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Thread: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

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    Canada Avalon Member DeDukshyn's Avatar
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    Default Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

     
    The last few years saw me going from being able to live reasonably well, from a financial aspect, to having to really think hard about how I live and spend what little money I have.

    The great thing is that instead of crying about it, I focused my attention to how I can adapt to the new economic challenges I have faced. I welcomed this challenge because true hard times may be ahead, economically, for many of us, and this has given me some practice so to speak.

    The intention for this thread is to turn those lemons into lemonade and share some of these things so that others may be able to benefit from them. I encourage anyone with their own cost cutting measures to chime in and share, and those with questions to bring them forward for discussion, to further any knowledge or strategies in this area.

    It may be prudent to understand that some strategies may work well in some demographics / geographics, and be less relevant in others - urban vs city living for example, or northern climates vs southern, etc.

    Here's a few practices I have had to engage in off the top of my head, I may add more further into the thread, and please do share your own, or ideas that you might have.



    1) Eliminate food waste.

    I throw away almost no food whatsoever, and do my best to prevent spoilage. If you find yourself throwing away leftovers, you need to learn how to be a better cook . Before cooking a meal, check the fridge for leftovers and consider how to incorporate them into the next dish. Even just throwing a bunch of leftovers into a pot with some broth and adding salt and spices most often yields surprisingly good results.

    I now save all my "scraps" that would normally be thrown out. These include vegetable scraps created during food preparation, and any bones, cartilage, skin, etc. after eating animal products. All these, including onion/garlic skins, carrot tops (if they're not too bitter), pepper stems, celery bases, corn cobs, pea pods, chicken leg / wing bones and scraps, rib bones, steak bones, shrimp / prawn shells, crab shells, lobster shells, etc. all get thrown in a freezer bag and put in the freezer until I have enough to make a pot of broth.

    Of course I keep them separated by type, veggies, chicken, seafood, beef, pork, etc. Never buy broth again. Freeze what you make for later use in "hillbilly tuperware" (next section).

    Plan you meals according to what you have, more often than "what you're in the mood for" that require you to buy specific ingredients - save those for "special meals".



    2) Save, wash, and re-use your "single use" food storage until its wore out.

    Margarine containers (I don't actually use margarine - its nasty), sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, plastic clamshell containers, freezer bags, etc. can all be washed an re-used. Store all that yummy broth you make from step one in the freezer using these items. You don't need fancy tupperware for that. I'll even clean and save aluminum foil, as long as there's nothing stuck on and its tear-free.

    I also save sauce jars, pickle jars, etc, and I almost always find uses for them



    3) Buy foods in larger quantities to take advantage of economies of scale.

    You can buy a 500gr bag of good quality rice for about $5 CAD ... or you can buy a 25kg bag for ~$50 CAD. That's $10 per kg vs $2 per kg. That's a savings of 80%. Do the same with pasta and other dry goods. They last almost forever in a cool dry place.

    Buy a case of canned goods on sale, and save up to 70% over buying a single can - they last far past their "expiry date" (more on that later). Buy whole chickens in bulk on sale and throw them in the chest freezer (buy a deep freezer and make pantry space). Buy meats in large "econo-size" packs when on sale, separate into appropriate serving sizes and freeze them.

    Always think about how you can take advantage of economies of scale, and use all those containers and bags you saved in step 2 for storage in appropriate sized containers.



    4) A "best before" date is NOT an expiry date!!


    The "best before" date on goods is arbitrary. It has been added to all foods because it is required by law. Most food manufacturers put the shortest date that they can absolutely guarantee the food will not spoil before, and many without even testing it, just put an arbitrary date. When I worked in the supplement industry, we just put two years on everything. We did very little testing in this regard, and almost the whole industry did the same. We once tested some 10 year old glucosamine we found in the back of the warehouse and it came back 100% good.

    Use the "look", "smell", "taste" method for determining food worthiness. Does it look good? Then smell it. Does it smell good?" Then taste it. Does it taste good? Then its good, especially if you are cooking with it.

