Home repairs and improvements can help you increase the value of your home, but they can cost a lot if you’re not careful. You don’t have to spend a lot on your home improvements for them to have a major impact. Here are some tips on making your house a home for the lowest price possible.

1. Decide What You Can Do and What You Must Pay For:  Home improvement doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. The best way to save money on home improvement is to do the vast majority of the work yourself. If you provide the labor, the costs of materials will be negligible compared to what you would have to pay a professional for the same job.

Keep in mind that this only applies for basic home repairs. Unless you’ve had a lot of training or know someone who can guide you, you shouldn’t try to handle your own electrical upgrades. The same goes for repairing your roof. But tiling, wallpaper and other similar projects are definitely within most peoples’ abilities.

Most home improvement stores offer free classes that will teach you most of what you need to know in order to get started on basic home improvement projects. If you don’t have a store close by, there are hundreds of instructional videos online that make it easy to learn what you need to.

2. Set a Budget:  The biggest key to saving money when you are shopping is setting a budget. When you plan our your project and know exactly how much you can afford to spend, it makes it a lot easier to ignore the special offers and upgrades that you’ll see at the home improvement store. It’s really easy to go over your budget when you go into a store unprepared. Make sure you do research on exactly what you need to complete your projects. Watch for sales and buy only what you need. Don’t use the 50% price tag as an excuse to overspend.

If you need some specialty equipment to complete your project, ask around and see if you can borrow from friends or family. Someone in your circle of influence may have just the equipment you need so you won’t have shell out money for something you’ll only use once. This way you’ll stay within your budget and still be able to complete your project.

3. Hire a “Crew” for Cheap:  Your friends and family can also be a good source of cheap labor. If you’re doing some extensive work on your house that requires more than one set of hands, schedule some time with friends and family. Make a day of it and provide them with food. Most will be happy to help as long as you return the favor when they need help.

4. Go Slowly with Home Improvements:  Once you’ve completed one project, you might feel so ambitious that you want to renovate the whole house. Not only can multiple jobs be costly, but you may find yourself burning out halfway through your projects and making mistakes which could cost you in the long run. Plan out your improvements so you can budget for them and ensure that you’ll actually get them done.