So before you spend a lot of unneeded money on a professional, or before you spend even more money on a botched home improvement project that you should have called a professional for in the first place, follow these steps to know what you should not do by yourself and what you should do by yourself.

1. Honestly and realistically assess your own skills.

Sit down and be honest with yourself. Do you really like working with things? Do you enjoy working hard? Do you mind getting dirty? If you answer yes to those questions, then it's time to move on to the next ones.

Make a list of each project that you want to undertake. Do research on each one so that you are fully educated as to what the project will entail, what materials you will need, and what steps you will have to take. Go to your local home improvement store and talk to the staff people there about everything that this project will require.

Can you figure out all of the steps that you are going to need to take to finish this project? If you can't think of everything, from unscrewing the light fixture to changing the wires to shutting off the electricity, then you might want to hire a professional instead.

2. Some projects and problems should only be left to professionals.

There are certain projects or aspects of projects that should only be handled by professionals. Some examples of these are anything that involves electrical lines, anything that involves natural gas pipes, or anything that can involve plumbing. All of these can result in serious problems; possible death or serious injury in the case of the first two, and serious headaches and flooding in the case of plumbing.

Also remember that if your project is going to possibly require meeting some sort of building code or any regulations, then you should consult a professional or at least a member of your local government. Otherwise you can face serious fines and penalties, along with the possibility of having to do a project over if someone from the city finds out that your windows aren't big enough, your addition is too tall, and you've tapped into someone else's gas line.

There are other projects that are really difficult, and you might be better off hiring a contractor. Examples? Putting in solid surface countertops, installing drywall, or installing cabinets. For bigger jobs, such as putting an addition on your house or roofing your house, unless you are yourself a professional, then you are going to want to give someone else a call.

Remember that even if you are trying to save on costs, if you aren't qualified to do the project, the amount that you will have to pay to get it fixed will highly outweigh the amount of money that you saved the first time around.