Monday, May 18, 2020

frugal moments

I would rather plan ahead for the worse and make the sacrifices now and prepare then get hit with bad and it cripple us.

When I broke my wrist I went to the Urgent care instead of the ER... that saved us $450.

As we planted the garden, I am setting aside seeds for the next year to two years even though that reduces what I will plant this late summer for fall harvest and fall planting for winter harvest in the hoop house (plastic green house with no heat). I am also planting things I want to harvest the seed from to have more seed away from the garden so I don't accidentally cross pollinate anything.I have set aside 6 cu ft of dirt to start seeds in this winter. 

I got enough fertilizer to go this year and start next year, more if we get manure off E. 

I have kept the empty soil bags to use as trash bags.

I've washed foil, switched to a reusable cover on my bowls instead of plastic wrap. 

Leftovers are every other night instead on only on Monday night. So it's cook once and reheat or remake the next night.
 
We have already heard this summer will be hotter than the last 5 yrs and that the heat will run through Oct.We had over 100 degrees last Oct here in Ohio, not anywhere close to the norm.  Hot summer means gardens can burn up. Wells that supply our water can drop low also and there is no place to buy water from. That means we need to hook up rain barrels NOW while we are getting rain and conserve our water as much as possible.We have a 400 gal tank (cistern) that is connected to the rain down spouts now.We average 65 gals. in the winter and 95 gal during the summer per day. Difference it the gardens and canning and the amount of water the dogs drink. 

It also means our Amish neighbors are going to have struggles as no one around here was able to harvest ice last winter since the river and ponds didn't freeze. Our small freezer in the barn is almost empty so we offered to freeze buckets (we sanitized kitty litter square buckets then put in plastic liners ) for E and M. Right now she is using 2 a week... we asked her what she used last Oct.during 100 degree days.. 1 a day. Okay.We can get 4 in this small freezer (they pay us for the ice even though it saves us money have that freezer  full). I told Hubby I if got the one corner of the larger freezer cleared out we could start putting some in that one to build up a bit for them. They tried saving it in their ice house but it melted on them.Their spring house keeps it about a week... but if water levels go down like they did last year that won't be a good deal either.M has offered to teach me to can meat.

I have the furnace off (finally) completely. I am using the airfryer (outside on the table) over then oven to save propane. I dug out the crock pot so it can be in use this summer. I have a grill and 3 turkey fryers .  I can use the turkey fryers for water bath canning (keeps the heat out of the kitchen and off the main propane tank) and the grill off the stove and the main propane tank. After June 1st I will call to have the tank filled (it's at 35%, need to fill at 30%) as summer fill is cheaper. The I will know how much we will need to get us through next summer and how much credit we have left from this past year so I can figure out what we need to pull from savings to pay for next year's. We get a discount for paying in full for a reserved amount and then the price doesn't go up on us but can come down.

Hubby retired from Honda Engine plant a couple years ago. Our health ins is through them with them paying part of it. They have put out that the health ins is going to change and some will have to go to public health providers. We figure the retires that are not old enough for Medicare is going to be the ones looking for health ins. Hubby has some money in his RRA (to help pay medical that the company gave him for years of service). We were just going to leave it sit there, but decided to use it to pay off the medical bills I just ran up and close that acct out which earns NO interest for us and keep our own money where it is earning interest for us. I have already started asking others that pay for their own ins of who they have and how well they like their ins.

We are eating from the pantry,keeping meals simple so I can cook with only one hand and not dirty a lot of pots and pans that Hubby will have to wash himself. LOL.

I cancelled a couple memberships even though I was using them regularly. Choices have to be made are not always comfortable. I kept Milk Street because Hubby asked me to as he watches it often and finds cheap meals that we usually like from other countries.

I reread  https://theprudenthomemaker.com/ website to "refresh" my thoughts on cutting budget and saving in areas 

How is your week going?

Blessed be 






13 comments:

  1. I am so sorry about your fall. Injuries really cramp our style.
    Our week is ok so far.
    Yikes about maybe starting to pay your own health insurance. We are both covered by VA and it’s not great but it costs husband nothing and my costs are almost nothing.

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  2. On the 31st my health insurance goes away and to go Cobra is $1200 for just me and through the government site is $800. I will therefore be uninsured for 5 years until I can go on Medicare. I am trained in applied kinesiology and natural health/medicine and have taken care of myself for years so I am not worried. It has been at least 5 years since I have seen a traditional doctor. Hubby has Medicare so we will just ride it out. The thing I hate to loose is my dental insurance but it is what it is right now.

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    1. Lana... do you have a blog? I would to read how you have been doing natural health. Our ins right now is $900/ month. Half of what we would pay on our own. NO dental or eye. My biologic from my Crohn's is an issue with ins. The company that makes it told me to call them as soon as I know and they would work with me...

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    2. I don't have a blog. The kinesiologist that I went to who healed me of being the most allergic person on the planet trained me as we went along because she saw that I was so interested. Now I treat friends here at the house but I don't charge them. I also take up my practitioner's slack when she s on vacation or not available. It is enough to be able to help people. I often recommend that anyone interested in natural health start with reading all the information on the Hopewelloils.com site. Their oils are my go to treatment for most illnesses. We also use herbs and supplements. The very first thing that gets done with anyone that my practitioner or myself treats is to get the pH of the body neutral. You can buy pH test strips for your saliva. Once you know where you stand you can make huge strides in healing by correcting your pH through diet and if you are extremely acid, which I am sure you are, by taking alfalfa capsules. We use Nature's Way Alfa Max. You may need as many as ten capsules a day. At that point you must work to maintain that neutral pH before anything else could be successfully treated. We now eat so healthy that I have trouble with getting too alkaline which I thought would never happen but over time you lose your taste for sugar and high amounts of carbs. Just having that neutral pH will begin to heal the body because infection needs that acid environment to live and grow.

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    3. I failed to say that you should research diet to correct pH online. There is tons of info out there.

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    4. https://hopewelloils.com/crohns-disease.php

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    5. Oh wow, Lana, I am glad that you know about natural medicine and such, but not having any insurance would freak me out. Accidents happen, etc etc. Maybe even a catastrophic plan would be better than nothing, and they aren't too expensive. Wishing you the best.

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    6. Kathy, We onlive disability. We just cannot do it. We have looked and I will just have to trust that I will be okay. I am long past the freaking out part since we have known this for a couple of years.

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    7. I'm sure you have done your research and are at peace with your decision. Will pray that you stay healthy and well.

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  3. Girl! One handed frugality will be hard...But lucky you to be able to do this with 'one hand behind your back' so to speak. Let us know what the ortho doc says. I'll be praying for you. Maddie nearly took my legs out from under me as she decided to exit the back steps at the same time as me...One reason I am super uber careful when going down the much more steep front steps if she's anywhere around.

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  4. He wasn't moving, just sleeping in his usual spot at the end of the couch..

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  5. I love the prudent homemaker, I read her updates every week. You are such a blessing to your neighbors. Take care you one handed wonder woman.

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  6. So sorry about the accident. Hope your wrist heals quickly. Glad you are thinking ahead.

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