Home & Garden...

If you're building a new home vs. buying a pre-built home, there are some ways to keep costs down.

1. Do much of the work yourself: If you have building savvy, or arm muscles and the ability to learn, you can do much of the manual labor on a home yourself. If you have no clue, of course, you'll want to work with someone who has a clue. Still, a lot of time and thus money is spent on stuff that anyone can learn to do - setting up equipment, bleaching wood, painting, clean-up and more are easy tasks to learn. Even if you're totally inexperienced you can learn to put a roof on a house if you have an experienced helper - trust me.

2. Sponsor a workshop: I knew many people in New Mexico who got their homes built by sponsoring learning workshops. You hold a weekend workshop that say, teaches folks how to build straw bale. People come, they help build, and sometimes will even pay you to do so.

3. Build with competent help: Hiring someone who has built your type of home before is essential. Hire a contractor who has a track record of staying within budget and timeframes. Don't hire some bloke who only has "cheap" going for him, and no established record. This mistake could cost you more in the long run.

4. Use recycled and reclaimed building materials.

5. Timing is everything; you can save money everywhere, but if you don't plan and time your home building right, you're in trouble. Delays cost more than other mistakes. If an electrician shows up and you're not ready for him, you're paying him for his time twice over. If you have to stay at a motel, because your current lease is up, you lose money. Plan, plan, plan. Then have someone else go over your plan.