You know life is funny. One day the economy is good and the next day a financial asteroid hits the USA and unemployment is hovering around 10%. Count me as one of the millions of people who got caught up in the financial upheaval of our country.
As a successful real estate agent, life was pretty good, but I was really starting to burn out from the race-like pace that it was taking to maintain that success. I began to realize my spirit, principles and family were suffering. I prayed for a solution. Sometimes God provides a solution and sometimes he knows experiences are coming your way that will provide the solution for you. Nothing like an economic holocaust to help you re-prioritize your life.
I started to notice home inventories beginning to rise in the late summer of 2006 and that almost always means sales are slowing down. Soon I found my income rapidly diminishing and the skills and way of life I had experienced were no longer viable. I began to get back to my roots and rediscover the skills I had developed in my childhood thanks to the examples of my parents and grandparents. I was raised in a frugal home where self-sufficiency was a way of life. My wonderful grandparents were also survival-minded people who had lived through the great depression and shared what they had learned with me in a natural, everyday sort of way.
Even in the best of financial times, my husband and I have been pretty self-sufficient. We have made our share of dumb decisions and have paid what my favorite get-out-of-debt-guy, Dave Ramsey calls stupid tax. Funny thing about paying stupid tax, it's a great opportunity to get smarter if you pay attention to the lesson and are willing to change behavior.
I have quirky little ways. I can't stand to see anything go to waste. I can't stand to pay full price for anything; especially clothes. When people first get to know me, they are usually in one of two camps. The first camp thinks I'm some kind of weird survivalist, backwoods, stuck-in-time, pioneer hermitess and the second camp thinks some of my skills and knowledge are kind of cool. If you are in the first camp, let me save you some time and pain. Stop reading right now and go buy a $75 - $150 pair of jeans at the mall. If you are in the second camp, stick around and let's see if we can learn some things together that will strengthen our homes, families and communities. Let's go back to a simpler time and learn to focus on the basics. In posts to follow, my hope is to provide you with some valuable skills, lessons learned and a place to swap ideas. Two minds are better than one, ten minds are better than two and so on . . . .
P.S.If you start out in the first camp and change your mind later and want to be in the second camp, no worries, you are welcome here
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Our community is a place of learning. We believe the more we all share, the more we can all learn. By practicing self-sufficiency, frugality and preparedness, we will increase freedom and happiness in our families and communities. Feel free to add your experiences and knowledge so we can all benefit. Thank you