Let me start this post by saying I’m tired. I can’t express in words how tired and sore I am. We’ve been at the task of remodeling our house for a bit over six weeks now and I really didn’t think things would take us this long. We’ve done plumbing, electrical wiring, drywall, painting, trim carpentry, yard work and just about everything else associated with starting a new career as a contractor (by the way, I am currently NOT for hire…I gotta finish my own house before I can do anyone else’s!). I’ve spent more time wearing a dust mask and crawling around in the attic than I ever wanted (just a side note: it makes an excellent sauna between the hours of 10 am and 8 pm every day). Along the way, we’ve maintained our status as cheapskates without sacrificing quality and thought it might help those of you who have a few projects around the house of your own if I shared some of the ways we’ve saved money on this “project” we’re finishing up.
First, we’ve worn ourselves out doing much of the work instead of paying someone else to do it. I know that sounds pretty obvious, but there are very few people who can’t do most of the tasks we’ve run into. Let me give you some examples. Stacy has learned she is an expert at removing wallpaper, she can mud and wet sand drywall, she can paint (including cutting in along trim) and she has taken on other tasks she would have never considered before. I’ve cut holes in the ceiling, done a little HVAC with the help of a hvac contractor, put some new wires in our breaker box, replaced some drain lines and all kinds of other things I’ve never done. The thing I discovered is that most of the time, the principles were simple (and easy to learn, thanks to Google) and a little research before starting a project made it a do-it-yourself project instead of a pay-someone-else project.
Second, since I just encouraged many of you to try new projects which could result in burning down your house or flooding it, we carefully selected some projects to hire out or ask for specialized help. For example, we had a minor leak around the chimney, requiring new flashing, sealant, etc. I was confident if I attempted to fix it we’d no longer have a minor leak – it would be a BIG leak. We decided to hire a good contractor to do a siding installation & repair. Cost = $100 = worth every penny. If you find there is a task around your house that you aren’t sure you can tackle, ask some friends their thoughts. Does it require special tools or advanced education? Is it dangerous? I’ve done lots of wiring in my day, but I still wasn’t willing to tackle our entire house re-wire without some professional guidance. Thus, it was worth it to bring in a friend of mine who is an electrician to do some work beyond my skill set.
Third, we shopped around. Again, I know that sounds pretty obvious but do you know how much of a difference there is in the price of simple things like lumber? I’ll give you a great example. I went to one of the big box stores and found the baseboard molding we need. It was $2.17 per linear foot. I went to a building supplier less than a mile away (thanks for recommending them, Mike!) and the same exact molding was $1.01 per foot. They use the same supplier; they’re just a small local distributor. Considering we needed about 350 feet, the savings was over $400! This held true for every type of molding we needed and will likely save us almost $800 over buying that stuff at the big box stores. I’ve found the easiest way to shop around is to just browse, making notes of some pricing on some of the items you’ll need. In our case, it was outlets, wire, molding, basic plumbing supplies, screws and nails. We made notes at each store we visited, then when it was time to buy, I’d make a trip to the cheaper place to buy the stuff. A simple notebook and pencil have saved us hundreds.
Fourth, we’ve kept every receipt. Every time we made a trip to the store, we always bought some extra supplies. It is terrible to get home to work on a project and realize you need one more ____ (insert any supply here) to finish. That is awful, expensive and wastes a ton of time. I’ve had no trouble returning anything to the stores with my receipt. We’ve done it a few times when we’ve found a cheaper price somewhere else and we’ve done it lots of times because we’ve just bought more than needed. Just make sure you find a good deal. Still well worth it.
Last, we stayed on budget and used only cash. This means we’ve waited (and are still waiting) on some of the bigger purchases. Did you know we could save 5% on every purchase and get free delivery on larger purchases by signing up for one of the big box store credit cards? 5% may not sound like much, but I surely would like to pay 5% less for everything we’ve bought. But it wasn’t worth using a credit card to save 5%. It would have made it too easy to spend more, avoid shopping around, and I know we would have spent more money. In other words, it would have made it too easy to be lazy. Lazy is unacceptable – there is too much work to be done.
I’d love to hear your stories – how have you saved money on your home repairs? Do you have any big secrets we need to know? Share them below!
I just read on one of your recent posts, that forthe life of me iI cannot find, that you just finished putting new curtains up in your new home. We too have a new home, well bought last summer. I have been saving to buy them since we moved in. Any suggestions on the best places to shop. Lots of windows, and as I am sure you already know, curtains can be uber expensive. Thanks for the help!
🙂 I posed it on Facebook. I found most of my curtains at yard sales and on Etsy under “vintage.” All of the blinds and shades we purchased were bought new. We found what we liked and saved because we knew from experience that we didn’t want cheap blinds/shades. I’d start watching at yard sales – some of mine were brand new in the package!
