Category: Frugal Living

Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

We have all seen the post-apocalyptic movies where improvise armored vehicles with machine guns roam the landscape.  These Hollywood creations make for great entertainment but are such cobbled together machines just fantasy?  The civil war in Somalia introduced the world to “Technicals”, or utilizing civilian vehicles, like decades old Datsun and Totota Hilux pickup trucks, as a platform to mount heavy machine guns, like the Soviet era DShK 12.7mm.  Thirty years later and such vehicles are now being used on the battlefields of Ukraine.  Not only has Ukraine made improvised war wagons out of civilian pickup trucks but they have …


Update: Budget Preparedness–Survival Isn’t About Stuff, It is About Skills

JWR’s Introductory Note: This is an update to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog back in June, 2008. It includes an adenda from my first wife Linda (“The Memsahib”), who passed away in 2009. It is part of a series of SurvivalBlog 20th Anniversary update re-posts, in recognition of the fact that the majority of readers did not join us until recent years. — I often stress that a key to survival is not what you have, but rather what you know. (See my Precepts of Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy web page.) In part, I wrote: Skills Beat Gadgets and …


How Do You Define an “Emergency Situation”?, by A.Y.

An emergency, as Webster’s Dictionary defines it, is: “…an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action, or an urgent need for assistance or relief.”  Throughout our lifetimes we may see many types of emergencies not just the Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) types of emergencies such as nuclear war or economic collapse that we should be prepared for. I have found that in my life choosing the prepper lifestyle has aided me in many such emergencies.  Once, for instance, I found when I was laid off from work that my preparedness and stringently frugal …


Practical Wood Stoves, by Tunnel Rabbit

Wood stoves are the heart of everything that happens at a off-grid homestead. The obvious reason is that it provides heat that keeps the home warm and comfortable, yet it can also be used to cook and preserve our food, boils water for drinking and cleaning, and just as important, wherever it is located there will be the family gathered together. The Fisher/Forester style stoves were produced in the the early 1980s all over the U.S. in small and large metal fabrication shops that purchased the doors that had the name brand cast into the door. Had the name plate …


The Smaller Things, by A. Midwester

To give you a little background, for most of my life I lived in an urban environment, everything I needed was just a short walk or drive away. It could have been a few 2x4s and screws for one of my many projects, a new tool when I needed it, or anything else like it. If it wasn’t available locally, I could easily order it online and expect it, almost without failure, within a day or two. It’s truly amazing what society has developed in terms of convenience. But it’s also scary to consider what would happen if that convenience …


Making Your Home More Self-Sufficient, by Jonathan Rawles

As we have just passed the midpoint of winter, it’s time to be laying plans for the spring. Whether you are already residing at a rural retreat or it’s still a future goal, there opportunity to improve on your home’s self-sufficiency and food production. Where can you start with self-sufficiency if you’re still on a suburban lot? You must be more considerate of neighbors, local ordinances, and homeowners’ Associations (HOAs). But even so, there’s great potential for supplemental food production even on a city lot. A few projects to consider: Replace ornamental trees with productive fruit or nut trees. With …


Countering Rampant Food Price Inflation, by SaraSue

When one of my daughters, who has a good job, starts complaining about how insane food and supply prices are, I pay attention.  She has started shopping at Walmart searching for the lowest possible prices.  Her recent cart rung up at $450 and she didn’t buy hardly any food – mostly toilet paper, paper towels, dog and cat food, a few household items, and enough food for a few good meals for her family.  She exclaimed, “This won’t even last us a week!”  I keep telling her to shop Costco for certain items – you get way more product for …


Career Change to a Durable Trade, by A Grateful Mechanic

I get great enjoyment from reading the perspectives and implementing the ideas in SurvivalBlog. This is a wonderful space to be able to share operating experience and ideas for making our futures brighter and better. An article by Mr. Rawles dated October 12, 2009 references career paths that are recession-proof: What Recovery? Find yourself a Recoveryless Job. In the article, he made reference to difficult, dirty, and dangerous jobs. I recall reading that article and it made an impact on me and my life. Six years ago, I embarked on a journey to find a new career that would offer …


