Dear Jim,
So many people are struggling to find ways to make ends meet, much less have any extra money to make purchases for their preparedness plan.
There are a lot of things people can do within their own means.
1. Make a budget. Income minus expenses. Is there anything left over? You are ahead of the game. If not, now is the time to:
2. Trim the budget. Distinguish needs versus wants. Eliminate anything that is not needed.
3. If after trimming the budget, you still cannot find extra money, get a second job, have a yard sale, etc. www.daveramsey.com is a great site for
learning how to eliminate debt.
Some things that have worked for us:
We turned up the thermostat in the summer and used a fan to circulate the air, started hanging clothes out instead of using the dryer, unplugged all electrical cords that were not in use, [each of us] used the same drinking glass instead of getting another, and shortened our allowed shower time. (With three teenagers in the house, we struck gold with that one.) We turned all computers off at night. Our power bill was reduced just over $100 per month by making these changes.
We eliminated the cable television. That saved $70.
We started clipping coupons again. I have saved nearly $200 a month on our grocery bill. CouponMom.com is an awesome site.
I also milk our goats. I will not pay $4.00 a gallon per day at the store.
Instead of spending a lot on pre-packed snacks for the kids, I am baking a lot more.
We cook outside a lot. On Sunday, we grill and smoke chicken, sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs and goat meat. We then use this meat in whatever recipe we want to use for the week. Some of it is then frozen for the latter part of the week.
I make up a few batches of goat cheese to go with my husband’s homemade pita bread.
We have a garden in the summer and we can what isn’t eaten fresh . Even if you live in the city, you can still have a tomato plant or a bell pepper plant etc. You can purchase a grow light at Wal-Mart.
We have consolidated our trips into town, instead of going whenever we want to. This has saved at least $40 a month.
There are so many ways to stop wasting money.
Okay, some women really will think TEOTWAWKI with this one: Buy your clothes second hand. I am not ashamed to accept hand me downs from friends. My children have all worn clothes given to them from other family members. I also shop at Goodwill [thrift stores] or go to Yard Sales.
Start a business. I am a stay at home Mom with five children. We have nearly four acres that we live on and have access to 20 acres next door and that we run our 40 head of Boer goats on. We have chickens and rabbits. I also breed and train German Shepherds and board dogs. With my husband’s income and the extra attention to detail, we do pretty well. The changes that we have made has allowed us to purchase the needed extras.
Thanks for the wealth of knowledge that you share with us every day! – RH in Alabama