Using up preps...no money to replenish...getting concerned

You prepped for hard times and its paying off, you're working towards making more money and securing more clients and being versatile in your employment..... where's the problem? People like you are the good example everyone needs to follow!! You'll be OK.

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Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and good with ketchup........

Bunny Ranch, has your husband been able to get any side jobs? that is what we are doing right now..self employment with small jobs. It's keeping us going. Construction on new homes is pretty much dead around here. Remodeling is still happening though. And peoples plumbing and electric never stop breaking down..!

Ross, wow, thanks. I needed that.

People aren't concerned with getting cosmetic things done, so basically no. We had a friend of ours give him a very small roofing job but that was back in June. We do go shopping at thrift stores and sell the stuff back on e-bay. That's about it. He refuses to let me have a job because he thinks that it is his duty to provide. He may have an interview at Lowes (fingers crossed). Well see.

In all likelihood, most of our preps for End Times will be used for just such an emergency.... losing our jobs.

As far as saving electricity, nothing beats sleeping during the cold weather inside a comfy sleeping bag.

As far as the credit card thingie goes... I'm torn. Under normal bad times, I'd not consider running up the card. If things started falling apart (and everyone has their set triggers), it'd be wise to make a 'run' while the card is still usable, and fill up the truck with essentials. Going into TEOTWAWKI with a bucket load of debt makes more sense to me than going into TEOTW with a bucket load of 'money in the bank'.

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

When snow falls, hire out to shovel off roofs and walks, thaw frozen pipes, and offer to get folks to the market for help with fuel as a "goodwill taxi service" without being a licensed cab..... though you might want to go through the commercial process if it gets many customers, neighbors helping those out who need it can still be 'rewarded" with a cash gift now and again.

In these troubled economic times a person needs to think outside the box, cut back where possible and keep faith that though your troubles are many, there are many who have had these type of troubles before and those who are in worse shape for some reason or other.

I personally lost 5 years of employment time by "playing" in the court, though at the time i thought i could make the win needed to not only help my family but others, that chewed up a lot of preps, nearly sacked my marriage, and alienated many of the people that should still be my friends..... [some folks just do not grasp certain ideas well] I have been at the point of not wanting to go on any longer, and yet at that point Almighty God brings me a person who is in worse shape than I and shows me that if they can do it and have a good attitude, then i am looking at life all wrong.

2 years back i turned a hobby into a part time online business as well as a local seasonal business taking my love of prospecting into the selling of prospecting supplies, I just completed a 12 session course taking a one year college business class and boiling it down into those 12 sessions which in turn produced a viable business plan and presented it to some lenders on the final day.... so anything is doable to turn around the way way things are spiraling, glass half empty or half full both people who see that glass are correct, though seeing it as half full is more of a positive outlook and the way to recovery.

read the news daily, take the headlines and figure out any of those which could be turned into a temporary job, or benefit to someone else who has the skill to do it but is not thinking outside the box yet and is also looking. Networking with local people will get things moving in the right direction, why do you suppose all those farmers used to go to town for breakfast? not just to gossip, but to see what was happening and network with their peers too, they were "social networks" before there was an internet!

It is hard, but recovering the preps to where you wre before you had to use them will happen, been there, and did that, still recovering but also pushing forward at the same time, my problem was self inflicted and them compounded as the economy tanked by the time i was looking to go back to work full time...... so the 5 years has been 7, but we survived, and bought a new house the first of October! ok signed a promise to pay someone else to buy the house [bank] but they wrote that contract very easy terms and I can not complain about that..... hopefully in a year or so we can leverout to another place outside of this small town.

If my wife and I can make it through the rough spots we did, anyone can make it through what they face!!

Edited to add, since we ended up in bankruptcy in 2003-2005 [over a lost job] we never did go back to credit cards even though we then only had like a $1500.00 card and a couple under $500 store accounts. If we need it, we pay cash, if we dont have it we didnt need it.

William
Digg It Prospecting supply
Idaho
www.mcnalls.com

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Upon the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions, who when on the dawn of victory paused to rest, and there resting died.
- John Dretschmer

A number of years ago my husband was out of work and I was home with 4 little ones. We tried to get food stamps, but in our state we had to wait for a month of his being out of work before we could qualify. It was a scary month but we got by.
We were fortunate to have several outbuildings and some animal equipment. We had old rabbit cages that we blow torched to kill any bacteria on and we had some scrap lumber laying around that we built a goat stanchion with. I already knew how to can and garden which was a big help.

1. We looked through every ad and found people giving goats away. I took 2 milkers and a wether that we immediately butchered. The milkers didn't do much, but one was milking about a quart and the other was pregnant... luckily with twins.

2. It was November so I went to every apple orchard and asked for misshapen or fallen apples. You'd be surprised how many times people are willing to give perfectly good food away.

3. I found a bakery that sold day old bread for about 1/4 of the price of fresh bread.

4. I had a couple laying hens, but I scoured the ads and found people selling layers for 2$ a hen. I bought 10 and got a discount.

5. At the time, we didn't have a wood stove hooked up. We learned the hard way to always have a back up plan. We bought some stove pipe and rigged a temporary chimney. It lasted until we could afford better flashing. I know it is risky, but we had some fireproof backing that we put under the stove and on the wall, and we followed the guidelines to keep the house safe. We also vented the pipe out of the side of the wall instead of the roof and outlined the hole with metal flashing.

6. We got 10 rabbits from people giving them away. They weren't the nice meat rabbits, but we were able to butcher several and keep the others. We were lucky enough that the seller knew how to sex rabbits and we butchered all the males except one and we bred the females. After a few missed opportunities they were all pregnant.