    Dry and Canned goods last waaaay past their "best before" date. I have a sack of ten year old wheat grain in the cool room, that still grows into wheat grass (and can be ground into flour if S really HTF). Canned goods usually last at least 5 years, and many are still usable (with some exceptions) up to ten years. Pasta and other dry grains and lentils will last almost forever. If rice starts to smell a bit (takes years usually), usually its just the outside starch particles and rinsing well fixes it.



    5) Ditch cable!

    You don't need it. Netflix is still a decent price for what you get, and there are free alternatives like Tubi, and even Youtube has some free movies for entertainment. Go to the book store, thrift shop or whatever and buy some books to keep you entertained. Find a creative outlet to replace or supplement TV watching - its better for you anyway.

    And do you really need that "top" tier internet speed? Consider your actual needs against getting the "best" thing offered.



    6) Drive like grandma.


    I can save ~20% in gas between me driving "normally" (which is a bit fast with lots of nice engine revving sounds) vs me driving like a grandma - slow acceleration, staying at or near the limit, keeping your foot very light on the pedal.

    Do the regular maintenance on your car at appropriate intervals. This can save in very costly repairs down the road, pun intended. Also do some research to see where manufacturers OEM supplies are needed and where you can purchase less costly alternatives. Need a new battery? You don't need to buy an expensive "honda" branded battery from the dealer. Shop around. At the same time, there are some things like power steering fluid (in the case of honda) that are best purchased OEM.





    That's a few I got for now - many of you will know these well or already be practicing some of them, I would love to hear any other ways that you have or potentially new ides for how to reduce cost and thus increase self sufficiency. Hard times may or may not be ahead, knowing how to navigate them if they come will be like pure gold.
    Last edited by DeDukshyn; 11th September 2022 at 23:04.
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    good suggestions. i do a theme and variations on this as it is. live a minimalistic life even in good times. time and peace is of highest value

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    UK Avalon Member Brigantia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Where do I start... I've been living frugally for years. Here are some suggestions:

    Acquire skills for mending such as DIY home maintenance, clothes repair, car maintenance. YouTube is good for 'how to' vids.

    Compost vegetable and fruit waste for the garden, but not potato or tomato leftovers - also pick out seeds such as from apple cores if you don't want them sprouting in your garden.

    Buy secondhand; Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and shop notice boards are good places to look. Car boot sales are great for bargains, but don't get carried away and buy a load of stuff you don't need. Sell your own stuff too that you don't need, either online or do a local sale.

    For short journeys, walk or cycle rather than drive.

    Forage for free food, though learn about what is edible and what is not. My haul last week was 3 pounds of blackberries from the local hedgerows; some I'll use in cooking and the rest I'll turn into blackberry jelly and blackberry vinegar which is very good for winter colds.

    Batch cook - make double, triple or quadruple of recipes like curry or pasta sauce and freeze the rest. The reheating time is minimal and will save on fuel.

    Finally, seeing as I have an open fire - I bought a paper log mould this year and turn the shredding from work into free fuel. I soak the paper, mash it down a bit with a blender and then add some wood shavings so that it will burn better, then form it into logs in the mould. It takes a while to get the logs completely dry so that is a summer job, I leave them outside to dry in the sun. It's time-consuming, but free fuel!
    Last edited by Brigantia; 11th September 2022 at 21:53.

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    Canada Avalon Member DeDukshyn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Quote Posted by Brigantia (here)
    Where do I start... I've been living frugally for years. Here are some suggestions:

    Acquire skills for mending such as DIY home maintenance, clothes repair, car maintenance. YouTube is good for 'how to' vids.

    Compost vegetable and fruit waste for the garden, but not potato or tomato leftovers - also pick out seeds such as from apple cores if you don't want them sprouting in your garden.

