If you like you can season the yo-cheese with salt and your favorite seasonings. This seasoned yo-cheese tastes great on bread and crackers. You can make this anytime. It is so easy to do.

2. Commit to bringing lunch to work more times a week than you go out. For me this was a struggle, I worked in high pressure finance and my office didn’t have a place where I could go eat undisturbed. So I started with bringing my lunch 3 times a week. I also committed to eating breakfast at home. This was a continual leak in my budget, dining out around work.

3. Limit eating out. You know, I love to eat out. This was reeled back into once a week. I prepared food at home. I used Sundays to make things like chilis, stews, and the like so I could eat on them all week-long.

4. Review utilities, I live in Texas, so I can shop my electric rates. I reviewed these carefully, and looked where I could save. I bundled long distance and internet, this helped me to save too. I also purchased some fans so I could cut back on the AC.

5. Pay down debt. From Dave Ramsey, I used his methodology of paying down my smallest debt first, and then worked on larger amounts. This was helpful. I stopped using credit cards because of this. Look at the interest rates, if that doesn’t make you mad, I don’t know what will.

6. Put some emergency money aside. Start with 500, then work up to more. You need to have money put aside for a flat tire, an emergency trip to the doctor and more. If you have this cushion it is what I consider to be trouble insurance. If you have this, trouble can be kept at bay.

Once you get in a cycle of doing this, you will begin to have money at the end of the month, and this will start a new cycle that will become intoxicating. These are just a few tips that I have to help you live on less. The message that we receive from our society, we don’t need to have everything. We can live on less. I drive an older car, and I live in a paid for house. My house and car aren’t as nice as my peers, but I know that I don’t owe anything and that my friend, is a beautiful feeling.

1. Water – I have a house with multiple pets. I strive to keep about 60 or so gallons of regular drinking water on hand at all times. This gives me about a gallon a day, and it gives my pets about a gallon of water a day as well. In addition to this, I have a very large rain collection barrel of a capacity of about 100 gallons. I also keep a berkley water filter on hand as well. This filter will help me filter out other water should I need it.

2. Fuel for cooking. I have a gas grill with a couple of large tanks of fuel. I also have a very nice Green Egg ceramic grill that uses charcol. The green egg can make bread, or even act as an oven. In addition to these two items I also keep a solar oven that is ready to be used.

3. Storage food. Keep a supply of canned, dry, or instant foods on hand. These can come in forms of instant meals, instant breakfasts, or even cans you simply need to reheat. You can keep things on hand such as spaghetti sauce, canned soups, canned meats, and other foods that you might enjoy. If you have never been around during a hurricane, suddenly the stores are well empty. I hate fighting the crowds for a loaf of bread, and other items. It is easy to stock up on food that you and your family will enjoy ahead of time.

4. Hygine products – these include soaps, deoderant, laundry soap, feminine hygiene products and more should always be kept on hand. These are items that are easy to stock up and have on hand. You don’t have to go hog wild, but buy an extra or two on hand when you go to the store. There are a lot of products that I try to keep up a years supply on hand at any time. A lot of these types of products don’t go bad.

5. First Aid Kit – Have your basics on hand. Are you on a prescription, try to have a week or two extra on hand just in case. Work on having basic pain relief, anti-diareaal, cough and cold, and allergy medicine on hand. Also have clean bandages, and some products like neosporin on hand. You don’t need to stock up on lots of exotic bandages, start with the basics.

6. Lighters and Matches. How are you going to cook without these? We all may be able to work up our own fire, but next time you are in the grocery store pick up a box or two of “strike anywhere” matches, and have some on hand. If you like buy some that come in smaller boxes, so you have a box or two to give out to your neighbor.

7. Battery or solar powered radios. Many models are now made that will charge up your cell phones. You will want to know what is going on, check your radio at the start of the season that you might need it.  Don’t wait until you need these things, check them before hand, in  fact long before you will need that radio.

