Hobbies/skills that save money

[jollystomper]

Two skills I am glad my parents taught me were cooking and sewing. Cooking has saved me a lot of money, especially when I was single (and I was surprised at how it could be a "babe magnet" back then . Being able to sew to do repairs and hems Helped me get a lot more years out of many clothes.

I went to a high school that, in addition to academics, exposed me to a lot if trade skills. Carpentry was one, and I have built basic furniture things like bookshelves, tables, shop workbench, and an organ bench, customized to our needs.

I can do basic DIY stuff around the home, as long as it does not involve electricity beyond the wall outlet, water beyond exposed pipes, and going into walls or ceilings - one reason I made sure our finished basement has a drop ceiling, I can deal with that . Painting/staining/finishing is another skill, as long at it does not involve high ladders at my age .

I am good at following visual instructions, so YouTube has been great in terms of DIY for house and yard work and repairs. I had great joy years back when our push mover would not start, and rather than replace it I found a YouTube video for the same model on repairing/replacing the carburetor. Knowing that repair has kept that push mower going well beyond its expected replacement time .

One thing to add, I am also skillful at making good friends with various tradesman and mechanics . The type who, if I mention a problem, will tell me things I can try before I need to call them in on a billable basis, or will let me match and be their "unskilled assistant" when they work on something, so that I can learn .

 

[indiajust]

I had a knack for making houses more livable.

I horse traded for old stained glass, custom windows, custom bar, ...
My most extreme was a symmetric book match and reverse book match pattern floor in 300 y o heartpine. Find the stuff, do work, earn the tool use, and make it work. An interlocking maple cherry bar top that mimicked the same pattern in the dining room floor.

Staircase and trim.

I turned a rather worn out up/down duplex into something that felt like a well designed modern house.

411 Cutler St, Raleigh, NC 27603 | Zillow

411 Cutler St, Raleigh NC, is a Single Family home that contains 2300 sq ft and was built in 1912.It contains 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.This home last sold for $230,000 in June 1999. The Zestimate for this Single Family is $937,900, which has increased by $17,329 in the last 30 days.The Rent...

www.zillow.com

 

[PointBreeze]

I cannot even start to imagine what or how much my 3d printer has saved me. Making parts for things around the home that could never be sourced commercially. We would have had to buy complete new items instead of just making the broken parts.

I’ve been seriously considering getting into 3d printing for this exact reason. I love fixing things and have done a lot with wood and Sugru, but know I could fix a lot more with a 3D printer. The Bambu Lab A1 looks like a good place to start - relatively low entry point.

 

[PointBreeze]

I have always cut and colored my own hair, probably saved thousands over the years.

I started cutting my own hair during lockdown and never looked back. And I cut my mother’s and my DP’s, too. Save lots of money!

 

[dfblack]

I save on the fees of a financial advisor . . .

Ditto. I educated myself in finance and investing soon after getting married in my early 20's. Depending on how you weigh the overhead of a financial advisor, I estimate that I have earned an extra 1%-2% above my market performance. Call it saving money, or earning extra money, it all comes and goes from the same bucket.

 

[JBTX]

I’m a small step above useless on household or auto repairs. Almost all of that is outsourced.

I probably “earn” $5000+ a year on various credit card /bank cash or other bonuses and rewards.

Working and learning how to optimize government benefits for our disabled son, to the point now that we are offsetting all of his expenses, and then some.

Recent years learning and working on estate plans, trusts etc to minimize taxes, maximize govt benefits for our son, etc.

Do all of our investing, finances, taxes.

 

[FlaGator]

I have always cut and colored my own hair, probably saved thousands over the years.

I'm late to the thread......

