How do people afford this?

[nminusyplusm]

Ok, this is my son's favorite. I don't but SOS or anything scrubby. We reuse the plastic shopping bags. We wadd them up and just scrub away.

I love this! I'm planning on growing luffa vines next year for free scouring pads.

 

[DuckMom2017]

Do you have a job that required college?

Not really. I was actually a music major in college. While I was in college I worked part time for a music store that my family was friends with and that's where I was doing the whole "climb the corporate ladder" thing. And I was really doing well there! But it took over my whole life and I was hardly ever home.
I had friends that work for my current company and they told me about the culture here and what they did and had a job opening. I applied and interviewed and the majority of my personal selling points were from experience in the work place, and I got the job! College wasn't really a requirement, but if I hadn't gone for music I probably would have never worked at the music store. If I hadn't worked at the music store then everything may be different.

My hubs didn't go to college and works for a major corporation and makes a decent living. He originally worked in a similar industry, and my cousin works where he is now, so through connections and hard work he was able to climb the ladder where he is and move forward.

Everyones path is different, but mine has mainly based on connections and using them to get where I want to be. I don't think college is required to succeed, but it also depends on what you want to do.

And remember your dreams may change as you grow and learn, and that's okay! 10 years ago I wanted to be a high school band director, now I want to run a wildlife rescue. So don't feel like you have to have it figured out (I sure as heck don't). Just get a decent job and stay ahead of your bills, don't create a ton of debt, enjoy time with friends and family, and focus on your health

 

[DuckMom2017]

I wish
1) we grow,forage and eat very little meat.
2) We bake. Our own bread ect.
3) I pay $5.00 a month on cleaning supplies. Vinegar, Baking Soda and blue dish soap.
4) We homeschool
5) We only buy toilet paper. I use cloth napkins,towels ect to clean, or use newspaper.
Animals
We free range. I go through little feed. Though they have access to feed 24/7 everyone would rather eat my landscaping.
I use hay from my field. I deep clean coops everyday, and put fresh hay in.
Our secret. Shhhh my husband's retired. I work from home most of the time. Even though I work. We try to keep a budget of less than $500.00 a month. If we can keep it around that. I can retire. Also we are putting most of my salary right now on major improvements. This way I hope by next spring I can retire. We try to live as self sufficient as we can. You can start small and really soon you can start to see your savings grow. We wanted out of Chicago when my husband hit 20 years and could retire. So we started killing bills one by one. No Cable. No eating out, movie night at home. With in that five years, we were able to save enough to make our dream come true. You have to make sacrifices and put hard work in. But if you want your dreams to come true, you have to work hard at it. I know you can do it!!!!!!

Talk about life goals. This week I began trying to use more baking soda type cleaning plans around my house. I don't eat meat at all (I'm pretty close to vegan)
I'm trying to just cut down on waste in general. If you have and suggestions on what you do around your home, please share!

 

[Akrnaf2]

What if education doesn't seem to fit into your long term plans?

Then you should find and alternative that can! Not everyone can study in the university but EVERY one can do SOMTHING that will give him the opportunity to make a living. The only things needed are will and commitment.

 

[itsasmallfarm]

just thinking about money know and how to save, this does not apply to everyone, but if you like to hunt/fish there is a lot of good eating out there on the cheap. i for one think wild meat is organic as it live its life as nature intended it to be. but i keep on reading how awful factory farmed food is. and meat is not cheap anymore (i mean a small beef roast was like $26 at my local store) for factory farmed food.

 

[deepbluesea]

Talk about life goals. This week I began trying to use more baking soda type cleaning plans around my house. I don't eat meat at all (I'm pretty close to vegan)
I'm trying to just cut down on waste in general. If you have and suggestions on what you do around your home, please share!

Me, too! (Trying to cut down on waste in general). I recycle and compost, but still struggle with (non-compostable) things going bad in the fridge. Working on it.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

What if education doesn't seem to fit into your long term plans?

You've asked some really good questions and have gotten some solid answers.

I too recommend Dave Ramsey's financial peace. It is excellent. The basic idea is live like no other now so that you can live like no other later.

That means be frugal, live within your means, save, keep life simple, stay out of debt, be wise, stay out of trouble (no drinking, drugs, wild living).

As to that college education, you may need it or not. It depends on your end goals which you need to weigh against expenses now.

College is the biggest expense young people have today. In my opinion it can be the biggest rip off too. Many students leave college thousands of dollars in unnecessary debt (often the size of a mortgage) with degrees that offer nothing by way of job skills.

It didn't used to be that way. My husband and I both put ourselves through college debt free, mostly working part time and summers. That was 30 years ago. That is nearly impossible to do today.

We both have associates degrees, and over the last 30 years, at times, we wished we had had bachelors, but we still did okay. We worked hard and followed opportunities.

