My husband does minor electrical and plumbing repairs. We've done some of our own painting and fixture replacement. I take care of the landscaping even though our clay soil is terrible. I create a lot of gifts by sewing and crocheting. I also cook from scratch a lot.
I do almost everything DIY if I can. I've built a 2 level deck with my brother, a shed, a ground level deck, painted 3 houses, tiled a bathroom floor and tiled the shower, tiled a foyer. Power wash my decks and stain, fix lawnmowers and tractors, repair fencing, installed lights, landscaped my properties, sanded and painted a horse trailer, built a driveway... how's that for a single female??
I'm an artist, so anything remotely creative is a DIY project first...and if it goes wrong, then we'll call in reinforcements. ;) I take my own portraits of my littlest ones, since they're not in school -- saves a LOT of money that way.
Great post! I started with a homemade standing desk using some adjustable shelf brackets and premade shelving. I found that standing while working just didn't work for me. I used the same shelving and a $75 treadmill from CL to build a basic treadmill desk. It has changed the way I work! I walk and work at least 20 miles a week and feel so much better at the end of the day. It cost a total of $125 to to make me feel like a million bucks at the end of the work day.
It's after the fact now, but doing a mid year projection of your taxes and building a proactive tax plan will make the tax season feel a lot less stressful because you will have a good idea of the outcome. There is no worse feeling then dropping off your taxes at your CPA's office and saying a prayer that they will work a magic spell and get you a refund.
USAA bank has been a good bank as far as customer service goes. I'm hoping someday their website goes back to the simple version they used to have. I needed to print out something for taxes last week & there was so much info crammed on the webpage that it was overwhelming. Their customer service is great! Thought like most companies they have pushed a lot of stuff to their website... they are definitly worth checking out
Some people are 100% or nothing type people where splurging isn't even in their vocabulary and that is fine. But I am not like this. If I try to go 100% or nothing, I end up rebelling and being worse off. This holds true for eating healthy and my finances. I need cheat meals and splurges every so often to keep me on track.
Anything and everything that I think I can do on my own I give it a try. You would be surprised how much you can do yourself and save money at the same time.
Nice input! Being an Executive search consultant I feel very rueful to reject job seekers because of the silly mistakes that they have done. Cover letter is much needed with every resume and it is a nice way to present yourself and get your resume to shortlisted.In the objective section of resume, most of the people just copied the popular lines which is really very funny indeed!
I do lots of DIY home improvement projects, including gardening, interior & exterior painting, caulking, taping, floating & texturing drywall, tiling kitchen backsplash. I also give everyone haircuts and do our taxes on TurboTax. My sons & boyfriend do plumbing & electrical work~ repairing & replacing toilets, sinks, garbage disposal, fans, light fixtures & outlets. My younger son replaced the back wall of our house with Hardi-plank. My sons also do minor car repairs. My boyfriend does most of the cooking from scratch. For non-professionals, I think we accomplish quite a bit & save a lot of money!
How can student loans ruin your finances? Oh, let me count the ways.
I'm weary of more talk about how students are to blame. There were some students who scammed the system years ago. The vast majority who have massive student loan debt were scammed BY the system. That part is never discussed.
A good article. Thanks for sharing, Phil. I guess I was lucky or perhaps hard-working. I had no student loans and no student debt from undergrad or grad degrees, but I did work half-time as an undergrad and full-time as a grad student.
But one data point does not define a curve. I suspect we can all point to friends with degrees in STEM or business who are neither employed nor paid as they would have hoped with such a degree, and we can all point to other friends with degrees in the Humanities who do well. No single story can define a trend.
As you say, it is ultimately how we apply ourselves to our education no matter what school we attend, what we get out of our education, what we make out of our education that determines what we achieve.
Don't forget sweaters! I get all my belts at Thrift stores! When I am up in Seattle, (I am from Texas) I always forget how cool it is up there...so I always end up with a new jacket from a Thrift store!
