Just curious who else is living super frugal

[perchie.girl]

Quote: As I remember the Colorado has been tapped for so much water that it stopped making it to the ocean in the 1980's. Can you imagine the folks a that end??

I'm ok with the farmers getting the water to make our food.

I know us home owners could do more for water conservation if allowed. I stilldont understand why gray water cannot be separated from other waste and filtered for other uses. Boggles my mind really. Perhaps this drought will put pressure on some change.

I suspect that household use and office buildings use as much or more water than the farmers. Just a hunch. Would love to see the numbers.

BUt I'm all for the farmers getting the water. Maybe not for rice, as that is a heavy user of water. A different crop is necessary there. Rice is not a high quality food anyway. A veg rather than a grain would be better.

Tried a new kale and boy is it good. THe markets carry the surly types and that is what we make use of in many ways. THis one is a " lacinato" or a "dinosaur type" kale. A milder flavor; no prickly leaves; less fibrous texture. We'll use both now.

Yep the river falls short by about six feet sinking into the sand near the oceans edge.... There used to be stern wheelers that would travel from the ocean up the colorado to Yuma to deliver goods... I have seen the pictures in a Yuma museum.

Grey water has finally been approved for use in the garden here. But I dont see many people taking them up on the new regs.... most people now are just letting their yards die off.... Leaving it bare ground or weed filled. Others are planting artificial turf for front lawns... I dont like that either.

i love a lovely xeriscaped front yard and Yep you can grow low water plants that produce fruit...

deb

 

[Arielle]

My husband took a career change that he loves, but left us on minimum wage most months. We had started frugal living (aka "Im too poor for this ****) after a tough layoff.

I make my own shampoo, laundry detergent, deodorant, and toothpaste.
We have milk goats.
We have chickens for meat and eggs.
Rabbits for meat.
We do business almost exclusively through bartering now. (I have made a payment on a used tractor with chickens or helping butcher a beef).

I have a whopping total of three outfits.

We don't drive anywhere unless it is a necessity.

We recycle junk (my goat shelter is made of recovered tin and an old swingset).

"Going out to eat." means I cooked on the grill. We do NOT eat fast food or at restaurants ever.

I hang our laundry to dry.

We unplug everything, and do not run the heater or A/C unless it is absolutely miserable inside.

We garden, and have a hefty stockpile of heirloom seeds so we don't need to buy plants.

We hunt for a lot of our meat.

I think, all in all, our bills (groceries, lights, gas, etc) runs us something like $127/month for three people.

You rock!!

 

[KelsiNS]

You are all inspiring!

My husband and I are 25 and 24, but we woke up one day and asked, "Why are we both working so hard to be poor and miserable? Why do we need the newest, biggest, shiney-est?"

And we realized we didn''t. when we buy our own place, we are looking at a lot of land, no electricity, and we will likely be living in our truck or a tent for a while before we get set up, but its a choice that allows us to sleep happily and wake up joyfully. Sometimes it isn't comfortable or easy, and some days I feel self conscious when I am surrounded by women in heels and makeup and im in dirty boots with a homemade knit hat because I didn't wash my hair yet-but my husband loves me and ultimately that's all that matters.

The biggest shift was deciding not to buy produce we could grow.

I cannot seem to keep my strawberries alive, but I promised not to spend money on them KNOWING there are people nearby who can grow them yearly. This year, I am dead set on having strawberries. It is SO HARD to see strawberries in January.....and CRAVE them.....and walk by because its not their time.....

 

[Arielle]

You are all inspiring!

My husband and I are 25 and 24, but we woke up one day and asked, "Why are we both working so hard to be poor and miserable? Why do we need the newest, biggest, shiney-est?"

And we realized we didn''t. when we buy our own place, we are looking at a lot of land, no electricity, and we will likely be living in our truck or a tent for a while before we get set up, but its a choice that allows us to sleep happily and wake up joyfully. Sometimes it isn't comfortable or easy, and some days I feel self conscious when I am surrounded by women in heels and makeup and im in dirty boots with a homemade knit hat because I didn't wash my hair yet-but my husband loves me and ultimately that's all that matters.

The biggest shift was deciding not to buy produce we could grow.

I cannot seem to keep my strawberries alive, but I promised not to spend money on them KNOWING there are people nearby who can grow them yearly. This year, I am dead set on having strawberries. It is SO HARD to see strawberries in January.....and CRAVE them.....and walk by because its not their time.....

GOod for you!!!


I have similar days!!! A hat is very useful!! I did breakdown and buy lipstick a couple weeks ago. Stupid me, should have bought it at the dollar store. Live and learn. . . . lol

I still have my heels . . . I just don't wear them. lol

 

[Outpost JWB]

I don't offer any of my home grown meat (chicken) to any body. I've worked too hard, and invested too much of my time to be giving it away. My MIL was storing some chicken in her freezer for me. She doesn't cook, so had the space available. She told me she was going to give some of it away, and I just about had a heart attack! You can bet I was at her house the next day to rescue my chicken from her generosity! Eggs, I'll give them away, but not meat! It's bad enough when I give away a dozen eggs only to find that the recipient didn't use them up within a week, so they threw them away, "because they weren't sanitized like the ones from the grocery store!"

That has happened to me a few times as well. Very aggravating. Now, what I don't sell, we donate to a local church food pantry. The people there are so appreciative. Feels good to give for a good cause.

 

[LindaB220]

GOod for you!!!


