Need Extra Cash? Try Doing It Yourself

So you're skipping the fancy coffees, brown bagging to work and going longer between haircuts.

Nadine Haobsh applies clear polish as she gives herself a manicure in the dining room of her home in West Hollywood, Calif., Thursday, April 2, 2009. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

(AP)

But here's another way to save: do things yourself rather than paying someone else to do them. From mowing the lawn to cleaning the house and drafting legal documents, here's advice on how to do it yourself:

BEAUTY

Many women spend a ton of money on their hair and nails. But they don't have to, say beauty experts.

For your nails, once or twice a week, soak them in soapy water, file them and then buff them for a nice sheen, says Nadine Haobsh, author of "Confessions of a Beauty Addict," who does her own manis and pedis. Use a cuticle cream to soften the cuticles and nail bed.

Feel free to skip the fingernail polish, she said. A few swipes of color on the toes will make an at-home pedicure look more professional — she's a fan of the always-in-season burgundy or red — but if you have attractive feet, you can go without.

Make sure to keep your hands and feet super moisturized.

Haircuts are best left to the experts. However, people can cut their own bangs, said Kenneth Darrell Creel of Studio 627 in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Cut the bangs while they are dry, and cut vertically into the hair rather than horizontally, he said.

To keep hair color looking fresh, do your own touchups, said Creel. Apply color to the roots once a month in between treatments. See a professional at the end of the third month, he said.

Stick to simple touchups, said Creel. Highlights and applying multiple colors are best left to a professional.

PHOTOS

Skip the portrait studio and take your own professional photos, said Kim Danger, family savings expert for Coupons.com. She takes photos of her kids with a digital camera, shooting until she gets the right shot and then deleting the rest.

"With sitting fees and custom package prices taking my own photos easily saves over $100," she said. "Plus, it's more satisfying for me to know I got the shots myself."

HOUSE CLEANING

The key to finding time to clean the house is to get a little bit done each day and enlist other family members to help, said Danger.

For example, in her house, Monday and Friday are laundry days, on Tuesday she mops the floors, Wednesday she vacuums, and so forth.

Her five-year-old son is in charge of garbage and her 9-year-old daughter does the dusting. Everyone does a 15-minute pickup at night to put things away.