    Buy secondhand; Ebay, Facebook Marketplace and shop notice boards are good places to look. Car boot sales are great for bargains, but don't get carried away and buy a load of stuff you don't need. Sell your own stuff too that you don't need, either online or do a local sale.

    For short journeys, walk or cycle rather than drive.

    Forage for free food, though learn about what is edible and what is not. My haul last week was 3 pounds of blackberries from the local hedgerows; some I'll use in cooking and the rest I'll turn into blackberry jelly and blackberry vinegar which is very good for winter colds.

    Batch cook - make double, triple or quadruple of recipes like curry or pasta sauce and freeze the rest. The reheating time is minimal and will save on fuel.

    Finally, seeing as I have an open fire - I bought a paper log mould this year and turn the shredding from work into free fuel. I soak the paper, mash it down a bit with a blender and then add some wood shavings so that it will burn better, then form it into logs in the mould. It takes a while to get the logs completely dry so that is a summer job, I leave them outside to dry in the sun. It's time-consuming, but free fuel!


    Hmm, I love that paper log mould idea. I do have a wood stove, but the cost of wood these days is getting ridiculous - it would cost me almost $800 CAD this winter to heat the house with it, as I don't have a truck and trailer to go get my own (a lot of hard work, I need at least 3 cords), and even then I still need to supplement heating with gas. The house isn't very thermally efficient, which is something I need to try to address a bit before winter comes, which will be soon here.

    I wouldn't be able to mould enough logs using the method you described to last very long in -15C weather, but your idea has me thinking of other ways to make my own fuel for burning.


    Also, Ewan started a good thread on beneficial plants that got some love at its start then seems to have petered out ... if anyone has foraging tips or videos to share on specifically what to forage for, how it is beneficial, etc. we can add it here: https://projectavalon.net/forum4/sho...ghlight=plants
    Last edited by DeDukshyn; 11th September 2022 at 22:34.
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Quote Posted by DeDukshyn (here)
     

    5) Ditch cable!

    You don't need it. Netflix is still a decent price for what you get, and there are free alternatives like Tubi, and even Youtube has some free movies for entertainment. Go to the book store, thrift shop or whatever and buy some books to keep you entertained. Find a creative outlet to replace or supplement TV watching - its better for you anyway.

    And do you really need that "top" tier internet speed? Consider your actual needs against getting the "best" thing offered.
    I was surprised that you didnt mention join a public library where you can access a huge range of books and DVDs - all at no Cost. They usually provide you with access to an online film data base that is free to use with your library membership

    I had to live for a few weeks in India with very little money before I could get a flight home. I found writing down every single cent I spent made me extremely conscious of any superfluous spending. It did help that India was an extremely cheap place to live in 40 years ago
    Last edited by leavesoftrees; 12th September 2022 at 10:04.

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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Here in the UK, the government is scrapping the "Best Before" labelling, to try and eliminate the huge waste of perfectly edible food.

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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Quote Posted by leavesoftrees (here)
    I had to live for a few weeks in India with very little money before I could get a flight home. I found writing down every single cent I spent made me extremely conscious of any superfluous spending. It did help that India was an extremely cheap place to live in 40 years ago
    After all the bills are paid including whatever normal expenses per pay period, I gave myself a daily allowance that I didn't always use. So basically, I had a little spending money each day that was my limit if needed. If not needed then I had extra for emergencies or rainy days. Keeping track of it daily really made a difference to staying within my means.
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    My elderly mother, who passed in 2007, lived as a teenage girl through the Great Depression of the 1930s (in Canada at the time). She would always save everything... little bits of string, paperclips, paper bags, clip ties, and she'd buy day-old loaves of bread at the local bakery at half-price and then keep them in her freezer. It was just an ingrained habit that actually served her very well indeed all the time.

    I do similar things now, just because it's so extremely easy. I extract screws from old bits of wood and save them all (they're perfectly good!), before I burn the wood or discard it. I keep old inner tubes, because the rubber is super-useful, when cut into shapes or strips, for all kinds of things. My modest little workshop is full of all manner of unusual and unique bits and pieces of plastic and metal, that I always end up finding creative uses for in improvised repairs.