As someone who once shelled out $300 every few months for the spouse to have that done, I assure you there is no "probably" to your statement

 

[LadyIJ]

I grew up on a farm and was repairing vehicles and tractors before I could drive on the roads.
I learned to weld on the farm and already had that going before I got to shop class in high school.
Dad built a carport when I was 9 so I got into carpentry.
I remember mixing Weldwood glue in a bucket and assembling these trusses in a stack on the slab with hand nails and those plywood gussets. That is the patina that has set onto that wood in the open carport over 55 years. Straight grained doug fir like you don't see anymore.
View attachment 54060

I've designed and welded dozens of things, I like to invent things that folks don't know they need yet.
My sister had been dragging my BIL up and down out of the pool for decades after his injury and I drew this up on a napkin and welded it up with the Lincoln tombstone buzz box.
The subject was the Cooper's hawk on the fence, but it captured the lift too. It uses the power of a garden hose on the well to lift over 200 pounds. The cylinder is removed for winter storage here.
View attachment 54061

View attachment 54063
There is a lot going on there. I put pavers where that pool noodle is that cradled his wheelchair securely, then he grabbed that trapeze bar and easily lifted himself across to the adapted shower chair at the same level.
That little curved bar pivots at that end and rolls on a caster at the end out of sight. He would swing that bar around and it would drop into the corner of the pool, and that was his handrail to pull himself around the arc to the pool.
He could use it completely unassisted. We put it in a 2x2x2 concrete base that was outside of the pool slab so it did not interfere with normal kid pool stuff.
We used it one summer unfinished to make sure it was right, then we had it powder coated.
I learned cabinet building from a neighbor and remodeled our current home in 2013~2015.

I will design all the cabinets and do the trim in the new home I am building. It is a happy place for me, I have wood fever.
My work experience comes in handy too. You could say I'm a handy guy.

Very impressive. Really using your noodle!!!

 

[Dtail]

DYI on all investing, finances and taxes.
Maximize cash rewards on CC. Average around 4,200 a year.
Take care of the pool and the garden.
Not all that handy for other things.

 

[Lee94joyce]

As a retired engineer, I think I can do most anything. And I have done most of what has been mentioned. And I have designed and built several things around the house. But as I get older I get a professional to do the more physical things as I don't bounce back as quick as I used to. Mental things such as finances, investments, etc. I still do.

 

[EarlyandLate]

As a retired engineer, I think I can do most anything.

That's exactly the problem! (Ha ha, just a friendly jab from scientist to an engineer!) I once helped friends paint and prepare their new to them house for moving in. The gentleman they bought it from was a retired engineer and did a lot of DIY around the house. For example, there were 11 light switches beside the door from the garage into the kitchen. We never figured out what several of them did.

 

[old medic]

I grew up on a farm and was repairing vehicles and tractors before I could drive on the roads.
I remember mixing Weldwood glue in a bucket and assembling these trusses in a stack on the slab with hand nails and those plywood gussets.
View attachment 54060

Similar tales to tell....
I helped build these trusses in 1984, never dreaming I would own them 40 years later.

 

[sengsational]

I just had new countertops installed and did the plumbing reconnects. I had it split out of the quote so I could decide, but it wasn't the $300 savings, it was that I had a lot going on down there that I wanted to have right: an anti-scald control, a disposal soak cutoff, an adjustment to the dishwasher drain line, and a rearrangement of an RO filtration system. It's all very tidy and done right, with new parts. I would have been on my own for the RO system anyway, so did the whole thing. And I'm sure in a week or two, my back will be back to normal, LOL!

 

[38Chevy454]

I (with DW's help on some items) pretty much DIY everything. Auto maintenance and repairs, old car restoring and modifications, house repairs and improvements, financial stuff, yard work, pool maintenance, appliance repairs, house cleaning, or whatever else. About the only thing I do not do is something requiring a specialized tool or license that I do not have. And being that I do old cars as hobby, I have way more tools than probably 95% of people do. I'm not a wood worker, so don't build my own cabinets or furniture; although given access to the tools I could. Just not in my interests enough. I cut my own hair, can cook good food when we want. I can fix almost anything, sometimes just to see if I can do it; as opposed to just buying a replacement. But time does have value and there are certainly those situations where I just pay instead of fix.