Low-Cost and No-Cost Preparedness

Many SurvivalBlog readers have contacted me, lamenting that they don’t have enough money to prepare.  My response? Re-prioritize how you spend your time and money. The following suggestions are primarily based on my own experience. Avalanche Lily and I do our best to live a frugal life. Please prayerfully consider and implement some or most of these suggestions, as new year’s resolutions. Here are some suggestions for spending less money: Pray. Prayer costs nothing, and it helps focus your mind on your priorities. Chief among these should be your family, friends, fellow church congregants, neighbors, and co-workers. Study. Used books …


Are You Self-Reliant, Self-Sufficent, or Self-Sustaining?, by Mrs. Alaska

One of our goals each year is to decrease our dependency on others by increasing our skills and resources. In the city, it was convenient to pay for services and products. Living remotely, we learn to do many things ourselves or do without. I evaluate aspects of our life on a continuum from dependent to independent: Dependent on others Self-reliant Self-sufficient Self-sustaining Given recent news reports of coronavirus and the economy, tornadoes, wildfires, and power outages, perhaps readers are applying this sort of rubric to their situations, too.


Ready Made Resources Ultimate BOB Versus a Home-Built BOB, by Tunnel Rabbit

Examining Bob’s Big Bug Out Bag Ready Made Resources lives up to its name in more than one way as a collection and outlet of some of the best prepping equipment and supplies. In total, it represents a substantial body of knowledge and experience, wrapped and stuffed onto a single website. Given that fact, no wonder customers are in awe of the variety and depth, and some consider Robert Griswald “King Prepper”. No doubt about it, as evidenced on the Internet, there must exist such a place hidden in the hills and hollers of Tennessee a veritable prepper’s dream warehouse. …


Stretching Your Dollars, by Elli O.

Inflation is high. In fact, it has reached at least a 40-year high (depending on who you listen to) and shows no sign of slowing down. Mortgage interest rates are at a 20-year high. More households than ever before are struggling to pay for groceries, medical treatment, housing, and gasoline. Since our influence on the problem of inflation is next to non-existent, then we need to focus on some simple but basic solutions to being frugal. Stretching our dollars until the next payday is our goal! My husband says that I am frugal to the point of being miserly! But …


Preparedness on a Shoestring Budget (Updated)

Introductory Note: This is an update to a couple of articles that I wrote back in the early days of SurvivalBlog. — I often get e-mails from readers claiming either directly or indirectly that preparedness is “only for wealthy people.”  They believe that working-class people cannot afford to prepare. That is nonsense. By simply re-prioritizing your budget and cutting out needless expenses (such as alcohol, cigarettes, convenience foods, and subscription movie streaming services) almost anyone can set aside enough money for a year’s worth of storage food in fairly short order. It is amazing what can be done with hard …


Consider Health Sharing Programs, by Harvey Griffin

Regular visitors to SurvivalBlog no doubt share the desire for greater independence and are assisted by the virtues of frugality and common sense. Like many of you, I search for alternative products and services that fit my budget, lifestyle, and values. One line item that proved difficult to match my requirements but was a necessary evil for years was health insurance. I have a family with young children and as much as I admire pioneers and the old ways of doing things, I could not responsibly choose to forgo coverage altogether. Thankfully about six years ago I researched Christian health …


Homemade Household Products Using Bulk Ingredients, by Mrs. Alaska

When people jokingly refer to Whole Foods as “Whole Paycheck” to indicate the price points, I wonder if they conclude that all organic products and foods have to be expensive. It is indeed more expensive to raise meat on a small homestead than to buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco. But so many pricey organic foods and value – add products are quickly and cheaply made at home. A frugal person can save thousands of dollars per year by combining ingredients for tasty or useful products. Put that cash to other purposes less easily accomplished. In addition, making products from …