That's right. Guilty of becoming one of "them". One of those "normal" Americans. You know the kind I'm talking about. The kind that I don't want to be, but sadly, am. I'm one of those "normal" Americans who know how to fix things but instead, I go and buy it new. I'm one of those who know how to make bread, but buys the crappy, chemical laced bread from the big stores. I'm one of those people who buy their veggies from those same stores even though I know how to garden and preserve my own. I'm one of those people who go out to eat A LOT and then complain that I can make better food at home. I'm also one of those people who are living paycheck to paycheck because if I have extra money, it NEEDS to be spent on something frivolous. .
Well, no more!!!!! I'm tired of being "normal"! Me and Hubby use to live off of 1/3 of what we are living on now, we can do it again. I actually thought about going back to work so that we can have more money. More money for what? To buy things. There's something wrong with that! It's time to go back to the basics.
It's time to use my clothes line again instead of the dryer all the time. Sure it's convenient to just take them from the washer and throw them into the dryer. But, the clothes line is cheaper and I actually like the feel of the clothes that come off of the line. They feel more...well, clean.
I'm going to stop eating out all the time. We can spend some major dollars eating out. We enjoy the convenience, but we don't really enjoy the food that much. Hubby says I fix better meals at home. So, why would we want to pay for food that doesn't taste that good? And what goes along with eating out, is buying all the stuff from a big store, that I can make. Things like bread, and stuffing, and desserts. I can make all of these and they taste soooo much better! I guess I just got lazy(er).
The garden isn't that great this year, but I will have corn and tomatoes. Possibly some cucumbers to pickle if we would quit eating the ripe ones. lol. We'll see if that will happen. I'm wanting to plant some more beans. The rabbits ate all of mine that I planted this spring. Those wascally wabbits!!!! All of the goodness from the garden will help me save money. I won't have to go to the store every two weeks to buy food. Those prices are getting ridiculous! I understand why there are a lot of skinny girls in the city now. They can't afford to buy food!
Hopefully with us living like this again, we will be able to get our house done. Maybe build us a barn that we need terribly. Or, get our pond fixed so that we can fish in it without snapping our line on a lily pad. It's time to get real about all the money that we waste. I'm tired of being a "normal" American who lives paycheck to paycheck. I want to be an "abnormal" American. LOL!
So until next time,
Small Farm Girl, abnormal
12 comments:
Seems like we need a kick in the pants once in a while to get back to being "abnormal". I had that little moment about two months ago when I found myself "just stopping here" for either a quick bite to eat, or for the sole purpose of wasting what little money I had in my pocket on something I really didn't need.
I keep thinking about doing something else for money (i.e. a "real" job) but then like you, realize that it would only be to buy more useless stuff. Well, maybe some of it would go into the new barn or the new roof or the new floors, but I'm sure a lot of it would be wasted because I'd be like, "Hey I got extra money, lets go out to eat!".
Good for you getting back on track :)
I'd argue that we're the normal ones and everybody else is...well...just lacking in common sense. But fixing meals, growing a garden and hanging out clothes is hard work and not something that fits into our instant gratification society. There's an equalization coming, though, and those of us that have these skills will be the ones to weather the storm. Hang in there!
Carolyn...It's gonna be hard but I HAVE to do this. I'm glad I'm not the only one that goes through this.
CP...I couldn't agree with you more.
We have had to live without extra money for so many years now that when I do sell a painting and get some extra, I feel guilty about spending it on restaurant food or something else that feels like a waste. I have friends who spend on one meal what would make several meals for the 3 of us. We live like normal Americans only it is 250 years ago I guess.
SBF.... I use to be like that too! Then one day it was," Just this one time. We have been living with nothing for so long." Then I did it again, and again, and then it just became normal. It's a slippery slope.
We just bought a $22,000 tractor. We did it by not spending $1.29 at the convenience store for a drink. Not eating out, using the clothes line, not buying new clothes, etc. It adds up quicker than you would think and once you see the pile of $ growing, it becomes a lot easier. You will do great!
Cranky Puppy makes a good point. Because fixing meals, growing a garden and hanging out clothes is hard work and not something that fits into our instant gratification society.
It's a mind set I think. We live on a "poverty level" income yet we don't really lack any of the basics. We eat well and what bills we do have are paid on time every month and living frugally has helped us get where we are now. I'm already abnormal I guess (shup!)I even finally gave up drinking sodas about a year ago. I make bread, we we don't eat out, all my laundry gets hung out 99% of the time, we recycle and make do with what we have. Here's the thing though, we'll own this property free and clear (except for the govt's cut)in January. It might be hard to change your habits but I'm here to tell you that good things start with baby steps.
You can do this. It's really all about you and the hubster being on the same page and ya'll seem to be. You'll be amazed at how it all adds up... when being abnormal.
I have to agree with your blogger friends above.
Don't beat yourself up, start slowly and just add on.
Grab a calendar, post once or twice a month on the calendar special days to go out to eat. But do it with a budget. On the other days, cook and have hubby help.
Yeah, I'm with you!! Well, you'll have a lot of momentum moving in just up the road from you and the two of you will be up to a lot of abnormality and "no good" ha! It'll make the projects and home based habits way more fun...YAYYY for you!!
Good for you, do it now. I didn't, and my spending kept up with my income so I was always broke. Now that I am retired I am spending more money and lots of time getting rid of 'stuff' and wondering why I bought it in the first place. So good for you, save money now and lots of time and money later.
Um, you are sooo far from being normal... ;-) Just sayin' :-D.
Anno... That's one of the things that I would like to buy with us saving money.
Sci... I use to save money! When we made less money, I could save more. Now, I just spend what we have. Like you said, I'll just have to break the habit.
Robbyn, I agree!!!
Mary...Saving money is my new plan.
TCSL...Sush!!!! lol!!!
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