How do you spend your money to further your SS goals?

[Ldychef2k]

I was editing my post while you were writing yours....let's see if I can help with your questions.

I have 1350 jars, most recently being given 200 quarts, 2/3 of which are mayo jars which are going to be water bathed.

This is one of several of my blog posts on canning, from last September. I was at about 400 then. I am canning absolutely everything I can possibly get my hands on. My mom gave me some pork and chicken the other day, and I canned pork and apple stew and am freezing the chicken breasts. I have about 40 cans of chicken, so I may fry this !!!

Yes, I have what many people here have, the Excaliber. I had a round one, burned it up, built one in a cardboard box that worked TOO well and the food burned, and got a home made one on FreeCycle which I wore out. Finally used my birthday money last September to get the excaliber. It was a really good idea.

Hope that covers it...

I always feel like an interloper when I talk about my measly eight months now of trying to figure this stuff out, when so many ladies here have made it a lifestyle for decades.

 

[Joel_BC]

It occurs to me that I simply spend money as it becomes available without much of a plan. I like to think that I buy usefull and neccessary things but I don't think that I am as directed as I should be.

Do you have a "five year plan" so to speak? How to decide what to do and how?

This post is three years and a couple months old now, and I suspect that you've found a path, 'enjoy the ride'.

By the way, I quite enjoyed hwillm1977's reply (post #3) - impressive plan.

Anyhow, I just joined SS recently. I've been at the homesteading thing for quite a while and it's now a comfortable way of life for me, one that has at stretches also involved either a full-time or part-time job. Can't say it's been comfortable or easy every year, though... there's been thick and thin.

One of your two main questions was: "How to decide what to do and how?" The following is definitely an important part of my way of doing things. Acquire tools and skills...

On another forum here at SS, I explained that when I was real young guy, I soon realized that having, or having access to, $100-worth of "handyman"-type tools probably saved me at least $1000 a year. I could expand my skills for making and re-building and repairing things. First I acquired the basics, such as a hammer, a handsaw, pair of pliers, combination screwdriver, carpenter's level - all the sorts of items most people can probably find used and in decent shape, in a sizable pawn shop or second-hand store. Sure, you've got to spend, but spend within your means by making discriminating decisions.

Intent: to be capable of doing things and at the same time to thereby save money per annum. As necessity led me to need and want to take on more ambitious projects, I of course found I had to expand my range of tools. To do what? Fix electrical circuits and appliances, take care of things on our vehicles, build additions on buildings or put construct buildings, maintain and fix homestead equipment. A tool collection gradually grows along these lines: figure out what you need to do, decide which tools you could borrow or rent; if you need to buy, then shop around.

Libraries stock do-it-yourself books. There are countless DIY sites on the internet, and YouTube has many thematic DIY videos (very valuable).

These days I estimate that I save probably around $80,000 in a given five year period by doing things for myself. If I have to hire someone, I may still be able to be a capable assistant to that person, again saving money.

No one can decide for you how to develop your home place, but things will occur to you. If you've got free time, acquire skills.

 

[THEFAN]

We feel saving money that your projected to spend in the future is money earned and can be put to better use later on. For example. We use to fill up 5 times a yr with oil. At 3.50 a gallon roughly that could cost us 700.00 plus a fill up. So we are looking at 3500 a yr. Since we have put our woodstove in we are down to 3 fill ups and hoping to cut another fill up this winter. Our hot water is on oil right for now but that is a another topic. So, in my book we are saving 1400 a yr now. the first yr payed for the woodstove and putting it in . Tile, piping, and ,labor etc). We have plenty of firewood on our property so we only buy maybe 2 cords of yardwood each yr. We use to prebuy and put 3000.00 down on our oil now we put 1500.00 or so. With this savings each yr we are insulation more, adding more solar items, building out buildings and adding to the animals. We figure we would be giving this money to BIG OIL but now it's our SS extra money each yr.

We have a lot of other ways we use our money and time to hedge. We only buy Christmas with money we earn by selling odd stuff on-line through out the yr. Each yr we have a big yard sale. We usually can get 300-1000 with that ( this yr we made 900.00) That money went towards school cloths and some dad toys.

We bulk buy just about everything. Essentials we buy 3 yrs worth. Most will last longer.

We don't buy new. We don't buy brand names unless they are at the the thrift stores or people give us them. NEVER PAY RETAIL is our moto.

Barter when ever we can. I have bartered for many many items this yr and some of it has turned into some nice stuff and some a hefty profit.

We have no T.V. programming. TV is just for movies and some video gaming in the deep winter. Helps with the winter blues up here.

Dial up works fine and basic phone. Nothing fancy here ya'll. internet, phone and electric 100.00 a month.