8.  Extra fuel and some extra cash.  When trouble is brewing go to the cash machine, and get cash, try to keep some small bills at the house at all times.  This way when the power is down, you still have a way to conduct commerce.  You aren’t going to be popular with all big bills.  Have a little extra gas on hand too.  You may need it to refill your car, chain saw, or even generator.

9. Extra batteries, and an extra phone charger.  So maybe you still have an old fashioned phone that uses a cord.  These typically always work as long as the phone company has power.  If you have a cell phone, try to get a radio that charges cell phones too.  Also, pick up that extra pack of batteries, before everyone else does.  Stores like Sam’s and Costco, have tons of batteries before a natural diaster, and less so, when one is coming on. Be prepared.

10. Clean clothes, I know, I may be stating the obvious here, but make sure you have some clothes that you can wear, make sure you have comfortable shoes.

There are many other items you should have on hand before you have an emergency.  But a lot of items are things you can have on hand long before diaster strikes.  So when doom an gloom is coming, you can focus on other things and not spend your time trying to nail down the essentials.

Info PR: n/a I: 18 L: 0 LD: 29 I: 1 Rank: 26202004 Age: n/a I: 0 whois source Robo: yes Sitemap: no Rank: n/a Price: n/a Links: 69|12 Density

While I personally don’t have beliefs that are this strong, many of their bits and pieces of the information will give you pause for thought. I personally think food additives, and genetically modified food is doing unknown damage to our food supply, and possibly future generations. I would encourage people to food from clean food sources. Unfortunately this means that food can be more expensive, and that you may be at times very limited in the food choices you can make.

I find mandatory vaccines to be scary, because at times these vaccines that are being released such as the swine flu vaccines were never tested on real people. How can we release vaccines to real live human beings without adequate testing?
Swine Flu Vaccine Passes Safety Test
People Refuse Swine Flue Vaccine Testing Due to Fears

While I don’t subscribe to all viewpoints in this video, I do think it raises many valid points, an it should give one a little food for thought.

How do you build up your food storage reserves?  The answer is a little bit at a time.  It will take about 6 months to stock up doing it this way, but it is worth it.  Not only will your pocketbook thank you, but the task will be a little less overwhelming.

The best way to begin building up your food storage reserves is simply to purchase extra supplies as they go on sale.  For example, you might purchase 2 more cans of tomato sauce than you actually need.  Keep what you need in your pantry, and put the rest into your storage area.

I have found it is best to separate the food, especially when you have kids.  This is because I have found that if I buy more food, my kids will eat more food.  I know from talking to other moms that have a food storage plan that this happens to them too.  Therefore, I have found it necessary to lay down some ground rules.  My children know that whatever is in the kitchen pantry is “fair game” for eating!  Whatever is in the storage area is off limits unless they ask first.

I have also gotten in the habit of stocking the pantry when we get any “extra” cash.  For example, part of the tax return goes to stocking the pantry each year.

A small note:  having a food storage area does not mean it is ok to hoard food or to get upset if you need to use your food storage items.  This is the purpose of having some extra food in storage–to use it when you need to use it.  My great-grandmother lived through the Depression and struggled to feed her 5 children and disabled husband.  After the Depression was over and their financial situation leveled out, she started to purchase large quantities of pasta “just in case”.  When she passed away in the early 1980‘s, the family was shocked to discover that the basement was full of pasta.  It appeared that she had bought pasta for over 40 years and never ever used any of it!  Of course, most of the food had gone bad by that time and it had to be thrown out.  The mental images of my grandmother and mother throwing away damaged food is something that has always stayed with me, even to this day.  Because of that, I make a habit of donating to the food bank regularly from my food supply.  I also check the supply regularly and use food before it gets moldy or spoiled.

Do you have extra food stored for your family?  If not, you might want to consider creating a food storage plan and taking steps to purchase extra food at the store or the bulk food store.  The sooner you start, the sooner you will have a full pantry.

Generations of people have been canning their excess garden produce in order to enjoy the fruits of their labor year round.  Canning is less common now than it was in years past, but some people still do can.