We did help our 3 kids through college....one got a Vet Tech degree (Associates), one got a 4 year Bachelor's in Journalism, and one got a 4 year Bachelor's in Engineering. Everyone earned at least a partial scholarship and grants.

The rest took creativity. We did get some help from grandpa who left some inheritance, but mostly they worked. They went to local community first then finished the last 2 years at a reasonable state college. They lived at home and commuted which is much cheaper than room/board on college campuses. They took CLEP's to get out of unnecessarily expensive general courses. They avoided foolish courses and stayed the course...they didn't go to "find themselves" nor change majors.

But if your overall goals say you don't want 4 years of college or need 4 years of college for a particular field requirement, then open up to some other ideas and opportunities.

I highly recommend you look through Mike Rowe's materials that show there are many industry jobs crying for workers that would pay good wages and don't need a 4 year degree. Many don't require any college. Many offer apprenticeships.

My SIL is an organic farmer with only a few college classes under his belt. However he spent years crafting his trade by utilizing every spare inch of his parent's home until he graduated to a local farmer's field. Now he oversees 90 acres in exchange for the right to plant 3 acres for his own gain. He sells at local farmer's markets, provides CSA's, and is breaking into the restaurant supply.

My SIL, daughter, and now grandson, live frugally, in a very small old house on the corner of that farm. However, they grow and trade their food. My daughter does little side things to bring in some extra income, mostly at home. They are happy living the farm life.

Be educated (and that's something you do for yourself with good reading and staying informed), but don't be fooled into thousands of dollars if you don't need that degree.

And be a good and kind person. It is the relationships we build with people around us that are our true riches here on earth.

And as a Christian, I can recommend that mental peace comes from having a right understanding of our world and my true destiny. That really helps keep things in perspective for me.

My thoughts
LofMc

 

[venymae]

Get rid of your debt. Live frugally. Our cars are nothing fancy, but they always start and we could afford them (meaning we paid cash!). Our smart phones are not name brand, but they do what we need them too and cost $30 a piece. We budget and put away savings every month. We took dave ramseys financial peace course (even though we are not religious is had good info!), subscribe to the simple living subreddit, and made a joint decision to have more fun and less stuff in our life.

 

[venymae]

Thank y'all for all the responses. I am a current college student struggling with what I truly want to do with my life. All the money I get from my part time job goes to bills and savings. It just seems like I do not have enough time to study and work, but I would love to open my own business.

My husband (who ironically has 2 bachelors degrees) say if he could give kids advice today it would be to go to a trade school. Plumber, electrician, HVAC. Low education cost and an almost guaranteed income and job! If you are working towards a 4 year degree look into what percent of graduates get a job in their field. Your advisor should be able to help you find that information. My husband, sister and I all worked our way through college with very little loans. We chose a lower cost state college over private. We lived with multiple room mates to lower rent and utility cost, did not have cable or other video services, had cheap no-contract phone plans (check out walmarts plans), made our food at home, budgeted our "fun money", and walked and biked as much as we could to save on gas. We lived simply while still enjoying life! And we payed off the few loans we had as quick as possible once we graduated! Being frugal is often a learned skill, it may take time for you to train yourself. There are lots of ways to live frugaly, find what works for you.

It seems as though most of y'all commenting started out later in life being self-sufficient had a spouse to help them out. Is it realistic for a young single person to do this?

I started early. Like senior year of highschool early. You may not be able to earn as much, but you can SAVE. If you can't pay it with cash, DONT BUY IT.

I hate how the world has told my generation that we had to go to college in order to be successful in life, and people look down on you if you do not.

I think the world is changing. People are realizing college isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's never too late to reevaluate your path. What is your goal with your degree? I quit college in my third year because I realized I didn't want to work at the jobs my degree offered, and that I could learn the information for free elseware if I wanted simply to study. Many non-degree jobs make just as much or more than many degree jobs.

 

[Mama Runner]

Talk about life goals. This week I began trying to use more baking soda type cleaning plans around my house. I don't eat meat at all (I'm pretty close to vegan)
I'm trying to just cut down on waste in general. If you have and suggestions on what you do around your home, please share!

I used baking soda, vinegar and Blue store band Dawn. I place my dirty clothes in a tub outside with rainwater and stream water, and let the kids or if you are having a bad day stomp and play in them. Like squishing grapes. These are just everyday clothes. Then I take to the stream and rinse or if it's raining hang in the rain. I also try to just hang hand wash on the line in the rain. Then the next day when the sun comes out it dries. Towels, sheets jeans and heavy soiled goes in the washer with same mix. It basically is same Chemical as oxiclean without the price.
Wash windows with vinegar and news papers, or a towel.
Scrub sinks,tubs,pots and pans. with baking soda and wadded up plastic shopping bags. I post more later have to go into my office.