Our biggest goal now is to pay our house off in the next 10 or less yrs. Last of our debt to the system and then we will be totally free from the banksters.

All our ways of dealing with money and the way we go about things is for the long haul. The price is debt free and as self sufficient and off the grid as possable.

Thank you for reading. Just my worthless 2 cents in there system.

 

[Wannabefree]

I don't really have a plan per se all drawn out. We live day to day, and let tomorrow worry about itself to a large degree. WHEN we do have a bit extra money we buy things SS that will save in the long run. There is a list of want/need items that we maintain. By focusing on now rather than putting so much emphasis on a 5 year plan or whatever we get more accomplished. We don't spend on things we don't need or frivolous things unless it's a splurge for a gift for birthday/holiday and most things we gift each other are SS anyway, because that's just what we want. IF we had a five year plan, it'd be paying off the house, and I don't see where we'll be short on that. That's SS too, so as stated, we have just made being more SS a lifestyle and what we spend is generally SS anyway. Our mindset dictates our spending on everything. We are careful with our money on a daily basis and it works for us because we're generally pretty disciplined about it to begin with.

 

[Gypsi]

I started having a plan in about 2007. I kept my 1975 chevy, because it has a carburetor (sp not in my dictionary - but in other words it is NOT fuel injected), and I think it could be re-tooled to run on methane. I planned on chickens. I replaced the central a/c compressor unit in 2005 - found out the central inside unit was ancient and would cost $4K to replace. Kinda went ok, let's just patch it through, because I have always hated central heat, very inefficient, and I do have a small house, so I replaced a transformer, and a heating element (had to get one for a dryer), and clean the coils annually on the inside unit. When it goes all the way, it just goes.

I bought a wood parlor stove at an estate sale in 2005, it was rusty, in storage for 10 years, and said I would refinish it. How do I pick the when? Rolling blackouts, high bills and shivering my way through last winter, got it done, and properly installed with triple wall chimney in the attic and fireproof flooring surround, this summer. I've had my heat on twice - including for about half an hour this morning. Stove had gone out, it was 63 in the house, and I need to clean ash out of it and check my chimney, been burning some hackberry mixed with my oak.

I decided in 2009 that I might want bees, in 2010 all of the bees in the neighborhood were wiped out by a bad removal, so in March 2011 I had the bees all lined out as soon as the cash came in the door to pay for them. With them came the fencing I knew I would have to add, the bee section was done 20 minutes before the bees got here, so my workers didn't get stung.

My 10 year plan was self sufficiency: Energy - methane, solar, passive solar. Can't do wind in city limits, can't lay geothermal line that is effective without digging too deep and it would definitely violate city code. I really started the planning in 2005 after the last child moved out, so I've got 4 years to finish. Talked to a solar expert in 2005 and was told I would have to give up my energy guzzling appliances. I gave the electric range away this year, love my induction cooktop. I installed a very small solar system this year as backup for the ponds, to start learning solar. I want to learn to expand it. With the chevy down, and the mazda wrecked, I've got a couple more batteries, need to learn to daisy chain them.

Food: chickens (got those in Spring 2010), bees for honey and gardens, gardens went in, in 2002, expanded greatly in 2011, despite the drought, I ran soaker hoses and covered unplanted areas with pond liner to block evaporation, 20 minutes a day on a soaker got me a great garden. I wanted a goat, because I thought I could tolerate goats milk - can't tolerate cow's milk at all, but I do not have enough land, I could lease grazing space cheap nearby but I would have to fence it, and I don't have time to move a tethered goat around. Plus, I've seen the damage they can do to gardens, etc. Maybe a dwarf goat some day, after the drought is over.

When I see something about to break in the house, I just start incorporating a new, better way to do it, and do a work-around. Solar hot water weighs too much for my roof, but solar panels do not. I am hoping they will come out with induction hot water on demand by the time my 4 year old electric water heater burns out.

The foundation was dipping at the back of my garage, so when the rain finally jacked the thin slab up, I got my helper out here and for $80 including him and materials, that foundation spot is fixed. And while we were at it the hollies came out, making room for a greenhouse, which I just happened to need for business and garden stuff, and it's not large, but it got put up, JUST AS chicks came in at the feed store, so I've got 5 pullets in the greenhouse.

So how do I decide how to spend my money on SS? What needs done NOW that is part of the big picture, what adjacent parts need done to support that (ie: privacy fence for beekeeping - some kind of extended strong roof if I ever try solar hot water.)

I don't spend money I don't have, I have NO credit cards, few debts except my mortgage. Everything is cash and carry.

