Farmfresh
City Biddy
Someone EVIL brought a huge container of homemade fudge to school yesterday. I had to grease my hips to get out of the door to go home! 
How we went from $42,000 to $6,500 and lived to tell about it!
- Thread starter Beekissed
- Start date
MorelCabin
Quilting Extraordinaire
A little extra hip...some oil...hubby must have LOVED you last night 
pioneergirl
Wannabe Pioneer
:bun 
FarmerChick
Super Self-Sufficient
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funny thing is I NEVER tasted a homemade fudge I liked?
too gritty, too much sugar, not creamy enough
I know for a fact the few times I made fudge....OMG I had to ditch it...no one would eat it..LOL
best fudge to me is from some shops ...lol
too gritty, too much sugar, not creamy enough
I know for a fact the few times I made fudge....OMG I had to ditch it...no one would eat it..LOL
best fudge to me is from some shops ...lol
Farmfresh
City Biddy
Ya Buddy!! :bunMorelCabin said:A little extra hip...some oil...hubby must have LOVED you last night
pioneergirl
Wannabe Pioneer
Thats too bad FC, you're missing out! I know my DH makes killer fudge, but one piece is plenty! hehe
FarmerChick
Super Self-Sufficient
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I just ain't a good baker/cook
and I guess my friends aren't either...LOL
and I guess my friends aren't either...LOL
hikerchick
Lovin' The Homestead
I am not a good baker either. And, not much of a cook if you ask my daughter.
Freeholder
Sustainable Newbie
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I think this is my first post here, so please be aware that I'm NOT bashing anyone or mad at anyone, LOL! First because I probably don't know most of you (might know some from other forums), and second because I don't very often do that, and when I do, there's a very good reason for it. So, that said, into the fray! 
(I'm not sure this was a good thread to read for an introductory one )
Someone up there was wondering if it's actually possible to live on $6500 a year. Of course it is -- people all over the world do it all the time, even quite a few people in this country do it. It's just a matter of *what are you going to be doing without?* at that level of income, not a matter of *is it really possible to live on it?* Some people do it because they have no choice, others (as the couple in the article) do it because they want to.
I've been in both camps. Like some others here, I grew up 'poor' (most of the time, depending on what Dad was doing for work), but didn't know it. We were loved; we had decent clothes to wear (and lived on a homestead in Alaska and everyone else was dressed pretty much the same way we were, so no stigma) and plenty of food to eat (some we grew ourselves, some was from hunting and fishing); our house was clean and mostly in order (hard with five small children); we had several hundred acres of fields, woods, and lake to play in; we had books and music; Mom spent time 'playing' with us and teaching us; Dad let us 'help' him when he could and took us places; one set of grandparents lived about half a mile away and the other set visited often; we went camping often -- overall, I had a good childhood (not perfect, but good).
Most of my adult life has been lived under the poverty level, not by choice but because that's where we were. But again, I've seldom felt poor. Several years our income was considerably under the $6500 of the couple in the article, and we had three young children. Part of that time we lived in a cabin in Alaska that belonged to one of my brothers (free housing, even though it was tiny and not much more than a tar-paper shack) with no electricity or running water. We had a wood stove, propane lights and a propane cook stove (until a druggie neighbor stole all the copper tubing and the propane light fixtures one time when we were gone -- another neighbor saw him leaving the place but couldn't catch him), and hauled our water from my Dad's place a mile away. We had no debts, a paid-for old Suburban, and we did just fine.
My husband (now ex) worked at odd jobs and did seasonal work; I was homeschooling the girls, but also did some part-time seasonal work once the oldest was old enough to watch her sisters for a few hours. It wasn't romantic -- the cabin was shabby and dark, and without any way to wash clothes at home, the laundry would pile up until we had enough money to take it to town and wash it -- we brought it home and hung it up to dry, even when it was way below zero (talk about stiff laundry!). But we had plenty of fish and game to eat, had a small garden, kept some chickens and dairy goats, and the girls even had a couple of ponies that provided them with a lot of entertainment. (Ponies aren't as much of an expense as you might think -- they don't require much feed other than some grass pasture and hay, and we were able to trim hooves ourselves. They weren't shod, so we didn't need a farrier.)
A few times we got down to nothing but beans (dry) for a few meals, which was hard on the girls, who didn't like dry beans, but we never went hungry. My father and brothers lived nearby, and I had (have) an aunt and uncle and some cousins in the area, too, so we had family close, and made friends with some neighbors who were also homeschooling, so the girls had friends to play with. Even my ex, who was raised in a nice suburban house, regrets that we ever left there. Yes, we did without a lot of the trappings of civilization, but it takes a BIG load off your shoulders when you don't have debts to worry about.
