Thinking outside the box to get what you need. Barter 101

When there is an item or commodity that you want but either is not available at the store or you can afford it then there is barter or trading.  If and/or when the SHTF regular money will be useless but there will still be the power of barter.  So it would be a good idea to brush up or learn your negotiating skills now.

I have traded many things but I guess the best one I am doing right now.  I have a gentleman who has a bunch of 223 shells that he does not need.  I need them.  I have eggs that I do not need need but he does need them so we are trading.  He brings me a box of 223 brass cased with a FMJ and I give him 5 dozen farm fresh eggs.

I have traded the use of my billy goat for a rick of hickory wood.  My billy goat had already bred my girls and I darn sure needed the hickory to smoke meat.  Worked out great for both of us.

I also traded an extra canner I had for a rick of wood one time a few months ago.

The thing with barter is that you have something of value and the other person has something of value.  Maybe it is not valuable like gold or silver but something that is needed.  Like the hickory wood.  That would not be valuable to many people but to me it was because I needed it to smoke meat.  And sending my billy goat down the road didn't cost me a thing.  So essentially I got the wood for free.  The eggs I have calculated cost me about .37 cents to produce a dozen eggs so in reality I am paying $1.85 for each box of those 223 rounds which are $12.27 a box at Wal-mart.  When I traded the canner I had gotten it in a bunch of stuff.  It was a small 16 qt Presto and I already have huge canners.  I bought the stuff to get an all American canner and a Victorio strainer that was in it.  There was also a bunch of canning jars 2 Presto canners one of which I gave to my daughter and a bunch of funnels, strainers etc.  I paid $100 for the whole mess which the strainer and the all American was worth that.  So the canner I traded had no actual cost and the wood only cost him the gas to cut it.  So he got a canner for pennies that would have cost him $70 at Wal-Mart.  I got a rick of firewood which would have cost me $45 to buy it. 

Sometimes maybe the person has something to trade that you might not need.  Like for example a bottle of whiskey and you do not drink.  So you trade a couple dozen eggs or a pound of butter for said bottle of whiskey then later a couple months later you get hurt and need to be sewed up, you have a neighbor who is a medical provider.  he already has cows so he doesn't need butter and he has chickens so he doesn't need eggs then what?  Well maybe just maybe he would like that bottle of whiskey (it can be used as an antiseptic as well as drinking) that you had no use for but got in a trade and then you get your wound fixed for it.  So also when you are trading try to think if the thing offered in trade may be something you could turn around to use in trade down the road even if you yourself don't need it at the time but it could be then traded for services or items.

I hope this helps get everyone thinking.....

Building a combost bin for free

If there is one thing every farm has plenty of that is MANURE!!!  Up until now we had no one place to put it so when we cleaned out a stall it just went... Where ever the kid who was in charge decided it should go.  Now we have a compost bin and that is THE PLACE for them to dump their wheel barrows.

Cost 6 nails... a few pennies
Pallets and skids Free
Bailing wire... Free (it came off the bales of alfalfa)

I have several pallets and skids sitting around that I had gotten for free when some people down the road built a house.

2 of the skids were 10 feet long by 4 feet tall and the two pallets I used were about 4feet by 4 feet.

Our garden has a pen made from field fencing at either end of it.  One end has our growing pigs in it the other is for if I have to separate out a goat for some reason.  In between the two pens we have almost half an acre that is going to be our new garden this next spring.  Last year our garden flooded horribly and had to be replanted 3 times so this year I decided it was going on higher ground with no chance of flooding from the road.

The first step was to put one of the skids up against the fence in the corner.  I nailed it to the corner post and then bailing wired it to the T-post.  I then added a pallet on each end which I nailed to the skid.  The front skid I cut so that it was only about 2 feet tall and then nailed it to the pallets.

Now I have a place in the garden for garden compost like weeds and a place to put the manure from the barn and pens.

A new cheese press

I admit it I BROKE my other cheese press.  It was a dinky one I had bought off of eBay when I first started making cheese.  I wanted a really nice one but hey $300 just was not in my budget.    Cheddar cheese has to be pressed at very heavy weights because the curds are so tough.  The dinky one just could not do it. So I looked really hard at the expensive one and thought "I could make something similiar to that" I searched around and found springs which I had to buy online and they had a $50 minimum order...  I went to Lowes and bought red oak boards and the hardware.  Then I got busy.  Sawing and bolting.  I still have to fashion a handle right now I am using just a nut that I am turning with a wrench to tighten it down.