    And never forget glue (of every kind!)... many many things can be fixed up perfectly well that one might easily toss away in careless moments.


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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Excellent post DeDukshyn.

    Here in Ontario I felt anxious when I discovered there's a shortage of insulin needles for cats and and dogs in our town! We found a box eventually but virtually all of the vets were completely out of stock. So this prompts me to learn skills such as sterilizing needles. I'm assuming when the vet says don't do it, its because they don't want to get blamed for anything if the needle was still dirty and infects the cat.

    We paid off our debt!

    My husband is looking to retire soon and so we have begun practicing living within the fore-casted pension amount and trying to save the rest of his wages without dipping into what we are trying to save to tide us over. Lets hope there isn't a Depression!

    We have an old, small car that runs well. We don't want a shiny gas guzzler on a three year finance plan! The car gets used occasionally and I do the errands on my bicycle. Despite being in Canada, I'll invest in some studded tires and cycle in the winter. We're lucky to have an excellent cycle path network in our town, which apparently has to be kept plowed during the winter.

    For years I've been concerned about certain books/knowledge disappearing from stores and so whenever I'm on my travels, I'll visit secondhand bookshops and over the years I've built up a little library of cool stuff to keep me sane during any emergency situation.

    We live in an apartment but since the start of the virus situation, we've been topping up a stash bit by bit. Its surprising how much builds up slowly over time without breaking the bank. I got rid of a lot of belongings we don't need and now our closets etc are like mini grocery stores. Nothing fancy. But we'll live off rice, beans, pasta, porridge, simple home made bread etc. We have a separate chest freezer - assuming there's no outage. That's a chance we take.

    Having a go at eating only the recommended serving size!! A serving size of rice may seem tiny, but paired with a serving size of beans is more than enough. Training ourselves not to over eat. And also eating only if hungry and not because of the three meals routine. I actually only eat twice a day - late morning and mid evening. Thankfully I don't have a sweet tooth and so don't snack. We don't buy convenience food. A big bag of potatoes will make home made fries, hash browns and potato chips! I have a friend who has recently begun eating only once a day. I'm thinking of doing that too.

    For any Ontarians here who enjoy a craft beer, when I went into my local Beer Store the other day, the woman who served me told me that the beers I was buying were to be discontinued. She told me that the company removed 100 types of beer from the inventory last month and is removing another 120 next month! She showed me the list of beers being given the chop and its all the good stuff. Not surprisingly, the brewery giants manufacturing corn syrup crap have the monopoly and their beers are safe from the axe. Thankfully since the virus issue I've slowly built up a little bar and a neighbour has started making her own wine.

    My husband has to take medication so I'm in the process of trying to learn how to create an alternative in an emergency if there's distribution issues.

    I think people in Canada definitely had a mild taste of things when the Rogers outage happened a couple of months ago! It went beyond internet, cellular, landline etc and took the banks, retail, gas stations, offices etc out of action for the day. I'm also concerned to hear that Rogers our doing well with their expansion into real estate! I had no idea! But that's another story.

    I also invested in a Baritone Ukulele so I can still make music if the power goes down! I know this a treat rather than a necessity, but I did it because the prices are likely to soar and also distribution and parts etc.

    Also, without wanting to sound morbid, I've been working on overcoming fear of death. Trying to put into perspective that (as David Icke says) we are souls having a human experience. No matter what happens, I feel this is one experience out of an ongoing journey of many for our souls. Not clinging to this world is what I'm trying to work at.
    Last edited by Bassplayer1; 12th September 2022 at 14:10.

