12 Things To Stop Paying For and Start Doing Yourself To Save Money

[Pandora]

Funny...i would cut my hair if i wanted to spend the rest of my life with a hat on. hahaha

LOL! Hey... its not that bad cutting it yourself I just did mine earlier this past week and cut about 2 inches off, and layered it all. Was hard to do - especially the back - but...it can be done and not look like a toddler with school scissors got hold of ya LOL! Although I must admit, I was a bit worried that I would have to wear a hat as it had been so long since I'd cut my own hair. Just got sick of it and couldnt get into my hair dresser anytime soon... it looks great (thank GOD)


As far as vehicle maintenance goes... I totally forgot about one option that may be out there for some: Call your local high school's auto mech. dept! Many times they will work on it for free and under an ASE Certified Mechanic (all teachers here must be ASE Cert). We had our transmission worked on this way on an old car we had.... and didnt cost us anything except parts. Also the teacher may work on the side repairing for money, its not unheard of for an auto teacher to have a shop at home

[RichM]

Funny...i would cut my hair if i wanted to spend the rest of my life with a hat on. hahaha
In the county i'm in, the dump( transfer station) is free. they take all the recyclables too.
Where i use to live (klamath cnty) they weighed vehicles going in and when you came out and you paid by the pound the weight difference.

I've been cutting my hair for years. It's a habit I got into when I was doing a stint in a really rural community (population ~200), where the nearest barber was 30 miles away and had rather unpredictable hours. The 60-mile round trip was a real drag, especially when I would get to the barber shop and find that he decided to take the day off to go fishing.

I'd like to add another money-saving tip: Barter. I do a lot of side jobs for people who are skilled in things I need done. A great barter is one where both parties believe the got the better end of the deal.

-Rich

[oregonpilot]

Wow! Only $15 a month for garbage pick up, oregonpilot? It's $55 a month at my house. I make a trip to the transfer station every 3 months or so for $30 a load. Plus they take all the recyclables there as well, including used oil.

Cutting my own hair? That's not gonna happen. LOL.

Funny...i would cut my hair if i wanted to spend the rest of my life with a hat on. hahaha
In the county i'm in, the dump( transfer station) is free. they take all the recyclables too.
Where i use to live (klamath cnty) they weighed vehicles going in and when you came out and you paid by the pound the weight difference.

[Egr61]

Wow! Only $15 a month for garbage pick up, oregonpilot? It's $55 a month at my house. I make a trip to the transfer station every 3 months or so for $30 a load. Plus they take all the recyclables there as well, including used oil.

Cutting my own hair? That's not gonna happen. LOL.

[oregonpilot]

For us. DH has always taken care of his own cars. From tearing down an engine and rebuilding to restoring. One of his loves (besides me) haha.

He has taught me how to change oil, sparkplugs, brakes, all that good stuff. When we first got together he was changing out a transmission on his motorhome. So i was right under there with him learning about what was under there and helping him hold up the driveshaft.

We don't have garbage pickup (don't want to pay the 15. a month) when we can drop off garbage once a week when we go into town. Dump is about a block out of our way. At the dump they have a recycling place to bring your used oil. The kitty litter containers work great for the oil.

DH loves to cook and the first thanksgiving we were together I watched him make everything from the pies to turkey n dressing. WOW i thought i was on another planet. LOL
He n I love to be in the kitchen together trying out new stuff. Very seldom go out and eat.

HOUSECLEANERS...i have been in peoples homes doing wallpapering and they are hustling around the house cleaning BEFORE their housecleaners get there so the cleaners don't think they are slobs. ROFL

[dneil]

Used oil (what to do with it).....

Some people have bought furnaces that actually burn old oil from vehicles. We have a guy down the road that uses it for heat. So that is where our oil goes.

Listen friends. My husband is a mechanic. We used to own a auto repair facility. We were probably the most honest out of any place you can go to. The expense of having your car fixed is high because now a days, mechanics have to buy different tools for different cars. For example, to change a wheel bearing it might require a specific tool for that vehicle make. The tools are expensive. The automotive industry has done this so that people couldn't fix their own car in their garage. Is is sad. We had to purchase a rather expensive scanner that also require updates every so often. The updates can be in excess of 4 thousand. It is ridiculous.
Anyway, if you are going to do it yourself (which I recommend you don't, rather make friends with a mechanic who will work on your car on the side) be sure to use actual jack stands if you will be under your vehicle. Do not use concrete blocks or boards. Too often we hear of people getting crushed because they did not safely support the vehicle. Jacks fail. Remember this, and that this is why you MUST use jack stands that are rated for the weight of your vehicle.

But remember, most mechanics are not paid that well. If you know one, perhaps you can get him to do some side work. Or pay him to "help" you to do the actual work, since doing side work in some states, outside of a licensed automotive repair facility, can cost them their license.

Just be sure to use proper safety precautions. Be sure to have proper jack stands. I don't want to read about how someones friend was found crushed under their car in the garage hours after he went to fix his exhaust, or break line.

