Tiffany, Handsome said it was less than six years. He said it was more like four and a half to five. Maybe?
Mostly by networking. We borrow one friend's truck, a family member knows where we can get free bark mulch, my FIL lays brick and will help us with some work we'll be doing next year, another is in town everyday and doesn't mind picking stuff up when it would cost us gas money, etc. Other then that, menu plans and grocery lists. Groceries can be our biggest budget killer.
When I was growing up on the farm we had a little sort of co-op going on. We grew certain veggies in our garden and raised goats for meat/milk, at the end of our road was a family that raised chickens for meat/eggs and they grew different veggies, then just up the main road was another family that raised cows, and grew yet different veggies...so we would take extras of our veggies, goat milk, and goat meat(we didn't eat goat at all), and "trade" for fresh eggs, chicken, and other veggies. Also we had extra land that we weren't using and the family with cows didn't have enough land to grow the field corn they needed for the cows...so in exchange for 1/2 a cow each year we would let them use three of our empty fields to grow corn for the cattle.
If people did this more often, I bet we would be less reliant on our government. Still, our government would find a way to regulate bartering. LOL
I agree completely! It was a great money saver for us and a half cow lasts us most of the year. It was super convenient and really we weren't out anything because it was our extra veggies and such and their extras.
so normally what does half a cow cost if you have to pay to get it processed and such? i think anything under $2/lb is pretty good, but im not sure.
Well it's been a while since I've been out on the farm...but when we sent the goats to slaughter is was $30 per goat to kill it and then $.45 per pound for the processing and wrapping, and cows were $55 to kill it and $.45per pound for processing and wrapping. So the price for half a cow would vary but generally it was around $200 - $300 for a half cow.
1/2 a cow depends on where you live. Ours are expensive because they are along the lines of organic. So total cost including butchering is about $1200-$1400 which ends up being about $5-7 per pound finished weight (and you have to remember you are getting the GOOD steaks that can run up to $20/pound as well) For budgeting - I have a debit card for groceries and "extras"..... I also use menus4moms.com for helping with my meal planning. We are switching from netflix to redbox for rentals..... And of course we raise all our meat
I love this type of co-op! It's sort of like the 100 mile diet AND you know how the produce or meat was raised. We can do something like that around our neighborhood. However, we are dairy farmers and in our country we are not allowed to give or sell our milk directly to customers. WAY to much regulation! If any of you can find raw milk from a farmer near by you go for it!! So much better for you than the stuff you buy in the store.
I try to only use the vac, washer, and other electronics during the hours of the day when the energy rates are cheaper. Right now for us the cheap hours are before 10am and after 6pm. I am also using freecycle a lot more. I always donate something before I ask for anything. That way I am cleaning out our place and helping others in addition to helping myself. I just gave away some baby things and have asked for winter clothes for my kids. So far I have received two jackets, a vest, two snow outfits, and a scarf. That really has lowered my clothing bill for the year.