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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    My elderly mother, who passed in 2007, lived as a teenage girl through the Great Depression of the 1930s (in Canada at the time). She would always save everything... little bits of string, paperclips, paper bags, clip ties, and she'd buy day-old loaves of bread at the local bakery at half-price and then keep them in her freezer. It was just an ingrained habit that actually served her very well indeed all the time.
    I can relate to that Bill, my mum lived through war-time rationing; managed on a tight budget to feed us all well and never wasted anything. She also knitted all our sweaters and cardigans, though wool was a lot less expensive then as more women knitted. (I guess some men knitted too, but not many, it was considered 'women's work' back then.) You were considered a posh kid at school if you had a shop-bought cardigan!

    After a tiring block of shifts I rattled off a quick reply last night - here are some more money-saving ideas.

    Look at what you need as opposed to what you want. If it's something you want but don't need and an impulse buy, walk away and think about it for a couple of days, the chances are that you will forget about it.

    Is there a further education college near you that teaches hairdressing? The chances are that they will have a salon for students to practice for a fraction of the cost of a high street salon. It takes about twice as long, be patient though as they're learning, and the tutors keep a close eye on them so that you get a perfect cut. I'm not near one now but the last time I went I had a cut with an advanced technique for £12 - as opposed to £50+ on the high street.

    Colleges that teach catering usually have restaurants for the public, that gives the students catering and table waiting practice; lovely meals at a very reasonable cost.

    If you're going into town, take a tea or coffee in an insulated mug with you rather than spend £2 to £3 at a cafe.

    Jars of curry paste or tomato puree will go off quickly once opened - spoon the rest into blobs on a baking tray and freeze them, once frozen put them into an airtight container and then take out what you need when you're cooking again.

    If friends and family are also struggling, arrange a 'no present pact' for Christmas and maybe birthdays, or set a small limit on what you all buy.

    Grow food - for beginners, tomatoes, onions and strawberries are easy and then you can take it from there. If you only have a patio you can grow in containers (try to get some containers for free at a garden centre, they often throw them away), or if you're in an apartment you could grow herbs in pots on a windowsill.

    Have a look on Amazon for 'Kindle free books' - there are loads, a lot of duds but some gems. There are many classic works on there, you can also find those on archive.org.

    If you can get to any supermarkets in the evening, have a look round for reductions (not within the last hour though as they start disposing of them at that time). The one I visit the most reduces things as low as 9p; I sometimes see a bag of fresh veg mix for stews for 9p so I nab that. I simmer it in a home-made sauce of a half pint of vegetable stock and a half pint of milk with 1 tablespoon of flour, put it in an oven dish, top it with breadcrumbs and grated cheese and bake it. It's a delicious and very inexpensive meal!

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    Canada Avalon Member DeDukshyn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Quote Posted by Bassplayer1 (here)
    ...

    Having a go at eating only the recommended serving size!! A serving size of rice may seem tiny, but paired with a serving size of beans is more than enough. Training ourselves not to over eat. And also eating only if hungry and not because of the three meals routine. I actually only eat twice a day - late morning and mid evening. Thankfully I don't have a sweet tooth and so don't snack. We don't buy convenience food. A big bag of potatoes will make home made fries, hash browns and potato chips! I have a friend who has recently begun eating only once a day. I'm thinking of doing that too.

    For any Ontarians here who enjoy a craft beer, when I went into my local Beer Store the other day, the woman who served me told me that the beers I was buying were to be discontinued. She told me that the company removed 100 types of beer from the inventory last month and is removing another 120 next month! She showed me the list of beers being given the chop and its all the good stuff. Not surprisingly, the brewery giants manufacturing corn syrup crap have the monopoly and their beers are safe from the axe. Thankfully since the virus issue I've slowly built up a little bar and a neighbour has started making her own wine.

    ...

    I was going to do another post on exactly this topic, but you beat me to it!

    Humans tend to over eat a lot. Mostly the reason is that our foods are often lacking so many nutrients (fast foods, sugar rich, GMOs, old meats fruits and veggies, processed foods, poor farming soil) that people need to eat more to get the needed vitamins, minerals, and aminos (your essential nutrients). Eating better may seem "too expensive" at first glance, but when you factor in how much less you can eat and get the same or better nutrients, it actually can be a cost saver.

