Food keeps going up in price … dig deep
Gasoline keeps getting more expensive … dig deep
That feeling of anxiety about the future keeps hanging around
… dig deep
Rise to the occasion and dig deep, for such a time as this
Think you can't dig any deeper ... reassess and try harder (we're all having to do this)
Shop wiser
Fill your pantry
Grow whatever you can, anything is better than nothing. (picture: second planting of squash is almost ready to start harvesting.)
Learn new skills
Practice old skills
Repurpose and recycle everything you can
Waste nothing
This is what ‘rising to the occasion’ looks like at my house, what
does it look like at yours?
If you find this series helpful, please share it with others. If we all do what we can to help each other whether it be through writing, sharing, teaching, coming along beside each other or any other means, the world will be a better place!
Until the next post,
patsi
She looketh well to the ways of her household … Proverbs 31:27
A Working Pantry is a way of life, a lifestyle if you will!
My pantry is intentional, purposeful, simple, practical, frugal and what works for my family. It’s the food items and household supplies that keep my household running smoothly ready and available when they are needed. It’s my contribution to our family’s economy and my work-from-home ‘job.'
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Working harder on finding deals on food.
ReplyDeleteDriving less.
Giving it over to God daily and asking for His wisdom.
Adjusting the budget monthly to cover what has come along.
Working harder at growing food.
Trying some new canning techniques to better fit our tastes. Canner is cooling right now with dry canned potatoes.
Doing more scratch cooking and bigger batches to eat for the week to avoid take out.
Lana, your comment is so inspiring, especially, 'giving it over to God daily and asking for His wisdom.' Thank you for sharing!
DeleteLoving the series Patsi and it is very thought provoking thank you :) .
ReplyDeleteThings we are doing to dig deep are -
- Growing as much as we can in the gardens and savings seeds to plant next season
.
- Blanching and freezing all the vegetables we produce here for additional stocks and meals for the freezer.
- Lately with grocery prices going up we are taking advantage of and buying any half price/ reduced or markdown items that we can to lower our grocery budget.
- Using some of the money we are getting from doing paid garden jobs to buy additional jerry cans to increase our fuel stocks as the government here in Australia has halved the fuel excise making it 22.1 c per litre cheaper until September.
- Using our DVA fuel allowance for the trips we do to fill up the additional fuel jerry cans we buy.
- Adding and using a fuel preservative product called Fuel Doctor to our fuel that prevents our fuel in storage from going off for up to 2 years on normal fuel and up to 5 years on diesel.
- Decluttering the home and selling unused items and using that money to buy the few last remaining items we need for our grocery stockpile.
- As we had stocked most of the items we wanted for our grocery stockpile I deleted our pantry budget from the budget and used that money to increase our mortgage payments as our variable interest rate had gone up twice over the last two months. Our variable interest rate is still way under the interest rate we can get anywhere on fixed as we had negotiated it down to the lowest we could before the interest rate rises.
- When we first got our mortgage 3.5 years ago (which was small after paying a 40% cash deposit on the home) we put into the budget to pay double the minimum mortgage payment and are still doing that now which gives us a nice buffer.
- Working more on making sure we use most of the electricity we need to use during the day on sunny days so the power is free from the power we produce from our solar panels.
- Turned off our sump grey water pump and will only turn it on once a week to pump the grey water on to the fruit trees we grow to save further on electricity use.
Hope everyone has a great and frugal week ahead :) .
Lorna.
Lorna, there is much wisdom in the things you are doing, I'm making notes for my own personal use! Thank you for sharing!
DeletePatsy most welcome and with costs on everything rising we are trying new things that hopefully will lower our costs somewhat.
DeleteThere is no doubt that interest rates will rise further on our mortgage so we are going into emergency mode and freeing up as much money in our budget as we can to pay more. I am so glad we prepared ahead for on our grocery stockpile for a number of years which has now paid off with us spending much less each month.
