Our patch of earth

[Reice]

Not a ton to report. Finally almost done with the digging of the 120ft trench for the electric line, a bit slower going in this heat (yes, hubby is keeping hydrated ). Once that line is in we can get my nephew to come hook us up (he works for the electric co and has hooked up many). Then it's move time baby!

Was able to switch phone carriers from our AT&T prepaid of $45 a month for 2 lines to Unreal Mobile for $20 for two lines. Still get unlimited talk/text, but now we get data (didn't have any on AT&T), 1gb each a month and then it's throttled. And, they use AT&T towers. Same towers, same service, plus added data and still saved $25 a month, heck yeah!!

Got approved for SNAP benefits, sure needed it right now. We are about to the point hubby is going to go find any job, as funds are running low. It'd be nice if current house sells quickly, but we aren't betting on it, so he's out to pound the payment first thing in the morning. In the mean time, he's doing a handy-man type thing today that shouldn't take to long and will give us a bit of cash.

Have already started the purging. Removed 3 bags of trash and 5 bags that went to thrift store donation. That was just my room, bathroom and closet. Not too shabby.

 

[Reice]

Here it is over 3 months later, still kickin'.

Finally got moved out here last month. The air is different out here. The sounds are different out here. The sun and moon and stars are different out here.

Right now we are a few notches up from camping, but it's working. Playing musical extension cords but it's meeting our needs. Able to cook, clean and keep warm. Water hose and jugs for water needs. Solar shower with a bit of help from frydaddy to heat water keeping us clean. Bucket toilet isn't the horror feared by the hubby.

Still lots to do but we're here! This 5 acres already my sanctuary. Things still to come: attach power, rework plumbing, install kitchen sink, replace water heater, skirt the outside bottom, and rework a few windows.

Still no steady job for either of us. Hubby works a day or two at a steakhouse a few miles away for cash, and has been enterprising finding alternative ways to earn cash. Me, I'm able to help daughter by babysitting grandson, he loves it out here. It works for now.

Sorry for typo's or formatting, typing on phone. Still trying to figure out internet out here.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Yep, it can be done. Hubby and I moved into our home mid-winter w/o plumbing, (no kitchen, no bathroom) minimal electrical, nothing for heat aside from a wood stove and a pile of green wood that was frozen into the snow bank. Only house on a dead end dirt road. Our shower experience: standing on the front steps with the truck backed up to the steps. The showeree would then get doused by a bucket held by the showerer who was standing on the tail gate. It does get easier! But, building a home while living in the home is not for the faint hearted.

 

[Reice]

And... I has internet. Yep, I'm back, bwahahaha

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!!! *gobble gobble*

We also did finally get the power hooked up, yes!! Got so used to living with extension cords I regularly forget I can turn on a light, haha. Since the home didn't have power to it when we got it, we weren't real sure what we were in for, electrical-wise. But no fires had to be put out, not yet anyways. There are some plugs that don't work, and some light fixtures that don't work even with new bulbs. Will work on those as we get to them. In the mean time we work with what we got. I finally have a working stove, oh yeah!! And a pretty darn nice one at that. I swear this given to us freebie stove may have been used just once since it was bought new. Zero complaints here.

Today the hubby is working on getting the dryer working. Laundry was backing up a bit due to waiting on decent days to be able to line dry. Truth be told, I am now a fan of the line drying. Everything just felt.. I dunno, cleaner. Even the stiff towels didn't bother me when I see that it absorbs water oh so much better and feels fresher.

Had vehicle issues for the past 2 months to go along with this. My precious minivan decided to take a crap one morning, was running perfect before that, even with 200k miles on her. Ran the codes and started fixing what we could when we could, but still wouldn't get her running again. Was a nightmare getting that heavy beast dragged out here to better work on her, but nothing was working to get her running. My parent's (both 71) hated the thought of me being out here alone afoot, so they do what they do... fix it with what they got. Without asking, they found a cheap vehicle that needed body work, but ran. Dad is a body man, has been all his life. The back end of this vehicle was crunched. You guys probably won't believe it, but dad fixed it by hand making and attaching a back bumper.. from washing machines. I kid you not. Spray painted it to kinda match the rest and you can almost not tell from a distance. So, for $400 they put together a car that runs to let me drive. I tell you what, about to be adios to minivan, hello Sebring. It runs great and is better on gas. Still don't know what's wrong with van or how to or how much to fix it. She did us well for 2 years and never left us walking. But this is why I buy em cheap and drive them til they quit.