    I also have trained myself (many years ago) to eat only what I need, and it can be a huge cost saver. I don't do sweets or soda at all, and almost completely eliminated all "empty calorie" foods. I do eat for pleasure, but for that I have just learned to make nutrient dense foods taste amazing (cooking is one of my creative passions) and eat them when needed. Two meals a day is enough for me, one just before noon and one around 5pm - this also helps encourage the body create ketones to burn fat, and thus I have no need for any reduced fat intake to maintain weight. I have lost a bunch of excess weight in the last year or so eating a relatively high fat diet.


    I also have moved to making my own fruit wine for alcoholic beverages, and have created an awesome strawberry, ginger, black pepper recipe that always turns out and doesn't need to age to taste good. I also went halfers on a batch of wine at the local "U-brew" and it ended up costing us ~$4 CAD per bottle of wine vs ~$15 that you would pay at the liquor store. Big cost savers there as I do like to have a drink most evenings.


    Touching on your medicine topic, I will be harvesting some echinacea from mom's flower beds this fall, and wild chamomile and wild mint to make tea, and we have a ton of really healthy plaintain growing in the greenhouse under the tomato plants, and I want to see if I can make a salve or ointment from them for scrapes and cuts, etc.

    ¤=[Post Update]=¤

    Quote Posted by leavesoftrees (here)
    Quote Posted by DeDukshyn (here)
     

    5) Ditch cable!

    You don't need it. Netflix is still a decent price for what you get, and there are free alternatives like Tubi, and even Youtube has some free movies for entertainment. Go to the book store, thrift shop or whatever and buy some books to keep you entertained. Find a creative outlet to replace or supplement TV watching - its better for you anyway.

    And do you really need that "top" tier internet speed? Consider your actual needs against getting the "best" thing offered.
    I was surprised that you didnt mention join a public library where you can access a huge range of books and DVDs - all at no Cost. They usually provide you with access to an online film data base that is free to use with your library membership

    ...
    I'm surprised I didn't mention that as well. Excellent tip!
    When you are one step ahead of the crowd, you are a genius.
    Two steps ahead, and you are deemed a crackpot.

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    UK Avalon Member Sunny-side-up's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Heating, cooking a cheap way, I always think 'Rocket Stoves' so customizable and can run on twigs but still give great heat
    I'm a simple easy going guy that is very upset/sad with the worlds hidden controllers!
    We need LEADERS who bat from the HEART!
    Rise up above them Dark evil doers, not within anger but with LOVE

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    Avalon Member Ravenlocke's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    “2) Save, wash, and re-use your "single use" food storage until its wore out.

    Margarine containers (I don't actually use margarine - its nasty), sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, plastic clamshell containers, freezer bags, etc. can all be washed an re-used. Store all that yummy broth you make from step one in the freezer using these items. You don't need fancy tupperware for that. I'll even clean and save aluminum foil, as long as there's nothing stuck on and its tear-free.

    I also save sauce jars, pickle jars, etc, and I almost always find uses for them”

    Yes very handy for keeping dry goods like dry spices, I buy some in bulk from international grocers then I store them in jars, also glass jars for my paint brushes, or sewing supplies like buttons, beads etc.

    Also save tins they make great storage too for kitchen like my cookies store nicely in tins, or whatever.

    Sometimes even the styrofoam trays that come with meat at grocers make great painting trays and plastic tubs great water troughs for craft painting.


    Also for the tv we bought a portable antenna many years ago and we get local channels and public television, the local channels for news, the public tv like pbs I can get my cooking shows and craft, and masterpiece series and we pick up quite a few other channels. We ditched cable many years ago, and have been happy with this antenna. It’s a flat square like 12 inch white square and I hang it on the wall.
    "Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all."
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    Avalon Member Hym's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Thanks DeDukshyn. I've lived like this all my life, sending extra to others I know and strangers alike, while still saving some in anticipation of limited income. All of that excess gets in the way of enjoying the short times we have in these bodies of ours, even if we live to 100's of years old.

