Most employees don't realize that for every dollar you have to give up for social security, fica and medicare your employer has to match that dollar for dollar. Plus, the employers has to pay both the employer and employee share of taxes on what they bring home. People at the bottom should quietly drink their free beer and keep the tenth man coming to the bar or its going to get really ugly in this country.
Why are these responses so much about pulling up bootstraps and running cars into the ground? President Obama is offering a chance for people like me, who have been driving my car, a Geo Prizm, 12 years old with a dent in the back, to trade it for several thousand dollars more than its worth so I can buy an American car which is most probably at 0% financing and a rebate right now anyway, so our payments will be low. This sale will help the failing Detroit companies which in turn will help our economy. The proposal is only for cars that get over 27-30 mpg,that are 8 or more years old so it will help the environment. Mostly, for us who have been driving our cars into the ground, never again will we have to crank open our windows...it's power for us forever...yeehaw!
"some think life's unfair and figure how to still win
others
think life's unfair and blame others.
Which one are you?"
Neither and both. For most of us it isn't either/or. Both can and should be done. Make the best of your situation inspite of the obstacles, but also strive to make the world a fairer place for everyone. Doing just one or the other is quite foolish.
Nothing in the world is black and white the way some try to portray it.
I agree with the point above about being strategically self-sufficient. It's one thing if there were a third world war and we all literally had to grow our own stuff, but there's a good reason why we've developed systems in which not everyone has to do everything from scratch, because it's more efficient and allows human labor to expand into other labor-intensive activities. The US, however, is known for relying on the rest of the world for its products, so perhaps there is a bit of just irony in here. Personally I wouldn't want to make my own blankets and socks and I'm glad that I'm able to buy them, and keep them (I don't buy new versions of everything all the time).
So I think it's important to point out that we need to be awake to the processes of production that we live upon (this is actually a Marxist point for all y'all Marx haters:)). But it's also fair if one person makes them and another pays for their full value (or trades for what they're worth). Great thinking pieces in here.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of the idea of self-sufficiency. But I agree with the point in the post about there also being a great deal of "romance" attached to it. Personally, I've learned to garden quite easily without a book to show me how. It's basic trial and error. Not at all something exotic and mysterious. But I also own some survivalist books, too:)
Before my husband's grandfather developed Alzheimer's, he apparently hid some cash and valuables in a wall or something like that in his house. He was a carpenter, so he certainly didn't leave any marks, wherever he put it.
Sadly, when my in-laws had to sell his home during his illness, they gave up on the search. I imagine that the current owners (or more renters; the neighborhood has gone way downhill) have no clue there's hidden treasure there, but I hope somebody finds it someday.
When we lived in China we used to get paid in cash, didn't have local bank accounts so of course we had anything we didn't spend immediately on hand. We also had a cleaning lady we didn't know well, and had no idea if any building manager or something like that might have access to our apartment. We usually kept the cash in the freezer or buried at the bottom of the laundry basket. Maybe not foolproof but not obvious either.
Sorry to hear about that.. :( Really though, if you can dab a bit of vinegar on with a soft cotton ball or a srap cotton t-shirt, it will relieve it (if only temporarily.)
Just found this post via Unclutterer, and this really spoke to me:
There were many items that I knew family members or friends wanted or needed, so I set them aside as gifts.
I moved a few months ago and had bags of kitchen tools to give away. I laid them out and let people know they could take whatever they wanted when I had "I'm moving, one last meal in this apartment!" dinner parties, and I was pleasantly surprised that everything was taken.
Last weekend, I went to a dinner party at my friend's apartment, and she was using one of the things I'd given away, a cheese fork and knife set (I think that's what they were, at least)! She uses them to test meats and gratins for doneness, and it made me really happy that someone else was getting use out of them, especially since I'd never figured out what to use them for. :D
so I looked on Amazon. Holy smokes he wrote a lot of books before passing away. I ended up buying the self sufficient gardening book and can't wait to get it! Thanks for introducing me to John Seymour.
Four months ago I took in a young woman who has problems with her parents and nowhere else to go. She is polite, intelligent, and hard working. However, in the past she shared a place with two other roommates and foolishly put the cable tv in her name because they had bad credit. One of the roommates took the cable box when they all moved out, and never turned it into Rogers. She has spoken to Rogers about her efforts to track down the roommate with the box, but they sent it to a collection agency, and the agency now has my number.
