Would your extended family want to mooch off you?

[keljonma]

No, ours wouldn't. We are all of the same mindset....stocking food, growing veg, canning..... I am blessed that if something really were to happen and we would have to leave our house, my one sister has room for the whole family in her house...and the pantry to feed everyone for at least a year....

 

[yourbadd]

Such a thought provoking question!!

I would welcome my Mom, who is so good with a garden and sewing it's crazy!!

I would also welcome my brother and his girlfriend. While they don't have any SS skills they are hard workers and don't take things for granted.

My sister on the other hand.....um....no thank you!! She is too mentally unstable (by choice) to be productive. Her hubby would bring wonderful SS skills but I'd end up shooting him by the end of the first day!!!

My hubby's brothers wouldn't ask or even come to us but I'd take my MIl and FIL in a heartbeat. Like my brother they don't have many SS skills but work hard and don't shy away from it!!

 

[lwheelr]

I don't worry about my family. If they came, it would be on an invitation, and they'd pull their weight. But because they are who they are, I think they'd be self-sufficient where they are - all but one sister.

My husband's family I just don't know about. His dad is an accountant, does not really believe that things WILL fall apart. Funny that - old school Republican. He believes in money, doesn't truly believe it will ever fail. He would be completely humiliated if someone asked him to haul a load of manure to the garden and dig it in, or to move the ducks from one pen to another. I think having to ask for help would completely demoralize him.

Mother-in-Law is self sufficient in a few ways, not so much in others. She knows how to pinch a penny but rarely actually does. She cans because she wants half a dozen jars of jam to sample through the year, not because she feels the need to use home processed food. Gardens the same way - because she likes this or that fresh thing, not to preserve any.

My brother and sister in law are good people, would work hard, but again, the kind of life we are choosing is so far from what they could envision or would ever seek out. She just can't get around that her brother is becoming a farmer!

My mother is a different case. She taught me to work hard. But after Pa died, she just sort of shrunk her independence. She now complains of poverty, uses a wheelchair in her house, won't ever go out, and sort of expects that her needs MUST be met, even if she isn't terribly careful about her resources. She wants people to do a lot for her, when she is more capable than she wants to admit. She's lonely, I get that. But she needs to do more than she does, or she'll completely atrophy.

She will probably follow us to Texas. Part of me is glad - I mean, it will be the best thing for her. But part of me cringes at the limits I will have to set. And I hate doing so. I mean, she's my mom! But we can't dig, hoe, and weed her garden for her to meet all her food needs, and we can't redo her house for her because she wants it handicapped accessible even if she doesn't really need it. I think she's going to have to find ways to barter with other people to get it.

I've got a friend who lives in Florida who says when things fall apart, he's packing up his family and coming to live on our farm. And you know, I don't mind that a bit. Because I know he WOULD pull his own weight, would want refuge and a place where he COULD work, not a handout.

I feel that way all around. Pretty much any of my friends or family are welcome, if they are willing to work. I'll share food and roof if they are willing to put in the kind of work that self-sufficient living requires. If they want to put in a 6 hour day and vegetate the rest of the time though, and if they expect weekends off, forget it. Farms don't work that way! We watch movies in the evening, but we work while we're doing it.

 

[Up-the-Creek]

If ANY of our family could get to us,(everyone but the parents live a good distance) they would be more than welcome here,..even if they weren't very useful. In time they would LEARN to do something to help, and of course, they are family.

 

[old fashioned]

Since DH & I rarely see or hear from any of our family I don't think we'd have much to worry about from them. I'm more worried about the neighbors. :/

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I found out once that my brother-in-law planned to come over ot our house if we had a storm because we prepared. That was scary. I started wondering if I could get just one date rape drug to hold just in case, so I can keep things quiet if that happened.
Well it got me wondering if anyone would expect me to share my bounty if TSHTF.
I guess I would give anyone a plate of food or a cup of coffee and such, but other than that, all I would want to offer is friendly advice.
I mean, betta to teach a man to fish than give him a fish, right?

 

[ThisIsFun]

I found out once that my brother-in-law planned to come over ot our house if we had a storm because we prepared. That was scary. I started wondering if I could get just one date rape drug to hold just in case, so I can keep things quiet if that happened.

For you or for him?

This thread has me laughing out loud. Funniest one I've read here yet. My b-i-l told us a while back he thought he would come 1.5 hrs. to our place and help himself to our trees for his firewood, and another b-i-l talked about putting a trailer on our property if things got bad, so I guess maybe they have designs on our place, altho I don't think they were really serious, just kind of thinking out loud. Did have to admit, that shook me up a little, because I am a solitude type of person, and they don't particularly like me, they would be the type to railroad right over me. My siblings would never make their way up to the frigid north, so that wouldn't happen. But all in all, we really don't have anything anyway, except our mortgaged property here and the trees stuck in the ground with it. (and that's probably a good thing)

 

[chandasue]

I've told them they can come but they have to bring a year's worth of food for themselves. I'm can't possibly put away that much food for everyone.

 

[Sunny]

Mooching.. LOL.. Ya inlaws would defiantly mooch.. They try to all the time right now. And have for years..

 

[ThisOldCabin]

We'd help all we could but my own comes first.We're no way 100 percent ready but closer that the rest of our folks.My side of the family would be OK.My SIL would be awhole different story.I don't think they would last 24 hours without power.They laugh at us because we do hunt and fish and farm and take care of ourselves as much as possible.They call us hillbillies and hicks and rednecks.Well,if thats what you call folks that can feed theirselves without buying anything,I guess thats what we are.We can even entertain ourselves.No power needed. All funning aside,we do take advantage of the extras we have.But we have the skills to leave them behind.I think that goes along way.We use these skills to grow a garden rather than drive to town and buy something.I have way more fun walking to the garden than driving anywhere.Just makes sense to me.