What skill has saved you the most money?

Bonnypitlad

I’m trying to think of the last time I employed a tradesman?
 I qualified for a grant for a new boiler and loft insulation approximately 10 years ago, the heat exchanger leaked after a few weeks and took 2 months to be repaired and the guy in the loft disturbed the plumbing and caused a leak
I had my van serviced at the dealership when under warranty 
I have always serviced my vehicle, maintained my property 
I’m planning an oil change this weekend, I was quoted £190 by Mercedes, I estimate oil and filter will cost me £59
The trouble is that I’m now 72 and my bones ache, my family suggest I shouldn’t climb on the roof to repair it anymore 
I imagine most people have built relationships with tradesmen they can trust. I would be starting from scratch 
The internet and YouTube are a marvellous asset for learning new skills, don’t be afraid to give anything a try, the important thing is to invest in the correct tools
The greatest benefit is to be able to show a younger person that it can be done
I believe most tradesmen in North East want a minimum of £200/day?. I couldn’t attempt to estimate how much I’ve “saved” over the years, it was always a case that if I didn’t do it myself, I couldn’t afford it
Happy DIYing

in_my_wellies

My greatest saving was having a father who would try his hand at anything. He was always busy doing DIY on the house or car. I watched and helped so when I married and bought our first home I couldn't wait to get stuck in.
I remember my husband saying, "We'll have to get man in." I realised he came from a home where there was a tradesman for every job. His parents would never think or DIY. 
I soon changed his mind. My moto is 'I'll give it a try, if it all goes pear shaped, I can always ring a professional'

I've tried most things. Just a few things I don't do.
When the house needed rewiring I chased all the walls, drilled holes, crawled under the floor with cables and replastered but I left the planning and connecting to the electrician as was faster and needed to sign it off. 
I didn't fit the new boiler but I have removed and replaced radiators
I've plastered small ceilings (covering artex) and fitted coving
Made curtains, covers and upholstered chairs
Put up guttering and clean it out
Painted the house outside every four/five years (lucky to have redwood pine (built 1908) 
Fitted secondary glazing bought from the paper/ebay (9 of 14 windows done with Everest) so far but getting hard to find
Tiling in kitchen and bathroom
Fitted a new toilet 
Sanded original oak strip floor in hall / landing
Removed a 60's 'stone' fireplace, plastered ready for wood burner
Dismantled and reassembled a greenhouse for my allotment - and a shed
Dug out and sieved my gravel drive 4m x 22m (in lockdown, the passing walkers thought I was nuts and would walk past specially to see how I was getting on (before I did this it was so weedy I could mow half of it)

Something I have never done is fit a carpet as I just don't think I could get a professional finish. The irony is that my mum owned a 'carpets and curtains shop'. As a child I spent hours watching the carpet fitters when she was hanging curtains in posh houses

PennyDD

Not a skill as such but during lockdown when I was at home for a year, I cancelled my cleaner and saved £50 a month = £600 over the year.  Without sounding too sexist, most of these DIY projects are done by men?

kippers

Growing most of my own fruit and veg and learning how to preserve it AND cook from scratch. And i learnt to make curtains and cushion covers by buying larger curtains or materials from car boots and i learnt how to sew to do repairs.  Also painting and decorating 

One more skill is asking how to do things or asking for advice on this forum …..probably saved me thousands over the years 🤣🤣🤣🤣

YoungBlueEyes

I wouldn't have considered myself skilled until I read all these posts.  Skilled to me means 'someone taught me to do a thing and now I've a qualification for it'.  

But now I'd say knowing when to put my big girl pants on, go buy a screwdriver or whatever, watch some vids online and do the job myself. Sometimes you need to throw money at the problem and get a man in.  Knowing the difference has saved me a bunch I'd say.

Also - trusting the facts that my brain regurgitates long after I've long forgotten about them (itms?)  One day when I was making wee buns a voice in my head said "ignore the recipe - Keith Floyd always made a well in the dry ingredients and added the wet stuff to it". They turned out fine. 

Not sure how I'd put a monetary figure on either of these things tho.

FreeBear

YoungBlueEyes said: Sometimes you need to throw money at the problem and get a man in.

Why does it have to be a man?

There are some very capable women in the trade. Got two young ladies out of 8 doing the same plastering course as me. One of them does a lot of building work in the South East.

in_my_wellies

FreeBear said:

YoungBlueEyes said: Sometimes you need to throw money at the problem and get a man in.

Why does it have to be a man?

There are some very capable women in the trade. Got two young ladies out of 8 doing the same plastering course as me. One of them does a lot of building work in the South East.

It's a figure of speech.

Of course there are many capable women. I've done a basic plumbing course myself, however, in the 42 years I've owned a house and called upon a tradesperson I can honestly say that I have never had a woman turn up to do the job. 

Hopefully different in the future

Ebe_Scrooge

The police are investigating a crime.  They don't know what the culprit looks like, or his name.  They get a tip-off that he's hiding at a particular address.  They break in, go into the lounge, and find 4 people playing poker - a plumber, an electrician, a fireman and a builder.  Without a word being spoken, they arrest the fireman - how did they know he was the guilty party?

.................

.......................

Because the other 3 were all female.

YoungBlueEyes

Yep just a turn of phrase FreeBear. 

I think the tide is turning, thankfully.