Comments (0)

By Penny, February 12, 2010 9:47 am

This is a fifty five gallon water barrel, nearly covered by the snow!

We have gotten a lot of snow this past week and a half, an unprecedented amount, in fact. It is lovely, considering I haven’t been in school since noon last Friday and won’t return until Tuesday of next week.  Wohoo. 

I have been taking this time to get my housework in order.  Once again, I have let it slide a bit.  However, once I am done, I have plenty of posts coming your way.  To be fair, I have managed to can some goose meat, as my husband was blessed with nine snow geese the other day. And I baked some bread and made some homemade tortillas. I guess I have been a busy bee!  Expect a post on how I’m working on gardening and how I sold some text books online.

Comments (4)

By Penny, February 2, 2010 4:53 am

This month is the first month where I am carefully recording our harvest, preservation, and budget progress.  It is my hope that I will be diligent in continuing to keep accurate records.  Record keeping is an important part of pursuing and achieving goals.

For the month of January, we:

Found $90 for a snowflake to the credit card.

Canned 31 quarts and 12 pints of food.

Harvested 15 ducks and 5 geese

Butchered one deer.

Collected 182 eggs.

Corned 8lbs of venison.

Traded six dozen eggs for soap.

All told, I think we have made considerable progress in our goal of being debt-free and self-reliant.

For the month of February, we hope to start spinach and kale in our cold frame, start planning our garden, order seeds, baking snack foods instead of buying them and refinance our mortgage, to save about $100/month in mortgage payments.  I’ll keep you posted!

Comments (4)

By Penny, February 1, 2010 7:11 am

Finished batch of homemade laundry soap. It's part frugality, part science!

On Frugal Dad, Jason once wrote about balance and frugality, relating to things he will not do for frugality’s sake.  He specifically mentioned making laundry soap and questioned whether it was “really worth the few dollars saved.”  That protest is one that I hear often, one that irritates me.

            People assume that frugal tactics do not save them enough money for the time it takes. Generally, they compare the money they save versus their hourly wage.  This method is not accurate, as it does not take into account several factors.  First, their hourly wage is before taxes, so subtract 15-20% off of the hourly rate to get a more accurate number.  Ten dollars an hour becomes eight dollars an hour, like magic (though not the good kind!).  Secondly, there are costs that go with work, such as gas and lunches, which may cost about fifty cents an hour.  Our hourly wage is now at $7.50, a far cry from where it was.  The money saved is tax free, so its number stays the same in this comparison.  It’s important that folks really understand the math, before they say it’s not worth the time.

            Furthermore, I doubt that anyone is going to stay home and make laundry soap instead of going to work. The time spent doing frugal things would not have been used to work and make money.  Excuse the gross generalization, but the time would have most likely been spent watching television.  Television has taught us that we need to avoid work at all costs and buy products that save us time.  Time which should be used to watch more television, specifically commercials.  At any rate, unless you’re going to stay home and bake bread instead of going to the office, it’s like finding extra money. I have far more opportunities to save money on a small, daily scale than I do on buying refrigerators or negotiating on cars.  The times that I wash out a plastic baggie will eventually add up to much larger amount.

            I just loath the fact that everyone assumes that frugality is a drudgery and that I must be suffering horribly.  As a matter of fact, I happen to enjoy doing things for myself. I get a kick out of making most of my necessities myself.  Bearing that in mind though, I have to agree with Jason’s conclusion that frugality is a highly personal concept, varying from person to person.  I would never recommend frugal tactics that would save money but cause misery.

As far as the laundry soap goes, I make 64 loads worth in about 14 minutes.  It costs me $.71 per batch, while the equivalent in commercial soap, at sale prices, would be $8.95.  I save $8.24 in, for simplicity’s sake, 15 minutes which brings our “hourly rate” to a hefty $32.96/hr.  Who knew laundry soap could be so lucrative?

Comments (4)

By Penny, January 29, 2010 6:02 am

Here's a picture of something I've been saving for: a spinning wheel. Though I'd rather have a pretty version. What can I say? I'm shallow.

