Category: Frugal Living

Free Food: How I Found it and What I’ve Done With it, by Ristin B.

I have discovered an ongoing source of mostly organic, quality food that requires only my commitment, labor and time as payment. Because it often arrives at my house in amounts greater than can be consumed immediately, most of it is being preserved to add to my long-term storage of foods in preparation for the days ahead when obtaining such food will be difficult. A new food shelf opened in my town a bit more than a year ago. This particular food shelf works with a major chain of well-known grocery stores. The food shelf accepts the fresh produce and flowers …


Letter Re: Sewing to Repurpose Items for SHTF

Dear Editor: I used to be much more of a seamstress than I am now, but I’m getting back into it as I can’t find clothes I like (modern women’s pants all want to fall off my butt) and I am sewing my own gear to save money.  This article will focus on repurposing fabric items that are worn out or that you don’t want anymore, into other fabric items that are more useful for a SHTF situation. Don’t throw out old clothes, even if they’re stained or otherwise unwearable.  Even clean old underwear can be repurposed into rags or …


How I Got Started Prepping, by Gary S.

You may be reading this and have not made the decision to get started.  You may be facing some of the same challenges I had or you may have your own.  I want to encourage you to find ways to overcome your obstacles.  Getting started is the biggest step. My family and I have always led a very frugal life.  My wife and I both work, and I have a second job as well.  The grocery bill stays under $30 per week through couponing and eating-in.  Money has gone into savings in case of emergency and we finally have a …


Dispelling Some Homeschooling Myths, by Lori R.

The Boston Tea Party was a terrorist act—or so it is characterized in the 6th grade curriculum widely used in my beloved state of Texas.  The Pledge of Allegiance—in Arabic?   The national anthem—well, some schools have banned it for being “too offensive…”   At least the flag is still there—oh, wait, that’s the Mexican flag…Speaking of flags, let’s design a flag—for a new Socialist country.  Why is patriotism under attack in America’s public school system? Better yet, why are kids under attack in America’s public school system?  Hugs are banned as a form of sexual harassment, yet condoms and STD screenings …


Bangladesh: Lessons Learned and Brought Home, by K.G.

A few months ago, work requirements took me to a country where I’d never been before, and where, frankly, I never dreamed I’d go: Bangladesh. I’d venture to guess that few Westerners (and even fewer Western women) have had the opportunity that I recently did, and so I’d like to contribute to readers some of the experiences I had and some of the lessons I was able to bring home. Before writing further, let me say that less than two weeks in any country does not make an expert of any visitor – myself included. I can’t and won’t pretend …


Bang For Your Buck: A Guide To Affordable & Reliable Firearms For Preppers, by I.K.

What We’re Shooting For This article is intended as a guide for preppers who want to buy their first or first few guns, but have very limited funds to do so.  It will give specific recommendations for affordable and reliable firearms in the .22 Long Rifle caliber category, shotgun category, handgun category, and rifle category.  It will also endeavor to keep Boredom Poisoning to a minimum. For whatever reason, I’m betting that you’ve been thinking about getting a gun for the first time or expanding your gun collection to make it more comprehensive.  Perhaps it’s because you’ve been watching C-SPAN.  …


Food Storage on a Budget, by N.T.M. in Nevada

When it comes to food storage, people that I have talked with have almost always made the comment that they can barely afford to feed their family now much less afford to have food storage.  I am currently working with a few people and teaching them how to feed their family and still put food up for TEOTWAWKI.  There are three things that I tell people to always do, (1) gardening, (2) couponing, and (3) food co-ops. (1) Gardening.  When TSHTF, you don’t want to be changing the way that your family eats because then you could be facing worse …


Treasure Hunting, Prepper-Style, by PrepperGal in Colorado

Nearly two-thirds of all the furnishings and prep items in my home were used when I got them.  As the economy has continued to crumble, any stigma attached to shopping on the cheap has given way to pride at getting a good deal.  Forget designer shoes or imported coffee – I get absolutely giddy when I come home with a great “find”! But can you rely on bargain shopping to get all the things you need to help your family be prepared for whatever comes your way?  Is there a way to really make “treasure hunting” both fun and successful? …


Couponing for TEOTWAWKI, by Lynn A.

