Updated: December 14, 2021
It’s the weekend, and it’s laundry day. But before you could go to the laundromat, you had to call someone first to fix your car because it won’t start.
For lunch, you decided to eat at a fast food. And then upon coming home, you discovered a leaking faucet. So you call a plumber to have it fixed.
In just one day, you have spent around P1,500. If you’re someone on a tight budget, this would have been a bad day for your wallet.
Truth be told, there are a lot of things that we can do ourselves, but we often opt to have others do it. Reasons vary, but the most common would be because we don’t actually know how.
Despite good information and numerous do-it-yourself tutorials being available online. People still rarely make an effort these days to learn basic domestic skills.
Below are some of these skills, which if you learn them, can really help you save money.
1. Cooking your own food
Food is one of the basic necessities of people to survive. We eat three or more times a day, which makes cooking at home an essential skill.
Plus, knowing how to cook can save you thousands of money each month. Imagine eating your favorite chicken dish for half the price because you cooked it at home. And it’s healthier too!
2. Washing and ironing clothes
Learning how to do your laundry on a washing machine is easy. And you can do other chores at home in between cycles. Thus, saving you time.
Washing and ironing your own clothes can save you a lot of money. And you don’t need to worry about losing the other pair of your socks at the laundromat.
3. Sewing
This is a useful but underrated skill. Being able to sew back your clothes buttons or patch a little tear could help you save a lot of money from having it repaired at the local tailor, or from even buying new clothes.
4. Plumbing
You don’t need to pay hundreds of cash for someone to fix your leaking faucet, unclog your sink, or install your new shower. There are thousands of YouTube videos that teach these.
You’ll be surprised how easy it is to do these yourself. Just reserve the call to the plumber for more complicated problems.
5. Troubleshooting electrical problems
Fixing electrical problems will require you to have some technical skills. And it’s recommended that you call an electrician for major fixes.
But there’s still a lot of simple stuff you can do, such as changing bulbs, replacing a broken fuse, organizing electric cables, and troubleshooting appliances.
6. Fixing your car
If you own a car, then you know how expensive it can be to bring it to the mechanic for repairs. However, there are maintenance tasks that you can easily learn how to do, which can definitely help you save money.
Among them, changing gear oils, rotating the tires, and jump-starting a car battery. And of course, just wash your own car instead of bringing it to the car wash.
7. Growing your own food
How great it would be if you could just pick the ingredient you need instead of running back to the grocery store?
There are numerous videos and articles online, where you can learn how to grow a vegetable or herb garden at home. Watch them and see how easy it is to grow them on your own.
Final Thoughts
Time is money. And for some, it would make more sense to hire help or outsource these tasks. But I know that for most people, learning these domestic skills is the more financially-smart choice.
Additionally, learning how to be handy at home will not just help you save money. It can also be a source of good pride and self-esteem. And a great way to impress your family and friends.
How about you? What other domestic skills can you add to the list? Share them below in the comments section. Thanks.
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You don’t actually need skills in order to save a lot of money. You just need practical inteligence or common sense. Smartly make use of what you have to solve simple domestic difficulty. Know the different R’s of Ecological Solid Waste Mgt (e.g. reduce, reuse, recycle, repair etc) and there you go, a pretty lot of money can be saved. Next time be smart don’t be lazy and ashame to do simple/practical solutions yourself. Merry Christmas every one.
you can also be you child’s tutor… if your child is having difficulty in school, hiring a tutor means Php500/hour more or less depends on how hard the subject is or how desperate you are in finding a good tutor who can dramatically raise your child’s grades…. but its really hard to be a tutor.. you will have to study the subject again
Thank you Fitz and more power!
It was about one year after I relocated to the Philippines that we found a older home to purchase that was a great candidate for a retirement project. Being frugal, I demand energy efficient everything in the home. Old and out of date bulbs and broken window panes were steadily replaced. I also started off with brand new and efficient appliances. I purchased a water saving front loader washing machine that when a wash finishes, your clothes are almost dry from the high centrifugal force of the spin cycle. A few minutes in the sun and the wash is dry. The inverter fridge is tropical rated and would actually be great in an RV (Recreational Vehicle) application. It immediately paid off with a super low electric bill.
These days both Beautiful Bride and I are so busy we really need house help. Fortunately, my Wife’s YaYa who was with her for many years when my wife lived and worked out of an apartment agreed to come stay with us to help with the home and our new family addition. She had always done wash by hand. In fact, I got blasted by some folks for my “wasteful spending ” on the frontloaded. YaYa was very apprehensive about using the machine. That soon changed and she no longer sits on a stool scrubbing for hours. Even YaYa’s daughter who helps out from time to time is now a fan of my frontloaded. You see, it did not destroy her work, it lessened the burden and frees up her time for what is important, and that would be caring for our new addition while Wife & I earn. Time is money and I love to save time to earn money.