A do-it-yourself mentality is one of the most reliable ways to save money. But suppose you never watched anyone frame a wall or hem a skirt? And yeah, you know that regular exercise is important and home cooking is cheaper than takeout, but you can't afford a gym and can barely operate a microwave.
No more excuses; you can learn all sorts of things without paying a dime. The Internet is an obvious choice for new knowledge, but don't forget the public library, the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service or an old-fashioned apprenticeship with a knowledgeable relative or friend.
My dad often used the phrase "useful life skill" to describe whatever we kids were expected to do: tie up pole beans, cook a meatloaf, clean the house or can tomatoes. Sure, we groaned and complained. But as adults we don't rely on fast food, or pay someone else to fix our meals or mow our lawns.
You don't have to, either. Get fit, grow some food and sew on your own buttons. Here's how.
The skill: Basic home repair
Once upon a time, Bret Goble, 39, called a plumber for what turned out to be a simple repair. The price tag was anything but simple: "It cost about a hundred bucks to replace a 99-cent part."Goble and his wife, Rita, started watching "This Old House" on TV. Always mechanically inclined -- as a kid, he took his toys apart to see how they worked -- Goble quickly learned to do jobs like replace a basement staircase, insulate the attic, rework a brick patio and steps, dig a swale to improve backyard drainage and install windows in their suburban Chicago dwelling.
"Bullheadedness" underlies Goble's DIY passion: "Why (should) I pay somebody for this when I can do it myself?"
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The result "looks like a (professional) paint job," says Blanton, who is currently blogging about her cross-country travels in a newly refurbished van. (She also built living quarters inside.)
Blanton has attended free Home Depot seminars, which she says are a great way for beginners to get comfortable with tools "even if you're just building a birdhouse."
"The first time you do something it's not perfect, but after several times you get better," she says. "At least when you're self-taught, no one else sees all the (mistakes)."
Some suggested sources: About.com, the DIY network, "This Old House," HGTV, Toiletology 101, free how-to seminars at Home Depot, and "The Reader's Digest New Complete Do It Yourself Manual."
The skill: Gardening
Patti Wood learned how to mow a lawn by watching YouTube. That's not nearly as sad as it sounds. Wood wasn't taught yard skills as a child, and as an adult she hired a landscape service for her Atlanta home because her job required a lot of travel.Lately her work has become much more regional. Since she's home a lot, "it makes more sense to do (things) myself and save money." Wood usually finds what she needs to know -- deadheading roses, painting windows -- by typing the subject plus the word "video" in an online search engine.
When a pressure-washing estimate came in at $400, she decided to do that herself, too, with a borrowed machine. It went fine -- until the washer suddenly quit working. Wood and her boyfriend went to the manufacturer's home page, watched a video, and took the machine apart to fix it.
"I have hired people to do things for years," Wood says. "But I always knew I could do these things. It feels good."
Anna Florin, 56, bought a gazebo for her daughter's outdoor wedding. Afterward, she wanted to re-site it elsewhere on the family's property. She consulted a book about building concrete pads and then requested a cement mixer for her birthday.
"I have little projects every year," says Florin, who lives near Salt Lake City.
Recently she installed sprinklers in the area around the gazebo, a skill she and her husband first learned from the guide that came with the sprinkler heads. They've been installing irrigation on different parts of their three-quarter-acre property for years.
"Anything you have to pay to have done over and over," she says, "is worth learning how to do yourself."
Video: Trying to split your own wood
Often the folks who sell you equipment and supplies throw in advice for free, Florin notes. Apparently some people need to be told even the simplest things: When her son bought his own place and planted grass seed, his neighbors were astonished -- they thought grass came in rolls from a nursery.
You can learn about lawns, flowers, trees and food crops at your state's Cooperative Extension Service, either online or in person. The eXtension (pronounced "e-Extension") site has an "ask an expert" feature so you can customize your query. Try to stop by an office, though, for free advice and pamphlets, or to get the gauge on your pressure canner tested or show a master gardener the odd little larva you found on the rhododendrons.
Suggested sources: eHow.com, About.com, your state's Cooperative Extension Service, YouTube.
The skills: Cooking and preserving food
Angela Barton's epiphany occurred when she handed over $7.50 for a bag of granola. Spending "way too much money" plus having to drive to get the cereal suddenly seemed ridiculous. But as a film editor who worked long hours, she'd gotten used to "these conveniences."Continued: Get online and learn
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