Firewood: Like currency in the 'bank'

[TnAndy]

I often look at things I do around the place in lieu of paper currency.

For example, firewood.

A cord of hardwood here sells for 'about' $150. I say about, because almost everyone sells it by that unknown quantity, "the pickup load".... Since most of them throw it in, my guess is even a large pickup won't hold but a 1/2 cord or maybe slightly more, and they get 80-90 bucks/load for it, so that roughly figures out to a conservative 150/cord.

My 4 cord sheds thus are 'worth' $600 filled. Probably more, since they will actually be seasoned a year, and nearly every firewood seller is splitting theirs one day and delivering it the next, or within a week, tops...and usually calling it seasoned.

BUT then if you figure to have $600 after tax dollars, you'd have to earn $761 or more depending on your income tax rate ( I added 10% income tax rate + 15.3% SS), so that makes my 4 sheds worth more like 4x760= 3,000 bucks !

It takes me about a 5 day week, working 6hrs day (about all I'm good for in this kind of work anymore) per shed by the time I cut the logs in the woods, drag them out, cut into rounds, split and stack.

Works out to about $25/hr gross (less tractor/chainsaw/woodsplitter expenses...call it $5/hr..)....that I'll never see in paper currency, but not bad 'money' for working out in the fresh air at my own pace, building my little 'bank account'.




What things do you do around your place that make you 'money' you never see ?

Appliance repair ? (This can be BIG money per hour ! )

Auto repair, even if just routine maintenance like changing oil/filters.

Growing your own food ? Hard to compete sometimes with 'factory food' until you factor in the tax angle. Can't forget that !

Your own water company ? (Well or spring).

Your own sewer disposal ? (Septic/other)

When you think over what you do on your place, it's amazing the bucks you don't have to earn, and pay taxes on, to come out with a pretty good life. This is an often over looked benefit of homesteading.

[ldc]

Sewing/mending! Get years more life out of household textiles and clothes/shoes by mending at the right time. And growing and foraging edibles, and canning or freezing them. Keep fluids in my car to make it last longer; 20 yrs so far.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Butchering. Probably the highest value homesteading activity I do after auto repair.

[farmerDale]

Yeah, repairs are a big one. Smart shopping for parts. The dealerships hose you, and if you can get an equivalent part for your combine for less than half price, that adds up quick.
General do it yourselfitis. Things like plumbing, renovations, flooring, shingling. Those add up. I recently repaired our washing machine for about 10 cents. Most other folks would have called a repair person, and paid them 150 bucks to put on a 300 dollar part that was not needed.

I cut a lot of wood too, for home heat supplement.

We raise a pile of our own food, and most of our animal feed. My wife "makes" us a lot of money by buying stuff economically. She preserves thousands of dollars of garden produce each fall. I save us LOTS of money on farm machinery by not having to buy new, and being content with 10 and 15 and sometimes 50 year old machinery.

A fairly large contribution is hunting skills, and trapping skills. 450 lbs of moose meat is significant savings, when all you burn to get it is a few hundred calories. Coyotes in Western Canada sold for an average of 110 bucks this year. 50 of them would bring a nice paycheck. ( I never got many, but bought more traps for next year If I had 50 traps, I do not think catching 100 on our own land in winter would be a stretch).

We live on a far more modest income than would otherwise be possible, because of all those non cash sources of money savings.

Good idea for a thread. I think often about these things, and thank God daily that I had parents who instilled in me a desire to do as much on my own as possible. Having an awesome, encouraging, and like minded wife, makes it all so much easier!

[fixitguy]

I do all my own stunts at home. Everything from fixing the toilet to roofing the place. I do my own auto repair also.
I have many friends in different fields, so if I need some guidance, I have the right guys to call on.


I did pay a guy to cut down a nasty tree that was hanging over my repair shop. lets just say, we worked out a nice deal on that

[Tobster]

TnAndy, I always enjoy your post along with the photos you also include. Thanks

[hippygirl]

Originally Posted by fixitguy

I do all my own stunts at home. Everything from fixing the toilet to roofing the place. I do my own auto repair also.
I have many friends in different fields, so if I need some guidance, I have the right guys to call on.

