What skill has saved you the most money?

MSE_Laura_F

I'm keen to know: what skill has saved you the most money over the years?

There were a lot of boards I could have posted this on, but I ventured a guess that the biggest savings might be to do with home DIY skills.

Do you have the ability to do your own wiring, plastering or roofing work, forgoing the need for a tradesperson booking?

Are you into carpentry, picture framing, furniture upcycling or curtain making?

If you were pushed for a figure, how much do you reckon you've saved over the years because of your skill?

Thank you.

stuart45

I would guess over the years possibly around £200,000, although I haven't got any of it saved. Sounds a lot, but it must add up more than you realise.

Ebe_Scrooge

I must have saved thousands over the years.  Start off with basic DIY skills, tackle more ambitious things as your knowledge grows.  What have I tackled over the years?  Blimey .... completely rewiring 2 houses (in the good old days when you were allowed to), numerous replacement bathrooms including floors, wall tiles, fittings, small areas of plastering.  A couple of new patios, decking, fencing, landscaping, new kitchen.  Repaired dozens of washing machines, tumble dryers, ovens, fridges & freezers, small electrical appliances.  Squillions of car repairs (bodywork and mechanical) and routine services over the years.

On a day-to-day basis, probably the most-used skills are the simplest ones.  Dripping tap, blocked sink, dripping waste pipes, toilets that won't flush, wife decides she wants new light switches for no apparent reason or wants light fittings moved to the other end of the room (!).  Kids toys, bikes, etc. which seem to need constant repair.  The list is endless.

Yup, I've definitely saved a bob or 2 over the years.  A great example - just a few months ago the tumble dryer stopped working.  Worked out the drive belt had snapped - a tenner for a new one online, a couple of hours to figure out how to dismantle the damn thing and fit the replacement, Bob's your auntie's live-in-lover.

grumbler

stuart45 said:

I would guess over the years possibly around £200,000, although I haven't got any of it saved. Sounds a lot, but it must add up more than you realise.

I think one have to change houses every few years to make £200K on DIY.

My house is small, I live here about 20 years, do everything myself and, I think, saved no more than £20K. But, then, it's a relatively new house, c.1995.

IMO, a new kitchen is very easy saving if you DIY (mostly).

Upcycling is hobby, waste of time - when you can get almost new items for free if you don't rush.

stuart45

grumbler said:

I think one have to change houses every few years to make £200K on DIY

Not if you live in old houses and do a lot of work on them. 
5 grand a year on labour for 40 years and it soon adds up. On our present house I've built 2 extensions, a porch, rebuilt a stone outhouse, apart from new kitchen, bathroom, floors, doors, stairs. Then I repaint and repair all the windows. Rebuilt all the stone perimeter walls. 
If I'd had to pay someone I wouldn't have done many of the jobs. If you write down everything you saved on labour you would be surprised at the money saved.

Frank99

I don't have many skills in terms of DIY but i envy those people who seem to be able to do anything, although not much of a skill learning a few bits online such as replacing cylinder door locks has saved me a few locksmith fees though.

plumb1_2

My present house so far
new roof and fascia’s 
new upvc windows and doors
rear extension 
front extension 
new kitchen 
new bathroom 
new boiler and heating upgrade 
decoration several times ( last week dining room and extension again)
Ordering new windows and composite door tomorrow her indoors wants to change to grey😔😔😔) There’s a 4 weeks lead time so hopefully I can have a rest.
Only ever had a plasterer in to skim walls and ceiling’s and that’s mates rates, oh and carpet fitter.

Not a clue what I’ve saved, because I’m still skint, as long as er indoors can keep shopping at M&S
As long as I can have my ground coffee iam a happy bunny.

Mistral001

For me it is general restoration and repair.  I have restored or repaired all types of things rather than throwing them out and buying new.  I am thinking of furniture, electrical appliances, window frames, carpets, doors, gates, cars, clothes and shoes etc.  I think the key is to do the work such that the finished item looks like it was when it was a few years old and not to go for perfection or to to change it, by say trying  make it more modern or to try to "improve" it.  Often the item just needs a helping hand to make it last another 10, 20, 50 years or whatever.  

stuart45

A friend of mine went over to Kenya to build a safe house for street kids. He said that over there hardly anything gets thrown away. Such as old jars get filled with home made pickles and sold at the road side.
He had this really old, falling apart pair of work boots, and asked the hotel porter to dump them for him. The porter asked if he could keep them for himself. 2 days later he brought them back after repairing them. My friend said they looked really good and could have worn them himself for a fair bit longer. He said he was really impressed with how people used old things.

Alanp

Gosh, I’ve done almost everything over the years, as an ex sparky electrics aren’t much of a problem for me, I’ve done fencing flat roofing laid patio’s, decking bathrooms, kitchens carpet laying, plus more,here’s another who’s done car repair, from bodywork to removing engine and gearbox, nowadays though I can afford to pay someone else to do it, I’ve never calculated how much I’ve saved over the years , I’ve never really looked at it like that, I enjoyed doing it and was always up for the challenge. I’m also an ex. Commercial laundry engineer so I’ve occasionally repaired the odd washer and dryer…

stuart45

My wife cleans the house every day, and she worked out she's saved me double mine in a cleaners wages.