Just curious who else is living super frugal

[DennisK]

I love that you were able to save your dog. Not being able to afford medical care for our animals or ourselves is so worrying. You did what you could. I've fixed a broken turkey leg, cared for cat wounds, even nursed a lizard. Healing myself just never seems to happen though. It takes too long and life gets in the way and I have no support. Being poor just really sucks sometimes.

Hello erinszoo! More and more, this being “poor” business is becoming prevalent. I have my Social Security and a small pension from my work place. It is enough for me to get by, but with each year, the list of things I can't afford gets longer. With each year, I must learn more ways to do for myself, those things I depended on others to do for me. Fortunately, there is an abundance of knowledge at our fingertips – Internet, libraries, etc. But in some cases, I find knowing doesn't seem to be enough. For me, my own health goes wanting even though I know so much about it. The experience I had with my pup, Lindy, got me to thinking this sense of empowerment might be something we need along with the knowledge that we have – anyway, it is something to consider. I take three blood pressure pills, and I was shocked to find that the cost (even with prescription insurance) of these drugs have DOUBLED during the last three months. Soon, I will have to add those medicines to the list of things that I can't afford. I need to find ways to shift my dependency on these drug companies to myself.
P.S. Lindy is doing just great!

 

[Arielle]

But some don't, so you have to depend on buying pellets to get heat, whereas a wood stove can take pellets and wood, either one. Makes them more versatile and more sustainable than a pellet stove, IMO. They may be more work, they may be messier and they may produce more smoke, but at least one can just go out and cut some wood to get heat and don't have to depend on buying fuel from a supplier/store. That's freedom and frugality in one package. The trade off is worth it to me.

All the cutting keekps my DH in better shape!! lol No gym payments. lol

My kids bring in the wood, and they are responsible for stacking what dad chops. ( Oak is too hard for the 12 year old to split; but he can take down a 10 inch maple if need be. )

My dear friend depends on a delivery of bagged pellets delivered on a pallet or two or three. THis didn't fit into our life style at all. We have our own wood lot.

I can understand if someone has asthma issues though. But I will pipe up and mention many asthma issues can be controlled with a better diet.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Good job Dennis!!!

I had a vet put me right into full tears telling me dog needed to be put down because of large tumor. Yes I had waited until it was very large, though she was not in any pain because of it, and had brought her to the vet to be put down in all probability. BUt at the last moment I needed a few days more to say good bye. Later in the day I called a good friends , with lots of dogs, and she demanded why not get another opionion. DOH. I called a tech from Turfts and she totally poopoo'd the lab results--- my girl was good for surgery, not at all the situation my vet had led me to conclude. SO called another vet for a second opinion. My girl went in for surgery to remove the lump and lived another 2 full years. Well worth getting yourself educated and double checking the vets. Yes, there is MUCh you cando yourself!! GOod going!!

Dennis, as you brought up the medications, could I make a few suggestions. Get yourself onto a low carb diet; there are several of them. ANd you are likely to feel MUCH better. It is not just about how muc extra poundage we carry ( I carry a few extra pounds myself) but also a matter of what we eat. If you want to know more, let me know. It is a big change compared to the SAD ( Standard American DIet) but the foods are easy to come by and according to some authors of these diets, the blood pressure meds can be reduced or eliminated.

Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution
online there is the low carb forum for support and information

There are several other, their names and book titles and websites elude me at the moment.

My BP can creep up to 110/80 and at the doctors office this is viewed as good; bah humbug!!!!!!! That is too high for MY normal. Means Ive been cheating too long. Back to eating a diet of low carbs-- and the BP drop back down to ??/ 65. THAT I am happy with. IT is about eating the right foods and the right amount of carb foods.

If any one wants more info, just send me a PM and I'm happy to share.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote: If youhave a costco availalible the generics for Blood pressure and a whole huge list of others are like five bucks a piece... Maybe ten If you have no insurance there is no deductable. So what I did for the meds I needed was get the pescription filled there. Oh and you do not have to buy a Costco card to get prescriptions filled.

There is a ten percent discount if you have the card... but at the time I couldnt even afford a costco card.

There are several different pharmacies that will do this if you have no insurance. Walmart and Target also have 4.00 prescriptions. What you are doing is paying the actual cost for them. Thats why it has to be generics and why its a specific list. These are drugs that have been around a very long time.

Places for Inexpensive prescriptions

Also for people on fixed income MOST Drug companies have special programs to access prescriptions directly from them.

deb

 

[DennisK]

If youhave a costco availalible the generics for Blood pressure and a whole huge list of others are like five bucks a piece... Maybe ten If you have no insurance there is no deductable. So what I did for the meds I needed was get the pescription filled there. Oh and you do not have to buy a Costco card to get prescriptions filled.

There is a ten percent discount if you have the card... but at the time I couldnt even afford a costco card.

There are several different pharmacies that will do this if you have no insurance. Walmart and Target also have 4.00 prescriptions. What you are doing is paying the actual cost for them. Thats why it has to be generics and why its a specific list. These are drugs that have been around a very long time.

