What are some things you save money on by doing yourself?

[Ladder Master]

I replaced the blower motor on a HVAC unit. Repair company wanted over $1200 for parts and labor.
I youtubed it and took my time, lots of before pics to make sure everything was hooked back up correctly.
The motor was less than $200. Everything works just fine.

I also replaced the timer on the dryer (pretty easy), and replaced the alternator on vehicle ( I would not do that again).
Screw doing plumbing work though. I will pay someone to do that everytime.

 

[PaddyO'malley]

Changed my power steering pump the other day. Was quoted "around $500" from my mechanic. Ended up buying the part, power steering fluid, 5qts of oil, an oil filter, and some seat covers for $170. Never did it before, just YouTubed it and got it done in a couple hours. Just doing that saved me a few hundred bucks and I learned a ton. We live in an amazing time.

Going to slowly rebuild some fence panels from now until March and then replace most/all of my current fence.

Might install some wood flooring throughout the house. If my 70+ year old dad with a pacemaker and rounded back can do it, well I guess I can too.

 

[Otto!]

I try to do as much repairs as I can around the house. I’ll call a pro if I can’t handle it but I’ll look i to it before calling someone.

Biggest saver lately has been to cut back on restaurants. I love to cook and eating out has become more expensive in the last couple of years.

 

[Thrawn33]

Any plumbing outside the walls or above ground

Lots of cooking, baking and smoking/curing

Basic repair handyman shit

Painting

Brakes, car oil.

 

[fingercuffs]

$40 every six weeks having someone to cut the grass isn't killing us, pest control just in case at $140 a month is warranted.

These are things we won't do without, everything else...if fast food went away no fucks given.

Oh I'm being silly high speed internet, youtube tv, the NFL Sunday ticket and all the streaming services. Sozzles.

 

[Belaya Smert]

Home and auto repairs normally. Have inherited a garage full of tools from my father and feel obligated to use them. Also have some masonry and wood working tools although they are used for projects at a much slower pace.

 

[Frank11]

Now I have come to the point where I try to do everything myself. And if I don't know how, I learn. I saved the most money by doing the repairs myself. It was not easy, but it was also more acceptable to do it. I also repair my car myself, even the electronics. To be fair, the GE manual helps me a lot. There are a lot of instructions there that can be used to solve problems with various appliances and equipment.

 

[I Am Legion]

Basic home repairs and including plumbing and light electrical. I build things for my yard like deck, shed, pool deck, benches etc. And I will never go out to eat for BBQ, as I make that shit better on my grill at home.

 

[The_Renaissance]

Cutting my hair. Taught myself at 17, and by 19 I was regularly doing crazy / complex styles like dyed mohawks, shaved bits etc. Haircuts that would've set me back like £20-30 a time, each month. Probably more nowadays. Nowadays I just shave it all off myself but when my clippers broke I had to go to the barber twice and couldn't believe it was £10 for a 3min job.

 

[FactNotFiction]

I started doing my own oil changes. I forgot how easy they are. Cost me about 35 bucks a change now with top quality oil and I can do them whenever.

Don’t you just buy the proper oil bottle, open the lid, and pour it in?
Why would anyone pay for someone to do that?
It’s as easy as adding laundry detergent to a washing machine.

 

[Cyrano200]

$40 every six weeks having someone to cut the grass ...

What kind of grass do you have? In the summer months the lawn needs to be cut 3 times every 2 weeks. It would be knee high after 6 weeks and the $40 is on the high end (barely) of what one mow would cost. So I do my own lawn work.

Cutting my hair.

I bought a pair of clippers years ago to start doing this, while I was still active duty. It took less than a minute for me to install a bald patch with my wife and I reduced to tears laughing deciding to never do that again.

Don’t you just buy the proper oil bottle, open the lid, and pour it in?

