Budget Stretching

If you can't tell the difference between Mt. Dew and Mountain Lion, Dr Pepper and Dr Perky, or a Coca Cola from a generic Coke why pay 2-3 times more for the name brand? Same goes for single malt Scotch, cigars, beer, and a boat load of other things. If it's truly all in the name, keep some of your hard earned money and buy generic.

My decades long personal journey in search of a good three dollar bottle of wine continues, but I haven't lost interest in the quest.

 

Even better, save all your money & dont buy any of the sodas... just rots yer teeth anyways..(says she who doesn't like soda in general and especially colas)

 

Biggest savings in life come from getting your priorities straight. There are things you wish you had, things you want to have, and things you need to have. Average new house around here in Southern New Hampshire is a neo colonial at about 2500 sq foot of floor space and on a 2 + acre lot, costs around 400 thousand and has two or 3 people living in it and who are either commuting to Boston and can not afford to pay a million for a comparable house in close to work, or who have sold their old house in Boston for a million, paid 200 thousand for it 15 years ago, and are now retired with a comparable house and 750 thousand in retirement money. Given the present cost of building, cost of lot and improvements, and housing codes, little else is being built. Houses are still available here that are 40 years old and with a 2 acre lot and need work for 125 thousand, most being torn down, and a mega mansion being built on the site. Wish to live in Boston and have dream house, 1 to 1 1/2 million, getting house you "want and can afford", 400 thousand, getting house that will keep you dry and warm and have the "old standard" single story 1200 foot single story ranch or 1200 foot "New Englander" 2 story row type house, 125 thousand or so. A house in the 3 to 4 hundred thousand range will , after a 100 thousand down payment, have , at a 3.11 % interest rate, a monthly payment of about $2400. Then you have heating, air conditioning, septic system, electric, wide band and phone,well, snow plowing, etc as well as routine repairs, etc. All told figure about $3000 to 3500 a month. A 1200 foot ranch, 25 years old, 2 acre lot, in same area is $149,000, with a down payment of $30,000 and a monthly payment of about $1000.

Similar calculations can be done with cars, pickups, tractors, etc. Then you can compare wood heat, vs oil or propane for heating, eating out vs cooking at home, garden vs farmers market, etc.

Made the decision in 1980, never had a monthly payment on house other than taxes and insurance, put the money I saved in interest into garage, green house, etc, and when it came time to reroof, did it myself with metal, repaint, I put up vinyl siding, upgrade furnace, went wood, haven't put up solar yet. All of the older members of the forum will I think tell you about the same on living, it isn't what you make that counts, its what you spend.

While this is posted in the back to basics thread, it in my mind be more appropriate in the Freedom and Liberty section as the decisions you make on how you live will determine if you work for yourself and your needs, or for a bank or credit card company and their needs. If things do go south, it may well determine if you or your family live in relative comfort, or if you lose your home, car, and other major assets.

As with everything, your needs and desires are totally different than mine and while I take a great comfort in living in an old house, drive a 20 year old car that I fix and is paid for, heat with wood and have a greenhouse and garden, and still work part time at 80+, and we still have some retirement savings, you or your significant other may desire a completely different lifestyle.

Haven't went totally gulch and moved to Montana, UP, or Alaska, so I can't really say I bought totally into the prepper lifestyle, just try to stay out of crowds, be gray, and have some very good like minded friends. All in all, a very good lifestyle and growing old over the last 40 years and no debts sure make it easier to both sleep and make life changing decision.

 

I'm still trying to find the Pipe Stretcher...

It's probably right next to the can of Arc Starter

Good ideas in here

 

Soft soap is just regular hand soap that’s been watered down. It’s the dispenser that makes the soap foam. 1/3 regular liquid hand soap to 2/3 water. Save 66%.

 

Thrifty lantern/lamp fuel storage.

Kerosene shelf life (for mantle lamps) = 1 year
Coleman/Camp Fuel shelf life = 30+ years? (I ran some from 1971 recently that worked fine.)

Amish Mix = 80% kerosene, 20% Coleman/Camp Fuel (white gas)

Kerosene has a shelf life. If you're just burning it in flat wick lamps it's a long shelf life. For mantle lamps it starts causing black spotted mantles after about a year. The Amish had solved this problem long ago with something that's best described as Amish mix.
I've tried this with kerosene I know was more than 5 years old, and had created black spots on three different kerosene lanterns mantles. Drained the old kerosene, all a red dyed batch that I'd only ever had one gallon of. Ran that fuel through a filter funnel to remove any water, then added 20% Camp Fuel (white gas). With no other changes the mantles on all three cleared of white spots
within a couple hours, and the remainder of the fuel burned trouble free.

This allows us to store useful fuel longer. It also make those full gallons of Camp Fuel at the thrift store for $1 look very appealing.

 

Thanks.. im sure no one knew this tidbit...
besides it doesnt matter if it foams or not just water it down... just your personal preference for foaming or not.

now... any other ideas?

 

I'm going to wander off a bit, but these will save you buying some silly plastic boxes that are too big and made in China.

Metal tins - Shoe polish and Altoids tins may be the last readily available real tin boxes. Altoids tins are great for making small survival kits, fish hook boxes, holding a spare mask if you're required to have one, pills, business cards or cash. They're something that's routinely thrown away that can be of great value.