I've actually got a post that talks about spending the time you have in college that you might otherwise be working at some crappy job just to make pocket money trying out whatever it is that you're thinking of making a career (even if you have to do it as a volunteer):
I don't know if it counts as a DIY per se but I I try to reuse and recycle what I can. For example, I make my own car fresheners A little felt, cardboard, essential oil and creativity and I'm good to go. I also try to reuse and repurpose what I can to save money like putting furniture covers over the furniture instead of buying new furniture
We have painted my mothers main two rooms her living room and family room and replaced the floor in the kitchen because it developed a sink hole and will be redoing the floor in the bathroom because it has done the same thing. At home we bought the chalkboard paint and put it inside one of the cabinets and my daughter loves it
Shoes are usually not a good item to buy used. I have never seen shoes that don't have the previous owners foot shape stretched into them.
Since, I do extensive sewing, clothing alterations and repairs are easy.
I have put a lot of furniture together, making furniture repairs is an easy fix too. There are some pieces of furniture that are not worth it.
Be realistic about what you can do with the item before you buy it.
My husband is the DIY person. You name it he can do it wood working, building, painting, almost any home repair, some electric, some plumbing, laying stone, brick or pavers......god I love this man. Almost forgot....good hunter too, we have a freezer full of venison. So he is a DIY'er on the food.
Great tips. I agree with "Don't overlook diamonds in the rough." I recently found an old dusty Lawman Thermos (1961) buried away on a shelf in a basement. I paid $2 for it and resold it for $32. I usually try to find a few things at the sale that I can resell to cover the cost of the goodies that I want to keep. I am huge fan of estate sales and recently started a discussion forum where people talk about the finds, post pics, etc. Check it out if you like estate sales: www.EstateSaleTalk.com
My husband does minor electrical and plumbing repairs. We've done some of our own painting and fixture replacement. I take care of the landscaping even though our clay soil is terrible. I create a lot of gifts by sewing and crocheting. I also cook from scratch a lot.
I had the same experience with this company. I'm still receiving email from them. I just delete it.
I do almost everything DIY if I can. I've built a 2 level deck with my brother, a shed, a ground level deck, painted 3 houses, tiled a bathroom floor and tiled the shower, tiled a foyer. Power wash my decks and stain, fix lawnmowers and tractors, repair fencing, installed lights, landscaped my properties, sanded and painted a horse trailer, built a driveway... how's that for a single female??
I think you mean $20/week, not month. (First paragraph.)
I'm an artist, so anything remotely creative is a DIY project first...and if it goes wrong, then we'll call in reinforcements. ;) I take my own portraits of my littlest ones, since they're not in school -- saves a LOT of money that way.
Great post! I started with a homemade standing desk using some adjustable shelf brackets and premade shelving. I found that standing while working just didn't work for me. I used the same shelving and a $75 treadmill from CL to build a basic treadmill desk. It has changed the way I work! I walk and work at least 20 miles a week and feel so much better at the end of the day. It cost a total of $125 to to make me feel like a million bucks at the end of the work day.
It's after the fact now, but doing a mid year projection of your taxes and building a proactive tax plan will make the tax season feel a lot less stressful because you will have a good idea of the outcome. There is no worse feeling then dropping off your taxes at your CPA's office and saying a prayer that they will work a magic spell and get you a refund.
USAA bank has been a good bank as far as customer service goes. I'm hoping someday their website goes back to the simple version they used to have. I needed to print out something for taxes last week & there was so much info crammed on the webpage that it was overwhelming. Their customer service is great! Thought like most companies they have pushed a lot of stuff to their website... they are definitly worth checking out
Some people are 100% or nothing type people where splurging isn't even in their vocabulary and that is fine. But I am not like this. If I try to go 100% or nothing, I end up rebelling and being worse off. This holds true for eating healthy and my finances. I need cheat meals and splurges every so often to keep me on track.
i make my own greeting cards
I make my own laundry detergent. Works great!