I have similar days!!! A hat is very useful!! I did breakdown and buy lipstick a couple weeks ago. Stupid me, should have bought it at the dollar store. Live and learn. . . . lol

I still have my heels . . . I just don't wear them. lol

Funniest thing ever. Aimee has been wearing her hospital scrubs to do the dog grooming in and they have worked fine. But they finally wore out. So she looked around for something catchy that was comfortable and came up with, wait for it, overalls. This from the lady that just about threw up when her red neck hubby insisted on wearing his shopping. The corporate world has finally let her go. (Of course she still looks great, even in overalls) lol

 

[boxofpens]

I don't offer any of my home grown meat (chicken) to any body.  I've worked too hard, and invested too much of my time to be giving it away.  My MIL was storing some chicken in her freezer for me.  She doesn't cook, so had the space available.  She told me she was going to give some of it away, and I just about had a heart attack!  You can bet I was at her house the next day to rescue my chicken from her generosity!  Eggs, I'll give them away, but not meat!  It's bad enough when I give away a dozen eggs only to find that the recipient didn't use them up within a week, so they threw them away, "because they weren't sanitized like the ones from the grocery store!"

We buy in bulk and can, but have to hide it in our closet because when my mother comes over she'll basically "go shopping" at our house if she sees we have an abundance. She went through about 10 jars of my husbands pickles within about 4 weeks because they went so well with her beer! She was also constantly asking for eggs, which we were happy to share with her, until we found out she was sharing them with her 3 dogs!

She has cable, we don't. She has internet, we don't (except our phones). We pay for her cell phone, she keeps hinting that she needs a newer one (because she can't get some apps or facebook the way she likes). We bought her a new car a few years ago (she had the audacity to ask my husband for money for new tires a few months ago). She supposedly can't afford food and goes to a food pantry, but she CAN afford internet, cable, new clothes, beer, and both a winter and a summer shower curtain (who the *bleep* has one for winter and one for summer?).

Because of this woman's habits, I was homeless many times during my childhood. I've lived in a city park, a metal storage building, and once in a bread truck for 9 months. There is a certain mentality that people who live frugally have. Many folks either don't get it, or choose to be ignorant of it. I truly believe some people will ALWAYS be poor, no matter how much they are given.

 

[boxofpens]

You are all inspiring!

My husband and I are 25 and 24, but we woke up one day and asked, "Why are we both working so hard to be poor and miserable? Why do we need the newest, biggest, shiney-est?"

And we realized we didn''t. when we buy our own place, we are looking at a lot of land, no electricity, and we will likely be living in our truck or a tent for a while before we get set up, but its a choice that allows us to sleep happily and wake up joyfully. Sometimes it isn't comfortable or easy, and some days I feel self conscious when I am surrounded by women in heels and makeup and im in dirty boots with a homemade knit hat because I didn't wash my hair yet-but my husband loves me and ultimately that's all that matters.

The biggest shift was deciding not to buy produce we could grow.

I cannot seem to keep my strawberries alive, but I promised not to spend money on them KNOWING there are people nearby who can grow them yearly. This year, I am dead set on having strawberries. It is SO HARD to see strawberries in January.....and CRAVE them.....and walk by because its not their time.....

We're in TX too, and I finally figured out how to grow strawbs. We have ours in raised beds under our grape arbor. The grapes are planted in the raised beds too. The dirt is a loose mix of dark compost, manure, and old dirt from failed container gardening attempts.

Around the strawberries we have wild onions, carrots, and lettuce (in the winter). They seem to really like this mixture of plants. We pour old watered down wine on our grapes a few times a year, and maybe the strawberries like the acidity or something.
I just basically leave the strawbs alone. We have a thick layer of mulch around the bases and between the raised beds under the arbor, and the strawbs put out runners that drape down and take root in the mulch (which stays shaded and cooled by the grapes). I just gently lift the new strawb plants and add them to other raised beds. This is the ONLY way I've been able to grow strawberries. Ever.

Our grapes start from fallen fruit with this method too (which I was always told was super difficult to do).

We bought a farm a few years ago, and I duplicated this method (with some modifications due to the wabbit population).
So far it's working again. If I can find some pics, I'll post them, so you can see the set-up.

 

[donrae]

KelsiNS, would you please talk to my youngest about the strawberries, except for him it's tomatoes. Poor kid simply can't accept I'll no longer buy the anemic, sorry excuses for produce things they put out this time of year. I just won't do it. We eat a LOT of tomatoes here when they're in season, and I can a ton of tomato products, but fresh tomatoes just don't happen during the winter.

Eating seasonally takes some practice and dedication, that's for sure! But after a while it just becomes second nature.

 

[DennisK]

We're in TX too, and I finally figured out how to grow strawbs. We have ours in raised beds under our grape arbor. The grapes are planted in the raised beds too. The dirt is a loose mix of dark compost, manure, and old dirt from failed container gardening attempts.

Around the strawberries we have wild onions, carrots, and lettuce (in the winter). They seem to really like this mixture of plants. We pour old watered down wine on our grapes a few times a year, and maybe the strawberries like the acidity or something.

I just basically leave the strawbs alone. We have a thick layer of mulch around the bases and between the raised beds under the arbor, and the strawbs put out runners that drape down and take root in the mulch (which stays shaded and cooled by the grapes). I just gently lift the new strawb plants and add them to other raised beds. This is the ONLY way I've been able to grow strawberries. Ever.

Our grapes start from fallen fruit with this method too (which I was always told was super difficult to do).

We bought a farm a few years ago, and I duplicated this method (with some modifications due to the wabbit population).
So far it's working again. If I can find some pics, I'll post them, so you can see the set-up.

I wonder what the watered down wine does for grape vines. You have some interesting experiences. From what I understand, growing grapes from seeds will yield unpredictable varieties. I think this is intriguing as you may chance across a new beneficial variety. What kind of grapes are you growing?