I fully expect that by the time I'm of retirement age Social Security will be worthless. Yes, they may still be making the payments, but very likely the money won't amount to enough to live on (we are likely to see hyperinflation after a bout of depression); and there's a good possibility of a complete system collapse (in progress now, IMO) so we really can't count on the government to be there as a safety net. Like some others, I figure that what will be, will be. I'll do the best I can for as long as I can, and when I can't, well, that's all she wrote, I guess. I don't expect my children to support me in my old age, and doubt that they'd be able to. My two older daughters both live on the East Coast, while the youngest is severely mentally handicapped (and does get SSI, which is part of our income now -- I work part-time).
Right now, youngest DD and I live with my grandmother, who is 96 and needed someone to live with her so she wouldn't have to go to an assisted living place. The house is hers, debt-free, so living expenses just include the usual utilities, food, gas, and I have a car payment.
I'm saving up for a small piece of land when Grandma is gone (in an area with low or no property taxes -- there are still a few spots in Alaska with NO property taxes, although I don't know how long that situation will last), and plan to build us a tiny cabin to live in, raising most of our food. IF DD's SSI is still coming in, fine; if not, I'll do whatever I can to support us. In Oregon, we are allowed to sell raw goat milk under certain conditions, but property taxes are higher than I really want to have to worry about, so I'm not sure where we'll end up. I'd just as soon stay close to family, but other than Oregon, most of them live in states that don't allow raw milk sales (Alaska and Wyoming) and New Hampshire, where my older daughters live, does allow the sale of five gallons of raw milk a day but has horribly high property taxes (although not as high as places like Connecticut, I know!). But low property taxes are very important -- I noticed a couple of people commented earlier that they couldn't live on $6500/year where they live because the property taxes are so high. In addition, you probably couldn't do it in some areas that have regulations saying everyone has to have a big house, or can't keep livestock or raise a garden. It's probably also a lot wiser to look for land that has plenty of water and a warm climate (I noticed that the couple in the article live in Louisiana, which has both water and a warm climate).
Back to that couple, I wonder how many states allow people to sell even small quantities of home-baked goods without a commercial kitchen and permits? If anyone knows of such a place, let me know, LOL! I know New Hampshire doesn't because we were taking bread, cookies, pies, and doughnuts to the Farmer's Market to sell (along with honey from my ex's bees, and whatever flowers and veggies we had surplus from our garden), and they finally cracked down on that and we had to stop because we didn't have a commercial kitchen. We probably should have found a commercial kitchen to rent and kept at it because our sales were good, but the girls and I were all too busy with other things to make such a big production out of it at that time.
There's a quote which I believe is attributed to Henry Kissinger, "Control the food, and you control the people." I think that over the next few years, we are going to see more and more attempts to control ALL food production in this country, which is likely to put a serious crimp in our efforts to support ourselves even on a poverty level. Here I can sell raw goat milk and eggs, and am hoping to start selling a few chicks each year (I'm getting some purebred good quality Salmon Faverolles, Lord willing and they all hatch when the time comes) and also want to get several beehives going. That will at least give me something to barter with and a surplus to give to those less well-off than we are. I don't know how much longer before the government stops all that, but will keep going as long as I can. And yes, IF WE HAVE NO DEBT, we can live on that, actually in a fair degree of comfort.
Kathleen
(I'm not sure this was a good thread to read for an introductory one )Someone up there was wondering if it's actually possible to live on $6500 a year. Of course it is -- people all over the world do it all the time, even quite a few people in this country do it. It's just a matter of *what are you going to be doing without?* at that level of income, not a matter of *is it really possible to live on it?* Some people do it because they have no choice, others (as the couple in the article) do it because they want to.
I've been in both camps. Like some others here, I grew up 'poor' (most of the time, depending on what Dad was doing for work), but didn't know it. We were loved; we had decent clothes to wear (and lived on a homestead in Alaska and everyone else was dressed pretty much the same way we were, so no stigma) and plenty of food to eat (some we grew ourselves, some was from hunting and fishing); our house was clean and mostly in order (hard with five small children); we had several hundred acres of fields, woods, and lake to play in; we had books and music; Mom spent time 'playing' with us and teaching us; Dad let us 'help' him when he could and took us places; one set of grandparents lived about half a mile away and the other set visited often; we went camping often -- overall, I had a good childhood (not perfect, but good).
Most of my adult life has been lived under the poverty level, not by choice but because that's where we were. But again, I've seldom felt poor. Several years our income was considerably under the $6500 of the couple in the article, and we had three young children. Part of that time we lived in a cabin in Alaska that belonged to one of my brothers (free housing, even though it was tiny and not much more than a tar-paper shack) with no electricity or running water. We had a wood stove, propane lights and a propane cook stove (until a druggie neighbor stole all the copper tubing and the propane light fixtures one time when we were gone -- another neighbor saw him leaving the place but couldn't catch him), and hauled our water from my Dad's place a mile away. We had no debts, a paid-for old Suburban, and we did just fine.
