Cheap Living for Dummies

Be a little bit careful with barter schemes. Because they're such a good idea, they're pretty much illegal a lot of places. Essentially, the government sees them as a tax dodge (it's not just money you're taking out of the way, it's income tax and purchase taxes). People have been threatened with huge fines and jail over barter schemes that have been successful. It's still a great idea, but just watch your back.

 

Condiments? Ive found that fast food joints with a dollar menu can be a good friend as you can load up on all the mustard,catsup,salt,peper,napkins, plastic ware ect......

Ive been on the road for many years now and have found that anything you can get for free or cheap is the way to go, however I dont think stealing as one mentioned is the way to go. Bad karma in the ways of stealing. Remember if you take nothing from no one, nothing will be taken from you, including your freedom.

I agree with the stock up when you can reply, I live in a small camper but I keep at least id say over a months stock of food. Any dollar store is a great place to stock up on items that will last a long time.

Go do some work at a food bank in exchange for a food box. A days work is worth a weeks worth of food.

 

She is not always believable in all her articles,but she is always entertaining!

 

I know ppl that live close to free. They grow food and trade for food that they dont grow. Trapping is far better means of gathering wild game meat as it does not require your full attention but laws are an issue. Alot of items out in the woods of the Ozarks are wanted like antler sheds and animal bones and stones and wild plant life ect. As one said earlier none of this is easy living but then to some 45 minute commute to and from work, trying to find parking, $1400 a month house payments, ect is hard too. I guess its all a matter of perspective.

 

Found this site the other day. Haven't had time to read through much of it, but I offer it here all the same

http://members.aol.com/Moneymstr/cheap.htm

 

I just read through some of that site, there is some pretty insightful stuff in there.

 

possum living: http://www.soilandhealth.org/03sov/0302hsted/030206possum/030206toc.html

borrow the tightwad gazette from the library, kazillions of cheap living ideas there.

almost all seaweed is edible, and is extremely nutritious. Sea Vegetable Gourmet Cookbook and Wildcrafter's Guide gives all kinds of info about finding, storing and eating seaweed.

voluntary simplicity~it frees up time, space, energy and resources and it can also be a spiritual path.

 

if only that was true.........

 

yeah, possum living is pretty hardcore hillbilly~ it's a very unique perspective to look at life from. tons of excellent info in there though.

 

Its awesome that they could live so cheaply. I just don't think I could handle eating what they consider "game". pigeons, racoons, most roadkill, I really don't think I could eat that stuff when I could just raise checkens or rabbits or something.

 

Living cheaply is definitely one path to increased freedom.

Here are a few more links that are often helpful in pursuing a frugal lifestyle:

The Dollar Stretcher - they buy articles, too, for 10 cents a word. Not a bad way to share your penny pinching skills.

The poor_skills livejournal community has tons of good ideas posted. It's a great place to get some insight on a money management question or dilemma, too.

TheThrifty Fun forums also post a lot of good ideas.

Launder'd has some good ideas, too.

 

Coupons are a big way to save on the things you really need.

To save money on heating bills, dress warmly and have lots of blankets around, which can be made or bought very cheaply if you know where to look (this of course all depends on where you live though).

Make all of your own food and don't buy crap from grocery stores that is full of chemical and preservatives and things that turn us into rats in cages.

Buy things that can be re-used, regardless of how. Use bottles and cans that you have to buy to store other things in, when their original contents are gone.

A way to save water, is when you take a shower (very brief that is) to put buckets or containers in the shower with you, so as the water is warming up as well as when you are in the shower, the excess water doesn't just go down the drain. You can then use this water to water plants or to drink etc. Although I suggest taking the containers out before you get in, so that you don't get soapy water...

Basically, there are millions of ways to save money and live very very cheaply in this consumeristic, pathetic nation. The fact that there is so much mass consumption means that there is SO MUCH room to live off of the waste and by-products of that very consumption. I have friends who dumpster dive, mainly for video games, but they also dive other things sometimes. It's an art really, I've never tried it myself, but I hav read a lot about it. There is a lot on the internet about it, just go to Google and look it up.

Good luck on living cheaply!!

 

May I suggest that before someone who has never thought of inexpensive living before starts cold turkey, that you gradually cut down on things. Start with a "wants" piles; most of us have wants that aren't really necessary which can either be cut down or out completely. Hit your "needs" group once half the wants are eliminated. Do you really need to buy name brand everything? Do you really need that automatic whatchamacallit when a manual might do just as well and spend some extra calories too? Especially for urban folks who are stuck in those track homes cutting back little by little is better than not at all and more long term than cold turkey. For instance, unless your track home is in a gated community (why would you live there were normal services are extra??), lawns are totally unnecessary (my opinion).

A yard with native greenary (as in plants that don't use extra water or need extra poisons to live) can exist even providing some extra food (edible gardens are a must for inexpensive living). A chain link fence is all you need, let the plants be your real cover. They attrach birds, bees, butterflys, hummingbirds, insects (good and bad) and it smells great
Urbanized hippies need to look around their area when creating a living space that truely is living. Rural urban hippies like myself who still have much free space around them and neighbors living on large 1/2 and up lots do well to keep the land breathable while the ugly disgusting gross track housing goes up around us. Start here everyone and free yourself from materialistic living.

Try your best to make it eco-friendly as well. I think you can do eco-friendly w/o it taking a toll on your wallet. It might take a toll on your tv watching or computer use but how bad is that when in the end you're saving money/getting excerise.
Learn new skills, save money by checking out deals/bargins, look for closeouts, search on the web for sites like this:

http://www.frugalhomemaker.com/

http://www.thefrugallife.com/

http://www.countrylife.net/ (countrylife.net; online simplicity villiage)

Lastly, get the skills necessary when you wish to move to more rural settings or going on the road w/ little to no experience. These sites are good starts if you have funds or just take a naturalist class if offered in your local area:

http://www.earthskills.org/ (Earthskills Tracking, Wilderness Survival, Plant Uses, Traditional Skills, and Earth Philosophy

http://www.self-reliance.net/ (School of self-reliance)

http://www.hollowtop.com/ (Hollowtop Primintive Outdoor school & store)

http://www.wwmag.net/core.htm (wilderness way magazine-primitive skill/earth wisdom)

I hope all this helps someone to be less into commercialistic/materialistic society and more into living with our living World.

Blessed Be
urby

 

Cool links.

Though I'd bump this.

 

one of the earlier posts mentions that bradford angier's works are out of date .maybe ...after all .peace river alberta is a growing community now ..but there are a lot of things in his books that are as valid today as they were back in his time .depending on how primitive you want to live .as far as trapping or killing rabbits and selling them.....in this area you would have no problems because it is a much sought after game meat from older people who no longer hunt or snare them ..i for one buy some at every chance i get

 

one more thing .if you want to live outside cheap ..go to the experts ....the homeless

 

LOL...I'm in a homeless shelter now

 

Ted Kasinski ( The Unabomber ) lived on $600.00 per year in Montana.
Hunting rabbits and so forth. ( untill he was arrested )

Hard Core for sure but a usefull benchmark.