I stumbled across Dave Ramsey years ago and have been living that way ever since.
Good for you, living fiscally has fantastic rewards once can realize now and especially in the outcome of the future!
Here is dinner...
Here are the apples I picked off our trees before the rain:
Now what does this have to do with the thread topic? First, the dinner:
Chanterelle Mushrooms I picked (FREE)
Cinnamon Apples sauteed (FREE except for the cinnamon) - our own apple trees
Turkey Soup w/Kale, Spinach, Chard, Cabbage, and then I added the Chanterelles (this was a turkey soup I made/canned last year, so FREE base, veggies were purchased. Our meal was very inexpensive, a whopping $2.00! There is enough soup left for me to have lunch tomorrow.
The Apples are probably obvious. Good apples are rather expensive to buy. We are growing Gravenstein, King, and Liberty Apples. In addition, Asian Pears (3 kinds), Italian Plums, and Bartlett Pears. I make/can applesauce, apple slices (for pies/desserts/eat as is), and also dehydrate apples. I usually make Apple Butter, but this year, I'll be skipping that. I froze a lot of berries, so I'll be making jam for Len. Since I do a lot of canning (including meats) & also dehydrate, our food bill is very low.
I'm lucky, in a way, to be in Syracuse because every weekend downtown there is the Regional Market where many local farmers and food producers sell their products. I can get locally grown fruit, vegetables, meats, cheeses, honey and maple syrup there. In the supermarket, an acorn squash could sell for a dollar a pound and cost you 5 bucks but there it would sell for a total of only 2 dollars. One time I got a whole seedless watermelon for a buck because the guy didn't want to bring it home again.
I eat as much fruit as the next guy/gal (maybe more).
Has anyone else around here considered LHBA membership as a moneysaving device? Yeah, I know... I'm kinda preaching to the choir. Nonetheless, paying Skip Ellsworth to teach me a thing or two about life, log homes, mortgages, and living the good life was the best single investment (next to the Marriage License) that has ever left my wallet.
Every time I have strayed from the teachings of Skip Ellsworth it has cost me money.
I love the mask mandate. I hardly ever have to bruh my teeth anymore.
Yes, loghousenut, I sure do! One can choose to take the advice and follow the leadership examples or choose not to and spend a lot of $$$ building.Has anyone else around here considered LHBA membership as a moneysaving device?
LHBA is much more than a non-profit teaching the Butt and Pass log building method. Once you take the class, you become the Member of a Community! While LHBA can post and teach Skips building technique and philosophy, it is up to us to implement all we learn in order to save money.
Great post Mrs. Len. Your post summarizes well, the mission of LHBA. I realized after taking the class, that is was much more than learning to build a log home.
It was also about learning to do with less, bartering, finding deals etc.
Although I got impatient towards the end and hired help to finish up, we still saved $$$ and will be debt free with our home before too long. Its nice not ever paying a bank interest.
A local kid (I call him a kid because he took my Drafting and Machining classes years ago), stopped by my build on Saturday. We were skinning and processing an antelope and he offered to help. We got talking about our build and I took him on a tour of the interior. As with others, he was shocked at how much room there was in the interior.
He is newly married with 2 or three children to support. I told him that he should build one. I said I did not have the ambition but he would do well. He said he had the ambition but no $$$. I am sure if he took the class and followed your advice, he would be able to do it. Heck, even if took 7 years he would be 32 years old. How many people in the U.S have a mortgage free home at 32? I would bet its less than 5% of the population!
He said he was interested in renting or buying mine. Its too hard to give up at this point. Maybe in the future, I will change my mind!
Nicely done Spiralsands...I have not read this book, but this topic is of great interest to me.
I have a client I'm close to and we speak often. He's a member of both the Federal Reserve Bank of NY and The Council on Foreign Relations..crazy right?? What is happening and what will continue to happen is the weakening of the dollar..it's not prices going up, it's the US dollar losing value. Once our Petro dollar deal with Saudi Arabia goes south (likely within the next couple of years) Americans are going to wake up really quickly to a new way of life..Lets just say my client has advised me well, and that's why I just recently dumped every penny I had into 8.6 acres of Land. Tangible assets people!
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