My husband I love DIYing our house. We’ve been taking it room by room since we moved in. COVID has helped speed things along a bit since we have been home more. The biggest challenge for us in our DIYing is that we are on a tight budget so we can’t run out and go crazy. While it would be super fun to have an unlimited budget, here are a few ways we’ve worked within our means to make the most of our money and get our DIY done!
Buy Used
We almost never buy new. I say almost never because some things you just have to buy new. However, right now you can find amazing deals on things because so many people are working on their homes. We’ve purchased vanities, toilets, a kitchen table, etc…all online. I have three favorite places to look for used stuff. Generally I’ll shop around and find what exactly I want and then look for it used first.
- OfferUp – This one is kinda my go to. I also love selling things on OfferUp. My sales have been very good over Covid times since more people are at home buying stuff. Anytime we are replacing something we try to sell the thing being replaced so that money can go toward something else. It’s worked really well for us. I like the functionality of OfferUp as it is very easy to use.
- FB Marketplace – I prefer FB Marketplace for selling over buying but have gotten a few good deals. I just find the search functionality to be clunky. I always end up seeing items in far off states and I really just want to see local listings. It also never remembers my settings which annoys me.
- Free groups – This is my favorite because FREE! Our community has a really good free group. We’ve gotten some great deals from neighbors wanting to pass on items. A previous oven, our kitchen table which we fixed up, and more. It’s a great way to meet neighbors too!
Note: One thing we bought online that didn’t work out great was flooring. We purchased some used and then bought the rest of what we needed new. Unfortunately, the flooring company had changed how the vinyl snaps together so the old and new couldn’t be used together. We ended up having to buy more. Thankfully we were able to use the old elsewhere in the house, but this was annoying. We also bought some new doors that ended up not quite matching our current doors. We resold those so there wasn’t a huge loss, thankfully.
Shop Sales + Use Coupons and Savings apps
I’m not always great at this but shopping sales is always a good idea. Plus, there are some great savings apps (like Rakuten & Fetch) that give you money back for shopping. You can also get a credit card that gives you money back. We use an Amazon one so then we get money back to spend on Amazon. Of course credit cards are not really Dave Ramsey approved so consider your own spending habits before jumping into that.
Cut Costs
Say goodbye to different services so that you can save some money. We comb through our budget every other month or so. Just this last month we cut out a couple streaming services we weren’t using much (they can always be added back later!) so that we could save a bit for some other things. Think about your spending on things like going out to eat or getting coffee – those things can add up quickly.
Refi
It’s a great time for a Refi! We did a Refi with United Faith Mortgage (whom I highly recommend). It allowed us to save a SIGNIFICANT amount of money every month. Awesome right? If you aren’t sure if a refi is right for you, just ask. It’s no cost to find out.
Side Hustle
My husband and I both work side hustles to help pay for our DIY as well. This isn’t always feasible for people and you shouldn’t do it as an added strain to your family, however we are able to take on small projects to help fund it. Some are shorter term and some are longer term, but it’s money that isn’t budgeted for daily living so it can be for fun stuff like this!
Trade for Services
Do you have a skill someone needs? Trade for services. We’ve traded for work on our roof and gutters and it has been a great trade for the companies and for us. This might not be applicable to you, but it can be a great way to use your skills in a way that is beneficial to all. Get creative too. Maybe you have a friend who is an electrician and he could really use someone to mow his lawn. Maybe a trade opp. Think outside of the box and you might find interesting ways to do this.
Do The Work
We only hire out when absolutely necessary. This means hard work. We only buy something when we can’t refinish or fix what we already have. This can take longer. We always hire out for plumbing (use an independent plumber and not a big company to save!) and we sometimes hire out for electrical (use an independent electrician and not a big company!) but other than that we attempt to do everything ourselves first. We haven’t broken too many things.
Sometimes when you are on a smaller budget you need to get creative. We love finding good deals and using our skills to make it awesome. I will say that I have the added benefit of a very handy husband. He is able to do most everything himself and he is very good at figuring things out. This is a nice skill to have when you undertake DIY projects.
Half the battle with DIY is attitude. Sometimes projects are quick and sometimes they take awhile but we love watching the transformation and knowing we’ve done a lot of it ourselves.
Are you a fan of DIY? What are your favorite tips and tricks?