During the holiday season, we are inundated with cries to spend money.  The easier ones to ignore are the advertisements on television and in print.  However, the big, waiflike eyes asking you to buy just one thing from their fundraiser are harder to turn aside. Here’s how I manage to escape the pressure:

1. 1.       Think of your priorities.  Really consider why you are saving/conserving money.  Is buying that overpriced box of mediocre chocolates in keeping with your goals or values?
2. 2.       Be honest. Most people can appreciate goals for savings, even children.  Just say why it is that you can’t or won’t spend.  I try to buy only local foods, so most of the fundraising products are not in keeping with my values.
3. 3.       Rehearse your rejection answer.  Have a stock answer as to why you can’t.  I give the answer “I’m saving for a farm” anytime a student asks me to purchase for a fundraiser.  If you are prepared, you won’t be caught off-guard.  It makes it easier to say no when you can quickly articulate why.
4. 4.       Or just practice the art of “no.” Honestly, it’s no one’s business why you can’t spend money. These days, I generally just say no to people and leave it at that.  At first, I felt uneasy about it, but I realized that most people don’t push you beyond that. If they do push, I explain that I’m largely supporting us while my husband goes to college.  Generally, that is enough for even the most pushy of folks.
5. 5.       Give yourself permission to decline. It’s okay if you don’t want to participate, really! It’s your money and no one else has a right to it.  At my school, I belong to two different departments, each of which wanted to do a “secret Santa” exchange. I declined to participate in either because I know that I can’t afford to spend $20 on someone I barely know. Heck, I don’t even spend that much on family members, because they get homemade treats.

Only you know your financial goals and status.  You need to make decisions that are right for you and your family, not your coworkers or neighbors. Gifts should be given with a free heart, not out of a misplaced sense of obligation.

Comments (0)

By Penny, January 27, 2010 6:09 am

Sure, it ain't pretty, but it's pretty easy to amuse yourself... especially if you have a digital camera and aren't afraid to use it

In today’s economic climate, people need to find ways to entertain themselves on the cheap.  Frugal entertainment largely involves staying at home and being creative.  Here are just a few suggestions:

1. 1.       Invite people for dinner. You don’t have to make anything fancy.  It’s about enjoying the company of others.  Using a slow cooker would allow you to prepare the meal ahead of time.
2. 2.       Play games.  Invest in some board games that you like to play.  Scrabble and Sorry! are popular in our house. Just be warned, you might spend a lot of time with rematches.
3. 3.       Learn to play cards.  A quick, internet search with yield the rules to almost any card game.  Just print out the game you wish to play and get started.  I recommend Rummy as a starting point for beginners.
4. 4.       Watch movies at home.  Instead of going to the movie theater and spending a small fortune, make popcorn and watch a movie.  You can get movies for free from the library or just watch a movie you already own.  Forgoing cable, my husband and I spend $10 a month for Netflix, watching movies that aren’t available at the library.
5. 5.       Take up a hobby.  If you don’t already have a hobby, I suggest getting one. Be careful, though, because hobbies can become expensive.  Fishing is something we enjoy, but all the accoutrements can get out of hand, if you’re not careful. Hobbies which produce something, like quilting, knitting, or woodworking, can be a better investment of time, since they will result in a product that can be used for gifts or for making your home beautiful.
6. 6.       Read. I know it’s out of fashion, but learn to enjoy reading.  Through interlibrary loan, you can borrow about any book you’d like.  If you don’t care for fiction, choose to read about a topic that interests you.
7. 7.       Cook.   If you have the time, testing new recipes can be fun and a good use of time.  You could try to make sourdough bread or even mozzarella cheese.
8. 8.       Take a walk.  Walking around your neighborhood is a free activity that can offer a lot of entertainment.  Plus, you can get exercise while having good conversation.  Our dogs love going for walks, even if it’s just down the street.

While this is hardly a comprehensive list, I hope that these suggestions will stimulate your creativity.  The best advice I can give you is to quit expecting to be entertained.  All the entertainment you need can generally be found near or within your own home.  Use your time to enjoy your loved ones instead of to distract yourself from them.

Do you have any suggestions for entertainment for cheap?

Comments (1)

By Penny, January 25, 2010 6:09 am

The friend who borrowed the money brought two thirds of it back.  He did not end up needing all of it, so he brought what he hadn’t spent back.  Interestingly, the reason he cited for bring it back was that he didn’t want to trust himself to come up with the entire sum. He seems to know himself well enough to figure out how to do damage control. While I desperately want to help them with the budgeting aspect, there is really little I can do, other than recommend books or websites. I will offer them suggestions when they ask, but I will really endeavor NOT to give advice unless asked.  It’s terribly hard, though, when there are so many things they could change if they so chose.  However, ultimately, it’s none of my business, and I will try not to be a busybody.  This resolution applies to other folks as well.  Today, I learned that other people may surprise you when you’re thinking the worst.