I only can certain items like tomato sauce, salsa, and pickles.  I prefer to freeze beans, peas, and other vegetables.  However, that is just my personal preference.  There are some drawbacks to canning: you will need some supplies to can your produce correctly, and canning it does take some time.  My personal opinion is that the drawbacks are negligible compared to the satisfaction I get opening up a jar of homegrown tomato sauce on a cold winter day!

In order to can correctly, you will need a large stock pot or a water bath canner, some tongs to life the hot jars out of the water, mason jars, lids, and bands. I would strongly encourage those just starting out to purchase a book on canning or contact your local agricultural extension office, or check the USDA website to get information on processing times in order to correctly can your produce.  You can purchase a copy of the Ball Blue Book for canning here http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/home/258.php?pid=292&product=304.  You can also go online to get the latest information from the USDA here http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
This is where I get my information.

You will also need a dry, cool place to store your leftover mason jars, supplies, and bands when they are not in use.   This is important as the bands can rust if they are exposed to humid or damp conditions. Rusty bands can warp, which means that you will not be able to use them again.

While it can cost you quite a bit if you go out and purchase new canning supplies, you can find ways to reduce your out of pocket expenses.  Try looking in Craigslist or with your local Freecycle group to see if you can find any mason jars or canning supplies.  You might even find supplies at yard sales, thrift stores, or estate sales.  This can lower your out of pocket expenses considerably.  In addition, canning supplies often go on sale during the summer months.  You might want to wait for the sale to stock up on your supplies.
Before you can your produce, simply clean your supplies and purchase new lids for the mason jars.  Some people prefer to use “wide mouth mason jars” as it makes filling the jars much easier and quicker.  If you decide to use the wide mouth mason jars, you will need to use bands and lids designed for this type of jar.  Make sure that you purchase the correct supplies!  There is nothing more frustrating that getting ready to can only to discover that you need to purchase more supplies because you have purchased the wrong ones.  Some people prefer to use a mixture of regular mason jars and wide mouth jars.  I find this to be slightly confusing, but use whatever method works best for you personally.

Although canning may sound like a complex and time consuming task. In reality, it isn’t.  Once you get started, you will be amazed at how quickly the canning process goes.

As a child, growing up in Pennsylvania Dutch country, I remember eating the Chow Chow that my grandmother used to make.  Chow Chow was one way that the Pennsylvania German’s in the area used up the odds and ends from their garden as summer drew to a close. They simply combined their produce and pickled it!

Pickling is fairly easy to do, but it does take some time.  In order to pickle your produce in jars, you will need to get some supplies.  You can purchase mason jars, lids, and bands to the jars at most big box retail stores or local hardware stores. You will also need a large stock pot or a water bath canner.  If you are using a large stock pot, you will need a spacer or a rack so your jars don’t sit directly on the bottom of the pot. You will also need something to lift your jars out of the pot after they have been processed. I would recommend using jar tongs. Although initially your purchase might be a large investment, keep in mind that the pot, jar utensils, spacer, mason jars, and the bands can be re-used year after year.  I would also recommend purchasing a canning guide or checking online for the LATEST guidelines.  Recommendations can change quickly and for safety reasons, it is best to make sure you are doing things as they should be done.

The first step is to gather your supplies, including your pickling mix and vinegar.  You can buy the mix most likely at the same place where you bought your mason jars.  Each mix is slightly different as are the directions for processing. However, it is very important to follow the directions on the mix very carefully for safety reasons as well as for taste reasons.  If you add too much vinegar, or too little vinegar, it could alter the taste of the food.

Of course, it is best to pickle top grade produce.  However, the reality is that people have been pickling their less than great produce for generations.  Yes, pickling is a great way to use your less than stellar veggies.  I have to say that I have pickled cucumbers and other vegetables that were over-ripe and have had pretty good results.  I’d rather pickle the over ripe produce than composting or throwing the produce away!  I’ve also cut out the soft spots out of my cucumbers and pickled the rest of the vegetable too.  My mother and grandmother also did this too and no one ever had any problems.  However, if you feel uncomfortable canning less than perfect produce–don’t!

