Money can indeed buy you pretty much anything. If you so chose, you could outsource your every chore, avoid ever performing DIY and replace your entire wardrobe with brand new clothes. But the reality for most of us is that money is also finite. Every cent we spend is one that we can’t then put to use elsewhere.
Often, we miss out on putting money to good use on the things that matter to us because we’re forced to pay people to take care of problems that we don’t know how to deal with ourselves. Sometimes that’s just the way it is. But other times, it’s completely unnecessary, especially since nothing stops you from learning the skills needed to do the job at hand. Certain life skills can keep money in your pocket and out of someone else’s, increasing your sense of independence in the process. If you think your money could be better off elsewhere, then these five essential life skills will serve you well in the long run.
1. Sewing
You might not fancy making your clothes, but learning how to repair them will save you from buying new ones. Our fast fashion culture has made buying instead of repairing clothes the norm, but this is an unnecessary and wasteful mindset. As a bonus, once you get better at sewing, you’ll also be able to make alterations to clothes that don’t quite fit, giving you a wider choice of options when you need to buy new apparel and reducing the need to go to a tailor.
2. Cooking
You probably already have at least some basic cookery skills, but learning how to make wholesome food from scratch is a highly undervalued life skill that many never pick up. Since groceries are one of the most significant household expenses, learning to make food go further is a surefire way to keep cash in your pocket. In addition, swapping out processed foods and takeouts for wholesome fresh ingredients will increase your energy and improve overall health.
What’s also great about learning to cook is that it doesn’t necessarily need to cost much. Although a good recipe book or online class will pay off in the long run, you can just as easily learn from watching youtube videos or following a few decent blogs.
3. Growing Your Own Food
Growing your own food can be a joyful and empowering experience and is something more people are becoming interested in again. Of course, anything you grow yourself means money saved at the grocery store. But it also gives you greater control over the manufacturing process behind the food that ends up on your plate and educates you regarding what foods are in season. Of course, what you’re able to grow will depend on the amount of space you have and your location, but even a few herbs on your windowsill can save you some cash.
4. Budgeting and Financial Planning
Learning how to keep out of debt and reach your financial goals is an important life skill, and it begins by learning how to create and stick with a budget. That means sitting down and spending an hour or two working out your total income and outgoings and ensuring you’ve left a little money aside each month.
But budgeting is only the first step to managing your finances. Unfortunately, many people go by the assumption that they’ll always have a regular paycheck and fail to plan for unwanted surprises. And, it only takes one disaster to cause financial ruin. So, learning what to do with your savings and managing investments is vital to properly preparing for the future.
5. DIY and Repair
We’ve already discussed the benefit of repairing clothes, but you can apply the same logic to almost anything you own. Learning some essential tech and hardware skills will allow you to repair devices such as laptops and consoles for the price of a few repair parts. Likewise, becoming familiar with a basic plumbing toolkit can save you an expensive callout. Learning how to care for your car works in much the same way.
Of course, some things are best left to the professionals, especially when it comes to electrics. However, the more you know, the less you’ll need to depend on others. As an aside, you can develop your DIY skills further by learning how to make things from scratch, reducing your expenses even more.
