self-sufficiency

Become a Producer to Put Your Consumption in Perspective

The gap between making and consuming keeps widening, but making more of what you consume can lead to a richer life.

Got a Problem? Why You Should Figure It Out Yourself

With the Internet and other resources, it can be easy to solve problems without actual problem solving. Learn why you should do things the hard way.

Stay Off the Frugal Path to Disaster

Frugality is a great tool. But if your approach to frugality is to pare away everything non-essential, you're setting yourself up for disaster.

The Freedom of the Independent Yeoman

The financial crisis has given rise to renewed interest in self-sufficiency, which means we can learn a lot from the yeomen who used to populate the U.S.

Book review: The Self-Sufficient Life and How to Live It

In the days when self-sufficiency was simply the normal way of things, you'd learn the necessary knowledge and skills from your parents. (And from your grandparents, aunts and