finance

The biggest DIY tips to save you money have been revealed.

Money saving tips can be a dime a dozen, but it can be hard to find advice that actually works. And on every budget.

It might save money to fix your own car, but we’d all be elbow deep in grease if it were that simple.

A community of super-savers on Reddit have come together to share the Do-It-Yourself tips and tricks that aren’t just for those of us with specialised skills – and have proven to save big bucks.

Tips for the Tailor

“I shorten my own pants. I don’t have a sewing machine but I can do it by hand. As I am short and need to adjust most of my pants, I have probably saved around 600$ over the years, not much but still.”

“I’ve also got into sewing and dressmaking the past few years and sometimes find I can make something cheaper than I can buy it. Works out well for me too being plus size because larger clothes cost so much money. And I can tailor them to my own body shape. Win-win.”

We’ve all done it. What items are we guilty of grabbing and blowing the budget. Post continues.

Nails 

ADVERTISEMENT

“Learning how to do my own nails well. Women are judged in the workplace for the stupidest shit and nails are one of them. It’s nice to get pampered by a professional every few months, but for general upkeep it has been worth it to learn all the tricks myself.”

 

Beat The Urge To Splurge At The Supermarket

“When I go food shopping, I take cash instead of my card. Then I’m not tempted to buy things that will take me over the budget. If I see something I want, I might get it next time if I decide it’s worth it – like a bottle of hazelnut vodka that I got last week. It’s beautiful.”

Special Shampoo

“Using baking soda and apple cider vinegar to wash my hair. Never buying shampoo or conditioner again.”

Source: iStock.
ADVERTISEMENT

Lunch Tips

"Taking my lunch to work instead of going out to eat. I started saving 50-60 dollars a WEEK doing this. It does take time to get used to, but basically you just have to make extra of whatever your making for dinner (besides obvious lasagna/casserole type dishes)."

"Rice and bean dishes also are perfect for this. They taste better the next day anyway."

Cutting Cleaning Costs

"Instead of buying a bunch of different cleaning solutions, I just use white vinegar and dishsoap for all my everyday cleaning. Counters, sinks, showers, toilets, floors, pretty much anything except windows. It also makes a good weed killer & bug spray if you don't want to spray a bunch of chemicals around."

"The only down side is it can leave your place smelling like pickles for a little while. Some people use oils or orange peels to add a scent, but I don't bother with that."

Kids Clothing

"Shop for kids clothing and kids stuff either online or at the thrift shop. Everything from jumpers to change tables to all her clothes were thrifted for 50c or $1.00 each. fuck buying new shit, she's just going to throw up or poo on it anyways."

ADVERTISEMENT

Cut The Costs of Pooch and Puss

"Homemade dog food and dog treats. Lots of recipes on the web and much better for your pet too!"

"Building my dog's dog beds. We like the ones that are slightly elevated off the floor. For $50 I was able to make five of them, 3 that were 2' x 4' and 2 that were 2' x 2'."

Source: iStock.

Home Workouts

ADVERTISEMENT

"Work out at home. Saves time. An hour workout is an hour instead of an hour plus commute to and from the gym. "But the machines!" Get a bike and run. And unless you're looking to get swole, a couple hundred pounds of weight and some resistant bands will put nice muscle on."

Bulk Buying Groceries

"Buying a good amount of produce when its on sale, and cooking/chopping it into serving sized portions for the week or month. Carrots and potatoes roasted in the oven or crock pot takes no effort,but still healthy. Making salads for the week with a big ole $1.99 bag of romaine hearts is just as easy. Cheap and healthy is the way to go."

Collecting Change

"I set up a variant of putting my spare change into a cup at the end of the day."

Saving on Shaving

"Epilating legs and underarms instead of shaving. Like everyone has already pointed out, razors are stupid expensive. I bought an epilator six years ago for $45 and haven't bought razors since. A month supply of half-decent disposables costs around $20, so I've saved $240 a year for six years now, less the cost of the epilator. Bonus for the piles of dead disposables that didn't wind up in a landfill."

Try to Learn Simple Skills

"Learn skills that will allow you to do things yourself rather than pay someone else. Example: recently I did some relatively simple work on my wife's car that would have been over $400 in labor alone."