The Thrifty Abundant Homestead – Is that possible?

I know we are not nearly as prepared as we would like to be.  Sure the pantry is full and so is the freezer but like it or not to run a Lil’ Suburban Homestead like ours you must have money.  And Like it or Not we are on a budget that’s just our reality.  My husband and I both work outside the home full-time so all the efforts you see are after working hours and in between football games, gardening clubs, and bee keeping clubs.   The “Viking” in my life my husband Eric works in the HVAC business which is a good solid reliable trade, I work for the school system at a time when the economy is fairly volatile and no one feels safe or secure in their job and I think we could say that is the case for many of us.  I am working on my plan to one bring in extra income for our Lil’ Suburban Homestead making it work for us, then I have to keep expenses down on the homestead as well.  I am not one to run out and purchase every little thing however I love gardening supplies, my husband loves bee keeping supplies but we are also raising a family.

So here are some of our goals.

We used to have a healthy emergency fund we have to get back to that even at the cost of cutting luxuries.

I have always been a big fan of yard sales and thrift shops – its time for me to get back to my Saturday trips with my list in hand.

Continue to use Paperbackswap.com to find books.  I have been a member for a while and I have saved tons of money.

Continue to sell items on Ebay at my Ebay.

Is cutting coupons an option for you I have not been cutting tons of coupons lately as we have changed our focus to consuming more whole foods but Crazy Coupon Lady is a great place to start if you are interested in trying them.

You may be interested in subscribing to a community such as Frugal Families which has forums filled with all sorts of frugal tips and ideas.

If you need to be following a budget are you?  I know we stray from this at times…..at one point we followed the envelope system for groceries and while I hated every minute of it we saved so much money.  Do you follow your monthly menu plan?  The Hillbilly Housewife has tons of low cost budget friendly meal ideas….if you have not been this site you need to check it out.  Planning meals and lunches saves so big!……the no. 1 reason people do not follow their lunch or menu plan is because of disorganization and so they let money fall between the cracks.

The amazing thing about running a Lil’ Suburban Homestead is that we get to enjoy the fruits of our labors.  We have a backyard brimming with our lovely fall garden.  We have cabbages, radishes, peas, kale, broccoli, and brussel sprouts.  We have fresh eggs everyday and next Spring we will have honey from our bees.

Now with the holidays coming and a new year already just a couple of months away its time to break out my Frugal Handbook!  Yep you guessed it Amy Dacyczyn’s Tightwad Gazette!

Sometimes when I just think I want to go out to eat tonight or I just have to have that new purse I think about Amy and her husband and how they bought that farm house with cash.  Now I don’t think I am going to run out and buy a new Homestead tomorrow but it’s always good to have goals and I do want goats.