New budget

[hqueen13]

Oh yum.... wish the BF liked ham and beans!

 

[tortoise]

Diggin up my old thread because your ideas are all delightful and I'm loving re-reading them. January is my annual austerity (attempt) month. How low can I go?

I was lamenting about not like squash last year, but I've found I enjoy butternut squash made up as "pumpkin" pie! We had a bumper crop of squash again, and thanks to "pumpkin" pie, it's on my seed list for my 2016 garden!

 

[baymule]

I shop what I call "the dead meat counter". I buy the marked down meat that has expired, nothing wrong with it, other than being half price. I buy rib eye and T-bone steaks like this. I don't always beat the crowd to the steaks, but when I do, I grab all I can.

 

[Mini Horses]

ditto the mark-down meats. I even got lucky & found some of totally grass-fed beef @ mark-down a couple weeks ago.

Sure miss my home grown beef! Just not cost effective now as I don't eat that much of it anymore. So the splurge on the grass fed isn't huge.

 

[baymule]

We only have 8 acres, no room for raising cows. I have 4 sheep, just getting started. I keep us in beef off the dead meat counter. I gave away most of my hens before we moved, just kept a few for eggs. I want to raise Delaware and will order in the spring. I will finally be able to have a rooster and want to raise my own chicks.

 

[Britesea]

Lol... ONLY 8 acres.... snort.... giggle. I wish.

 

[Denim Deb]

Same here.

 

[baymule]

Lol... ONLY 8 acres.... snort.... giggle. I wish.

Same here.

There is a thousand acre high wire fenced ranch behind us, true Texas style, with exotic antelope on it. There are several 100+ acre cow pastures across from us. On one side of us are 6 two acre places , all with double wides on them. On the other side is an 8 acre plot, just like ours (that we wish we owned). We are surrounded by large farms and ranches, generously sprinkled with small patches of paradise like ours.

Even though we lived in town at our old house, we owned 16 acres 5 miles away. But that 16 acres was black gumbo clay, concrete when dry, muck that would suck a pick up truck out of sight when wet. I hated it. Our original plans were to build on it, but after experiencing the joys of goo/cement for soil, we changed our minds. Our grand daughters were 160 miles away, so we sold out and moved. We traded a 2500 sq ft brick home for a 1500 sq ft doublewide, 16 acres for 8, and we couldn't be happier.

 

[Denim Deb]

For now, at least, I can't leave the area where I am. My parents are in their 80s. I won't move as long as they're alive.

 

[Britesea]

@baymule you don't need to defend yourself. I was just chuckling and wishing I could say the same thing. We have 1/2 acre near the river, one of the few properties in the area that has enough sun to grow a garden. With care, we can come close to being self-reliant (as long as we don't get tired of small animals for meat and eggs, and can trade for milk). But sometimes I wish I had a little more room for projects.

 

[baymule]

@Britesea I gardened on a tiny city lot for many years. The 16 acres only held the horses, it wasn't good for much else and was heavily wooded. Having 8 acres to play on plus the benefit of having horses practically in my backyard is a slice of pure heaven. I can really identify with your yearning for a larger piece of property, believe me. I go walk around on our 8 acres like it is a big ranch. I look at the ranches around here with the pipe fences, brick entries with automatic gates, beautiful pastures, cattle, barns and fine homes..... and am so grateful for what I have. I love our little farm.