Last year I PAID almost 90.00 for an unlisted number because I was fed up with surveys, marketers, and umpteen charities phoning every month. Now some relative of our guest has passed along OUR number to contact her, and they phone 3 or 4 times a day. Her explanations of what she is doing to find the box don't cut any ice with them.
Finally I had a chat with them myself. I explained that I am owner of this phone account, and in no way related to our guest or responsible for any of her debts. Their response was that they would remove my phone number from their call list when I could provide them with another number. I said I didn't have another number for them because she's staying with us, but I'm tired of all the calls and I can't do anything about her situation with Rogers. I also pointed out that I had paid for an unlisted phone number just last and was not happy that someone had passed along our number as a contact number for someone who isn't a member of my family or household. They repeated their first response.
Next I phoned Bell and explained the situation. They gave me a number for a NEW National Do Not Call list. (I was already on one, but forgot to mention that to IQOR Canada - the collection agency.) I'm waiting with baited breath to find out if collection agencies respect Do Not Call Lists. It looks like it would be too easy a way to evade collection agencies for people who really do owe money.
The way competitive pressures force everyone into to the low-wage, low-costs, maximize-profits model is the topic of Robert Reich's book Supercaitalism, that I reviewed a while back. You might also find some stuff of interest in a post I wrote called Are poor folks and the middle-class on the same side, that looked at things like whether a poor person shopping at a big-box store is shooting himself in the foot.
As far as comments go, I'm fine with a free-spirited discussion. I have the power to delete comments if I want to, but the only ones I've ever deleted so far were spam. I can imagine deleting a comment that attacked one of the other commenters (and would certainly delete one that crossed the line into criminal behavior--death threats or the like). But having people disagree with my ideas is part of the fun--it means they're taking them seriously.
Well stated. I'm not sure if the article was "showing us how to become rich", or simply villifying the rich.
If readers will take one lesson to heart, let it be this:
Time is the only real currency and the only real investment.
The wealthy understand this and use time to their advantage. Months, years and even decades are fertile ground in which to grow your assets. Time is your friend, but it requires patience and a "never panic" attitude.
The poor see time in a different light. They associate dates with when they'll get their next paycheck or when bills are due. They regret the past and dread tomorrow.
Look at the Dollar. One dollar today is not worth as much as it was yesterday, and it's value will change tomorrow. The number printed on it is arbitrary. What is important is how much of your time was invested in acquiring that dollar.
You want to buy a new plasma TV. The cost is $5000. You can get the money easily, or perhaps you even have it saved already. Now let's say you make $20/Hr. Your take-home is likely closer to $15/Hr after taxes. That purchase will cost you 333 Hours and 20 Minutes of your time. That's just over 8 weeks of 40 hour shifts. Before asking "Is it worth my money?", ask "Is it worth my time?"
If you instead took that money and invested it, you could easily get a 6% annual rate. At the end of that term, you still have your $5000, but with a bonus of $300 that you spent no time on at all. That's like having 2½ payed days vacation at work. You're not actually working, but you're still receiving income for it.
Ideally, you want to reinvest this money. However, If you absolutely need the TV, buy it from the time-free interest. You'll have a greater appreciation for money and eventually a lot more of it.
Once people learn to start thinking of money as time instead of paper, they tend to do much better. Live cheaply for 10 years and bank every spare penny you have. All of a sudden, the interest alone becomes a second income. You can easily use it to pay your bills.
So, you have your new TV and you want a premium HD cable or satellite package that costs $70/month. That's 5 hours a month of your job you're basically working for free. Instead, figure $70/Month is $840/year. Put away $14,000 in savings at that 6% rate and the interest will cover that bill for you. Just hanging on to that money until retirement will continue you fund you $70/Month that can be used to better the quality of your life.
Every time you want a service that incurs another bill, ask "How much do I have to invest at my current interest rate to pay for this without touching my income?" Save that much money and start living off of your interest one bill at a time.
How many lawyers do you see handing around dumpsters soliciting business? None, the lawyer does not make up the cases thet come through the door. It takes one of you to have a "frivilous" problem before a "frivilous lawsuit can be filed. Also, keep in mind the few good things that have resulted from litigation...seat belts, air bags, and the dates on the food that sustains the freegan lifestyle.
Thanks Phil for writing an interesting and helpful article. I think it may have been helpful to mention how outsourcing to third-world countries has made it impossible for ethical businesses to pay their people a living wage and compete, but perhaps that is fodder for another article?