My husband (now ex) worked at odd jobs and did seasonal work; I was homeschooling the girls, but also did some part-time seasonal work once the oldest was old enough to watch her sisters for a few hours. It wasn't romantic -- the cabin was shabby and dark, and without any way to wash clothes at home, the laundry would pile up until we had enough money to take it to town and wash it -- we brought it home and hung it up to dry, even when it was way below zero (talk about stiff laundry!). But we had plenty of fish and game to eat, had a small garden, kept some chickens and dairy goats, and the girls even had a couple of ponies that provided them with a lot of entertainment. (Ponies aren't as much of an expense as you might think -- they don't require much feed other than some grass pasture and hay, and we were able to trim hooves ourselves. They weren't shod, so we didn't need a farrier.)
A few times we got down to nothing but beans (dry) for a few meals, which was hard on the girls, who didn't like dry beans, but we never went hungry. My father and brothers lived nearby, and I had (have) an aunt and uncle and some cousins in the area, too, so we had family close, and made friends with some neighbors who were also homeschooling, so the girls had friends to play with. Even my ex, who was raised in a nice suburban house, regrets that we ever left there. Yes, we did without a lot of the trappings of civilization, but it takes a BIG load off your shoulders when you don't have debts to worry about.
I fully expect that by the time I'm of retirement age Social Security will be worthless. Yes, they may still be making the payments, but very likely the money won't amount to enough to live on (we are likely to see hyperinflation after a bout of depression); and there's a good possibility of a complete system collapse (in progress now, IMO) so we really can't count on the government to be there as a safety net. Like some others, I figure that what will be, will be. I'll do the best I can for as long as I can, and when I can't, well, that's all she wrote, I guess. I don't expect my children to support me in my old age, and doubt that they'd be able to. My two older daughters both live on the East Coast, while the youngest is severely mentally handicapped (and does get SSI, which is part of our income now -- I work part-time).
Right now, youngest DD and I live with my grandmother, who is 96 and needed someone to live with her so she wouldn't have to go to an assisted living place. The house is hers, debt-free, so living expenses just include the usual utilities, food, gas, and I have a car payment.
I'm saving up for a small piece of land when Grandma is gone (in an area with low or no property taxes -- there are still a few spots in Alaska with NO property taxes, although I don't know how long that situation will last), and plan to build us a tiny cabin to live in, raising most of our food. IF DD's SSI is still coming in, fine; if not, I'll do whatever I can to support us. In Oregon, we are allowed to sell raw goat milk under certain conditions, but property taxes are higher than I really want to have to worry about, so I'm not sure where we'll end up. I'd just as soon stay close to family, but other than Oregon, most of them live in states that don't allow raw milk sales (Alaska and Wyoming) and New Hampshire, where my older daughters live, does allow the sale of five gallons of raw milk a day but has horribly high property taxes (although not as high as places like Connecticut, I know!). But low property taxes are very important -- I noticed a couple of people commented earlier that they couldn't live on $6500/year where they live because the property taxes are so high. In addition, you probably couldn't do it in some areas that have regulations saying everyone has to have a big house, or can't keep livestock or raise a garden. It's probably also a lot wiser to look for land that has plenty of water and a warm climate (I noticed that the couple in the article live in Louisiana, which has both water and a warm climate).
Back to that couple, I wonder how many states allow people to sell even small quantities of home-baked goods without a commercial kitchen and permits? If anyone knows of such a place, let me know, LOL! I know New Hampshire doesn't because we were taking bread, cookies, pies, and doughnuts to the Farmer's Market to sell (along with honey from my ex's bees, and whatever flowers and veggies we had surplus from our garden), and they finally cracked down on that and we had to stop because we didn't have a commercial kitchen. We probably should have found a commercial kitchen to rent and kept at it because our sales were good, but the girls and I were all too busy with other things to make such a big production out of it at that time.
There's a quote which I believe is attributed to Henry Kissinger, "Control the food, and you control the people." I think that over the next few years, we are going to see more and more attempts to control ALL food production in this country, which is likely to put a serious crimp in our efforts to support ourselves even on a poverty level. Here I can sell raw goat milk and eggs, and am hoping to start selling a few chicks each year (I'm getting some purebred good quality Salmon Faverolles, Lord willing and they all hatch when the time comes) and also want to get several beehives going. That will at least give me something to barter with and a surplus to give to those less well-off than we are. I don't know how much longer before the government stops all that, but will keep going as long as I can. And yes, IF WE HAVE NO DEBT, we can live on that, actually in a fair degree of comfort.
Kathleen
miss_thenorth
Frugal Homesteader
Welcome to SS, and Merry Christmas!
I agree, that it can be done, to live on less than $6500, (not for us in the present times, we're at $4700 for prop taxes) but it can be done no doubt.
Glad you found us!
I agree with you here, in MY country too., and it has sort of been addressed in other threads.(see anything monsanto related.)
I agree, that it can be done, to live on less than $6500, (not for us in the present times, we're at $4700 for prop taxes) but it can be done no doubt.
Glad you found us!