We are looking at putting battery backup on the home too as word has it (in news reports) that in 2025 we will then under some circumstances be paying to put energy we produce from our solar panels back into the grid.
Things are indeed getting tough out there.
Lorna.
To help finances I am trying this year for all gifts that I need to nothing new. It either has to be homemade, grown, traded or bartered for, or bought on the seconds market such as from thrift stores, yard sales,etc. I just made a baby blanket and soft book for a good friends daughter who will be having a baby within the month. I am working on some Christmas gifts right now-knitting some slippers. Just finished a small cross stitch that I will incorporate into a Christmas runner. I have lots of fabric, craft supplies, and some yarn. Plus I keep my eye out on the seconds market. I just bought a king size duvet cover in a wildlife flannel print for $5. Once cut apart I have about 6 yards of fabric and 8 larger buttons. I will use this for both grandsons PJ pants for a Christmas gift and a pair for hubby as well. And I will make some pillow cases too.
ReplyDeleteWe are growing a garden, look for clearance meats and sales, cook at home, and waste nothing!
I pray a lot and don’t watch the news. I do what I can with a smile and a good attitude!
Julie, your comment sums up the way we are working towards living our lives, not just for gift giving but in the everyday walks of living! I absolutely love your comment! Thank you for sharing!
DeleteBartered with Amish for wood for wood cook stove (secondary heat) for the winter.
ReplyDeleteBartered with Amish for plants for garden in exchange for the asparagus that ran us over.
Sitting down today to make a list of things we can do for nothing but work or barter for instead of buy.
Cutting the pull from Hubby's IRA and living on our Social Security and my IRA. (OUCH)
Chef Owings, it sounds like you all are making some wise decisions. I like the idea of making a list of things you can do for nothing but work or barter.
DeleteFor me, it's been getting my deck boxes and planters going so I have some fresh produce. My pantry is well stocked with canned goods and my freezer is full. I've shifted to buying only the essentials and I'm shifting to getting groceries only once a month. Entertainment and outings with my widows group is being reduced, and meals out are limited even more than what's I'd set aside in my budget, shifting funds to food and fuel.
ReplyDeleteGiven the current economic situation, I'm having to pivot on two areas of my life and I'm really struggling, praying for guidance and giving it over to God.I currently live in a metropolitan suburban area, about 90 mins to 2 hours each way from my Mom (who is showing more and more dementia). I love to get back over her way (close to my hometown), especially in the summer, as that's where my favorite produce stands are located. But, with gas prices what they are, it's now about $75 round trip (including excursions to the farm stands, errands with Mom, etc.). I'd love to be able to go weekly, but it's just not possible. I'm working to find produce markets that are closer to me, but it's difficult to not make the weekly trip. The other involves a larger expenditure and now may not be the right time. Giving up this particular dream (for now) is difficult, since it was something my late husband and I had planned to do. Just need to sort through financials and see where it may be possible to shift things to see how I can conserve now to make things happen down the line.
Lori, you're doing what we're doing, shifting things around, making decisions for the future and praying for guidance.
DeleteI love this series it just reenforces everything I have been doing most of my life. I was a single mother raising my son all by myselfwith no child support or family support, it wasn't easy but I have been thrifty my whole life. My foster parents did not believe in paying me for any of my chores which I can see. I did baby sit and did other odd jobs which I gave half to my foster parents to help them out, we did that when I was younger. My husband is not very thrifty especially when it comes to groceries but I still keep on trying. Tomorrow I have him agreeing to seeing what we all have before just going willy nilly in the stores. I've been letting him read these posts and I think he's getting into them. We need new furniture so I want to save for that. Thank you Patsy.
ReplyDeletetealady, yes, we have to keep on trying, whether the progress is small or great. It's easier for those of us who have lived a thrifty lifestyle, it's harder for those who haven't, it's a learning process, it takes time, commitment and a can-do attitude. Thank you for your sweet words of encouragement.
Delete