Staying home now...what ways can I save money over working?

[tortoise]

Make sure that the neighbor really has the market cornered. Maybe there is more demand than s/he can meet? Keep prices the same, I'd think, so you're not undercutting the market, but try anyway. Can't hurt. Might even let the neighbor know and even ask if there is more demand than they can meet if they would refer to you. Just a thought...

Maybe find a way that you aren't in direct competition with them. See how they do or do not market them and find your own little market niche. If they hit up the neighborhood, then maybe you can use Craigslist or something to get the city people to come out to you.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

wait wait wait wait........sorry... ok i'm totally late for this party...

so hold on there a second before you go running off in all directions....

the first thing you gotta do is get a tub of ice cream and a bag of M&M's and go directly to the couch and SIT DOWN. i'm not kidding.

i know this has been coming for a while and you've had a ton of stress over this decision - its gonna take your body a while to accept this new normal and for you to "recover" from all the adrenaline of not knowing. so the first thing you have to do is rest.

i know i know.. its counter intuitive and you've been home not well for a while. but this is different. sit yourself down and actually REST. focus on the holiday, and the snow outside, and let your mind think all of your thoughts and then let it be still.

you've been giving a great gift - even if it doesnt feel like it. so take it. use this time to look around and figure out what you want to do. read. study. think. write it down.

the worst thing you can do is exhaust yourself before you even get started.

once your mind quits spinning on OHMIGOSH I DID IT... then look around and figure out whatcha got and what you can do with it.

you're probably at the point where there isnt a lot more you can cut out so instead of saving money start thinking of how you can "make savings"

every dollar you DIDNT spend is a dollar you've saved.

there are some great resources for this - check around so you can 'get in the groove' of this kind of thinking. this will help you focus on what you are doing to improve your situation - instead of everything you are doing with out.

you've probably already "given yourself a raise" by not working - you just havent realized it yet. so dont feel like you have to solve all of the problems today.

next, get yourself into a routine - and yep, Flylady is great. she's right about getting up on a schedule and getting dressed down to your shoes. and knowing where your laundry is. (oh no! my sink is full! yikes!)

then look at your man - this situation may be stressful on him too...so determine to make it your job to get him to his job. i know it sounds old fashioned but you dont want him to resent this change. if he feels like everyone (thats you) is working together for the good of all... then it will be easier to manage.. no one wants to feel like they are doing all the work, not you and not him, right? teamwork needs to me your new mantra.

because its winter and there is snow out there, you're kinda limited to what you can do outside. but inside time can be used for planning. figure out what projects you can do yourself to improve the efficiency of your home, garden, and barns.

Kelly Klober (a great old timer and author) talks about the 3 p"s to improving your farming:

Pick it up
Put it away
Paint it

so start there. you'll see that efficiency is one of your best tools. you'll save money and time by knowing where things are, by having good fencing, and by having well organized gardens, etc.

you're pretty new to your current property so take a good hard look at how its set up and how it can be used. use google maps to get a satellite view of the property and work out a plan for it. look up farm organization plans

use this time to visit local farm markets to see how you can participate. drive around and meet new folks - especially people who are doing similar things. we met our orchard and farm market friends because i drove up, stuck out my hand, and said "hi friend, i'm ohiofarmgirl and i have pigs - do you have anything i can use?"

work on getting your "network" of contacts ..... i know that communicating is a challenge but you're already learning with all of us that email/online is a great way to stay in touch. so leave your email address with new people or assign one of the kids to be your 'ambassador.' and dont under estimate the power of leaving a dozen eggs with new acquaintances.

get to know the hay guy - chances are he knows a lot of folks in farming. take time to talk to the feed store owners - our guy connected us with some people who needed ducks. dont be afraid to drop a note in someone's pay box introducing yourself (thats how we go a truckload of pumpkins). go and met the local extension agents..and stop in and talk to the soil and water conservation people. what about local 4H groups? cattleman's association? can your former employer hook you up with a large animal vet?

you are gonna do great at this new life, really. you're smart, organized, determined, resourceful, and hard working. and there are tons of good ideas here.. and really, the food budget is the easiest to solve....there are all good ideas offered by the folks here. and tons of resources.

so get some rest, get a plan, then get out there, tiger. we all think you are the beez knees and are excited to see how your new life is going to unfold!

 

[tortoise]

I thought the ice crea, and chocolate goes without saying. If you're having a flurry of ideas not, just jot them down - maybe on note cards or strips of paper. (Later it will be easy to prioritize them - tomorrow, this week, next month, in spring, etc., and make a to-do list)

so start there. you'll see that efficiency is one of your best tools. you'll save money and time by knowing where things are, by having good fencing, and by having well organized gardens, etc.

I agree with the efficiency. Definitely a money saver. And a time saver. I'm working on this now with my binder. I'm gonna get a pantry organizing system. Inventory or something. I'll be able to see the cheap meals that I'm NOT making just because I'm not organized.

You have all winter to work on groceries, electricity, some weather-proofing, etc., and planning. Time to start shopping, browsing, watching to find things you need, used, at lower prices.

I started a price book. Only for my own curiousity for knowing who has the cheapest what, and for knowing if a sale is really worth stocking up on. I'm hoping that these pennies will add up. For a tight budget, I think it is worth it.

 

[kcsunshine]

OFG, were you a motivational speaker in your old life? Or maybe in one of your other lives? Maybe Thorine - goddess of thunder?

I'm making cookies, savingdogs - want some to go with that ice cream? I posted a recipe for Cranberry Hootycreeks (cookies) that's really good.