Anything and everything that I think I can do on my own I give it a try. You would be surprised how much you can do yourself and save money at the same time.
Nice input! Being an Executive search consultant I feel very rueful to reject job seekers because of the silly mistakes that they have done. Cover letter is much needed with every resume and it is a nice way to present yourself and get your resume to shortlisted.In the objective section of resume, most of the people just copied the popular lines which is really very funny indeed!
I do lots of DIY home improvement projects, including gardening, interior & exterior painting, caulking, taping, floating & texturing drywall, tiling kitchen backsplash. I also give everyone haircuts and do our taxes on TurboTax. My sons & boyfriend do plumbing & electrical work~ repairing & replacing toilets, sinks, garbage disposal, fans, light fixtures & outlets. My younger son replaced the back wall of our house with Hardi-plank. My sons also do minor car repairs. My boyfriend does most of the cooking from scratch. For non-professionals, I think we accomplish quite a bit & save a lot of money!
How can student loans ruin your finances? Oh, let me count the ways.
I'm weary of more talk about how students are to blame. There were some students who scammed the system years ago. The vast majority who have massive student loan debt were scammed BY the system. That part is never discussed.
Good post.
We did a lot of the work on our house ourselves and saved a ton of money. We also make a lot of our own foods.
A good article. Thanks for sharing, Phil. I guess I was lucky or perhaps hard-working. I had no student loans and no student debt from undergrad or grad degrees, but I did work half-time as an undergrad and full-time as a grad student.
But one data point does not define a curve. I suspect we can all point to friends with degrees in STEM or business who are neither employed nor paid as they would have hoped with such a degree, and we can all point to other friends with degrees in the Humanities who do well. No single story can define a trend.
As you say, it is ultimately how we apply ourselves to our education no matter what school we attend, what we get out of our education, what we make out of our education that determines what we achieve.
Don't forget sweaters! I get all my belts at Thrift stores! When I am up in Seattle, (I am from Texas) I always forget how cool it is up there...so I always end up with a new jacket from a Thrift store!
I do all the house painting!
All good points.
I've actually got a post that talks about spending the time you have in college that you might otherwise be working at some crappy job just to make pocket money trying out whatever it is that you're thinking of making a career (even if you have to do it as a volunteer):
http://www.wisebread.com/pre-career-advice
I don't know if it counts as a DIY per se but I I try to reuse and recycle what I can. For example, I make my own car fresheners A little felt, cardboard, essential oil and creativity and I'm good to go. I also try to reuse and repurpose what I can to save money like putting furniture covers over the furniture instead of buying new furniture
We have painted my mothers main two rooms her living room and family room and replaced the floor in the kitchen because it developed a sink hole and will be redoing the floor in the bathroom because it has done the same thing. At home we bought the chalkboard paint and put it inside one of the cabinets and my daughter loves it
Shoes are usually not a good item to buy used. I have never seen shoes that don't have the previous owners foot shape stretched into them.
Since, I do extensive sewing, clothing alterations and repairs are easy.
I have put a lot of furniture together, making furniture repairs is an easy fix too. There are some pieces of furniture that are not worth it.
Be realistic about what you can do with the item before you buy it.
My husband is the DIY person. You name it he can do it wood working, building, painting, almost any home repair, some electric, some plumbing, laying stone, brick or pavers......god I love this man. Almost forgot....good hunter too, we have a freezer full of venison. So he is a DIY'er on the food.
Great tips. I agree with "Don't overlook diamonds in the rough." I recently found an old dusty Lawman Thermos (1961) buried away on a shelf in a basement. I paid $2 for it and resold it for $32. I usually try to find a few things at the sale that I can resell to cover the cost of the goodies that I want to keep. I am huge fan of estate sales and recently started a discussion forum where people talk about the finds, post pics, etc. Check it out if you like estate sales: www.EstateSaleTalk.com