Who here is truly self-sufficient?

[annmarie]

Thanks for all your good advice and suggetions. I grew up on a farm, watching both of my parents work together to make a living on the farm, so even though I've been doing the 9-5 thing ever since I've been an adult, it's never felt natural to me, and I don' t think it ever will. But it's true, there's a lot of aspects about it that is truly "easier" and we are able to pay the bills, and build up a savings, so I shouldn't complain. My husband and I both know that eventually, once the mortgage is paid off (about 14-15 years), our goal is to basically homestead, but now that my job may be ending next year, it gets tempting to move things along a little quicker! In the meantime, I'm just going to keep learing everything I can, and saving every dime I can, and we'll see what the future brings.

 

[FarmerChick]

what you said is so true....some things are built in us....like farming...LOL........"they" say to do what you love best and it makes for a great life, and making money at what you love to do helps alot also..LOL

just think slowly about what you want to achieve, what your lifestyle goal should be and you will fall right into what you want to do and make an easy decision then.

Life has lots of changes and lots of curves in it, and that makes it fun and exciting.

In a few we are loading up the summer's baby goats ( about 40 kids from this group) and taking them to the sale tonight and I hope the buyers have deep pockets. I need good money from this group.....sad to see them go, but estatic they are leaving also. So many animals gets annoying..LOL..time for someone else to feed them..HA HA

 

[patandchickens]

One thing I could definitely benefit from is more DIY experience, especially in building and repairs, and also general car maintenance, like oil changes. We're a bit too dependent on our friendly but costly mechanic and contractor! My mother bought me a sewing machine last year and I couldn't get it threaded and now it's up in the attic. I guess I better get it down and start fiddling with it again!

Perhaps that would be a good place to start, in terms of learning to do more yourself so you can spend less money. See if a local community college offers a 'basic auto care' night course, or maybe you have a friend or relative you could buy a case of beer for (or whatever the local currency is <g>) in exchange for an afternoon spent teaching you how to change your oil and air filter, change your brake pads, rotate your tires, things like that. Remember that you have the advantage of not having to learn to do it in *general* on *all* cars, just on your one specific car, so it is not at all hard to learn.

As for building and repairing things around the house, I'd say just try it. Preferably BEFORE the need - like, rebuild/enlarge/restructure your coop using scrounged materials (construction site plywood and 2x4s, pallets, that sort of thing). Retile a backsplash. Learn to solder copper piping (assuming that is how your house is plumbed), on scrap stuff not on your actual water lines the first time or two

Same with the sewing machine. Make tote bags and pillows to get you started - they are easy, forgiving and basically useful. It may also be worth teaching yourself to do simple alterations of garments, b/c then you can update styles to some extent, and can shop from a much larger selection of thrift-store clothes if exact size and fit is not as much of a limiting factor. Your library should have books; practice on stuff from the rag bag or thrift shop.

Couple other places to look for possible savings: what about Christmas and other presents (could you reduce # or cost, or make more yourself, or find some from secondhand stores);. Could you try to go a year without buying any clothes except from Salvation Army etc. And it's worth learning to MAKE convenience foods instead of buying them, to save a significant amount of money (try some of the freeze-big-recipes or cook-once-eat-several-times type strategies, they can save you both money and time) (a crock pot is your friend, too! ).

If you pare things down to the bare bones *now*, and sock the extra money away in the bank (not the stock market ha ha ha ), you will have a larger 'cushion' next summer, and thus will be able to try a longer trial period of part-time work to see how it goes. Also you will have a better cushion if, as sometimes happens, there is a lag between one job ending and the next beginning.

Good luck ,

Pat