I am a wife of 10 years, a mom of 2 years, and currently pregnant with twins. My husband (MonkeyDad) and I have moved 5 times in our years of marriage, which spans 2 states. We've had to learn to do stuff ourselves in our homes in order to save money. Thankfully, my hubby is pretty handy and what he doesn't know, he gets from books. All I know, I learn from him and of course from watching DIY shows on TV.

We are currently living in a new home, which you would think have no problems, but unfortunately, it does. Nothing major yet - but still being able to do stuff around the house ourselves save us money.

The landscaping is the one of the major headaches right now. The grading is wrong, so we end up with a pool when it rains hard. Our backyard has got a lot of trees, which we enclosed with a fence but it's not very level. Fortunately, the hubby has gotten grass to grow there so it's a great place for our son to play in. But the grass is a mystery in itself.  We have put fescue seed, and somehow in the middle of the summer, they die and some new mysterious breed of grass grow.  Anyway, the yard is a project that requires professional help when we are able to devote time and money on it. In the meantime, we are doing what we can ourselves.