’s financial decisions, we never clash over finances. This includes not telling the other person what they should be doing on their own versus paying for. I tend to do more myself than my partner, but it is never worth fighting over in my opinion.
What can I say, you learn a few things along the way in this frugal life.
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