Other than that just waiting for grandbaby #2 to be here any second. She's trying to make and early appearace at 36 weeks and mom is on light duty/bed rest. And, not-so-lucky-me gets to be in there for this one, too. Grandson nearly drove me to nervous breakdown at his birth, lol. So here we go again.

Oh, internet I got a bargain on. Went through pcsforpeople.org for low income families. Qualified and got a hotspot with the $16 a month plan. It's decent reception and works so far out here. Unlimited data, except after 23gb I get deprioritized. I can live with that.

That's all for now, time to get ready for Turkey Day with the family, huge group at the parents house, oh boy. Laters all.

 

[Reice]

Dun, dun, dun... I spoke too soon. Got word last night hubby's place of employment is shut down. No surprise there. Not panicking. Bills are paid, a few ahead, probably a month more in the bank. We may or may not get the stimulus check (I'm not holding my breath). We could file unemployment if necessary. Hubby already has potentially 2 places calling him Monday for immediate work, construction type jobs. And, if nothing else, has years of experience working/managing grocery stores, who are probably hiring for this pandemic needed service.

I like to know my options, it helps to keep myself calm. So writing this here as a way to reinforce in my own head options so as not to panic. Here is cut and dry what our monthly bills are: electric, car insurance, internet, wow, phone, netflix. Yeah, that's pretty much it.

Electric is around $250 (omg ugh! yes, I know, horrendous. Electric heat, rural more expensive. But it's warming up a bit, hoping this goes down). It's current. Can pay April's. Worse case scenario- hope they extend payment until we have income. Worse-worse case scenario- they cut it off and we rely on generator and small folding solar panel.

Car insurance is $50 monthly for 2 vehicles. Current, can pay April's. Worse case scenario- drop it come May, we're quarantined and not going anywhere anyways.

Internet is $15 a month, paid up until June. Worse case scenario-it's turned off come July.

WoW is $15 a month paid up until June. Worse case scenario-it's turned off come July.

Phone is $10 a month for hubbys. Worse case scenario- we drop it and grab a google voice app and number since we are quarantined and on wifi anyways, until July anyways. My phone has that free TextNow app since it's a Sprint phone, so we will still have one phone that can call and text regardless of wifi.

Netflix is $9. No biggy if we drop, too many free streaming channels. Worse case- no wifi come July and we finally try out that tall outside antenna.

So around $350 a month for our bills. Not too shabby. This does not include food, you might say. Right now we have a couple months worth in the house. The chest freezer is full and there's tons of rice and beans if nothing else. We still qualify for SNAP, $165 a month, and maintain work requirements for it. I did hit the food bank, as well, which is where the stash of rice and beans and a good portion of the chest freezer came from (that last trip they went way above and beyond!!). Plus, there's still game out here. Have seed potatoes and onions about to go in to the ground and plan to get more seeds in the next day or two. Also missing is health insurance. Yeah, we have none. We don't earn enough to qualify for Obamacare subsidy/tax credit and we are lucky enough to live in a state that does not have extended medicaid, yee. We can purchase our own through the health exchange, it was just under $1,000 per month for high deductible plan. Can't afford it. We are both in good health. I can dream of a day when America decides to do universal healthcare, right? haha

Other than that it's just gas in the vehicles and household items. Gas just got cheaper and we're being restricted to driving anyways. Household items, there's enough in the home to tide us over a month or so. Will try to buy as needed or make do or get creative. Really only have to worry about toilet paper running out, haha.. that's everyone's big concern now, huh? lol Got a month's worth now. Also I've got 4 rolls of Scott single-ply as my absolute worse case scenario backup plan. Then it's leaf time baby!! Hmm.. which one would be worse? lol

Looking over the news on the stimulus check, still have no idea if we will get it or not. Some reports $1,000 for each adult, some report different amounts for income levels based off 2018 tax filing. It may be a one time thing or it may be 2 months, or monthly. Who the heck knows, this story is so all over the place. So we may or may not get anything, and if we do it may be between $600-$2000. If we get $600 once I'd be tickled pink. Anything would help. I mean, we can't see the future or how long all of this is going to last.. how long business are going to stay closed.. how long we are to remain inside. I'm actually just glad they are talking about helping people in the first place. Progress, right?

Still such a long ways to go to being fully self-sufficient. Those that are there now are probably having a lot less worry about now that most of the rest of the world. We want to be you!!!

 

[Reice]

Been a few weeks, thought I'd just write, cause.. yeah... quarantine, lol.

I think the day I wrote the previous was the day the stepson's college closed, along with the dorms. So the 20 y/o moved back in. Three adults in an 840 sqft house, fun times lol, but we're making it work.