[andy158]

Have always done all of these, except the car maintenance. What do those of you who do your own oil changes do with the used oil today?

I take mine to any of the auto parts stores or a shop I know that burns it in a waste oil furnace. Doesn't cost anything to dispose. Oil filters can be thrown in regular trash after you drain as much oil as possible.

[UnderH2OMom]

Good tips. I disagree with the alarm one, though. $30 a month for monitoring is wayyyy cheaper than caring for a dog.

[tobee43]

5) Laundry: Maybe the Blue Suits at IBM were getting their shirts pressed 30 years ago, but most everyone else was firing up the iron and pressing away at home. Today, many professionals spend $20 to $100 a week for their dry cleaning bills. Do it yourself. It makes sense to send a suit to the cleaners - but you should be able to do a shirt or two. Buy a good $80 iron, some starch, and a nice ironing board and iron away while the game is on. Savings $1,000 + a year.

now this is truly educational....because my way of doing laundry for many years was to get one of those large glad garbage bags...strip the beds and get all the kids dirty close...put them all in the bag...leave it on the curb as i got into the car on my way to macy or fortunoffs to get new clothes and sheets.

times have surly changed. ( my dh learned to do laundry really quickly after i pulled that once!).

partially kidding aside.....i have reformed tho...i even hang my clothes outside to dry...my husband has NEVER seen this many clean socks in his draw and i'm making every effort to hang shirts even dress ones.

[jjim120]

Have always done all of these, except the car maintenance. What do those of you who do your own oil changes do with the used oil today?

[mommi2many]

This is a great list. I am doing just about everyone of them except for car repairs and cooking. My husband is not very handy under the hood of a car, but lucky for me, I have a brother who is and doesn't mind helping out. As for cooking, I use every excuse in the book to not cook because I just don't like to and grew up going out all the time so I am working on it. I so want to change. I'm feeling pretty good today because I perused the grocery ads and made a weekly dinner list based on those ads then I got out the coupons and my daughter and I went to 2 grocery stores this morning to get everything for the week. For a family of 7 I spent $70 for the week which included the kids school lunches. I shopped only on sale and used coupons for all those things. I did already have some dinner ingredients in the pantry. I was proud of myself and hoping to make this a new ritual.

[bk2009]

Well, I'll disagree with the pre-K. My daughter has grown so much, and it's nowhere near $5k. It's $1600 for four half days. I'd spend more than that on play dates with other moms (going to the museums, zoos, water parks, etc, especially when you add gas) than that.

[free2breathe]

I love to cook, and I have a lot of fun trying to cook really good meals on the cheap ;)
I cut my own hair and my daughter's. My grown daughter even comes to me for her haircuts. We figure we run just as much risk getting a "bad" cut at an inexpensive salon, so why waste the extra $15.
I've replaced two radiators on my own...my dad insisted us girls learn to change tires and check oil. I think one of his greatest prides in his lifetime was knowing that I would tackle something like a radiator on my own and succeed. (One radiator was on my husband's Mustang, and I changed it while he was working...surprised him!)
I splurge on a latte once in a blue moon, maybe once every 4 months. I make my own kahlua and have even given it as a gift in the past.
I've always cleaned my own house, can't even imagine someone else coming in and cleaning up after us. It's fun to see all the different ways people save money. If I haven't used them in the past, I'm looking forward to using them in the future. Post bk life is a challenge, and I love a challenge

[clevelandmom]

Wow. I love this post. Every single one of these things I agree with. I actually have discovered that I am quite a good cook! I gave up fake nails YEARS ago, and I will get one pedicure a year - in the spring - to get me through summer. And I'll get it at Wal Mart - where it's cheaper! But I don't need fake nails since I'm doing the cooking, cleaning, the painting, and washing the car. Auto maintenance though - forget it. So many cars are on "computer systems" now - I don't even know where the heck the dip stick is anymore (I remember Dad taught me that in high school). I do agree that there are soooooo many things people pay for now that they don't need. And I chuckle to myself when I get in the elevator in the morning and all 4 people standing around me have their caffe latte espresso decaf mocha supreme. . . whatever. . . in their hands. LOL

[andy158]

Car maintenance: that is a tough one depending on the car you have. If you can find a trustworthy mechanic, it can actually be cheaper. For example, the guy I use charges $14.99, all in, for an oil change. If I were to go buy the oil and filter, it costs about $25-$30 after tax (most of that is the cost of the oil) (and for my car, the filter is in a very difficult position, I have spent many an hour fighting to get the damn thing off )

As for the rest, very good points.

I know this is going to be a slippery sloop, but you do need to consider the time value of money. If you can be doing more productive things with the time, it might be worth the money to pay someone else to do it. HOWEVER, if the time savings would not yield anything productive except you sitting around and watching another hour of TV, then don't spend the money.

I agree with the time vs money aspect. I figure my labor/hour is an equivalent of one hour of overtime. If I can get it done under that amount someone else does it. That goes for appliance repair, home repairs, etc. The things you can't do yourself should be watched carefully. This economy is causing a lot of scams and dirty buisness.