I do help people a lot on small projects. But no big projects since that becomes working for others. Overall, saving considerable money each and every year. Being a retired engineer helps with understanding how things work.

 

[dirtbiker]

Due to financial necessity, I always fixed my own things, whether that was car repairs, house repairs, appliance repairs, remodeling, you name it. I learned to do a lot of different things this way. I'm now fortunately in a position where I can afford to pay people to fix these things, but I continue to do so because I hate paying people to do something I have the skills (and tools!) to fix myself. I also don't want to lose these skills by sitting back and paying others to do them. However, if there's a miserable job I just don't want to do, I'll now pay someone to do it.

 

[FREE866]

Great thread.

For me my skill/hobby of managing my own investments has saved me boatloads of money. I think the huge consequential impact of having a minimal cost and tax efficient approach of doing that can't be understated.

On a smaller scale, since retiring 8 years ago, making my own breakfast and usually my own lunch every day has definitely helped too.

 

[gcgang]

Portfolio management.
Poker.
Blackjack.

 

[robnplunder]

What hobby or skills have saved you money?

I maintain our vehicles as much as possible. Easy things such as replacing brakes/rotors, changing oil, replacing alternator, battery, etc.

I'm above average when it comes to home maintenance. I can run electrical, plumbing, hang drywall, mud...the more basic sort of tasks. Saves a lot of time, headache and money. Not relying on contractors is a huge plus.

Most of the above and making practical things out of things being thrown away. Today, I made an extension cord out of a power cable, and a wall socket.

 

[indiajust]

Portfolio management.
Poker.
Blackjack.

I should have thought of the money, as well as the house. Doing taxes and retirement and investing has been a 40 year tour. I learned while I owned and now live off the well tended spoils.

Impressed with blackjack.

 

[swakyaby]

Home cooking, home cocktails
Managing own investments and tax returns
Amazon Vine reviewer—just the lowest Silver tier so there’s no pressure

 

[pb4uski]

The flimsy plastic mounting bezel for the keypad garage door opener broke. The don't sell the bezel separately, only with the keypad, $45-60 online, and my keypad works fine. I took it apart and jury-rigged it by fastening the keypad to the side of the garage with a screw.

 

[MetalDetectingDonna]

Doing our own cooking and housekeeping, DH does lawn maintenance and yard work.
That's about it.
Occasionally use a travel agent, but mostly I am our travel hacker.
In the past, we have grown some fruits and veggies.

What does DH stand for? Thank you

 

[pacergal]

What does DH stand for? Thank you

Dear Husband

Under the forum FAQs, there is a thread on acronyms, etc. that may be helpful.
It certainly was for me when I first came here!

 

[Walt34]

Model building of any type. Doing that, you accumulate a lot of unusually small tools and a skill set to use them working in tight quarters. For example I have a set of power tools that will fit in the palm of your hand - a sander, drill, (with drill press attachment) jigsaw, and several others. These and various other small tools like miniature pliers have proven useful more times than I can count fixing stuff around the house that would have been difficult to impossible without them.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

I have several hobbies that have cost me a lot of money. I decided to heat partially by wood. The result of that was buying 45 acres of land, buying a tractor and trailer for it, a truck and then a replacement truck, a splitter, and a number of chainsaws.

About 2009 or so (when I retired from Mega-Corp), I decided to start brewing beer again - just think of the money I would save over buying beer! I now have a freezer full of hops, a lot of grain (sealed), sealers, mylar bags, 15 corny kegs, two chest freezers for beer, a mill (built it but bought a motor for it), a bunch of carboys, several 15 gallon stainless steel kettles, 8 propane tanks. Alas, I don't drink a ton of beer anymore as I am trying to watch carbs. (But the beer I made was very good.)

[To be more serious, these have both been fun and have helped to keep me healthy - well, at least the wood thing - cutting down trees, bucking up logs, carrying to truck, splittng, stacking, bringing into the house. I stil have all my fingers and limbs, so that is a positive too.]