 

[Wifezilla]

I thought the ice crea, and chocolate goes without saying

Yeah, I thought everyone knew that!

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

I thought the ice crea, and chocolate goes without saying

Yeah, I thought everyone knew that!

nope... remember folks she's new at this.. so we gotta give her ALL the tips.
;-)

OFG, were you a motivational speaker in your old life?

nah but i'm awfully bossy in THIS life!

ha!

 

[savingdogs]

OFG, you are certainly MY motivational speaker and your thoughtful response leaves me, frankly amazed that you remember my situation so well. You guys are all so awesome and I'd really be so upset right now without everyone here on this forum lending me support.

My hubby has been extremely supportive and carrying the stress load. I've decided to use Abifae's suggestion and make big-ol' dinners and make lots of leftovers packaged into lunches for him (and me and Computer Nerd). A sweet little Mexican gal who works for Hubby has been making him tamales for lunch every day and he has.....well, put on a few pounds. I told him that he can have her tamales just once a week now and I'm going to make all his meals.
I'm cooking a turkey that Hubby got cheap today! I intend to spoil him and do his laundry and have dinner ready, which have always been shared duties when I've worked full time.

I can see lots of benefits, me and the animals on a better schedule, fed more consistent amounts (less more often) and everything kept cleaner. The place needs my attention, but I also need to rest so I don't make myself as sick at home as I was working.

I do want to plan a big ol' garden. I can rest and draw pictures. I love gardening, just haven't had time for it in years. And this morning I did a really good job cleaning up the duck yard.

I'm also dog sitting right now the coolest dog on earth just about except possibly OFG's Titan. Babysitting him is probably the easiest money I'll ever make, although it is an informal barter. She buys me a gift card to the feed store and brings two giant bags of dog food and I keep her dog for a couple weeks. Dog sitting would be easy-peasy money for me right now. But this dog is like having an old friend come to stay.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

ah shucks i'm just callin' it like i see it
;-)

and yes i hang on your every word! i've just been all about me lately so sorry i've been out of touch.

you've got the right attitude about the things you mentioned - doing the cooking is a fun job and there is no limit to how creative you are. i always sent my hubby with a hot lunch - kept him from drive thru food and made him love me more (ha!).

and look at you with the dog sitting! and there is nothing wrong with keeping the government out of this - "gifts" are just great. you have no idea who much i've paid good reliable critter-sitters to take care of our animals. there was basically ONE guy who i'd ever leave our dogs with - and he came to the farm, took care of the dogs and cats AND chickens. and he could totally set his own schedule and 'clients.'

he was great. same kind of situation you had - had to quit work b/c of health reasons so started his own biz in town doing pet sitting, dog training etc. he was great. then we moved over here and way out of his range.

so anyway thats that

btw, Ti says he wants you to be his new girlfriend. he says he loves "that cute red head lady who does NOT need a plus sized bathing suit"

sending hugs - from me and the dog(s)
;-)

 

[savingdogs]

Awwww....
I'm sure I would love Ti. My favorite thing is highly trained dogs.
I'm always tickled at what people can get their dogs to do. I used to love that show on Animal Planet where people show what tricks their pets can do. I'm a sucker for that sappy stuff.

One of mine is an actress and likes to do tricks (the border collie). The ridgebacks won't do tricks, they just give you a droll look like, are you kidding? Same thing they do if you throw a ball. My border collie and golden retriever LOVE chasing a ball around and the ridgebacks look at you like "What is the point?"

We had to laugh at our PB ridgie, DD, the other day. She has recently become trustworthy with the goats (with supervision). I was giving our wether Donald his treats while the girls got their grain and DD decided she wanted to wrestle, dog style, with Donald. Donald gets a grouchy look, but does a reasonable fascimile of playing "dog style" with her. They are about equal in weight so it was funny to watch. I guess you hadda be there.
I love my goaties.

 

[baymule]

I have been reading the posts and ya'll make me wanna quit MY job! I work 10 hour days and don't have a lot of time or energy either for that matter when I finally get home. We have a garden and I set it up for a minimum of upkeep, something you might be interested in, because of being disabled, you don't want to be a slave to a patch of dirt. I raise my veggies in beds in our front yard. I made brick walkways to make it more attractive and also plant flowers mingled in. The real labor saver is feed sacks. Yup, feed sacks. I prepare the soil and open up paper feedsacks and cover the soil with them, weighted down with bricks or rocks. I cut holes in the sack and plant my veggie plants. The feed sacks cut way down on weeds. They also hold moisture in and saves on water. Newspapers also work well, you can probably get friends or neighbors to save them for you. Or trade for eggs! My DH and I have become seasonal eaters. Right now we have broccoli, califlower, (not headed yet) mustard greens, lettuce, collard greens, green onions, cabbage (not ready yet, but growing) and we cheated and built a PVC redneck greenhouse wrapped in plastic for our tomatoes. YUM YUM!!! In the summer, we have okra, peppers, tomatoes, big onions from the green onions we didn't eat in the winter, green beans, butterbeans, squash and other goodies. It comes down to 2 weekends twice a year of really hard work, then just water and pick with very little maintence.

I put up extras in the freezer. I used to can when I was a stay at home mom, but don't have enough time for it now. I do manage to stay out of the grocery store and supper is so easy, just pick something and go in and cook it, LOL. A garden will save you a lot of money. Dollar stores sometimes have seeds for cheap. You can trade for seeds, most gardeners are happy to share. I bought heritage seeds from www.rareseeds.com. So many choices, so little space....... I need a bigger garden. You can also plant berries, fruit trees and nut trees. Natures bounty will feed you.