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November 04, 2014

Learn to DIY and Save Money

One of the disadvantages of a full-time mom is not having a salary and it is really hard to budget single income so we have to think ways and means to meet our needs and maybe wants. But this disadvantage could also be our advantage because we can learn new things, enhance new skills and discover gifts that we didn’t know that we have.

D.I.Y. or Do It Yourself can help you save money because you don’t have to buy stuff from the market, mall or restaurants. You will be amazed that there are things that we can do using our own resources at home. 



When I became a stay at home mom, Google became my friend because I always search and search if I need to know something. I’m so thankful that I don’t have to buy books or go to the library if I need information.


I’ll be sharing with you our DIY stuff. 


1. Homemade Play Dough 


My son loves clay and we are aware that Play-Doh is not that cheap and I was really thankful when I’ve learned that I can do playdough at home. My son knows that I can make play dough so whenever he runs out of clay he immediately informs me “Mommy, cook clay please”. 


Read: DIY Homemade Play Dough


2. Homemade Food and Pastries 


We seldom eat at the restaurant, as much as possible we eat home-cooked meals and even desserts. I try to look for some recipes and try it at home and this is one of the best ways to save money. You know that fast food and restaurants are very expensive and I guess P500 is not enough for 2-3 people.


3. Homemade ingredients


Some ingredients are not easy to find and some are not affordable but don’t be sad because you can DIY some ingredients and you can also substitute some ingredients. 


4. Party Giveaways – if you have spare time, make your own party giveaways


5. Sewing 


This is one skill that I really want to learn but I know some basics so if I need to fix buttons, hooks or anything that require basic stitches, I can do it. I hope I can buy a mini sewing machine so that I can enhance this skill especially now that we are spending money for my son’s costume in his school activities like Linggong Wika, United Nation, and Halloween Party. 


Update: I have my own sewing machine now, read more here.


6. Gifts and Cards 


If you are into art and craft, you can save money by making your own gifts and cards. Make your own paper bag, envelope, cards and wrap your own gifts. There are so many free printables in Pinterest


7. Home Repairs or Installations


If we need home repairs we don’t always hire repairman, my husband always check if he can fix it. If we need to install something at home, my husband will do it. I’m very fortunate that he can do almost everything.


8. Home Renovation 


I remember when we live in a small apartment, we painted our own apartment and my husband put all the vinyl tiles. We painted our own house too. 


9. D.I.Y Travel 


Traveling is one of our favorite bonding and to save money we don’t avail travel packages. I always look for seat sale and make my own itinerary. Click here to learn how to plan an itinerary


10. Homemade Gifts


This will you save you time in buying gifts in the mall. If you have the skills and talent you can do your own gifts. It adds more personal touch. 


Read: DIY Homemade Gifts


That’s it for now and feel free to share your DIY stuff.

10 comments:

  1. I love DIY since I've become a mom my love for it grows!

    --- nhengswonderland.blogspot.com

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  2. We, mommies, we really do find ways! I can really relate into this. I myself really loves to make almost everything, personalized! I'm really glad that I was able to learn the basics of Adobe. It really helped me a lot!:)

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  3. Yeah DIYs are a lot of money saved talaga. Sometimes, though, it requires more time than you can give it.

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    1. True, especially in baking goodies so I always bake by batches. :)

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  4. Suoer agree. I think I saved at least 10k (prize quote for party planner I wanted) when I DIYd my daughter's birthday party. Some mommy visitors are even asking who my party planner was so they can hire her. I wish I can do that as a side line. So DIY does not just save money, it can be income generating too.

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  5. i love everything DIY too! adds a personal touch to everything you do. I sometimes look at Pinterest too for all things DIY!

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  6. I pretty much know and do all of those EXCEPT SEWING. My gosh. I really hope I learn soon because Jacob's already in school and he needs costumes every quarter! Made-to-order costumes can be expensive!

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  7. I wanna learn sewing. I just need a decent machine to finally learn. I gave up on DIY coz i'm not artsy. Hihihi..

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  8. Thanks for the tips! I have no problems DIY-ing our food but like you, I also need to learn how to sew.

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