Methinks Wise Bread needs to start policing it's forums. Frugal living at About.com delays posting until the author screens it, while Dollar Stretcher checks every night and removes posts that are in that 10% fringe category (you can speak freely, but have to stay in the ballpark of what you could say in person before the other person would slug you in the face).
I was told that there was no maintence fee when someone at the bank talked me into signing up. I just got charged $3 for an account I never used. I am so sick of BOA and their scams.
I don't really care for registries either, but when we had our wedding, enough people asked that I caved and did it. It was discreet, as we only mentioned it if we were asked. I think some people want to give you something they know you'd like to have (you picked it out) and others would like to give you something they'd like you to have. It also let people choose from a wide range of items, and we didn't end up with something we didn't need, like pots and pans. I STILL ended up with two toasters, though!
Real self-sufficiency is a tough life--lots of hard work for a much lower standard of living than you can achieve by working a regular job and then buying what you need with the money you earn. On the other hand, a bit of "strategic partial self-sufficiency" can save your family from real hardship if something goes really wrong.
Every time you are able to satisfy one more category of your needs without resorting to the money economy, your family is that much more secure against not only disasters (where you really have to be more self-sufficient) but also against less serious hiccups and glitches (like a direct deposit that goes awry or an ATM machine that's out of cash).
My first recommendation for homesteading information would be to read "The Good Life" and "Return to the Good Life" by Helen and Scott Nearing. These great-grandparents of self-reliance moved to a rundown farm in rural Vermont around the time of the Great Depression and turned it into a comfortable way of living using only 4 hours of "bread labor" each day. They were communists (before that word took on the insidious meaning of the Soviet Union) and occasionally have annoying side-rambles about collecitivism (which can be easily ignored), and also vegetarians (not helpful if you want advice about raising livestock), but their farm became incredibly fertile and productive because of their composting practices (despite the bitter Vermont weather). These two books are easy, pleasant reads and can easily be obtained either separately, or in a combined book at most local libraries.
Another source is the Mother Earth News archives ... especially older homesteading articles from the 1970's. You can buy the entire collection 1970s-present on CD-ROM for around $50, peruse their website for -some- of the articles, or read more recent articles from the newer magazines at your library. The older articles are useful for homesteaders because one of their writers follows their own efforts (successes and failures) in setting up their own homestead with great detail.
A third source is USDA "Yearbooks" from the 1970's related to farming and homesteading. Most libraries have these. Unlike most homesteading sources which put a glossy picture on the subject and skip over "unimportant" things such as siting your septic system so it doesn't pollute the well you're using to water your livestock, these collections of scientific papers written to help farmers and homesteaders in different USDA districts are thorough and backed by science. This is the only place I've seen important subjects such as -which- farm to buy credibly addressed (many "cheap" farms are cheap for a reason ... there's not enough arable land or water to homestead).
Lastly, don't forget our old friend Henry David Thoreau. Our original American back-to-the-land advocate goes into great detail about how he built his simple homestead on the shores of Walden Pond and how clearly he began to see the odd consumeristic behavior of his peers in town (even back in the early 1800's). It should be noted that Thoreau was best friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote that other great literary work "Self-Reliance" warning about the risks of globalization (again, way back in the 1800's).
You can also be "strategically self-sufficient". It may not mean living off the grid, but positioning yourself for being able to do so in the event of any disasters.
All the skills of self-sufficiency are valuable, even to someone who isn't trying to live a self-sufficient life--although some of them (how to harness a horse for plowing) probably don't help very many people who aren't already trying pretty seriously. Doesn't make them less interesting, though, especially for kids.
Books like this are also great for homeschooling- whether you live on a "farm" or not. They teach lots of skills that are fun to try with your kids and give them a taste of what living self-sufficiently is like. And even you live in the city, one can usually gleen lots of information to practice a more frugal and sustainable lifestyle.
I tried twice on 2 different dents. Have a 2004 Honda Pilot and first used a heat gun, then a whole can of 3M Dust remover (3.5 oz can). I live in Alaska, so waiting for a really hot day won't work as where I live, 70 degrees is a high temp. One post earlier said that warm days used to bring the dents back out of his grandmas' car. Wondering if this dent removal is possible the opposite way? Going from below zero to suddenly warming with a heat gun or hair dryer?
The heat gun and dust remover did not hurt the paint one bit though.
Most employees don't realize that for every dollar you have to give up for social security, fica and medicare your employer has to match that dollar for dollar. Plus, the employers has to pay both the employer and employee share of taxes on what they bring home. People at the bottom should quietly drink their free beer and keep the tenth man coming to the bar or its going to get really ugly in this country.
