Bartering for goods and services and learning how to be self-sustaining

I've done it...I've gotten my hubby to jump on the money-saving train! And boy, let me tell you...he dove in head first and made a major savings trade right off the bat! More about that shortly...

If there is anyone reading this who hasn't been following the news as of late, you will soon start to hear that the economy has taken a turn for the worse. Saving money is more important than ever, as is learning how to be self-sustaining in the event of sudden panic. I used to laugh at my step-mom for wanting to set up food and supply stores in their home as well as coming up with an emergency plan in the event that "all hell breaks loose". With the market crashing all around us, I'm not laughing so hard any more.

Networking with other people with a variety of things or talents to barter with can get you so much amazing stuff for so little. Earlier, I talked about my husband diving in head first to the bartering. He has been wanting to take martial arts lessons for some time, but we couldn't afford the $150.00 per month. Because he works as a systems administrator, and has extensive knowledge of web developing, he came up with a plan to approach the martial arts studio to discuss his building them a tournament website in exchange for lessons. They were open to negotiate, so he went ahead and built an amazing website for them. They were very pleased with his work, and now for as long as he continues to maintain the website, he can take lessons for no charge in exchange. Right there is $150/month in savings.

I've been working hard this summer at making as much of our own food as possible (breads, preserves, freezing fruits and veggies, meals, etc). I've also been working on bartering with other folks in exchange for goods/services. I recently spoke with a woman who has extra produce from her garden that she is bartering up. I offered to make her some homemade tomato sauce in exchange for her produce. I'm waiting to hear back to see how much she has left. I also posted that I am a chef/baker by trade and willing to barter up some goods for the holidays in exchange for other goods/services.

Chances are, you can offer up some type of service be it sewing, cleaning, cooking, baking, baby-sitting, pet-sitting, or more that other people can use. In exchange, people would be willing to barter something they have, or just be willing to pay a small amount of cash in exchange. I've been complaining about wanting my house cleaned before the baby comes, and some friends of mine have offered to help in exchange for some goodies. If I didn't feel horrible about making my friends come scrub my floors, I'd totally take them up on it, but you get the idea.

Helpful hint for the day: As far as the economic crisis...start taking some time, if you haven't all ready, to start learning on how to depend on yourself in the event of an emergency. start by making some basic bread dough and throwing it in the freezer. When cooking, freeze your leftovers and mark them for use on a later date. Learn some different ways to preserve fresh produce. Come up with an "in case of emergency" plan in the event of a panic. It sounds completely ridiculous sometimes when I think about it, but it never hurts to have something in place.

Check this out!: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=local+bartering+sites Check this out to help you get started on looking for local bartering websites.

Inaugural post

When I went to the gas station last week, I about had a heart attack when I saw that, for 19 gallons of gas, I just put $70 into my vehicle. I was stunned...and immediately started wondering how I was going to be able to afford to keep driving. And on top of that, because unfortunately driving is a necessary evil in our family, how was I going to be able to afford to pay for gas and put food on the table?

I casually mentioned how unbelievable it was, and how over the past few days I had sat down to take a look at our household expenses to see where we could cut out unnecessary spending. I was surprised to see how many responses I received on this subject; people saying the same thing.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll know that our economy is in the pots. Most of the country is having to make the same sacrifices due to greedy spending and squabbling fat cats on Capitol Hill. They're more interested in pushing their interests and lining their pockets than seeing how our country is suffering, and doing anything about it.

I chose the name of this blog, "Let them eat cake", because it seems to personify the state that this country is in. It is said (though not proven) that Queen Marie Antoinette said this in response to being told that peasants were rioting because they had no bread and were starving. Its overtones feel very appropriate for the time being.

So this being said, I have started this blog as a way to share how I am trimming my household budget, how to live more frugally, and to provide tips, hints, recipes, and suggestions as to how you can do the same. I look forward to doing this, and hopefully by doing so, helping others as well.