海角大神

DIY can be a fun way to add a personal touch to your life and save money in the process, but聽before you drop everything to bust out a Pinterest-perfect project, take a moment to consider聽your options.聽聽

Yes, DIY projects CAN save you money, but that doesn't mean all of them will. In fact, if you don't already own the supplies, they can actually end up costing you significantly more聽money than just buying a similar item that's ready to use. And even if something does save you money, doing DIY right takes a serious time commitment, and your time is valuable. If you're putting aside your normal responsibilities to complete a DIY project, it should be something that is worth the time, effort and cash聽you're going to spend on supplies and/or ingredients--something that you'll actually use more than once and be proud to show off.

I've written in the past about DIY hacks that are legitimately cheap, easy and useful, so I thought I'd go the other way this time. Here are five DIY projects that, unless you're an expert,聽will likely cost you more money than just shelling out for something store-bought, not to mention bring you all kinds of stress. To calculate the price of each project, I assumed that you (like me) didn't yet own any of the necessary ingredients, so you can subtract out the price of anything you already have stashed in the back of your cabinet to get a more accurate picture of聽the聽total cost.

1.聽Knitting your own sweaters

You can disregard this if you're a knitter by trade or hobby, because knitting obviously gives you joy and that's not something I want to take away from you. However, if you're someone who's interested in knitting their own clothes in order to save money, you're聽barking up the wrong tree.

In general, knitting聽a sweater is significantly more expensive than buying one, and even the most experienced knitters can take months or even years to finish a seemingly simple cardigan, like聽this one from Vogue Knitting.

The聽DIY Cost

The aforementioned cardigan pattern calls for:

• 9 balls of Be Sweet Bamboo Yarn聽-- $86.40 (for 9 balls) at聽fabulousyarn.com
• 1聽pair US 8 needles聽--聽$3.99 at聽Michaels
• 1 pair US 8 double pointed needles聽--聽$3.99 at聽Michaels
• 1 crochet hook聽-- $1.79 at聽Michaels

TOTAL COST:聽$96.17 (+ several months of effort)

The Store-Bought Cost

I mean, this is a pretty basic black, knit cardigan.聽If you want this look right now there are endless options out there for you at the mall. Most聽cost significantly聽less than $96.17 and will take you about three seconds to purchase. Here are a few store-bought alternatives to the DIY sweater:

• Fine-Knit Cardigan聽-- $24.95 at聽H&M
• Tilly Cardigan聽-- $79.50 at聽J.Crew
• Oversized Cable-Knit Cardigan聽-- $19.90 at聽Forever 21
• ECI Three-Quarter Sleeve Cardigan聽-- $19.99 at聽Macy's

If you want to learn to knit and don't mind spending an extra $60-80 and months upon months on聽this project, then go ahead and knit yourself a sweater. If you're looking for a cheap and quick fashion fix, this probably isn't for you.

2.聽Making your own candles

This is one of those things that seems like a great idea in theory. I mean, those Yankee Candles are expensive! It has to be cheaper to make 'em yourself at home, right? Sadly, unless you've聽already got a cabinet full of candle-making supplies, creating聽your one of own can cost you聽more聽than double聽the price of just buying one. Let's break down the price of making your own 16 oz jar candle, shall we?

The DIY Cost

To make a candle, you'll need the following materials:

• 16 0z of聽Soy Wax聽--聽$8.64 at聽Amazon
• Fragrance聽--聽$9.99 at聽Amazon
• Dye聽-- $11.99 at聽Amazon
• Wicks聽-- $7.99 at聽Amazon
• A Mason Jar聽--聽$2.45 at聽Amazon

TOTAL COST:聽$41.06聽(+ a few hours and the very real possibility of disfiguring burns)

The Store-Bought Cost

Yeesh! That's not exactly a bargain, is it? Let's see how the price on ready-to-burn candles looks now:

• Fresh Comfort 16 oz Jar Candle聽-- $13.99 on sale at聽Yankee Candle
• 16 oz Bees Knees Honey Vanilla Jar Candle聽--聽$11.95 at聽Amazon
• Japonica-Santiago Huckleberry 16 oz聽Embossed Jar Candle聽-- $24 at聽Nordstrom

Not too bad, right? Plus you won't have to find a place to store all the leftover candle-making supplies you'll probably never use again. I call this a win-win.

3.聽DIY silly putty

Although聽making your own silly putty聽isn't very cost effective, it does seem聽like a fun activity that will keep your kids busy for a few hours this weekend. So even though聽I don't recommend this project聽as an exercise in frugality, if you want to try it out for fun, be my guest. If you're just looking to save a buck or two, just pick up a few eggs from Walgreens and call it a day.

The DIY Cost

To make your own silly putty, you'll need:

• Elmer Glue聽-- $3.00 for 8 oz at聽Walgreens
• Borax聽-- $8.99 at聽Walgreens
• Food Coloring聽-- $1.94 at聽Target

TOTAL COST:听$13.93

The Store-Bought Cost

At聽$0.97/canister, it would cost you聽$7.76 to buy as much as聽the above recipe is supposed to make. Half the price and none of the effort? Hear, hear!

4. Wedding invitations

According to The Knot's annual survey of brides, the average amount spent on wedding invitations in 2013 was $443, and at that price, the allure of DIY invites is understandable, but perhaps unfounded.聽聽Yes, it's possible to save a couple hundred dollars if you DIY, but when you're planning an entire wedding, you need to decide which projects are actually worth your time. Depending on how you want your invitations to look, making them yourself can be a serious time suck, and they might not turn out the way you want them, which means you'll end up wasting time and spending even more money ordering them last minute

Blogger Kirsten Hansen of聽Offbeat Bride聽says it this way:

"In general,聽I don't remember [a wedding's] invitations, thank you cards, the food, etc. What I'm trying to say is that it really is worth thinking about how important certain projects are to you. Or, to help you evaluate this better, how important is it going to be a month after your wedding? One month after your wedding, when you're starting to settle down, are you going to care about that? Will you wish you'd spent your time and energy on something else? If certain projects really matter, awesome. Do it! If not, then don't. Or just do a quick job of it. Get it done to a level that it deserves. It does not all need to be Martha Stewart-perfect."

The Wedding Invite Price Breakdown (for 100 invitations)*

• Design Studio -- $1,200+
• Stationary Store -- $700+
• Online Retailer -- $400+
• DIY -- $150+

*data via聽Woman Getting Married: How Much do Wedding Invitations Cost?

5. DIY EOS Lip Balm

I've recently become addicted to the bright color, the lip-smacking taste and the smoothing sensations of EOS lip balm, so I admit I was聽intrigued by聽this DIY project聽at first. Then I figured out how much it would cost me to make, laughed, and resolved to just buy more when I run out. However, if you already own these materials, of if you need a fun project to keep an older kid occupied, this isn't a bad option.

The聽DIY Cost

To make your own EOS-type lip balm, you will need:

• Beeswax聽--聽$7.35 at聽Amazon
• Coconut Oil聽-- 6.43 at聽Amazon
• Shea Butter聽-- $5.39 at聽Amazon
• Jojoba Oil聽-- $6.29 at聽Amazon
• Olive Oil聽-聽$4.98聽at聽Amazon聽(if you don't already have it)
• An EOS lip balm container聽--$2.99 at聽Walgreens聽(if you don't already have one)

TOTAL COST:听$33.42

The Store-Bought Cost

EOS Lip Balm聽--聽$2.99 at聽Walgreens

I think that speaks for itself.

What's the least cost-effective DIY project you've ever attempted?聽