Comments (2)

By Penny, January 15, 2010 4:00 am

We noticed earlier this week that one of our ducks had a limp.  After orchestrating a grand round up, my husband took her to the vet.  My decision would have been to wait and see if it got better after a while. If it didn’t, it would have been a duck destined for the freezer. However, my husband wanted to take her to the vet, so off she went.  Turns out she just had a sprained ankle.  She will recover, but the vet wanted her to be isolated for about a week. The vet also recommended that she be allowed to swim.  Considering that all outside water is frozen, the only logical place seems to be the bathtub.  Ah, another entertaining development on the Copperwyre Homestead. 

Here’s a video:

Comments (0)

By Penny, January 12, 2010 4:49 am

I am notorious for procrastinating. It has been a habit since childhood. I had a bit of an epiphany as to why, but I will blog about that later. However, here is what it cost me this time.

To put it mildly, I have not always been diligent with going through my paperwork, such as bills and mail. I would like to be able to say that it was from being displaced due to the fire, but, alas, these snafus are from well before the fire.

During my cleaning blitzkrieg, I went through boxes of paper work from my bedroom. There were bills which needed paying, which was no surprise. However, I found a $50 check from over-paying my mortgage fees. From my last house! It was from May of 2008. The worse one was a $100 check lodged in a wedding card. We were married on June 14, 2008, so, needless to say, that check was well past its due date, as it were.

In order to try and salvage the situation, I did a few things. I called the number on the check from Wells Fargo. They said they would reissue it, and it arrived in the mail today. Unfortunately, the wedding check did not turn out as well. I called the gift giver, to let him know that I had found the check and would be destroying it. He didn’t volunteer to send a new one, so I will be surprised to see a replacement.

Final Score:
Penny-50
Procrastination- 100
Procrastination kicks my butt, yet again. Sigh

Comments (0)

By Penny, January 11, 2010 3:43 am

My dear husband recieved a text message today, offering him a deer. We had to drive an hour and half to get it, but it was well worth the drive.  Loading it into the back of truck, we drove home and hung it in the garage. 

 After dinner, we skinned it, taking care not to cut the meat and leave it on the skin.  Behind cut: picture of me skinning the deer.

Because deer fat has such a high melting point, it is unpallatable. Moreover, it has a reputation for going rancid quickly, even in the freezer.  So we trimmed off as much fat as possible. One of the best parts of the deer is the backstrap, the large muscle running along the sides of the spine.   The following picture shows the cuts my husband made in order to remove the backstrap.After that, we quartered it and cut off any small pieces of meat that were clinging to the carcass.  We took them in the house, rinsed them off and bagged them for canning this week.

 Butchering and clean up took roughly two hours, though it might have gone faster, had we not needed to stop to warm our hands due to the cold weather and frozen carcass.

Just another day on the Copperwyre homestead. ) 

And for some gratuitous dog pictures, since they enjoyed the butchering, too:

Comments (0)

By Penny, January 9, 2010 2:30 pm

During vacation, I spent time getting my house in order. I came to the conclusion that I cannot focus on other things until my house is in order.  To that end, I cleaned each room in the house, putting things away. Some things I learned were:

1.  A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place. My grandfather was fond of this saying.  I never understood the philosphy until recently.  When I cleaned each room, I paid special attention to assigning each item a place.

2. Limit the number of things I have.  I really examined my wardrobe for clothes that I don’t just LOVE. I am a natural fibers girl, so I have started to eliminate clothes that are made from poyester or rayon.  The deal is that as I buy new clothes I will have to get rid of an old skirt.

3.  Keep it Clean and Make it a Routine.  Each night, I have been making sure that we wander through the house, picking up and putting away errant things. It only takes five minutes, but makes all the difference.

4.  Communication. This doesn’t seem to be related to the issue, but it is.  I told my husband how I felt about his hunting clothes being everywhere.  He came up with his own solution to the problem: a big basket for his large items and a small one for his gloves, hats, etc.

So far, I have managed to keep the rooms clean  by instituting these tips.  It has only been a week, so I will have to keep vigillant in my housekeeping.  I’ll keep you posted on my progress. Hopefully, I’ll have good news to report.