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I started my career as a consumers affairs writer and helping the average person is what we're still doing. View our useful links, articles and blog.
I'm not a web designer (as you can probably tell) but I am updating this site as I learn.
If you have suggestions, articles or sources you might like to contribute, please email with details. Either use the contact us form or feel free to simply send me a personal note at:
bedavid@yahoo.com
My goal is to make this site as user friendly as possible and to provide you with USABLE penny-pinching information.
Off-the-Grid Economics
There are dozens of ‘survivalist’ sites available to you on the internet. Most of them and related print magazines are devoted to finding a place in the country to ‘homestead.’ While this is a terrific goal, one that I had achieved in the late 90s (we had a great 38-acre spread), it’s not always practical or affordable for most…even with the recession, land prices in most (not all) parts of the country are still expensive and even in ‘recession-torn Michigan, virtually no one is offering cheap land.
Going completely off-the-grid is not an inexpensive process, even for DIY folks. We also, at one point, owned 40-acres of vacant land in AZ which we had planned as our off-the-grid retirement project. An uninsured illness and other factors forced us to sell that land. While planning that project we estimated it would cost us nearly $45,000 to become completely energy self-sufficient excluding the cost of the home itself.
That’s why our Poor Man site and Bulletin is devoted more to the Urban Survivalist. Most of us will be happy to cut our utilities in half, earn a living from home, and to supplement our larder with natural, home-grown food. Not all of us have a complete workshop with our own lumber mill and a circle of like-minded DIY’ers to help us out…hell, I can’t even convince my wife to go along with some of the stuff I do (she will not help raise any animal she might have to eat). Of course, I do throw my politically incorrect insights about how the government mistreats its one-time masters into the mix!
I’ve always admired the Amish, many of whom I’ve hired over the years to perform tough carpentry projects, farrier work, etc. Because of community, they can raise a barn in a weekend without any kind of debt! It’s tough to find that sense of community in most localities.
In that regard I’ll soon expand my book offerings to include a useful new book by Brett Markham called Mini-Farming: Self-Sufficiency of ¼ Acre. I’m waiting on his publisher for prices. As you noted in the previous issue, we’re also offering the best book on stockpiling, now in its 11th edition – Don’t Get Caught With Your Pantry Down, available on our site. In 1999 we distributed case loads of this book and it’s one I suggest everyone in America own.
Finally, another useful paperback we’ve begun stocking is Anneli Rufus’ Scavengers’ Manifesto: a guide to freeing yourself from the endless cycle of buying stuff and discovering how salvaging, swapping and recycling can save your cash and the earth! This is currently available on my eBay site at 40% less than bookstore prices – go to Oldbooknook.com to order.
With all the doom & gloom that’s fit to print…stock market crashes, earthquakes, oil leaks, mass murders, mining accidents, bomb plots, etc. don’t you think it might be prudent to become more self reliant and prepared?
The Poor Man's Little Eco Friendly
Road Chariot
Quick Short Term Employment Strategies
As in past recessions, employers either cut jobs or eliminate new hires. Many holiday seasonal jobs vanished this year too. Many firms rely on temporary help during tough times and here are some quick links to those that are hiring. Some money is better than no money.
Be sure to click on our JobResources tab for additional sources of employment!
A few Unusual Sources of Cash
--Become an egg or sperm donor! In nearly every city you will find clinics which purchase eggs and/or sperm. Women we know have earned an extra $5000 for this relatively painless procedure. On average, you must be between 18 and 34 (applies to men donating sperm also), in good health, no sexual diseases and you will be asked about your family medical history.
Look in your local Yellow Pages, ask your family doctor, do an internet search or go to:
www.spermcenter.com
--Volunteer for medical research. Where we live, there are tons of ads in the Sunday newspaper and on the radio from researchers seeking subjects for a wide variety of medical studies…all of them pay a stipend and require a medical examination.
--Become a plasma or blood donor. Especially popular near universities and military bases, you can earn about $200 a mo
NOTE: I predict two growth areas in the coming year:
1. Paralegal work - especially in the area of divorce and bankruptcy.
2. Administrative and grant writing work for non-profit groups. As such groups find their sources of income are reduced in the coming year, they will lay off staff and look to outside contractors to perform these tasks.
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