Shoe polish tins have one important use that I know of after they're empty. They're the perfect container for making and carrying char cloth. Since they seal up air tight I just punch one small hole in the lid of a small polish tin to vent the smoke from the cloth as it chars. In an open fire, on a nice bed of coals I watch until the smoke stops and pull it out to cool. The char cloth should be ready to use after the tin cools, and with a piece of tape or putty over the hole you have a waterproof container.

Don't know what char cloth is for? Use the search feature, there's plenty of good info there. A side note. Ferrocerium rods are nice,
but until you're striking a rock with your steel to create a spark, you're really not mastering traditional flint and steel. Practice, practice, practice.... and carry a Zippo and a Bic lighter. We're trying to survive, not suffer.

 

Garden fertilizer supplements? Coffee grounds, food scraps, peelings, fish parts, etc. It was always my job to bury the garbage in the garden after dinner. Nothing greasy ever went in the holes, but lots of stuff that would enrich the soil by next planting season. Mom would save this stuff in a cut off plastic milk carton, and in the days when we used paper grocery bags as trash bags, it kept all the smelly stuff out of the trash, so we didn't have to worry about dogs, raccoons or bears getting into the trash.

 

This weekend we celebrate the departure of the tourists from the beach. It's also the time we transition from A/C to heat here.

Thermostat for penny pinchers 101.

We keep the house so cold in the winter that most mornings I can see my breath. This works out great, because the heat pump runs very little and I don't get overheated in my outside clothes as soon as I come in the house. Leaving the doors open isn't such a big deal because there isn't that much heat to lose.

The biggest single saver for me has been a $3 Mylar emergency blanket with four weighted corners. Thrown over my regular blankets on super cold nights it keeps me toasty warm, and I sleep great. The really cool thing about it is that I can see out from under it, but anybody looking at me would just see a big lump covered with tin foil.

 

Maintenance. Making things last.

I use a knife daily that my grandfather made from file. I read under lamps that are over 100 years old and I never have a problem cooking or making coffee on gas stoves that I've been cooking on since the 1970's. You stretch your budget in a big way when you make stuff last.

My latest maintenance experience was cleaning my work computer and mouse. They were so bad I couldn't even see some of the illuminated keys in the evening. A thorough cleaning with a baby wipe and some window cleaner and they both feel like they have a more crisp click, and they're sure a lot more pleasant to touch. A little maintenance goes a long way.

 

qtip and alcohol on the keyboard will get in the cracks and give you a crisper clack on your keyboard. I like a clicking keyboard

 

I like that idea. But FWIW, in the bad old days, I hung the filthy keyboards over the tub key side down, hit 'em with 409, let 'em drip, then hosed them down with a spray bottle of plain water. Never had a failure, but sometimes you can count on luck. YMMV. (Wouldn't try that with a laptop ---)

 

I hadn't noticed that lead had become a precious metal until I needed a roll of solder. Last roll I bought lasted more than twenty years, so I don't know when prices shot up. A 16oz roll of rosin core solder is now over $30.

Fortunately, I've been picking up every partial roll of solder, in all alloys and core varieties at thrift stores for $1. Pretty sweet deal.

Lead shot is another one that has shot up in price. Now over $50 for a 25lb bag, I snatch up all I can find in junk shops for $2-$5 a bag, or coffee can full.

If I got really desperate I'd make shot by dripping molten wheel weight lead into antifreeze. It makes imperfectly shaped shot, but the guys I know that use it haven't complained. If it'll break clays in a cowboy action shoot it'll kill a bird or squirrel.

 

In the "Two is one and one is none" theme I keep an eye out for deals on duplicates of things that I use every day. If I can pick up a few spare rifle cleaning brushes at a garage sale for pocket change that's a big win.

I have beard combs and brushes that I carry every day and I've become attached to a particular shape and brand. If I see a sale on them, I snatch up as many as I can afford. I've already done my research and know that these are the best available, so I pack away spares... everywhere.

Small comforts from familiar things have brought me comfort during very dark times. That's priceless.

 

I do this... its called hoarding by some standards lol now im gonna throw this at them.... its my comfort item... like an anxiety pet priceless! @hot diggity


The cheapest and best pony tail holders are made from little girls tights. I get them in the spring when they are on sale for a couple of bucks ( some weird colors) cut the legs into 2 inch strips and use to put my hair in a pony tail. the legs will give between 20 and 30 pony tail holders that are washable and last forever. Super cheap dont damage your hair.

just a tip for all of @Thunder5Ranch men friends with man buns.

 

Test the theme on them. Watch them and find something that they keep around and use every day. Watch them freak out when you put it where they can't find it. That's how a SHTF situation feels, except you can't find anything familiar. That lesson about not keeping all your eggs in one basket suddenly makes perfect sense. What a shame you didn't get around to stashing stuff in more than one spot.

 

Which is why I have a pistol stashed in each one of my vehicles,,, just in case I run out the door without my EDC .

 

Get all the toothpaste out of the tube!

 

better yet give up toothpaste with poisonious floride and make your own
Make Your Own Tooth powder (and Toothpaste)

Most of the time i just use baking soda mixed with coconut oil... if get tired of the taste i add a couple of drops of spearamint or cinamon flavoring. I make it in a cheap 2 oz container every couple of weeks.
1OZ coconut oil
baking soda to the consistency you want.

i like mine a bit runny so i can swish it around