This is the end result of my engineering:

I made it big enough so that:
A. I could fit my bathroom scale under it to determine the pressure it exerts and
B so that I could get a bigger piece of PVC and make 10" rounds

I put my scale under it and finger tightened the nuts down.  Then with 3 full turns on each side I had 20lbs, 6 turns =40lbs and 9 turns = almost 60lbs just what I needed for cheddar as easy as can be...

And here is the first round of cheddar I made with it:

The curd is nice and tight and I made it for a fraction of what I could buy it for!!!

Being Thrifty 101

One of my favorite blogs http://www.rural-revolution.com/ posted an article about being frugal and asked all of us to also post one and link to theirs.  Almost 3 years ago I was in an accident that ended my long time career being a RN.  I was used to making really good money!  That sent me down to less than $800 a month.  I had to learn really quick how to cut corners and save money. I understand that due to urban restrictions some may not be able to do this  Here are a few tips:

1. The three R's of bring thrifty:  Recycle, Re purpose and Reuse
     I try to save everything that could possibly be re-used.  Here are some top ones that most throw away:

1. Soda bottles.  20 ounce bottles get used for rabbit water bottles.  The 2 liter bottles get used to store things like rice and beans.  Wash them with a little bleach water and then let dry well.  Use a funnel to pour in your stuff to be stored.
2. Creamer bottles: Wash and then dry they are great for storing your spices in.
3. Old bread sacks.  I get my friends to save me their bread sacks to store my own in.
4. 4. egg cartons.  I also have people save these for me.  They are great to package my own eggs or use them when you are taking something apart to keep small parts organized and labeled.
5. Newspapers: These can be used for new chicks, making fire logs, used as weed barrier.  The comics make great wrapping paper.
6. scrap wood from local builders.  Many a projects have been done with scrap lumber like nest boxes, gates etc.  You might have to pull out a few nails but hey it's free.
7. pill bottles: these are great for storing things like pins and the small ones are great for pre-measuring black powder for primitive firearms.
8. Butter bowls, cottage cheese containers etc.  Redneck Tupperware!!!
9. Frosting buckets from the local bakery... Why pay for a food safe bucket when you can get them for free!

Before you throw something away think... Is there anything else this can be used for????

2. Hang out your clothes.  The sun is alot cheaper than the dryer.

3. Get a goat... My milk costs me less than $1 a gallon figuring feed costs.  A gallon of milk in town is $4.29.  I can make cheese for about 10% of what it would cost at the store.

4. Cook from scratch.  Buy ingredients rather than ready to serve meals.  You can make your own TV dinners by freezing left overs or canning them for an open the jar meal!

5. Dollar stores... It is so much cheaper to go to the Dollar General than to Wal-Mart

6. Use coupons Many stores will double coupons but only use them on things you would normally buy.  Don't buy something just because you have a coupon.

7.  Price Match.  I check the online ads for all of the local stores and write down the best prices.  Then I go to Wal-mart and tell them about it.  Potatoes at Wal-Mart was $3.97  Save-alot in the next town had them for $2.95 it saved me a dollar and I didn't have to drive.  The stores usually have to be within 20 miles to get the price match.

8.  Thrift stores and Yard sales... I just today bot a wooden over the toilet shelf for $2 cost at Wal-Mart $69.97 I have to tighten the screws but hey the new one I would've had to put together.  I refuse to pay full price for clothes.  Many times people sell gently used things that are still just as good as something new.

9.  Ebay.. I always check Ebay before I go buy something.  For example the cost to buy a new all metal cream separator over $1200 I got one on ebay that works like a champ and looks new even though it is 80 years old for $175.

10. Craigslist.org has a free section and also classifieds for sale.  I have bought many things there ALOT cheaper than at the store.  And gotten them free.

11.  Freecycle.org  My latest score 6 dozen canning jars for FREE  Cost to buy $60

12. Clearance and after season sales.  Buy your next years Halloween stuff on November 1st same with Thanks giving and Christmas.  Buy your bathing suit when Wal-Mart has them for $2 or $3 instead of $25 the next year.  My latest score beginning of summer I bought my daughter several pairs of jeans and long sleeved shirts for $2 or less at Wal-Mart

13. Factory Company stores: I buy my Little Debbies at their company store.  They have boxes that are damaged for 50 cents a box.  I buy Simmons Chicken battered and ready to fry 5lbs for $5.95.  The Allens store always has their canned goods way cheap also.

14.  Grow your own food and can it yourself.  You can get alot of veges from a $1 pack of seed.  You do not need acreage to do it.  Containers on a patio will produce a bunch.

Well that's not all but its a list long enough for you to get the idea.  Oh also if it breaks research and maybe you can fix it yourself rather than paying someone to do it!!!