Why are these responses so much about pulling up bootstraps and running cars into the ground? President Obama is offering a chance for people like me, who have been driving my car, a Geo Prizm, 12 years old with a dent in the back, to trade it for several thousand dollars more than its worth so I can buy an American car which is most probably at 0% financing and a rebate right now anyway, so our payments will be low. This sale will help the failing Detroit companies which in turn will help our economy. The proposal is only for cars that get over 27-30 mpg,that are 8 or more years old so it will help the environment. Mostly, for us who have been driving our cars into the ground, never again will we have to crank open our windows...it's power for us forever...yeehaw!
where are your resources coming from??
"some think life's unfair and figure how to still win
others
think life's unfair and blame others.
Which one are you?"
Neither and both. For most of us it isn't either/or. Both can and should be done. Make the best of your situation inspite of the obstacles, but also strive to make the world a fairer place for everyone. Doing just one or the other is quite foolish.
Nothing in the world is black and white the way some try to portray it.
I agree with the point above about being strategically self-sufficient. It's one thing if there were a third world war and we all literally had to grow our own stuff, but there's a good reason why we've developed systems in which not everyone has to do everything from scratch, because it's more efficient and allows human labor to expand into other labor-intensive activities. The US, however, is known for relying on the rest of the world for its products, so perhaps there is a bit of just irony in here. Personally I wouldn't want to make my own blankets and socks and I'm glad that I'm able to buy them, and keep them (I don't buy new versions of everything all the time).
So I think it's important to point out that we need to be awake to the processes of production that we live upon (this is actually a Marxist point for all y'all Marx haters:)). But it's also fair if one person makes them and another pays for their full value (or trades for what they're worth). Great thinking pieces in here.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a lover of the idea of self-sufficiency. But I agree with the point in the post about there also being a great deal of "romance" attached to it. Personally, I've learned to garden quite easily without a book to show me how. It's basic trial and error. Not at all something exotic and mysterious. But I also own some survivalist books, too:)
Before my husband's grandfather developed Alzheimer's, he apparently hid some cash and valuables in a wall or something like that in his house. He was a carpenter, so he certainly didn't leave any marks, wherever he put it.
Sadly, when my in-laws had to sell his home during his illness, they gave up on the search. I imagine that the current owners (or more renters; the neighborhood has gone way downhill) have no clue there's hidden treasure there, but I hope somebody finds it someday.
When we lived in China we used to get paid in cash, didn't have local bank accounts so of course we had anything we didn't spend immediately on hand. We also had a cleaning lady we didn't know well, and had no idea if any building manager or something like that might have access to our apartment. We usually kept the cash in the freezer or buried at the bottom of the laundry basket. Maybe not foolproof but not obvious either.
I blog at www.shopliftingwithpermission.com.
Sorry to hear about that.. :( Really though, if you can dab a bit of vinegar on with a soft cotton ball or a srap cotton t-shirt, it will relieve it (if only temporarily.)
Linsey Knerl
Just found this post via Unclutterer, and this really spoke to me:
There were many items that I knew family members or friends wanted or needed, so I set them aside as gifts.
I moved a few months ago and had bags of kitchen tools to give away. I laid them out and let people know they could take whatever they wanted when I had "I'm moving, one last meal in this apartment!" dinner parties, and I was pleasantly surprised that everything was taken.
Last weekend, I went to a dinner party at my friend's apartment, and she was using one of the things I'd given away, a cheese fork and knife set (I think that's what they were, at least)! She uses them to test meats and gratins for doneness, and it made me really happy that someone else was getting use out of them, especially since I'd never figured out what to use them for. :D
so I looked on Amazon. Holy smokes he wrote a lot of books before passing away. I ended up buying the self sufficient gardening book and can't wait to get it! Thanks for introducing me to John Seymour.
Four months ago I took in a young woman who has problems with her parents and nowhere else to go. She is polite, intelligent, and hard working. However, in the past she shared a place with two other roommates and foolishly put the cable tv in her name because they had bad credit. One of the roommates took the cable box when they all moved out, and never turned it into Rogers. She has spoken to Rogers about her efforts to track down the roommate with the box, but they sent it to a collection agency, and the agency now has my number.
Last year I PAID almost 90.00 for an unlisted number because I was fed up with surveys, marketers, and umpteen charities phoning every month. Now some relative of our guest has passed along OUR number to contact her, and they phone 3 or 4 times a day. Her explanations of what she is doing to find the box don't cut any ice with them.
