Ways to Live On Almost Nothing - 4

Part 4: Items 16 - 20

In this last entry on our 20 ways to live on little-to-nothing, some further ways to take honest stock of your situation and prospects, plan accordingly, and make use of systems already in place to stretch the dollars you’ve got left.

16. Who Are You Supporting?

If your habit is to always buy new, who is that supporting? In a serious recession, it’s probably not supporting some skilled worker in a factory in your area, since the US has already stripped its manufacturing capability to almost zip. Are you supporting the call center bill collectors? Do you really WANT to support them?

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Ways to Live On Almost Nothing - 3

Part 3: Items 11-15

NYC Bread Line

Installment three of this series of 20 ways to live on little-to-nothing. In these we’ll look at some basics about food, using all of your abilities, and taking honest stock of exactly what you need to do in your life to get through the hard times. If you get hit hard by what’s happening - and cutting back on luxuries just won’t fix the problems - you’ll need to learn to rely on yourself.

11. Taking Honest Stock

If you don’t want to go all Gypsy (and have a family to support), you can still take control of your situation. Keep a careful record of where the money goes over a month. Examine your ‘necessary’ expenses (home, utilities, car, insurance, food, gas, any other fixed expenses). If the ‘necessary’ expenses are larger than net income, it’s time to get out from under the big ones and take a good look at less expensive ways to live. You can live through hard times, but first you have to acknowledge you’re in hard times.

Housing markets are bust right now, so it’s difficult to sell your house even if you were willing to take an equity loss. Same is true for cars and light trucks. It can be the best option to make a clean break and declare bankruptcy, which can allow you to start fresh with a whole different way of approaching life.

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Ways to Live On Almost Nothing - 2

Part 2: Items 6-10

This is the second installment of the 20 ways to live on little-to-nothing. Obviously, not all of these alternatives will appeal to everyone. But perhaps some will appeal to some.

6. Personal Housing for the Gypsy Tread-Lightly

If your lifestyle doesn’t require thousands of square footage consider the advantages of an RV or travel trailer. No, not one of those $200,000 new fancy jobs, but one just “big enough” and in desperate need of some handy TLC.

Getting “free” will take more ingenuity that most people have to spend, but getting “cheap” is entirely possible. Unless you’re a serious mechanic, travel trailers are a much better option than RVs or old city buses that probably need totally rebuilt engines. A trailer can be moved as regularly as necessary (many state and national forest sites have 2-week limits) so long as you’ve something to haul them with.

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20 Ways to Live On Almost Nothing

Part 1: Items 1 - 5

As Janice Joplin sang to us all those many years ago, freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose. That doesn’t have to be a sentence to despair. It can also be a defiant gesture to the powers that be, and the license we need to live joyfully, peaceably and responsibly on our planetary home. After that kind of commitment, any money that does come in can pad our own safety nets and perhaps even inspire others to tread lightly on the earth.

With millions of Americans losing their jobs and their homes in this recession - and hardly any available cheap rentals or backup jobs to take up the slack - there will be a lot of people out there trying hard to survive.

The adage that it takes money to make money doesn’t mean much to people who have none to spare, but it also takes (some) money to live on little-to-no money if you want to do it well. Mostly it requires nothing more than a different way of approaching life, and a willingness to choose the less-traveled road. Or, in some cases, choosing the road…

1. Decide What You Want From Life

Doctor, lawyer, Indian chief… scientist, artist, writer, woodworker, mechanic. Most choices of career outside the big business and financial sectors can be pursued without great expense once you’re out of school. Sit down and make the list. Then once you’ve got it, arrange it into priorities top to bottom. Any lower items that conflict with the top items can be crossed off. Then decide what your time investments are to be. With that well-honed list you can then begin a Plan - 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, 20. Things don’t usually go according to plan, but if you’ve got a plan you’re already several steps ahead of life’s fast balls.

If what you want from life is love and happiness, seconded by rewarding work, take heart! The best things in life really can be free. On this decision, bear in mind that no matter who you are, the greater your range of skills, the more you can do for yourself, and the more satisfaction you can gain. Diversify, diversify, diversify!

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ATG Debunks 7 Thrifting Myths

Selena at Apron Thrift Girl ventured into video this past November, and it turned out so well that I hope it won’t be her last video venture! Here she debunks 7 common myths about thrifting, which may help those who are new to living on a shoestring budget get past their preconceived prejudices and ingrained shopping habits. It also reinforces the things that us seasoned thrifters already know!

If you enjoy Selena’s video, don’t forget to check out her blog! There’s plenty more knowledge where that came from…

Previous Posts About Thrifting:

Thrifting: It’s An Art Form!
Credit Crunch: How to Survive the Recession
Living on Less: The Alternative Economies
The Payoff: Thrifting and Re-Selling
Free Yourself from Debtor’s Prison
Tips for Avoiding Pressure to Shop
Craig’s List: Great Resource or Scary Place?

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Everyday Energy Conservation Tips

Easy ways to save money and conserve energy at home

In addition to the good ideas in this video, there are other things you can do through the year to save energy. For instance, I use the gas grill for canning in the summer. Canning is an energy-intensive project even if you grow your own as I do, which can make your home grown cost more than just buying canned goods at the store. The gas costs less than electricity, heats more efficiently (it’s nearly impossible to get my canner boiling on my electric stovetop!), and it’s outside - doesn’t heat the house.

For all-day type soups, stews and beans from dry in the winter, I put the pot on top of the wood stove instead of in the crock pot or on the stove. Cooks just fine, doesn’t boil dry if it’s covered adequately and set properly, costs nothing!

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Frugal Youth: Stuff Does Not Equal Happiness

Age Counseling Youth

Once Upon a Christmas… my Mother-in-Law gifted my children with some thickly quilted fuzzy slippers to put on in the morning when the wood stove in our little cabin had gone out and the water in the dog dish was more often than not frozen solid. Unfortunately both of the pairs of slippers she’d bought consisted of two right feet. So off she went right after Christmas to the store where she’d bought them, and let the kids pick out new pairs that they could wear on both their feet.

The saleslady remembered when Mom had bought them, and the story she told about the kids living in the cold mountains without automatic heat. She asked the kids how they could stand living in a house with no heat. The kids looked at her quizzically, my daughter answered that of course we had heat, we just didn’t have electricity. That really threw the young woman for a loop, so she just had to ask…

If you’ve no electricity, how can you have heat? Daughter smiled. “Fire,” she answered calmly. “Fire is hot.”

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