Poor
Man Survival
Self
Reliance tools for independent minded people…
ISSN
2161-5543
A Digest of Urban Survival Resources
Yiddish proverb: “With money in your pocket, you are wise and
you are handsome and you sing well, too.”
A Never Ending Story: Rising Prices-Ways to Cut Your Costs, Urban Farming Contest
How to Squeeze a dollar from a dime…that was my mother’s
mantra, a child of the Great Depression.
She could make an apple pie from a box of Ritz Crackers that could fool
a county fair judge!
No doubt you’ve noticed that
manufacturers have continued to shrink the size of their product
while charging the same price. The
packaging looks the same, but you’re getting less toilet paper, less ice cream,
less coffee, etc. while spending more.
This is one reason why we frequently
shop an area Amish bulk foods store where we get 50lb. bags of rolled oats for
less than $18 or 10lbs of homemade sausage of $11 – it’s worth the trip and we
often have friends tag along to take advantage of the savings.
In reality, Wall Street heard that
Americans have reached epidemic proportions of obesity and they’re simply
trying to curb this problem.
Manufacturers and government often
offer a lame [and usually nonsensical excuse as to why prices go up…most
recently everything was blamed on high fuel prices despite the fact we’ve seen
record LOW fuel prices… yet Wall Street profits are up and CEO compensation is
in the stratosphere – after all, Goldman Sachs, for instance, can afford to
pay Mrs. Clinton $640K for three speeches and don’t forget “she’s one of us,
just looking out for the little guy.”
While the cost of
living continues to reach Pluto…workers in most parts of the nation are still
being denied a living wage and the doomsayers say a hike in the minimum wage
will cripple business….yet massive raises never seems to threaten CEO
compensation.
Never mind that
government mis-spending and red tape has helped cripple the economy for years. I often wonder why they can’t get their
simple brains in gear AND just simply NOT TAX ANY low income citizen on the
first $25-$30,000 of income at the city, state and federal level [no tax of any
kind]…that would give an immediate boost in spendable income without hurting
small business or the little guy which supposedly politicians are in favor of
helping [yeah right].
It’s just my humble opinion, but I
guess politicians would rather see record numbers of Americans on food stamps while
Wall Street firms, like the maker of Oreo cookies, sends jobs to Mexico. [While
Mexico sends it poor to the United States to collect welfare-oh, the irony]!
Some Proven Ways to
Save a Buck of Two
Many people join wholesale clubs
such as Costco and Sam’s Club to save money.
While there is nothing wrong with
the quality offered at either, you can save just as much
money by shopping the sales at Wal
Mart, Costco and grocery stores if you shop their
sales and use their shopper loyalty
card. Kroger supermarket, for instance, offers a 10 cent a gallon reduction on
fuel purchases as a reward for using their card.
My problem with wholesale clubs is
that one must buy a membership and most often,
one needs to purchase large
quantities. That’s fine if you have a large family and plenty of storage
space. I might suggest instead that
folks create a neighborhood buying co-op.
Compounding the problem for me personally is that we live 50 miles from
the nearest wholesale club!
It
has become rare in today’s scattered, disconnected society but if you do happen
to live in a tight-knit community, many cooperatives take place such as tool
lending, baby sitting, even barn raising
as in Amish areas. That’s the way
our grandparents lived but too often in our so-called connected society, we
live disconnected lives.
One area which is especially challenging to save money
on in America is a car…lenders now offer six-year auto loans due to high
costs and most dealers advertise leases versus purchases as many folks can no
longer afford a new car. Financial
planners have always suggested buying a car a few years older to save money and
most Americans are holding onto their vehicles longer. America’s public transportation system is a
national embarrassment and the added expense of auto insurance along with
maintenance, vehicle tags and other costs create a burden for many.
Alternatives include ride sharing, bicycles, motorcycles
and trikes [even these have become expensive], electric bikes, mopeds, subways
and bus systems where available or if you don’t require an auto very often, consider
renting one when needed.
Leasing a Car: How to Be Smart About It
In a few cases leasing can be at least as financially viable as purchasing a new or used car. In some cases, you can even come out ahead.
These sites help you find restaurants to eat at & more. Subscribe
to Groupon & get a $10 off coupon.
These sites offer handy
tools whether you’re a local looking for a cheap meal, a service, or as tourist
visiting a new city. Members of AARP can use their membership to
find discounts in cities throughout the USA as well – check their site.
Home
improvement & DIY resources
Find
a whole bunch of animal care reports here…chickens, goats, deer,
etc. – free!
http://www.feeddealer.com/publications/LOL_PMI/Better_Animals/Better_Animals_Arc
hive.htm
What did our
grandparents know that could help us now?
Many pets have
experienced side effects from commercial flea collars overly powerful
ingredients.