Finally I had a chat with them myself. I explained that I am owner of this phone account, and in no way related to our guest or responsible for any of her debts. Their response was that they would remove my phone number from their call list when I could provide them with another number. I said I didn't have another number for them because she's staying with us, but I'm tired of all the calls and I can't do anything about her situation with Rogers. I also pointed out that I had paid for an unlisted phone number just last and was not happy that someone had passed along our number as a contact number for someone who isn't a member of my family or household. They repeated their first response.
Next I phoned Bell and explained the situation. They gave me a number for a NEW National Do Not Call list. (I was already on one, but forgot to mention that to IQOR Canada - the collection agency.) I'm waiting with baited breath to find out if collection agencies respect Do Not Call Lists. It looks like it would be too easy a way to evade collection agencies for people who really do owe money.
@Guest:
Thanks for the kind words.
The way competitive pressures force everyone into to the low-wage, low-costs, maximize-profits model is the topic of Robert Reich's book Supercaitalism, that I reviewed a while back. You might also find some stuff of interest in a post I wrote called Are poor folks and the middle-class on the same side, that looked at things like whether a poor person shopping at a big-box store is shooting himself in the foot.
As far as comments go, I'm fine with a free-spirited discussion. I have the power to delete comments if I want to, but the only ones I've ever deleted so far were spam. I can imagine deleting a comment that attacked one of the other commenters (and would certainly delete one that crossed the line into criminal behavior--death threats or the like). But having people disagree with my ideas is part of the fun--it means they're taking them seriously.
Well stated. I'm not sure if the article was "showing us how to become rich", or simply villifying the rich.
If readers will take one lesson to heart, let it be this:
The wealthy understand this and use time to their advantage. Months, years and even decades are fertile ground in which to grow your assets. Time is your friend, but it requires patience and a "never panic" attitude.
The poor see time in a different light. They associate dates with when they'll get their next paycheck or when bills are due. They regret the past and dread tomorrow.
Look at the Dollar. One dollar today is not worth as much as it was yesterday, and it's value will change tomorrow. The number printed on it is arbitrary. What is important is how much of your time was invested in acquiring that dollar.
You want to buy a new plasma TV. The cost is $5000. You can get the money easily, or perhaps you even have it saved already. Now let's say you make $20/Hr. Your take-home is likely closer to $15/Hr after taxes. That purchase will cost you 333 Hours and 20 Minutes of your time. That's just over 8 weeks of 40 hour shifts. Before asking "Is it worth my money?", ask "Is it worth my time?"
If you instead took that money and invested it, you could easily get a 6% annual rate. At the end of that term, you still have your $5000, but with a bonus of $300 that you spent no time on at all. That's like having 2½ payed days vacation at work. You're not actually working, but you're still receiving income for it.
Ideally, you want to reinvest this money. However, If you absolutely need the TV, buy it from the time-free interest. You'll have a greater appreciation for money and eventually a lot more of it.
Once people learn to start thinking of money as time instead of paper, they tend to do much better. Live cheaply for 10 years and bank every spare penny you have. All of a sudden, the interest alone becomes a second income. You can easily use it to pay your bills.
So, you have your new TV and you want a premium HD cable or satellite package that costs $70/month. That's 5 hours a month of your job you're basically working for free. Instead, figure $70/Month is $840/year. Put away $14,000 in savings at that 6% rate and the interest will cover that bill for you. Just hanging on to that money until retirement will continue you fund you $70/Month that can be used to better the quality of your life.
Every time you want a service that incurs another bill, ask "How much do I have to invest at my current interest rate to pay for this without touching my income?" Save that much money and start living off of your interest one bill at a time.
How many lawyers do you see handing around dumpsters soliciting business? None, the lawyer does not make up the cases thet come through the door. It takes one of you to have a "frivilous" problem before a "frivilous lawsuit can be filed. Also, keep in mind the few good things that have resulted from litigation...seat belts, air bags, and the dates on the food that sustains the freegan lifestyle.
Thanks Phil for writing an interesting and helpful article. I think it may have been helpful to mention how outsourcing to third-world countries has made it impossible for ethical businesses to pay their people a living wage and compete, but perhaps that is fodder for another article?
Methinks Wise Bread needs to start policing it's forums. Frugal living at About.com delays posting until the author screens it, while Dollar Stretcher checks every night and removes posts that are in that 10% fringe category (you can speak freely, but have to stay in the ballpark of what you could say in person before the other person would slug you in the face).
