i'm not even going to touch on the money aspect beucase sh!t is ridiculous right now...

For plans, you don't necessarily need an architect, a good draftsman can do what you need. find one local to your area, ask around, look at his/her work. i downloaded a ton of plans from different sites (like madden homes) and we went though each one and circled what we liked and didn't like. We also went into it with a 2 page list of our wants, needs, and also things we did not want.

we brought all of that to him and a general idea of the exterior look we wanted and he went to work. we went through a few iterations and are extremally happy with our layout.

One VERY IMPORTANT thing to do is live in your floorplan before you start. what i mean by that is ask for a 1/4"=1' scale set of plans and print out a set of 1/4" scale furniture template from the internet, cut out your furniture, and lay it out in the house. where will you walk, do you have space for that chair or this table, how will it flow. also get some blue tape and lay out different rooms in your current house in an open area or on the garage floor. if you're not the type of person that can visualize a set of plans brought to life, you might miss something that you'll hate and have to live with forever.

another good resource for ideas is houzz and Pinterest to get ideas.

as far as skimping on stuff "to do later", honestly, just do it. like someone said, what you "want" will cost more anyway in the future, just roll it into your mortgage now. if it is something big structural or mechanical (especially plumbing) that you can't do right now but want to, get them to show it in the plans and rough it in. Adding carpentry isnt that bad in the future, busting out cement for a drain is a different animal.

we self contracted our house and i'd do it again in a heartbeat but that's the kind of thing i like to do. if you're not into it, it may not be for you. if you're worried about finding subs, go to the local lumber yard for recommendations on framers, concrete guys, finish guys, etc. The local paint shop for painter and cabinet maker recommendations. The local coburns or mechanical material shop for plumbers. Ask around to who your friends and relatives used.