5 things it's cheaper to do yourself

I was more in tune with poster "hateditanyway," who gives herself a manicure and pedicure every Saturday morning.

"Everyone at work thinks I hang out at the salon on weekends, but, nope, it's all my own doing," hateditanyway wrote. "It is VERY easy to cut, file and polish one's nails -- all 20 of 'em."

Yeah, but: Hairdos have to be pretty simple to undergo a do-it-yourself cut without looking, well, do-it-yourself. And salons -- hair or nail -- can be as much a social event and a retreat as a grooming experience. Still, you can save some money learning how to do a simple bang or mustache trim or polishing your own nails every other week.

Remember your iron?

A good tailor can be a godsend, particularly if you aren't a perfect-sized anything. A few alterations can make basic clothes look terrific.

But you don't need a tailor to sew on a button or hem a pair of jeans. And you certainly don't need to drop clothing off at a dry cleaner just to be pressed. Any task that's simple enough to do while you're watching "American Idol" is something you can tackle yourself. If you're not sure how, ask a handy friend.

Poster "GCG1RL" said her husband "was always taking things to the cleaners to have them mended or pressed." Then the couple bought a steamer and GCG1RL took over the mending.

"Really, it takes like 40 minutes to steam shirts for the week and 10 minutes to iron the pants," she wrote. "Sewing on a button takes like five minutes."

Yeah, but: Some people really, truly hate ironing, steaming or anything involving a needle. If you've got that big a phobia, maybe you can swap the task with a spouse or friend for something you're more willing to do, such as scrub the toilets. Speaking of which, you might want to rethink . . .

Lawn and home care

Several posters did the cost-benefit calculation on housecleaners and lawn services and found both came up wanting.

Poster "justeloped" touted the exercise and enjoyment to be had from gardening, mulching and landscaping, while poster "ARCHIEtheDRAGON," who bought a mower for $65, knocks out the task in "30-40 minutes every week or two."

When it comes to housecleaning, others said the effort involved isn't onerous enough for them to hire help.

"I find that the decluttering prior to cleaning is what takes longer. Running the vacuum, swishing the toilet brush around and running the mop over the floor really does not take that long," poster GCG1RL wrote. "You have to declutter for the cleaning lady anyway, so just save the money and finish the task yourself."

Poster agilemom said hired cleaning help "was totally worth the money" when her children were young and she and her husband "were on the run all the time." As the kids have gotten older, they've been more able to pitch in.

"A few months back we looked at each other and said, 'Why are we still paying for this?' Now we do it as a family then spend the money we saved doing fun stuff."

Yeah, but: Consider harmony. If you and your significant other are just going to fight over who doesn't do what, the investment in cleaning or lawn care services may be worthwhile. You have to consider the community as well. Don't make your neighbors seethe as the new crop of dandelions is overrun by the crabgrass.

Liz Pulliam Weston's latest book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life," is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finance writer and winner of the 2007 Clarion Award for online journalism, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Published Oct. 16, 2008

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