7. Our neighbor gave us a deer carcass and a moose carcass. He felt sorry for us and left quite a bit of meat on the bones. Bone broth is actually really good for you so I cooked down all the bones and cut all the meat off and managed to have quite a large amount of meat and broth that I canned.

All in all, this experience taught me to NEVER be without preps, including animals, a good stock of food and the ability to plant and get more food. I really feel bad for people who think they can rely on the government if times get hard. Yes, right now we have food stamps, but can we depend on them in the future? I'd say no. Especially since right now the economy is not good and everyone, including the government is tightening their belts.

For those of you getting FS...I hope that you are buying and bulk and putting some back because of inflation and the fact that the gov't needs to cut a lot of the entitlement programs if we are ever to "get back to work"...health food stores often sell the big sacks of oats, beans, rice, sugar and flour if you don't live near an Amish mkt (I don't) but I do live close to a great salvage/liquidation that does accept FS

I worked at a grocery store for 10 yrs and it was rare to find someone on FS making that money work as hard as I had to make my money work....

We have a lot of canned foods. The jap beetles destroyed our garden this year, all 8000 sp ft of it. Plus we had a drought and our well is still dry from it!! We can't even do laundry. We was making our own laundry detergent with borax, washing soda, and fels. When we go to the city we stop by my moms and just run some laundry through the washer because my dryer still works. Kroger sells can foods for about 50% to 75% off if they have a dent in the...stupid I know. So I have about 20 cans of refried beans that I bought for about .20 each. LOL. We are making this work. Food isn't a problem its not being able to go places that bothers me. We like to metal detect, pan for gold, and geode and fossil hunt. I miss it. Things are going to come together soon. They have to!

I just assume that any folks on HT who are receiving food stamps are budgeting them appropriately. Otherwise, they wouldn't be on this site trying to learn all manner of frugality!

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~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

Well when I go to the grocery store in the city I see people wearing new Nikes, Gucci, Timberland, and Applebottom's all the time while using a FS card! They have their hair done and their nails match their toes. It's a sad world we live in. Those type of people are screwing it up for everyone. When the SHTF they are going to be the first person to start looting and stealing others properties.

For extra money I would start scrapping metal. It is instant cash on the spot. When ever you see anything made out of metal out on the curb grab it. People throw out bent up pots and pans, old bed frames, washer machines all the time. I made almost 80 bucks filling up my little shortbox pickup full of scrap last week. If I see old lamps being thrown out I cut the cords and take in the wire for copper. Old batteries are worth some good money too. Good luck

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http://www.xanga.com/shackman A blog about whatever

I agree. So, let's not discourage any to use any legal means to stay together.
I am pretty darn sure that folks here are stretching whatever help they get, as far as reasonably possible (and maybe even more).

Angie

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

We scrap also...Which I forgot to mention. We save it up until we have enough to make the long trip to the scrap yard. You can get about $7 each for batteries (car/marine). Copper is better cleaned, the plastic removed. Aluminum is big money too.

Any non-ferrous metals are worth more then scrap iron.

I was not discouraging...meant to encourage...and I don't assume anything about anyone...in fact life has taught me that many people don't live to the same standard that they may preach/profess to...take AR transplants thread as an example
please explain this one or the commercial with the guy on his lawn mower who is so happy to be in debt up to his eyeballs...His place looks like the American dream...to me it looks like bankruptcy and welfare waiting to happen....

My own brothers would likely con anyone on here too....while they by the best steaks and seafood with their food stamps....and complain that $200 a month plus $200 bridge money isn't enough for 1 person...oh they have a garden and animals too and do scrap metal and work under the table...would they buy a hunting license and sit in the woods in cold weather for a week to provide for themselves?...no they bought beer with their money...and pot and cheap women...

So if you get and need FS, use it wisely, effectively and honestly and teach others to do the same, and remember the goal is self-reliance.

Sounds like they would be a bunch of fun to have around...

Stan: I know you are only kidding so I will grit my teeth on my memories of watching FS abuse while I worked,paid my own way and bought hamberger. We have been over all that many times on these forums.

To the OP, I feel for your situation and have read a lot of good advice and support for you here. Please add my well wishes to them and keep us posted as your situation(hopefully) improves! If I get any bright ideas to add to those already posted, I will post them on this thread. Good Luck! bee

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" As needs-MUST!!"--- in other words..a gal does what a gal has too!

You know if they were paying their own way it would be their business...I like to have a drink now and then...my friend makes some fine wine! But I'm not on the dole and I don't smoke a bowl for breakfast....I don't smoke anything for that matter...it ain't in the budget.

And I eat beans, rice, oats, RAMEN and meat we grow or hunt mostly. Ramen noodles....12 meals for $2. Its far from organic but its food.

I remembers dime ramen noodles..heheheh less on "sale" in multiples!! Giving my age away here....

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" As needs-MUST!!"--- in other words..a gal does what a gal has too!

Only the college age kids eat Ramen in this house... I keep a stocked pantry to avoid having to eat them!!

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~TheMartianChick~

My latest novels:
Bystander: A Tale of the End of the World as SHE Knew It!

Christmas in Bystander & Other Village Tales

Coming Soon: A Slice of Heaven

Hey, when I was still a bachelor in the Navy, I did that. Add a can of green beans and corn and a little cooked hamburger, and eat with Club House crackers. Yum Yum.

Turn that thermostat down too, will really save you a lot of money.

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We will meet in the golden city, called the New Jerusalem,
All our pain and all our tears will be no more.....