I did pay a guy to cut down a nasty tree that was hanging over my repair shop. lets just say, we worked out a nice deal on that

We do the same...it's a RARE thing for us to pay someone to do anything. Honestly, the only two things I can think of at the moment that we've hired out were having the septic pumped out and wiring the kitchen when we gutted/remodeled (don't understand all we know about wiring...better safe than sorry).

[1shotwade]

All the above! I think we all do some or most of what has been mentioned. I really don't know how this fits but I'll throw it out there.
Situational awareness and timing play a large roll in saving or making that extra income that just isn't counted in any other way.Yesterday a truck pulled up my drive so I went out. It was a contractor for the electric company. He had been to my mom's place and wanted to make sure we were aware of what he had to do. May elderly don't. Anyway,they are cleaning up the right-of-way with something that chops and grinds everything and leaves a bed of wood chips.I ask if they were working my place also and he agreed to take out the "honey Locust" and brush near the road so I don't have to.I also have a property line that is grown out 12 feet and half of that has lined that run to the neighbor.They won't let anyone clean it up but guess what.!He agreed to do that and went and told them he was doing my side and wanted to get their side while he was here.
On top all this I have a dead tree at another property that is between the lines and the house that no one will deal with and he is going to send me a guy that will do this.
Now I don't know how you would put a value on this but it saved me a lot of time,expense worry and probably trouble and all it has cost me this far is a half hour talking with this guy.Maybe it won't all happen but some is better than none.If I were not aware of these situations and had the opportunity to act at the time he was here it would surely not have happened.Lets face it,that what we do. It's who we are. It's homesteading!

Wade

[RomeGrower]

No gym membership. Work on my property is hard and keeps me in pretty good condition.

[Dan in Ohio]

Andy,

Did you work off of plans to build those woodsheds? I like the look of those and need to build a couple myself this spring. Did you think about spacing the slats on the side to have gaps to allow more air circulation through the closed sides? (I assume you considered and decided against it.)

As for things around the house that are "money", well, I feel like the hundreds and fruit and nut trees/shrubs in the ground are money in the bank to me and their annual production is like dividends to me.

Like everyone else, I save lots of money fixing things myself . . . best thing I ever did was buy and learn how to use a multimeter. Between work and home I've saved tens of thousands of dollars repairing everything from furnaces to packing lines. Not bad for the cost of a $50 multimeter.

[JoePa]

As FarmerDale said - getting deer or moose meat sure saves you a lot - just so happens I got a big deer this morning - one tried to jump over my son's medal fence and got impaled on the top of it - had to shoot it - it's now in the hanging in the barn - a lot of good meat for free - another thing to consider - now a days if you want to fix something there is so much information on the internet to show you how to do it - I'm always fixing something around the place - and yes firewood - cut and burn around 5 cords each year - so many people have to spend money to entertain themselves but if you live in the country and like to do things you always have something to do - today I got to start trimming my apple trees -

[Skandi]

Originally Posted by fixitguy

I did pay a guy to cut down a nasty tree that was hanging over my repair shop. lets just say, we worked out a nice deal on that

I think that about sums it up.. sometimes it's worth getting it done "properly" but if you can get a deal even better!

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by JoePa

As FarmerDale said - getting deer or moose meat sure saves you a lot - just so happens I got a big deer this morning - one tried to jump over my son's medal fence and got impaled on the top of it - had to shoot it - it's now in the hanging in the barn - a lot of good meat for free - another thing to consider - now a days if you want to fix something there is so much information on the internet to show you how to do it - I'm always fixing something around the place - and yes firewood - cut and burn around 5 cords each year - so many people have to spend money to entertain themselves but if you live in the country and like to do things you always have something to do - today I got to start trimming my apple trees -

I meant to mention that about the internet and the piles of helpful info. There is a youtube video for almost anything you an imagine. I am naturally fairly good at fixing stuff... But I am at least weekly looking at videos on how to do this or that.

A few examples I have been amazed with:

New holland Bale knotter videos. I had bought a baler a few years back, and was having a real time and struggling with timing it properly. Low and behold, there is a video, put out by NH themselves, explaining in GREAT detail, and with AWESOME imagery, how the knotters work, and why they need to be timed as they are.

