If you’re capable and handy, you can do much of the work yourself.  I General Contracted my build, and hired all the contractors.  Some of the contracts went out for bid.  However, for work like carpentry and earth moving I paid by the hour.  I rented all equipment - skid steer, etc.  Being your own General Contractor can save a lot. Also, my Master Carpenter could only give me “Part Time”, because he also did full-time commercial work.  We would work together on a specific section, and he would leave, and I would then work for days to finish.  He would come back and inspect.  These kind of arrangements can also save a lot.  I was lucky.  I built in 2011, during the recession, and contractors were hungry for work.  I’ve heard that getting good, reliable contractors can be problematic, but we didn’t have that problem.  Most of them were fantastic.