Instead, try
this simple and safe herbal flea collar... Soak a piece of heavy and smooth
Twine-long
enough so it fits securely around your pet’s neck—in pennyroyal oil (available
at
health- food
stores) for 24 hours. Then hang it up in the bathtub until it stops
dripping.
When dry, tie
the twine around your pet collar to repel fleas. Fleas hate pennyroyal!
Caution: DO NOT use
pennyroyal if you, your pet or anyone in your household is pregnant,
including
other pets.
DEALS ON PET PRODUCTS
Best deals…plus don’t forget to comparison
shop on Amazon
http://www.bestdealpetsupply.com/
Your meds can harm
your pets. Keep all medications out of handbags and low shelves.
Free Garden Planning software/downloads
Gardening &
preserving your produce is like having money in the bank!
Use
software to plan, re-plan your garden layout
http://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/nature-lovers/welcome-to-plan-a-garden/
This one is a free download from Google…3-D layouts
http://www.gardeners.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-Gardeners-Site/default/Page-KitchenGardenDesigner
Fend off pests & find the solution by using the free
Pest & Disease Detective app at:
How to Start a Small Farm
Urban Farming Contest
You don’t need acres of
land to farm. In the Urban Farming Contest, share how you grow or cultivate
plants or animals with limited space. Whether it takes place in a small
backyard, on a fire escape, or in the couple of feet in front of your kitchen
window, we can’t wait to see how you farm.
Winners will take home
some fantastic prizes from PlantLink,
including a soil moisture sensor, speaker, planters, and
more.
Spray your lawn and deck floor with Listerine to get rid of bugs.
Don’t spray directly on a wood door (like your front door), but
spray around the frame. Spray around the window frames, and even inside the dog
house.
Old time septic tank revitalizer. Into a quart of water, mix 1 lb. of brown sugar and one envelope
of dried yeast. Pour down your toilet and flush. Promotes anerobic bacteria action
– works!
Need
a tool for the day? This site helps neighbors rent equipment. Cheaper
than a rental center! [You may have to click on the English tab]
Paper napkins/Towels:
Instead of buying paper napkins or towels, buy different colored wash cloths
and use for wiping down kitchen surfaces and use for napkins also. They save us
money as they are washed and used many times over and are environment friendly.
When the wash cloths start to look old and worn out they work great to use for
cleaning rags.
Best Apps for Spring Cleaning
>BrightNest – is the
new app to turn to if you look around your home and ‘don’t even know where to
get started.’ It’ll teach you how to become a steward of
your dwelling & it is loaded with useful specific tips – such as how to
remove toilet bowl stains [hint: try denture tablets first]
>ThredUp – is an
online consignment store that makes it easy to get something back for women’s
or children’s clothing you no longer want.
Ask for a clean-out kit & mail the clothes in. You’ll get shopping credit at Macy’s for the
garments the site can sell.
A step-by-step guide
on how to cut the cord, save $180 a month, and still watch sports and your
favorite shows.
Frugal Living Resources
With the results of
recession hitting everyone’s life badly, frugal living has been the need of the
hour and people look for all means to save those few extra dollars that they
can in every small way. There are still thousands of people who are yet to
recover from the after effects of recession. This has led people to reconsider
the ways of buying and also the things that they buy. Add this frugal living
resource to your collection.
10 Ways to Stay Poor… Forever (Money
Talks): "Building wealth is for idiots. Who wants to be rich nowadays?
Rich people are evil. Besides, you can have everything you ever wanted right
now if you know what you’re doing. Here’s the top 10 ways to stay poor…
forever.."
More freebies compliments of your humble Poor
Man-please share responsibly!
The No BS –
Ready for Anything Survival Files
Yours for better living,
Bruce ‘The Poor Man’
Get the ‘Save Your Ass” DVD/CD
ROM & Manual Package-Order now-Only one left!
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4 comments:
Well laddie, you outdid yourself on this week's blog. Chock full of goodies which is more than we can say for many of the manufacturers trying to rip us off...and we've all stopped packing Oreo cookies in our kiddies lunch box in our neighborhood...maybe those Mexicans can afford them now! Good job!
Wow, wow, and wow-great post, thanks for all the wonderful tips and ideas! you're the man!
It is a sad fact that our standard of living has declined in America [except for politicians] and yet we spend massive amounts of tax dollars for illegals and Obama wants to bring even more here...hell, I have a tough time supporting my family. Our leaders are screwed up and they are screwing us...thanks for sharing these resources.
Yes, we used to have a Sam's Club membership, but we just didn't use it very much (he had gotten it while he worked at Walmart, but is now self-employed). And the frugal shopper I am, I use coupon and cards. We love Groupon for their local deals and some vacation specials. And Pinterest has a slew of DIY remedies for just about any problem you need help for.....I haven't bough any bug spray, flea and tick treatment or harsh cleaners in years! And my house is clean AND fume-free. It works for us.
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