How to remove screws on certain appliances that are hidden from view, before you use your flat head screwdriver to pry it apart and shatter the tool! You know how those little things can drive you nuts? Youtube can help! lol

I have a code reader for our vehicles, so that before I take it to a shop when there is some fan dangled code being shown, I can take a reading and see if it is even worth worrying about. Several times, upon googling the codes, I have found the code being shown is pretty much benign. The code reader was 30 bucks. getting a code read can be a hundred for ONE TIME!!!

Parts manuals for my machinery: Most of not all the machinery companies have parts pages. You type in your model # and peruse the parts pages. You can even find the dealership who has the parts in stock, and the price etc., without having to pick up the phone and ask them. These parts sites have made paper manuals pretty well obselete, and I have lot of second hand machinery that I never did get a parts manual for when I purchased them. If you look up a specific bolt on a specific machine, and it tells you the measurements etc., you can save a lot of money by just getting the bolt from a hardware store, rather than assuming it is a specific bolt or pin for that machine, which is sometimes true.

The internet has made it so easy to affirm and to get a hands on lesson on fixing or repairing stuff. It has made the common man a mechanic. lol

So far as 450 lbs of moose meat: I look at it as 9 more lambs I can sell for cash and not eat. We sell our lamb for 5 bucks a lb. so I look at my moose being worth 2000 dollars we do not have to eat...

I am thankful as heck for the internet. It is the one piece of technology in a world of fancy dancy stuff that I actually use and appreciate. The one bright light in a world gone crazy. The one thing I would miss badly for practical reasons, if I were able to live in my preferred era: the 1940's and 50's.

[JoePa]

FarmerDale - I grew up in the 40s and 50s - and yes that was a good time - I graduated from high school in '51 - it seems that life was so much simpler and crime was way down - things have been going down hill ever since - I think the health care is better today and as you said - the internet is a big plus but everything else is for the birds

[farmerDale]

Joe pa. Part of my ideal, is that I was raised on a 1940's kind of farm in a lot of ways, but in the 1980's. Hand milking cows, feeding a few pigs, taking our domestic food production seriously. And generally being frugal. The best I can do, is try to do as much as is feasible the old style way. I run a modern farm, but we ARE still a farm. Lots of farms now, are nothing but a row of bins, a shed of expensive machinery, and most can't feed themselves worth a darn...

[unregistered168043]

My sheep have been the best investment I ever made. After the initial cost of the small herd I started with and the fencing, its been very profitable for us. Not counting what we sell, just what we eat, its still so much cheaper than anything we could ever buy in the store. Lambs born in late april are out on pasture with their mothers right away. We feed no grain at all so there's no feed bill. In late fall, I butcher out about four and put'em in our freezer.

We have a larger operation than what we need because we sell lamb at the farmers markets locally. If I wanted to only raise lamb for us, I'd keep two/three good ewes and a ram. That would give us 4 lambs a year at about 40lb hanging weight each ( 160lbs of lamb ). Even if I bought all my winter hay for the breeding ewes ( I dont, we cut it here ) it would cost me about $200 dollars a year to keep 3 or 4 sheep. That's just over $1 per pound. That price can't be had anywhere. Now consider that I cut all my hay so the price is something like $75-$100 for 160 pounds of lamb, thats close to .50cents a pound.

The price of grass raised lamb ( if you can find it ) is somewhere between $12 and $20 dollars per pound. Lets assume $12 for a conservative estimate. Those four lambs have a dollar value of $1920 dollars.

I love doing the fiat/commodity conversion on the stuff I produce. Thats really where the homesteader/small farmer profits most but its hidden ( lots of times even from ourselves ). As Tnandy mentioned, its all tax free. No income tax, no sales tax.

[TnAndy]

Originally Posted by Dan in Ohio

Andy,

Did you work off of plans to build those woodsheds? I like the look of those and need to build a couple myself this spring. Did you think about spacing the slats on the side to have gaps to allow more air circulation through the closed sides? (I assume you considered and decided against it.)