One benefit of renting is not having to worry about this kind of stuff! But I will tuck away this advice until the day it is needed 🙂
Anne, I have faith that one day you’ll own a debt free house! 🙂
So Barry, my question…Is STACY available for hire? hee, hee.
By the way, there is a HFH ReStore in Glade Spring VA. Haven’t been there myself, so I don’t know what all they have. Might be worth checking out???
ALL THE BEST!
Yes, and that’s what I get for listening to some goober who told me it was closed…next time I’ll just check for myself. 🙂
I am only for hire for Wee-Cycle. 😉
I saw your post in my email and knew I’d be coming back to read it! With our 1950’s – but stuck in the 70’s – house we recently moved into, there are so many projects! We are going to tackle repainting and putting up new curtains in our bedroom and will have to live with the hideous pink tile in our master bath for a while. Know any complimentary colors to light pink? *sigh* 🙂 I think using our resources and doing as much as we can ourselves save a lot in the long run, as you said. Thanks for your tips Stacy!
Blessings, Nicole
Hey….I left the light blue tile in the bathrooms, so I think you can work with light pink. 🙂 How about a Pepto Bismol theme? LOL
You two must be building a whole lot of character with the discipline that you exhibit. Bravo to you!!
If you have a Habitat for Humanity outlet store in your area, you might look there for supplies. They have fabulous deals.
Good luck and take a rest break.
We do not have one of those locally, but we have been to them before. Barry LOVES them! 🙂 And that’s a great tip to add here for people who might have that store. Thank you, Cynthia! 🙂
There used to be a Habitat Store in Glade Spring… not sure if it is still there!
BTW, where did you get your baseboard??? Inquiring minds want to know!
Yes, we were wrongly told that the store was closed now. Barry loves the Habitat store!
We bought our baseboard and some other wood at Building Accents at Exit 7 (http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/Bristol-VA/Building+Accents/95617)….and we spent SO much less!!
So inspiring! I would love to save some money tackling our projects, but too many are too big of a job and there just isn’t enough time in a day! My hubby plans to tackle some interior stuff this summer while the kids and I are away, but we’re leaving the roof, furnace, gutters, insulation and plumbing to the pros! Makes me cringe a little to think how much we could save doing some of these things ourselves, but time is money. And we’re still paying cash.
Saving up, waiting, and paying cash is an awesome system!!! 🙂 One of our favorites.
Great suggestions! Congratulations!! and I know you will be so glad when most of the remodeling is done and you can move in to your new home!!
There will always be something to do, fix, repair once you are homeowners. We try to do one major job each year. Two years ago, it was the roof. We have a very steep roof (cape cod style) and while dh has done roofing before, I was not comfortable letting him replace our roof. It was expensive since we went with metal roofing, but it should last 40+ years, and we were able to get a tax credit.
Enjoy your new home!! Can’t wait to see pictures.
No kidding. I told Barry NO roof work. At all. The end. 🙂
Great tips, Stacy!!! You’re almost there!!!
Almost….I hope so!!! 🙂 You’re such a good encouragement.
Actually with no maintainance fees and no minimum balance requirements and simple disciplin the cc is a good or at least not bad idea. YOU DON’T HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BALANCE. Go home and schedule the paid in full amount that you budgeted to begin with because you treat the card like cash and a coupon not a permission slip to spend… I have quite a few cards we DON’T even LOOK at unless we found the item we are after at a cheaper price at that store. … I could say lot’s more but I’m a mom and have work to do.
As a financial counselor and former credit card collector, I cannot in good conscience recommend anyone to have a credit card. Yes, there are perks, rewards, savings, etc., etc., etc. associated with having a card, but American society in general has proven we’re not very good as using the required discipline to behave with credit cards. I encourage you to read around on some of the articles I’ve written (click “Ask Barry” at the top of the site) to learn more about why I teach (and believe) the way I do about credit.
Good for the two of you. Each home we have owned we have done as much of the work that we could and not make everything worse. Right now we are approximately one year into having purchased this home. There are so many things we would like to get done and lack the ability. Sometimes I dream about how easy it would to continue on if only I would grab a credit card. Ha! Then I come to my senses and wait.
Grabbing a credit card is the easy way out. 🙂 Saving up produces discipline….you’re a rock star!
This is a great post, since we’ll be doing some remodeling in the future on our new place. The roof and ceilings need replacing, as well as all the carpet being ripped up and replaced with hardwood, probably a new water heater. Luckily I have a handy husband!
Good luck with your new house, Becca!
You all are doing such a wonderful job on your house. You will save lots of work down the road by doing it right the first time. And yes, Google has taught us many home repair things, too.
I’m thankful for Google and BrandyGoogle. 🙂