Gypsi

 

[me&thegals]

Great ideas, everyone! I feel like a slacker for not having a plan. We have our home and land, so the plan is to always make enough money to cover mortgage, land payment and taxes. Fortunately, only one of those payments will go up over time.

As for *extra money*, when that happens it gets dumped in savings, kids' college plan or Roth IRA. We might spend a small chunk on a nice but definitely nonluxurious vacation. Sometimes it must be spent on a new appliance or unforeseen car repair.

This year or in the next couple, I foresee a new car. Maybe not *new*, but new to us anyway, so we're definitely putting more in our savings account to try to keep extra money readily accessible for when it finally bites the dust.

Otherwise, I like spending $ on hobbies that eventually pay for themselves. I'm thrilled to have just now started selling lip balm, over 15 this week alone! So, that will start paying for the expenses. The soap is also just now selling, but only $7 so far. If people love it, it will pay for itself.

The CSA business will need some money directed at it for more fence posts for tomato supports, some sort of trellising for the cukes and possibly a boatload of black plastic to get better weed control in the melons and squashes. The fenceposts will last a long, long time; the black plastic hopefully 2+ years.

How fun to see this almost 2 years later

My CSA business bought a Massey-Ferguson tractor, which will help me manage the business nearly alone. The business also bought a small shed to store the tractor, all my gardening stuff, and a place to house the walk-in cooler husband swapped labor for, and a lean-to greenhouse up against the shed. We also bought an enormous row of floating row cover, much cheaper per yard than buying it by the piece. Plus many more fence posts and a huge roll of black plastic that will last for probably 5 years. We also bought a wheel seeder that saves us many hours and sore backs, a flamer for weed control, a pump water sprayer for much faster and effective watering of seedlings.

We did buy a used car this year

The soap, body balm and lip balm brought in nearly $4000 in sales this year, which I would never have imagined 1 year ago.

So, yes, the money we make usually gets poured back into the enterprise, so far earning more money. Or it goes into savings for big purchases that come up over the years. I cannot stand to pay interest and have only had to on the mortgage so far.

 

[hqueen13]

A plan? I'm supposed to have a plan? You mean just planning to get the heck out of here isn't plan enough?!

I guess I need to get busy... We're in an ok spot right now, and I am working on buying up things that will help us in the long run. Borders books went out of business, and I bought up a WHOLE LOT of books on SS type stuff. We went in there once a week for the last weeks before they closed and just about every time we spent $100.00, and saved that much or more. Got some good books on lots of different topics that should help us out. So while I can't physically do much yet, I am trying to soak up as much preknowledge as I can

Beyond that... saving money is just about all we can do. We've got to build up as much as possible so that we can afford to get the heck out of here!

 

[THEFAN]

A plan? I'm supposed to have a plan? You mean just planning to get the heck out of here isn't plan enough?!

I guess I need to get busy... We're in an ok spot right now, and I am working on buying up things that will help us in the long run. Borders books went out of business, and I bought up a WHOLE LOT of books on SS type stuff. We went in there once a week for the last weeks before they closed and just about every time we spent $100.00, and saved that much or more. Got some good books on lots of different topics that should help us out. So while I can't physically do much yet, I am trying to soak up as much preknowledge as I can

Beyond that... saving money is just about all we can do. We've got to build up as much as possible so that we can afford to get the heck out of here!

Good luck and god speed. Be safe.

 

[cheepo]

this year I have been very blessed....

finally brooke free from wasted money spent on rent...and now have our own place...

learned how to cook with a pressure cooker..

bought a excalabut dehydrator...

learned how to can...(from u tube) ...first got a lovely yellow craigslist special presto ...canner...
after problems with gasket and guage...my hubby...got me an all american...

planted my first garden in years

got chickens...

plan to have a greenhouse...but right now is just a frame...

did spend on a used chipper/shredder...so I could be indipendent and deal with all the leaves and sticks...


plans...

I have a wonderful yard...plan to grow and sell plants at the farmers market...
sell my canned wares at the market...

however...travel with wares would be difficult...so would wish 4 a small drivable.
camper that we could get away with...but practical...
to pick up larger discount wares.. as after retirement, if possible my hubby would like to open an art/artique shop
and I could take tent and products to sell at the market...

most all of my purchases are about the long haul...
but squirl what ever i can...darn kids..don't help my goals though...

I feel very blessed..

we were living in vancouver before...which has incredibly high house prices...
so we didn't think we would be able to buy...

my dream would be to buy the property behind us which is an incredibly overgrowthed just over 2 acres...
but they want...get this....$459,000...
so unless we won the lottery, and I am to cheap 2 buy tickets...soo
i am happy with my blessings...






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