Dan,

Just sort made it up as I went. Built a 'prototype' first....it was 4' wide x 10' long, and I left the whole back out of it....just sided the two ends.

But what I found was it was too weak that way....the sides wanted to rack the 10' direction too easily....so the back got closed in on the Ver.2 models. Wood doesn't seem to have a problem drying in them.

[Marinea]

I have to give another mention to the internet and the "how to" videos, specifically the auto repair ones. We have changed a set of brake rotors and a radiator. The radiator job would have cost $425, we paid $104 for the radiator. The brake job (rotors and pads) would have been $250- we paid $85.

A neighbor who raises cattle and horses wants all of the cherry trees in his pasture gone. Just take 'em. So...we get free wonderful firewood and he gets unwanted trees gone. We can drive right up to the trees, and if one is iffy, we can use his tractor to skid them down to an accessible spot. Gotta love it.

A smaller instance...free fertilizer. We raise rabbits, and the fertilizer is amazing. Our garden is producing like crazy, and we haven't spent a dime on any products in three years.

And my personal favorite- repurposing. Yes, I scan the county dump. Yes, I grab things I can see a use for. I got my hubby doing it too. For instance, hubby's work was going to throw away a large metal commercial display unit for kitchen sinks:
075.jpg

With some work, we ended up with three of these:

127.jpg

[Cygnet]

Originally Posted by farmerDale

A fairly large contribution is hunting skills, and trapping skills. 450 lbs of moose meat is significant savings, when all you burn to get it is a few hundred calories. Coyotes in Western Canada sold for an average of 110 bucks this year. 50 of them would bring a nice paycheck. ( I never got many, but bought more traps for next year If I had 50 traps, I do not think catching 100 on our own land in winter would be a stretch).

Both my father and I put in for the elk hunt this year and I'm going to put in for deer, but it's by lottery system, so we won't know for another month if we "won." I hope we do -- elk tastes pretty close to beef, so if you figure it at beef prices, an elk cow (200 pounds in the freezer) is at least a thousand dollars in the bank. Getting drawn for a bull tag is like winning the lottery here, but it's not unusual to hear of 500-600 pounds meat from a big bull harvested right at the beginning of the rut. (We have bull elk the size of horses, with truly impressive racks, so everyone puts in for a bull hunt here.)

Re: coyotes -- I know in this area, fur prices are way off. The trappers and predator callers are all complaining about prices being a fraction of what they were last season. Bobcat furs that would have sold for $700-800 last year selling for $100 or less this year, and grey fox and coyote going for $10-$15. Lot of guys are folding. At $10-15 a pelt, I'm not sure it would be worth the gas to hunt them.

[farmerDale]

Originally Posted by Cygnet

Both my father and I put in for the elk hunt this year and I'm going to put in for deer, but it's by lottery system, so we won't know for another month if we "won." I hope we do -- elk tastes pretty close to beef, so if you figure it at beef prices, an elk cow (200 pounds in the freezer) is at least a thousand dollars in the bank. Getting drawn for a bull tag is like winning the lottery here, but it's not unusual to hear of 500-600 pounds meat from a big bull harvested right at the beginning of the rut. (We have bull elk the size of horses, with truly impressive racks, so everyone puts in for a bull hunt here.)

Re: coyotes -- I know in this area, fur prices are way off. The trappers and predator callers are all complaining about prices being a fraction of what they were last season. Bobcat furs that would have sold for $700-800 last year selling for $100 or less this year, and grey fox and coyote going for $10-$15. Lot of guys are folding. At $10-15 a pelt, I'm not sure it would be worth the gas to hunt them.

I am fortunate to be in an area where you can buy a moose or elk tag whenever you want. If you are drawn, you get longer seasons, and sometimes special zones. Yes, a big bull elk can be massive, huh? A few years back I got a bull calf that gave me 190 lbs of meat. Just a calf! The butcher was sure it was a cow. lol While our moose are not Alaska style moose, a big bull can still weigh up to around 1 400 lbs live.

Western heavy pale yotes are about the only bright spot in the fur market these days. I am fortunate enough that this is the coat type that lives here.