It is important to scrub your produce well before pickling.  Make sure to get the dirt off the veggies and cut off the blossoms and stems if they are still present.

Pack the vegetables as closely as possible in the jar.  Remember that produce will shrink as it becomes pickled.  Follow the directions on the jars as far as leaving head room or space between the top of the produce and the rim of the jar.

Mix the pickling mix according to the directions and fill the jars with the mix. Wipe off the rim of the jar to make sure that you will get a good seal, especially if you have spilled the brine on the jar. Then, place the lids on the jars and screw the jar bands on tightly.

Place the jars in the stock pot or the canner. Fill the stock pot with enough water to cover the tops of the jars.  Then add enough water so that the top of the water is about 1 to 2 inches above the jar tops. I measure this by putting my thumb on the top of a can and adding enough water until the water line is flush with the knuckle of my thumb. Then, bring the water to a boil and process for the amount of time in your canning guide. This step is VERY important!  When the jars have been processed, remove them from the water with the jar tongs and allow them to cool.

If the jars have been processed correctly, you should hear a “popping” sound as the jar cools.  You will notice that the lid of the jar is slightly indented too and that you can not press down on the lid.  If you can press down on the lid, that means that the jar has not processed correctly.  You can re-process the jar, or you can put the jar in the refrigerator and use as soon as possible.

After the jars have cooled, label with the processing date and the type of produce.  Then, store the jars in a cool, dry place.

This might sound like a lot of work, and I suppose it is.  However, once you get the hang of it, it goes very quickly.  Remember too that you and your family will be enjoying the fruits of your labor all winter long!  That makes the effort worthwhile.

Have you ever purchased a new toy for your child only to find that they actually prefer playing with the wrapping paper and the box instead of the toy?  If you are working towards creating a simple lifestyle for your family, take heart knowing that your children aren’t missing out on anything just because they don’t have the latest plastic toy. Many toys can be made at home with your children, but I’ve listed just a few examples.

Cap Toss

This toy is appropriate for children over 3 years of age.  If you have young children, watch to make sure that they do not put the caps in their mouth.

In order to make the toy, collect the caps from soda bottles, milk jugs, or juice containers.  Make sure to rinse out and dry the tops thoroughly. Also rinse out a coffee container and dry thoroughly.  Children will enjoy tossing the caps into the coffee container.  Yes, they really do.  If you have younger children, you can allow them to stand close to the container; you also might want to find a bigger container that they can use to toss the caps into.

Homemade Play Dough

Store bought dough can be expensive–although it is nice for a special treat for the kids.  You can make your own dough for the kids to use at home with ingredients that you probably already have on hand.

In a large saucepan, mix 2 cups of flour with 1 cup of salt.  Add 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar to the mix.  Add 1 tablespoon of oil and 2 cups of water. Note:  If you want your dough to be colored, add food coloring to the water before combining it with the dough!

Heat the pan over medium low heat.  Keep stirring the mix and watch it closely or it will burn.  When all of the liquid has been evaporated, take the dough off the burner.  In order to keep the dough pliable, keep it in a baggie or a container when not in use.

Make Your Own Crayons

Who doesn’t love a new box of crayons?  Everyone does.  Eventually, those new crayons become broken or worn down.  Some people actually throw away the crayons and go out to buy a new box.  Instead of doing that, extend the life of those crayons by making new crayons.

You will need a frying pan, old soda cans, and crayons.  To start, simply peel the wrapper off the crayons. Cut the soda can in half.  Be careful as the edge will be sharp and it is easy to get cut.  Break the crayons into small bits and put them in the soda can bottom.  Place the can in the frying pan and then fill the bottom of the pan with a small amount of water.  Heat the pan and allow the crayons to melt.  Once the crayons are melted, remove the pan from the heat and allow the crayons to cool.  When the crayons are totally cooled, remove them from the soda can.

My children love playing with these crayons as well as giving them to their friends as gifts.

Challenge your children to create their own toys.  You just might be surprised with the things that they create.  Not only is this good for your pocketbook, it is also good for your kids because they will learn to use their imaginations and to think creatively!