Hubby's work told them to go ahead and file unemployment, and we did so. Looks like it went through, even reclaimed the past 2 weeks, just waiting on the debit card in the mail. Wow, with the amount plus the stimulus, looks like we'll be bringing in more than we were earning. This is crazy! I won't complain.

Still quarantined, yet the hubby is still making runs to town. He is the one braving the stores. Even going so far as to get items for people that shouldn't be going near them. I think he has a tougher time staying at home than I do, haha. Me, I'm an introvert, a former latch-key kid, a homebody. I was made for this!!! lol

Everything seems to be just working in our favor lately, little things here and there, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude right now. Seriously about to make me cry. The kindness other people are showing is amazing, and is restoring my faith in humanity even more.

An extra little surprise was yesterday my parents said my little tiny camper was ready, so we picked it up last night. It is cute as a bug!! You wouldn't even believe it was once a popup camper. Dad had fun working on it and it has kept him busy for the past month they've been self-quarantined. I've got it parked about 100ft from the home up the hill by the electric pole. This introvert has herself a she-shed!! Like I said, it's tiny, but has a full size bed and a dinette set, electricity, an A/C, and some storage spaces. It'll be my saving grace when this small home gets a little bit crowded. The husband already joked that he won't be able to find me cause I'll be out there, haha. He might be right, I think the internets wifi reaches out here, haha.

Here's hoping everyone out there is taking precautions and staying safe.

 

[Reice]

What pictures I have so far, mostly befores:


The road we carved out. Can't even see our house from here but it's amongst those trees in the middle. Where the road looks like it ends it actually a hill, and those trees that look like bushes in the middle are actually really tall trees that surround our place.


Place we picked out for our home.


The scary move. House almost didn't make it around the curve wanting to slide off. But it's there.

Other pics I have are before of inside the house, not sure you wanna see just how much work is needed, haha. Might be better to wait til I have the afters pictures and post them together.

Man oh man!! Totally looks different than this now. Maybe I needed to see these again just to see how far we've come. Will try to get some outside pictures, because that middle picture doesn't show how much clearing we've done to open up the place.

 

[baymule]

Great life! (So far and it only gets better) Plant fruit trees! It will take them 3-4 years to bear, so get started! Plant Apple, pear, peach and fig. Plant grapes and berries. We planted plums(died), peaches (1 is loaded the other one is meh) apricot (nothing yet) pear(first blooms and a dozen little pears) grapes (rabbits ate them, died) and a loquat.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Congrats on all the positive moves you've made towards self sufficiency. Hubby and I built our home, and have lived at the bottom of the financial ladder for most of our lives. Yes, it CAN be done. When we moved into our house:

The shell and interior studding were in place. Insulation in place. Plywood floor, no sheetrock. Minimal electrical. No plumbing in kitchen or baths. For that matter... no bathrooms! The space was there... so we used a spackle bucket with RV chemical in the water. Kitchen resources: sheet of plywood on sawhorses for table and counters, crock pot, electric fry pan, toaster. Oh... it was January 28. Our winters are typically sub zero for weeks at a time, with LOTS of snow. Our home was on a dead end dirt road, we were the only home on that road at the time. Our heat source was a wood stove. Neither of us had experience using a wood stove. Our wood pile was mostly green wood. We had to knock the snow/ice off it before bringing it in to burn. When weather permitted, our showers consisted of backing the truck up to the front steps. One of us would stand on the tail gate with a bucket of warm water, and provide the "shower experience" for the other who was standing on the front steps.

Yep, it can be done on the "cheap". And I commend you for making it happen instead of sitting around and "wishing for it".

One of the ways we saved a bundle of money: I would shop the sales. Go to each of the 3 chain grocers in the area and pick up only the items each store was featuring during their weekly sale.

As for burning wood in your trailer... I have to wonder why they say that. If the ceiling height is appropriate, if you have adequate clearance to combustible surfaces. And your chimney is tall enough... And if you have smoke alarms. And if you have adequate safety exits, all things should be equal to installing a wood stove in a stick built home.

I agree with you: often the perceived benefit of 2 incomes does not match reality. The added stress, tax burden, and expenses may outweigh the savings realized when one partner stays home. Especially when that stay at home partner is committed to "making do", cooking nourishing meals, and growing/raising some of that food. Add to that: the benefit of re-using, re-cycling, re-purposing, and you will find that you live BETTER than many dual income families.

 

[Mini Horses]

Yeo -- you've jumped into a load of experienced, frugal enablers. Raisers of own food....sales of some. AND a few pets are always kept.