Our priorities have changed as a family and we have morphed very quickly into a completely different mindset like our very lives depend it and they may. A year ago, if you would have told me that I would be preparing for what we all know is on its way, I would have gotten a great laugh out of it. Not that we didn’t have an inkling, it was just easier to ignore the threat .  The more my husband and I began to sit up and pay attention to our nation, the reality of what is happening in this …


Teach Your Children Well, by Vicki W.

My daughter was recently in an Earth Science class where a discussion took place.   The other students didn’t know that the dandelion with the yellow flower and the dandelion with the white seeds were one and the same.  And this is from students who have taken numerous public school science classes and will soon be out in the adult world.  As I told this to a close friend, she made the observation that this will be the level and skills of people we will be dealing with should TEOTWAWKI happen.  My heart hurts that children aren’t taught to think and how …


Prepping: A Nickel, A Dime, a Dollar at a Time, by, T.J.

Many years ago, when I was a young teen, I started a hope chest. My grandmother had taught me about having a hope chest during the depression. She said that as a young girl, living in hard times, the only hope she had of having a dowry was her hope chest. So she embroidered on used pillow cases to make them seem nice, and even special. She learned to darn old tablecloths and repair small tears and holes, and she would put these in her hope chest. Small things really, and admittedly, not necessary, but things to make her future …


Clothing for the Apocalypse: Wardrobe Considerations for Families with Young Children, by Jeff B.

“I’ve outgrown another dress. That’s the third. I’m having to wear Margot’s clothes after all…” The diary of Anne Frank, by By Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Anne Frank, p. 86. When Anne first heard they had to leave for the Secret Annex, she started to pack. First her diary went in, then her curlers, handkerchiefs, schoolbooks, comb, and a few letters. Miep Gies came and took away some shoes, dresses, coats, underclothes, and stockings. Anne wrote in her diary ” We put on heaps of clothes as if we were going to the North Pole, the sole reason being to …


Emergency Preparedness for the Frugal Beginner, by Paratrooper John

The incredibly large volume of information available regarding emergency preparedness and survival is both wonderful and terrible at the same time.  There’s enough information to keep an enthusiast occupied for years and enough information to keep beginners away for the rest of their lives. It can be a very daunting task for a new or inexperienced person to try and decide where and how to begin.  Should a beginner attend survival training, have a year’s supply of food, have their home hooked up with backup generators, move to the country, live off the grid and have stockpiles of firearms with …


How to Make Lye Soap, by Masquita

WARNING: Lye is highly caustic and will degrade organic tissue. Do not allow lye to touch your skin, breathe in the fumes or be taken internally in any way. It will cause chemical burns, permanent scarring or blindness. Do not ever combine lye with aluminum, magnesium, zinc, tin, chromium, brass or bronze. When using or making lye, always wear protective equipment including safety glasses and chemical resistant gloves, and have adequate ventilation.     Basic homemade lye soap is useful for so much more than cleaning up the language of wayward children. Grandma used to rub it on dirty stains …


Redefining Dollar Stores, by Michael Z. Williamson

At one time, dollar stores (former called “five and dime” stores) sold closeouts, leftovers, seconds and special deals.  Increasingly, though, they’re selling purpose-made, second-rate, third world junk made just for that purpose.  I would never trust any tool from such a store–they’re of pot metal and guaranteed to fail.  They are not, in my opinion, “better than nothing”, because they cost money, give you a false sense of security, and don’t accomplish anything. I would recommend finding both actual overstock and closeout stores, and thrift stores, as well as frequenting garage sales.  At the latter two, older tools without the …