Places for Inexpensive prescriptions

Also for people on fixed income MOST Drug companies have special programs to access prescriptions directly from them.

deb

I'll check out Costco. Drug companies have been merging, and this has compromised the competitive affects on the price of their products. They seem to be playing the same game that the oil industry has been playing. The price of drugs have been changing so radically that pharmacies, nor my insurance provider, can tell me what, exactly, I will pay for a drug order until I actually pick them up. My last prescription was through Wall Mart, and the price they quoted me changed to be about $100.00 more by the time I walked up to the counter to pick them up. I have a mail order provider called Right Source, but they can't even tell me what my order will cost when I place an order. The price would only be known at the time my order is shipped and my account debited! This makes it impossible to manage my closely watched budget. I suppose I could scratch around for promotional deals, but I believe I have a better solution. I can take the responsibility of my health in my own hands and out of the hands of these drug companies. I'm going to lose this excess weight, and I am going to start exploring herbal remedies. I can take my own blood pressure readings to see what works and what doesn't. For now, I will continue with what I am taking, but as soon as I start seeing results, I'm going to start chipping away on my dependency on these drugs. Now all I have to do is explain this to my doctor. She seems to be hell-bent on my having to take all of these expensive drugs – bless her heart!

 

[Arielle]

Dennis, your doc is like every other doc. IT is all they know. When I see my p rimary again I will ask her to do an A1c again as this is the baseline I use to see if my blood sugars are in order. I can use a blood test of course but I prefer to see the effects of 3-4 months father than just the last couple hours.

For the expense of your meds, which are important right now, well worth changing your diet and increasing your activity level. Moderate exercise really does change the chemistry of our bodies.

WHen I follow my meat and veg diet and keep my carbs very very low like about 30 carbs a day, the water is driven right out of my body, and if I am not careful my salts get messed up. SO I usually like to slowly decrease down to that amount but the effect is amazing. A natural diuretic effect as the body corrects itself. I'm terrified that I will ever need BP meds or insulin.

I'll be glad when this week is over and I can get back to regularly scheduled programming, lol, and get some weight off again.

 

[DennisK]

Dennis, your doc is like every other doc. IT is all they know. When I see my p rimary again I will ask her to do an A1c again as this is the baseline I use to see if my blood sugars are in order. I can use a blood test of course but I prefer to see the effects of 3-4 months father than just the last couple hours.

For the expense of your meds, which are important right now, well worth changing your diet and increasing your activity level. Moderate exercise really does change the chemistry of our bodies.

WHen I follow my meat and veg diet and keep my carbs very very low like about 30 carbs a day, the water is driven right out of my body, and if I am not careful my salts get messed up. SO I usually like to slowly decrease down to that amount but the effect is amazing. A natural diuretic effect as the body corrects itself. I'm terrified that I will ever need BP meds or insulin.

I'll be glad when this week is over and I can get back to regularly scheduled programming, lol, and get some weight off again.

Arielle, you are so right about the affects of exercise on our our body's chemistry. What my pups, Betty and Lindy taught me was that I can't afford to be ignorant about my health – after-all, I can't afford to be ignorant about theirs! This business with ignorance is a lifelong journey, but I must also also address another mental state – stupidity.

 

[lazy gardener]

Frugal living: How bout baking potatoes for supper in the fire box of the wood stove? You have to get the coals just right, and keep an eye on them, but they make a nice frugal meal, especially if it's potatoes from your own garden. I baked enough for our family of 4, and then set out some cheeses, broccoli, sour cream, basically made it a do it yourself "baked potato bar".

I enjoyed catching up on this thread. all of the comments about empowerment through taking better care of personal health, as well as the story about healing a dog who was "circling the drain" have been powerful encouragement to me. If we all took a more pro-active approach to doing what we can do for ourselves, be it becoming more educated regarding health care options, or learning how to become a DIY person, providing some of our own food from our own land... it just might mushroom into a national movement.

 

[DennisK]

Frugal living: How bout baking potatoes for supper in the fire box of the wood stove? You have to get the coals just right, and keep an eye on them, but they make a nice frugal meal, especially if it's potatoes from your own garden. I baked enough for our family of 4, and then set out some cheeses, broccoli, sour cream, basically made it a do it yourself "baked potato bar".

I enjoyed catching up on this thread. all of the comments about empowerment through taking better care of personal health, as well as the story about healing a dog who was "circling the drain" have been powerful encouragement to me. If we all took a more pro-active approach to doing what we can do for ourselves, be it becoming more educated regarding health care options, or learning how to become a DIY person, providing some of our own food from our own land... it just might mushroom into a national movement.

Oh my, you bring memories to me from long ago. One of the chores my mother would give me would be to rake up the leaves from our English Walnut tree and burn them. (Back then, that was the common way to deal with yard trash.) When I got them all raked up, mom would show up with some of those big Idaho potatoes. We would bury them deep in the pile and then I would set the leaves on fire. After the burn, we would dig out the cooked potatoes. With some butter, those potatoes tasted so good. I don't know if it was just my youth, something my mother and I did together, or if the walnut tree leaves lent a flavor to them, but the memories of them make me want to start some walnut trees just to harvest the leaves.

 

[lazy gardener]

I spent my first 8 years living on a farm in southern Maine. We had 2 Black Walnut trees. From the first dropped walnuts, until the last, I spent many happy hours gathering those nuts, and then I'd sit on the old granite well curb and crack them with a hammer, and eat the sweet nuts. My fingers were stained from the hairy coating on the nuts all summer. Oh yeah, such happy memories tied to a grand tree! Many trees are like that. Alders? Oh my, a true child's wilderness play ground. I used to use them like a trampoline. Stand on one bowed over trunk and hold an other for balance, and I could bounce for hours! Pine trees? I don't know how my mother ever managed to get my clothes clean, b/c when I wasn't scrambling around and getting covered with walnut stain, I was climbing the old pine tree out back, getting covered with pitch. It grew right next to a high ledge, so I could step straight from the ledge into the canopy of that grand tree. Oh how my imagination could soar in that tree, looking out at the ground sloping away far below. I'd usually have to wash up with paint thinner at the end of the day!