I know times are a lot tougher now than they were when we were living on one income only however some things don’t change. We were committed to having me stay at home with the kids, we had tried the route where we both worked when they were little wee ones and it didn’t work so well. On top of this though I struggled with my health I didn’t know that my body was battling thyroid cancer at the time so I did all of this with much less energy than I have now.
However if you try these steps and this is something you absolutely want to do then go for it! Just know you may have to rely on faith sometimes to get you through.
Rule No. 1 – You have to think outside the box! We did not have the best credit at the time and we were able to buy not just a “fixer upper” but a complete dump with good bones and we were able to get it owner financed with a balloon payment at the time. This house had holes in the floors, the paint was chipping everywhere, we had lead paint issues, the water heater was going bad, the plumbing was a mess, no central heat and air and really no appliances to speak of. This was scary this meant we had to get our credit to a place and our house to a place where we could get this refinanced within three years of our purchase and we did it but it was touch and go there for a little bit. Do I recommend this approach? Absolutely not…..keep your credit score in good standing is what I recommend but if you have made some mistakes a long the way then you have to think outside the box.
Example of An Out Of The Box Project : Our Chicken Yurt
Rule No. 2 – You don’t get to eat what you want anymore! You heard me! You no longer get to choose what you eat because what you eat is determined by what is on sale at the grocery store, what you catch when you go fishing, what is growing in the garden etc…. You no longer get to just say I want steak Saturday night.
Example of Eating Out Of The Garden: Kale Is The New Spinach
Rule No. 3 – You always accept whatever gifts come your way – You absolutely never refuse a gift! Even if you feel like you don’t want to accept charity you will not survive with that mentality. I absolutely felt that if someone offered me something even if it felt like someone I was not close to I would think this is God personally blessing me and my family. My Mom and Step Dad one time offered us a healthy amount of venison that lasted us about two years…….did I get tired of vension? Absolutely! Was I grateful for the venison? Absolutely!
Rule No. 4 – You have to be a Hard Worker! You can survive on one income and be lazy but you won’t live in style. Little things like making homemade laundry soap and doing the DIY projects have to become second nature. We actually re-did my daughter’s entire bedroom and outfitted her room with lighting and bedding from Ikea my favorite store and it was all done very inexpensively and she thought she had the most amazing room! Our raised bed gardens at the time were all built with reclaimed brick my husband “The Viking” in my life scavenged.
Our Raised Bed Colonial Gardens – These were a lot of work but worth it!
Rule No. 5 – You have to be a life long learner! You have to be willing to learn new skills like gardening and making homemade laundry soap. You may even have to learn how to sew if you don’t know how already. This includes learning about raising possible food sources. My husband and I are both Certified Bee Keepers although the bees are his baby and I am all about my chickens!
Oh How I love My Chickens& The Viking Splits The Hives
Rule No. 6 – You have to become Self Sufficient! – What do I mean by that? I mean grow your own food and can it, dry it and freeze it. If I can do all this then you absolutely can because I was not raised in a household that taught me to can food but I was raised in a household that taught me to be independent and a life long learner. You do really have to get into a survival mentality so if you see something on the side of the road be thinking “How Can We Use This On Our Homestead?”.
Stop Looking For Fast Food and Start Looking For Long Food
Rule No. 7 – Learn About Your Community! – If I had not connected with others in our community I would never have learned about the local gleaning program once I did I would go to the sweet potatofields and glean for sweet potatoes. I think that was the year we ate a lot of venison and a lot of sweet potatoes.
The Thrifty Abundant Household Is That Possible?
Rule No. 8 – The word FREE rules your world! – Free movies on the lawn this weekend in downtown wherever doesn’t matter. This is your opportunity to pack up the picnic basket and go have a night on the lawn whether you are a single, couple, or family! Keep a look out for free opportunities!
Free – Money Saving Tools From Canadian Budget Binder.Com
Rule No. 9 – You Do Not Need A Dryer! – Yes a dryer is a luxury item and I have had times without one and did I like it NO! We had a rule that all clothes had to be air-dried and unless it was raining and unless it was an emergency that’s what we did……(By the way this also falls under the Hard Worker Rule)
How To Get The Most From Your Clothesline From The Morris Tribe
Rule No. 10 – All Luxury Items Go Away – Yes the cable is cancelled (this one was the one I struggled with the most I am not going to lie)….we would turn it on and then turn it off but it was off more than it was on just saying. Our vacations were mainly spent camping and this is funny to me because our vacations still our mainly spent camping I guess it just grew on me. The luxury items at least go away until you know your budget and what you can get away with in terms of spending.
Frugal, Sustainable Beauty Is It Possible?
I know we were super committed to making this work and I am just sharing how we did it with all of you. If this is something you truly want then you will find your own way your own journey but I hope you learned something from our story.
Fondly,
Related articles
- Empty Fridge? Your Not Alone…Even Preppers Run Low On Groceries (lilsuburbanhomestead.wordpress.com)
- Vegetable Gardening Tips For Beginners – Build A Few Raised Bed Gardens (backyardgardeningtips.com)
- Use Old Tires, Culverts To Grow Vegetables (personalliberty.com)
- We’ve Had Fun Growing Tomatoes Over The Years (backyardgardeningtips.com)
- Previous Post (fabulousnaturalista.wordpress.com)
This post was linked to the following amazing Blog Hops:
