Working time and steps

I once sent out a self promotion post card with this picture on it

with something along the lines of "Is your agent sleeping on the job?" on it.... Then after I sent it out, HH was kind enough to point out that to a stranger, that looks enough like me to maybe have the wrong affect... Oops

I am lucky enough to have the kind of job where I can schedule myself. And spend time on my blog during the day. However I also do not have a regular paycheck and can run around like crazy for months and have my paycheck depend on another persons whim (not cool).

HH is in construction. That business tends to  be feast  or famine. With both of us self employed it makes it difficult to budget.   This has been one of the main motivators towards self sufficiency. I already know how to self motivate, how to live on very little money (now how to do that with out a credit card I am still working on). What I want know is to thrive that way. How to have very little waste coming out of my home, and only the basics coming in.

Not only will this be healthy for us, with less chemicals and preservatives coming into our food. It will be healthier for the environment with less shipping and packaging. It will also be better on our budget with only a minimum amount of money being spent.  All around better.

Some of the ways I have started trying to reach this goal:

Budgeting and paying off debt: Have you heard of Dave Ramsey? I think everyone should read his book The Total Money Makeover . It is life changing. (You can cheat and listen to the audio book from the library like I did, its free:) Now if you read/listen to this book and feel inclined to argue with Dave, don't. All the broke people I know that have read this book that are still broke, and will remain that way, had to tell me how Dave was wrong.  I am sorry, but I think I will listen to the millionaire whose main advice is live within or under your means, don't borrow money and is not trying to sell me anything. Not the broke people who can not give up fast food for a month to pay off a bill. Check him out. He is awesome (Not shy about his faith either, which I think is great).

Cooking From Scratch:   I do not buy mixes or pre-made items unless they are practically free (couponing). Even then I have learned from past mistakes, don't get something because it is free. If you are not going to use it it just creates clutter, guilt and waste.  I purchase a good amount of flower, which I am about to start buying in bulk. I buy milk, butter, cheese, eggs (once I get my chickens no more buying eggs!I can't wait). Most everything else can be made from these and other pantry staples.  Why would I buy a package of cookie dough for 2.50$ when I can make from scratch a better tasting, healthier version for less then a dollar? Or cheaper?  Yes, I admit when I am on my way home from working all day, exhausted, it is really tempting to grab something cheap and easy for dinner. But is it really cheap? If they are able to sell something inexpensively enough to subdue my guilt for spending the money, imagine how cheap and inferior the ingredients are to begin with? Yikes..... I hope to produce a baby with my body in the near future, and would prefer that funky stuff to not be in residence too....
I am going to start freezer cooking, meal planning and making home made ready-mixes to fix this. I will document that here if you want to try too.

Reducing Energy Waste: There are many ways we can reduce our energy consumption with out making drastic changes. Here in the South, solar power is not very practical, it rains too much. Nor do I have the budget right now to really modify my home.  How do I save on energy? I wait to run my dishwasher at off-peak energy times (same with clothes washer and dryer). I use the light cycle and make sure it is packed as full as I can get it. I bought insulating curtains and open them to let in the suns warmth when I can during the day, and close them at sunset to keep it in at night (my windows are older then I am, but its not in the budget currently to replace them).  I turn down the heat and air conditioner. In the winter, keep it slightly colder then you would like and put on a sweater. In the summer keep it slightly warmer and drink plenty of cool water.  Our grandparents didn't have constant temperature control their whole lives and were just fine. I think we can live with it too.

I'm going to hang up one of these too. Sun dried clothes and sheets smell fantastic! And it whitens whites naturally.

Modifying our Entertainment Budget: We like to be entertained (who doesn't?). And for years we have gone to the movies, eaten out, and gone to various nightclubs whenever we felt like it. We had fun. Lots of it. Now, my pay is less then it was, it is catching up with us. I have limited our going to the movies only for special occasions, and we eat before we get there. We only go out to eat on special occasions, and preferably with a gift card. We do not go to bars or nightclubs anymore.  I also limited the amount we spend on rental movies and video games (my husbands weakness) to fit with in a weekly budget. This and our grocery budget are where we are struggling to stay on course the most.  However, have you noticed most free activities are healthy too? Hiking, riding our bikes, playing games together (works out the brain ;)  Two birds, one stone. Yep...

These are just some simple steps towards self sufficiency that I think we all can take, with out actually changing too much. Hopefully I can do even more in the months to come!