    As per the quality and depth of the contributors to Avalon, I am sure that many here have been doing these things, these adaptive activities, that I'm talking about.

    During my university years and early on into my adult working life, my time in big cities and the most affluent areas, I sensed the great emptiness that the very rich had in all of the spaces they owned, and all of the very impersonal riches that they held so tightly onto, not the living world in and around them. I see the choices as the real richness to hold on to and a very simple understanding of living as it really is, where the bright and memorable colors of being alive cannot be found in the material things so attached to who people think they are. Those experiences were not unexpected to me, but I also looked at them as a gift for the years to come, so that I'd never chase a career or a lifestyle that was focused on that very in-humane way of living, one that steals away our lives.

    These last 3 years have been a positive affirmation of all that, and the priority of living a life of choices. A reminder is that I have been so blessed, enough to be prepared to receive the same from friends and friends to be. Also, though I've never charged for friends staying here, it is important to be able to accept what people offer, even if that thing ends up being given to someone more in need than I.

    I say this because so many people unexpectedly shared what they had with us, when my son and I were making out well enough but could easily use any extra cushion offered. I do think that coming from an extremely large family ingrained the habit of sharing in all of us, my brothers and sisters, despite the wide range of soul differences some of us had/have from each other.

    Well, on to it:

    Laundry:
    I haven't used a clothes dryer in 15 years, except when staying with friends a few years back while working in film. It's very dry here in the high desert area of northern NM, so clothes dry quickly. If there are wrinkles in my clothes I spray some water on them, from a small spray bottle, and they quickly straighten out, just as if I had used an electric iron, which I haven't used in years. During the coldest months or during rainy times I swing up a line in the house when I have the fireplace on and the clothes always dry well. Besides this savings on energy expenses, clothes last longer when not subject to so much heat used in a dryer (electric or gas/propane powered), just as using cold water only to wash my clothes has not changed how clean they are in the end, and I've got a great sense of smell that odors cannot hide from.

    Over The Air:
    I gave up the satellite dish in the late 90's when they tried to overcharge me. Since then I've used an outdoor antenna to get both the over the air broadcast stations, the valuable alternative documentary stations on my t.v. and the regular major stations, which I rarely watch outside of the weather or local news that may impact this area, and I get 94 channels here, far north of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. I did have to raise the antenna 4 ft. recently as one of my favorite channels, RAV, was sending out such a weak signal. I did notice that the trees in the backyards had gotten so much taller since I moved in that they may have been blocking the signal to the antenna, but cutting the tops of those trees is not an option I'd take.

    I should note that many of the over the air stations show many craft and documentary shows that are both current and 3 to 20+ years old, where truths told then will not be found anywhere on current streaming sites, and would never be found on the major broadcast stations that have always been the paid shills of their many criminal masters.

    Notions of Noah:
    Someone gave me a sailboat last week, 24 ft, great hull, 33 ft. mast, full 2x axle trailer, with a shell-only cabin. Something for me to work on, or pass on to someone more well equipped to recreate or remodel for use. Funny, I'm getting that Noah vibe being so far inland....what with all of these cyclical earth changes now at hand, loving the water being from SoCal, and knowing that the ship belongs on a sea or an ocean, where she can breath and take on passengers. I'm taking the hint and thanking the folks at Meow Wolf for the gift, whether I keep it or not.

    For now, Matt, the founder of MW, must have bought all of the thin strips of luan left in the empty, open shell to redo the boat's cabin, but passed it all on before he left the living to others. I'm going to use some of the strips to creatively patch the body of a very cool Ibanez acoustic I was given, and use the rest of the weathered luan cut down for firewood kindling. Like Bill, I save almost all of building scraps available, but all within the space where it is organized and easily available for use when needed. Removing nails and screws is habitual as a carpenter, while keeping only the good ones and metal recycling the rest. That decades long habit of mine of conserving material was shaken when I saw how much movies and tv shows throw away, which makes so little sense.

    Firewood Fuel:
    The price of firewood here in the states has risen dramatically, now at $250 to $350 a cord/4ft.X4ft.X8ft, but you can get a firewood permit to collect firewood for the winter for a minimal amount, $20 for 5 to 10 cords. The forest service marks out areas where fires have been or where they want to thin the forest out to prevent breakaway firestorms. This year there have been very large areas of fires where the need to thin and turn the now dead trees to home heating or building products, latillas or vigas, is quite large. I've done this for years, even up into the early winters with snow on the ground, if the permits are still available. If you do go, go with friends in case you run into trouble. Learning how to use a chainsaw and service it while out in the wild is a must before going out.

    Heating:
    Rocket stoves, normally very small and quickly built, are very good, easy to make and burn more efficiently than the simple straight flue fireplace. If you do have the space, an interior russian stove, though much more complicated, is even more efficient. They have been used for hundreds of years as masonry or brick built interior heaters with cooking surfaces, generally placed in the middle of a living space. They are super efficient, leaving little ash as an end product.


    Lighting:
    I've used solar powered outdoor lights, separating the small solar collector from the lights, with added, longer, thin wired extensions to light interior spaces, a workshop, an indoor gym and nighttime reading areas. I'm going to add a switch to one this year.

    Conserving Water:
    I have a friend who saves his bath water in 5 gal. buckets to flush his toilet.
    Knowing of the occasional power outages here I began saving rain water in a few large trash cans, with trash can lids/tops to prevent mosquitos from breeding. When we had an outage recently, the water proved useful in keeping the loo empty of waste.
    Last edited by Hym; 13th September 2022 at 18:43.

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    Canada Avalon Member DeDukshyn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    Quote Posted by Hym (here)
    Thanks DeDukshyn. I've lived like this all my life, sending extra to others I know and strangers alike, while still saving some in anticipation of limited income. All of that excess gets in the way of enjoying the short times we have in these bodies of ours, even if we live to 100's of years old.

    As per the quality and depth of the contributors to Avalon, I am sure that many here have been doing these things, these adaptive activities, that I'm talking about.

    During my university years and early on into my adult working life, my time in big cities and the most affluent areas, I sensed the great emptiness that the very rich had in all of the spaces they owned, and all of the very impersonal riches that they held so tightly onto, not the living world in and around them. I see the choices as the real richness to hold on to and a very simple understanding of living as it really is, where the bright and memorable colors of being alive cannot be found in the material things so attached to who people think they are. Those experiences were not unexpected to me, but I also looked at them as a gift for the years to come, so that I'd never chase a career or a lifestyle that was focused on that very in-humane way of living, one that steals away our lives.

    These last 3 years have been a positive affirmation of all that, and the priority of living a life of choices. A reminder is that I have been so blessed, enough to be prepared to receive the same from friends and friends to be. Also, though I've never charged for friends staying here, it is important to be able to accept what people offer, even if that thing ends up being given to someone more in need than I.

    I say this because so many people unexpectedly shared what they had with us, when my son and I were making out well enough but could easily use any extra cushion offered. I do think that coming from an extremely large family ingrained the habit of sharing in all of us, my brothers and sisters, despite the wide range of soul differences some of us had/have from each other.

    Well, on to it:


    ... <trimmed for brevity> ...

    Thank you for that great contribution, Hym.
    When you are one step ahead of the crowd, you are a genius.
    Two steps ahead, and you are deemed a crackpot.

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    United States Avalon Member Bluegreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Living Frugally: cutting costs for hard times

    The simple method I use is 100% GUARANTEED TO WORK:

    No car. No cell phone. No TV.

    Last edited by Bluegreen; 14th September 2022 at 02:11.

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