Well sir or mam, you are skipping an important step or two. You have to crawl under your vehicle, remove the drain plug and collect all the old oil in a receptacle. You also have to remove the filter and replace that. Now you replace the plug and from here you are correct. Now take your spent oil somewhere that will accept and or recycle the stuff. I have decided the 5-minute oil place is cheap enough that I don't do this anymore.
I do all the household plumbing repairs - faucets, shower heads, toilet internals....
I have also replaced garbage disposals, and hot water heaters.
Repaired and replaced my privacy fence.
Minor appliance repair - heater coils in my oven and dryer. I failed in my attempt to repair the washer drain cycle, but I tried before giving in to replacing.
I haven't in quite some time, but I did paint several rooms in my house and would again.
I've repaired and replaced interior doors and installed a screen door, but I did not do it well so in future someone can do that.
Posting this makes me feel all manly.

 

[CoolB]

Bought a tandem load of logs and did the cutting and splitting my self. Worked out to between 7-8 bush cord for $1375. Had I purchased it pre cut and split it would have cost me $3-$4k.

 

[Snackbar]

Outside of medical or dental there is no service I would pay another person to do for me these days. It has less to do with money and more to do with craftsmanship. 90% of people do absolute shit work.

 

[moreorless87]

Cutting my own hair, helps my aunt is a hairdresser though and gave pointers on how to it reasonably well.

 

[CrazyN8]

Don’t you just buy the proper oil bottle, open the lid, and pour it in?
Why would anyone pay for someone to do that?
It’s as easy as adding laundry detergent to a washing machine.

Like I said I forgot how easy it was. I think jacking up the car and getting under it seems like an impossible feat to most.

 

[560ti]

Don’t you just buy the proper oil bottle, open the lid, and pour it in?
Why would anyone pay for someone to do that?
It’s as easy as adding laundry detergent to a washing machine.

Crawling under the car and legally disposing of the old oil are why most don't do it (especially if you live in a city that doesn't have a convenient recycling program).

Most people (at least in my area) also do oil changes at a proper mechanic place so their also getting an inspection of their car, their tires rotated, and all the other fluids under the hood topped off as well.

 

[chimpoehurricane]

Do you do your own plumbing? Oil changes? Other maintenance around the house that people pay a lot for?

I remember when I went for a drive-through oil change. Anyone with a car knows that once you get something done for your car they'll try to get you to do more stuff. They said my air filter needs to be done. Can't remember how much but the price he told me sounded a bit much (I think $50). I said no thanks, not now. As I was leaving he lowkey told me to just drive to Walmart or Autoworld, buy my own and look up a YouTube video on how to do it.

I did the cabin filter... it was somewhat of a headache getting it in, but eventually I got it. It is a relatively simple task and does NOT justify spending all of that money. The air filter in the engine is even more absurdly easy. You literally pop the old one out and put the new one in. Can you believe they'll charge you a lot for that?

A lot of businesses will leach on people's naivety or laziness.

Anyway, is there anything you do instead of paying for?

Oil change, tires, arborist work (within reason).

 

[fingercuffs]

What kind of grass do you have? In the summer months the lawn needs to be cut 3 times every 2 weeks. It would be knee high after 6 weeks and the $40 is on the high end (barely) of what one mow would cost. So I do my own lawn work.
I bought a pair of clippers years ago to start doing this, while I was still active duty. It took less than a minute for me to install a bald patch with my wife and I reduced to tears laughing deciding to never do that again.
Well sir or mam, you are skipping an important step or two. You have to crawl under your vehicle, remove the drain plug and collect all the old oil in a receptacle. You also have to remove the filter and replace that. Now you replace the plug and from here you are correct. Now take your spent oil somewhere that will accept and or recycle the stuff. I have decided the 5-minute oil place is cheap enough that I don't do this anymore.
I do all the household plumbing repairs - faucets, shower heads, toilet internals....
I have also replaced garbage disposals, and hot water heaters.
Repaired and replaced my privacy fence.
Minor appliance repair - heater coils in my oven and dryer. I failed in my attempt to repair the washer drain cycle, but I tried before giving in to replacing.
I haven't in quite some time, but I did paint several rooms in my house and would again.
I've repaired and replaced interior doors and installed a screen door, but I did not do it well so in future someone can do that.
Posting this makes me feel all manly.

We live in the desert but neither of us can be bothered. It's quite a nice lawn being we have sprinklers.

 

[tank666]

I use water in my protein drinks. Does that count?

Whats wrong with using your hand and wiping it on the wall?

 

[Mangar]

Sex