Many, many of the ways I have learned to spend less money stem from me knowing how to do something, relieving me of the need to purchase it. Because I know how to make bread – I don’t have to buy it if I don’t want to. Because I know how to mend clothing – I don’t have to get rid of a piece that needs a minor fix. Because I’ve learned to cook a whole bunch of things from scratch, I don’t have to buy pre-made items if I don’t want to. The list goes on and you get the idea. I don’t have to do all of these things myself but I have the option because I have the know-how.
Oh how I wish that I or my husband had the know-how for fixing cars. Because we don’t, we pay more than some people would for regular maintenance or minor repairs. We simply do not have the know-how.
Learning a skill that you’ll need for most of your life is a great investment. There are many professions that have a real-life bonus that will save your family money as the result of a specialized skill. Just to name a few …
- Carpenter
- Electrician
- Plumber
- Hairdresser
- Auto Repair Person
- Baker/Chef/Cook
- Appliance Repair Person
- Accountant/Tax Preparer
- Seamstress/Tailor
- Gardener/Landscaper
- Computer Technician/IT Support
These are just a few professions with skills that translate into everyday life. There are plenty more to add to this list for sure. The good news is that you don’t have to have one of these professions to learn the skills. You can learn useful skills and gain the know-how in many ways.
Parents/Grandparents – Teach Your Children
I remember my dad teaching me how to change the oil in my car when I was a teenager. I could not have been less interested. I paid mild attention. I didn’t care about cars and just assumed if I wanted the oil changed then my dad could do it for me. Now that I have a family of my own … I wish I paid attention. My dad did the right thing. Many adults have skills, not because they went to a school to learn them, but because their parents invested the time into teaching them. Pass along the life skills that you have.
Shadow A Professional
If you hire someone to put an addition on your house – see if they’d be willing to have you tag along here and there, maybe help out a little. This is easier to do if you know the person. You probably will not be able to put an addition on your house after helping out – but you might know a little more about hanging drywall than you did before.
Enlist A Friend
If you have a good friend with the know-how, hire them to do the work for you and teach you at the same time. It takes a special kind of relationship for this to work – but if you have it then it can be mutually beneficial. My dad learned a lot of carpentry skills from a very good friend. They took a lot of time remodeling together. I think it built the house and their friendship.
Learn It
If you’re really dying to know how to do something you can probably sign up for a night class and learn it. Most technical schools have classes that can accommodate an adult schedule. It will certainly be worth your while.
Learning new skills is good for many reasons beyond the money-saving value. I’ve shared before how being frugal has changed me. Learning to do new things has made me realize – I really like to learn to do things myself.
Please share! What skills or know-how do you have that save your family money on a regular basis?
Why I do what I do ~ Recently, after leaving a restaurant Chloe said, “Mama, I’m un-hungry now.”
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I hadn’t thought about the payoff from taking a technical class – how the money I invest will surely save me even more in the long run. Great idea!
Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..learning to read and write
I’ve got some basic handyman skills but we decided to redo the bathroom and kitchen and I realised how truely inadequate they where. If I had some electrical and plumbing skills I would have saved thousands.
Hi Nicki, I found your blog recently and enjoy it. I hope to keep up with your posts.
As for us, we love to cook so that saves us probably a few hundred dollars each month, easily. Regarding the car, my husband uses the Haynes repair manual to determine whether we can fix whatever the problem is. It may take a while, but it’s saved us some trips to the mechanic!
I have loved to learn my whole life (well outside the 4 walls of the ‘schoolroom’ that is…lol).. Anytime anything needs repaired, maintained, re-purposed, made from scratch, etc I hit the library, internet, friends and I try my best to do it myself before I call anyone in that requires a payment.
Great post – it is great to be able to do practical things for yourself.
When I first started reading American blogs I wondered what people meant by cooking from scratch – it never occurred to me that there was anything special about preparing meals from unprocessed food.
My partner is a very practical man and can look after any vehicle we own which saves us a lot of money.
We have learnt to build our own wind turbine and live off-grid on a few acres, using sun and wind power. Our system has grown over the years and we have learnt a lot about managing and maintaining it. It provides all the power we need at the moment.
Early in the year we were given the bones of a poly-tunnel in return for dismantling and removing it, so next year we hope to erect it and start growing food. Our land here is very rough and boggy and the tunnel will make growing food seem less overwhelming than trying to recover three acres of bad land.
Right now we are in the process of building our own house – from scratch
We started slowly last year and have been buying or bartering for materials since then. We don’t have a bank loan or mortgage to do it, we are probably building the lowest cost house in this area for years.
This country has suffered badly with greed in the last few years, it was like a contagion that spread across the country, the Celtic Tiger virus. So many people have over-extended their spending and are really suffering now. At the last count there are 300,000 empty, newly built or unfinished houses in Ireland, a memorial to developer madness.
Sorry I have kinda just run on a bit…
I just found your blog by reading through an old post on smallnotebook http://smallnotebook.org/2008/11/24/finding-contentment-where-you-are-right-now/ I really enjoyed your comment and followed you here – really looking forward to have a wonder around…
I’m glad you found me and also glad you “ran on a bit …” I love to read the comments! It is always very exciting for me to hear from people that aren’t American.