I was told that there was no maintence fee when someone at the bank talked me into signing up. I just got charged $3 for an account I never used. I am so sick of BOA and their scams.
I don't really care for registries either, but when we had our wedding, enough people asked that I caved and did it. It was discreet, as we only mentioned it if we were asked. I think some people want to give you something they know you'd like to have (you picked it out) and others would like to give you something they'd like you to have. It also let people choose from a wide range of items, and we didn't end up with something we didn't need, like pots and pans. I STILL ended up with two toasters, though!
@Baker:
Right there with ya!
Real self-sufficiency is a tough life--lots of hard work for a much lower standard of living than you can achieve by working a regular job and then buying what you need with the money you earn. On the other hand, a bit of "strategic partial self-sufficiency" can save your family from real hardship if something goes really wrong.
@Hayden Tompkins:
Yes, "strategic partial self-sufficiency" is the term I use in my post on self-sufficiency, self-relience, and freedom.
Every time you are able to satisfy one more category of your needs without resorting to the money economy, your family is that much more secure against not only disasters (where you really have to be more self-sufficient) but also against less serious hiccups and glitches (like a direct deposit that goes awry or an ATM machine that's out of cash).
My first recommendation for homesteading information would be to read "The Good Life" and "Return to the Good Life" by Helen and Scott Nearing. These great-grandparents of self-reliance moved to a rundown farm in rural Vermont around the time of the Great Depression and turned it into a comfortable way of living using only 4 hours of "bread labor" each day. They were communists (before that word took on the insidious meaning of the Soviet Union) and occasionally have annoying side-rambles about collecitivism (which can be easily ignored), and also vegetarians (not helpful if you want advice about raising livestock), but their farm became incredibly fertile and productive because of their composting practices (despite the bitter Vermont weather). These two books are easy, pleasant reads and can easily be obtained either separately, or in a combined book at most local libraries.
Another source is the Mother Earth News archives ... especially older homesteading articles from the 1970's. You can buy the entire collection 1970s-present on CD-ROM for around $50, peruse their website for -some- of the articles, or read more recent articles from the newer magazines at your library. The older articles are useful for homesteaders because one of their writers follows their own efforts (successes and failures) in setting up their own homestead with great detail.
A third source is USDA "Yearbooks" from the 1970's related to farming and homesteading. Most libraries have these. Unlike most homesteading sources which put a glossy picture on the subject and skip over "unimportant" things such as siting your septic system so it doesn't pollute the well you're using to water your livestock, these collections of scientific papers written to help farmers and homesteaders in different USDA districts are thorough and backed by science. This is the only place I've seen important subjects such as -which- farm to buy credibly addressed (many "cheap" farms are cheap for a reason ... there's not enough arable land or water to homestead).
Lastly, don't forget our old friend Henry David Thoreau. Our original American back-to-the-land advocate goes into great detail about how he built his simple homestead on the shores of Walden Pond and how clearly he began to see the odd consumeristic behavior of his peers in town (even back in the early 1800's). It should be noted that Thoreau was best friends with Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wrote that other great literary work "Self-Reliance" warning about the risks of globalization (again, way back in the 1800's).
"...especially those who want the vicarious pleasure of imagining a self-sufficient life."
How did you know I was going to read this?
You can also be "strategically self-sufficient". It may not mean living off the grid, but positioning yourself for being able to do so in the event of any disasters.
All the skills of self-sufficiency are valuable, even to someone who isn't trying to live a self-sufficient life--although some of them (how to harness a horse for plowing) probably don't help very many people who aren't already trying pretty seriously. Doesn't make them less interesting, though, especially for kids.
Books like this are also great for homeschooling- whether you live on a "farm" or not. They teach lots of skills that are fun to try with your kids and give them a taste of what living self-sufficiently is like. And even you live in the city, one can usually gleen lots of information to practice a more frugal and sustainable lifestyle.
Thanks for this!
Did not work for me : {
I tried twice on 2 different dents. Have a 2004 Honda Pilot and first used a heat gun, then a whole can of 3M Dust remover (3.5 oz can). I live in Alaska, so waiting for a really hot day won't work as where I live, 70 degrees is a high temp. One post earlier said that warm days used to bring the dents back out of his grandmas' car. Wondering if this dent removal is possible the opposite way? Going from below zero to suddenly warming with a heat gun or hair dryer?
The heat gun and dust remover did not hurt the paint one bit though.
I actually prefer cash. My wife is graduating this year, and we're starting to get a ton of cash in the mail. I love it. She loves it. :)