DIY Life

Sometimes we choose DIY for the love of DIY, but other times it's for the monetary savings. Doing a project yourself, getting exactly what you want, and not paying through the roof makes DIY projects appealing to so many of us. Labor costs account for half (sometimes more) of construction costs. Doing work yourself can be your biggest savings, but only if you really know what you're doing, or have the time to learn. First, go through this quick checklist and figure out if you should do it yourself or not. If you do decide to take it on, this list of money saving tips will help you get the most for your dollar and the best end result.

The article suggests setting priorities and re-evaluating the scale of improvements. They offer tips on choosing which improvement will yield the greatest return, and suggest ways to obtain moderately priced materials instead of higher end expensive ones. They also warn what corners not to cut. Saving money is great, but not at the expense of safety, or quality. There are ways to do it well without re-mortgaging your home. With 10 tips in all, finishing with the DIY option, you'll find great pointers on how to save money on your home improvement projects. Check them out and let me know what you think is missing. How else do you save money with home improvement projects?

If you have a warranty, I'd advise not even touching your own car. You'll likely void the warranty and cause yourself a bigger headache than whatever was wrong with the car in the first place.

If your warranty has expired, and you're on the hook for any parts and repairs, then you could save a lot of time and learn some new things by diagnosing and doing the work yourself.

According to Mark Gittelman, author of 'Diy Car Repair and Troubleshooting Car Problems', most people make the mistake of skipping stages in the diagnostic process. Here are the steps he advises when taking on DIY car repair: