Most Bang for your Buck/Time

[matttsch]

When I found this website I was outsourcing everything so I could spend my free time watching TV. Oh, foolish clean-shaven previous version of me.

Now I've insourced all the obvious stuff: laundry, cooking, cleaning, taxes, mending of clothing, and even fixed my own car. The problem is I don't know what to insource next. I rent and, given the rent-to-price ratios of where I live, I think I should keep it that way. Thus, house repair is out of the picture. Reading the forum here, it sounds like brewing beer or starting a garden can be enjoyable, but not really cost savers. I'm almost hoping something else goes wrong with my car so I have something to work on with a high return. (I saved about $1200 with 30 hours work on that one.)

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[soccerluvof4]

Have you started a monthly cost analysis? so you can see money out vs money in.  This might give you a few ideas on somethings to work on.

[Russ]

DIY haircuts

[irononmaiden]

What do you do in your spare time? There could be something related to that. Like, if you play piano, you could learn basic tuning and repairs. If you work out a lot, you could expand your home workout options.

I'm working on this same thing and I've noticed that it really helps if I enjoy whatever it is. Keeps it from feeling like extra work.

[horsepoor]

Sounds like you're in more of a position to pick up a side hustle for some extra cash.  Depending on your rental situation, maybe you could negotiate some maintenance/repair labor (if you have the skills) for breaks on rent?

As far as DIY - as a renter, there isn't too much beyond fixing your stuff instead of replacing.  Maybe making your own cleaning supplies, detergent, and condiments and so on.

[Prairie Stash]

DIY wine - I pick my own fruit, from random trees in the city. This involved a fair bit of reconnaissance and I learned some strange things along the way. If you go all the way it makes home brew beer look expensive.  If a batch isn't very good, then run it thru your...

DIY still - my coworker runs a still in his kitchen.  Very small quantities, just enough for the occasional bottle of liqueur. I had a college friend do the same, he never ever bought alcohol.

You can also try canning fruit, making jelly/jam, syrups for pancakes etc. I don't particularly enjoy doing that though.

[matttsch]

Thank you to everyone who replied with ideas!

soccerluvof4: I did a simple one using Mint and saw that eating out was a huge cost for me, so starting to cook for myself will likely be the largest saver for me long term.

irononmaiden & horsepoor: I agree that maybe it is time for me to find a productive side job/hustle. Afraid I don't really have any hobbies that seem useful for making money. I never realized how much time I was spending watching TV and going to bars until I started cutting back recently. Having so much extra time on my hands now is what prompted me to write my initial question to see if I was missing anything I should be in-sourcing. I'll have to do some brainstorming on what more productive hobbies I would find enjoyable.

Thanks again!

[ketchup]

Cooking is a good one.  It will eventually make eating out even less appealing because you'll know that 99% of the time you can do it tastier, healthier, and cheaper at home.  We're certainly getting to that point.

[greenmimama]

You could do some freeze ahead meals, so those times you have less time to cook, you can still eat from home. Even if all you have is a freezer on top of your fridge, you still have stuff in it, it's either unprepared or already prepared? Lots of room for cost savings.

Start a garden with a friend that has land to do it on?

[ASquared]

I absolutely think gardening can be a major cost savings. I also think you have to like it to be successful.  But even just putting in a few plants and some herbs saves you some $.  A single zucchini plant will produce probably more than you can eat.  Peppers and chiles are very easy to grow.  Herbs are easy (and relatively expensive from the store).

[The Money Monk]

Thank you to everyone who replied with ideas!

soccerluvof4: I did a simple one using Mint and saw that eating out was a huge cost for me, so starting to cook for myself will likely be the largest saver for me long term.

irononmaiden & horsepoor: I agree that maybe it is time for me to find a productive side job/hustle. Afraid I don't really have any hobbies that seem useful for making money. I never realized how much time I was spending watching TV and going to bars until I started cutting back recently. Having so much extra time on my hands now is what prompted me to write my initial question to see if I was missing anything I should be in-sourcing. I'll have to do some brainstorming on what more productive hobbies I would find enjoyable.

Thanks again!

Start working out!

Reselling is also a good money-making hobby. Go to garage sales, list on ebay, etc.

Make youtube videos, etc.

[JPinDC]

I would start with what you're currently spending on, since you don't want to pick up a new DIY hobby for stuff you don't need.

Some recent opportunities I've found included cutting my own hair, re-heeling a pair of boots, and learning how to make some processed grocery staples from scratch (hummus, almond milk).

ETA: Also, a small container garden for herbs wouldn't cost much, but would enhance your recipes and maybe help motivate more cooking at home!

[szmaine]

Can you do house repair? Because some landlord might give you money off the rent for specific repairs if you can do it cheaper than whoever they normally use.

Why wait for the car to need a repair? Give it a complete and thorough tune-up to maximize mileage and learn more about it in the process.

Edit: so you are cooking in more, but how are you liking the result? If you have something's that you are really tempted to go out for, maybe pizza (I love take out pizza) then try to get really good at cooking those tempting foods ie adding quality.

[Gerard]

I second the herb-gardening suggestion. Herbs are just expensive weeds.

wrt your home, are there things that would cheaply improve your quality of life, even though you wouldn't "own" them?

[brewer12345]

DIY still - my coworker runs a still in his kitchen.  Very small quantities, just enough for the occasional bottle of liqueur. I had a college friend do the same, he never ever bought alcohol.

In the US, this is quite illegal.  I would strongly advise not running shine.

[fixer-upper]

Cater to people's laziness.  People pay silly amounts of money to get their lawns mowed, carpets cleaned, snow shoveled, etc.

You can do the carpet cleaning with a used Rug Doctor from Craigslist (I payed about 1/3 of retail for mine).  When you figure it would cost most people $50 to rent one and buy solution, it's pretty easy to justify $80 to clean a few rooms...and you don't need to buy the expensive solution to get good results.  A scoop of oxyclean in the tank does a great job.

[GoldenStache]

I save a ton from gardening.  I buy starter plants for $2 (I don't have a place inside to do seeds without the cats eating them) and save probably $4 twice a week from each of the plants.

Each year you live and learn.   

Last year I tried to expand my garden by putting tomatoes into some pots.  The pots were cheap and painted black, and never got a single tomato from them.  The sun would heat the soil in the pots too much no matter how much I watered. 

One year I tried for 4 different types of peppers, ended up with more peppers than I can eat in in several years, froze a ton, dried some and gave many away.

I could probably sell them but have more fun giving the extras to friends/coworkers/tenants.