I recently lost my dream job because, the simple truth is, I wasn’t right for it. I got that dreaded call to visit my boss’ office in July 2013 and I was laid off. I was blessed to find a job in my small rural area within a month, but it pays half of what my dream job did. This has made it incredibly hard to make ends meet, and all but impossible put extra away for hard times.
I grew up with sayings in my family like, “a penny saved is a penny earned” “Beg borrow and steal” and the most important one of all, “We can’t afford it.” Of course, my parents also taught us “Thou shalt not steal,” I don’t want you to think I’m endorsing theft, but it taught me that there were other ways to live my life than to pay full price for things.
Money was always tight, and now is even more so. I have found a number of ways to stretch the all mighty dollar, and I call it Beg, Borrow, and Deal.
Beg- The act of using your words, just asking. I am not meaning to grovel on hand and knee, but open your mouth. The worst thing that can happen is they can say is no and you stay in the same situation you were already in. Nothing lost. In this way I have gathered several buckets from the bakery section of local stores and used them for my garden and for food storage.
I was talking to an old cowboy who oversees a corral where I work and I found out that he is a Farrier, or a horseshoer. He also uses his forge to tinker around and do some blacksmithing. I have always wanted to learn blacksmithing, and have done some learning on my own but never have had access to a forge. I asked if I could come to work early and pound some metal with him. He was more than happy to let me come use his forge. He even has a box of scrap metal that I can use as much as I’d like.
I also scrounge. Yes, I dig in the trash or ask people to bring me certain things from theirs. I have made a few things for camping and home organization just by pulling it out of the trash, cleaning it up and giving it a tweak. I love to repurpose old items into new tools or toys. The catch is to not hold on to a lot of junk with the mindset of ‘someday’. When some workers trimmed my apricot tree to repair my roof, before they hauled the wood away, I took my saw and axe out and collected some great branches for woodcarving, campfires, or to use in my grill for smoking meat.
Just think of what is available for you if you just get out and about and ask! Wooden pallets, tires, scrap metal, firewood, old oil and old barns are just the start of the things that you can get for the price of not being shy. The free section of craigslist is a wonderful source of many things ready just for the asking.
Borrow- Nothing special here, just good, old fashioned borrowing. Just like our grandfathers did. My wife needed some clothes mended, and I had a project that I wanted to do, and we both needed to use a sewing machine. A mention to a friend at church, and I was able to bring home a sewing machine for us to use for a week.
We were also blessed to find other good friends who, when my car broke down, offered us the use of their car for a weekend. We also share books with each other that cover topics of mutual interest. My wife, an artist, made a friend who is an art teacher at a local school, and they get together after school hours to share techniques and use the equipment at the school.
There are two things that I have noticed as critical for borrowing. First is you need to know people, and know what they have. Please do this in the proper manner by introducing yourself to people and making friends. You could get to know people by peering through their windows but that is just creepy and wrong. Second you need to return what you borrow! Don’t be ‘that neighbor’ who nobody wants to lend things to. Third, be willing to lend what you have. Share a little extra produce from your garden, lend your time, tools and talents to your new friends. By doing this you build a community that will do more than you thought possible before.
Deal- This is good old fashioned trade. As a bit of a craftsman, I am often on the lookout for materials for projects. On a forum, I found a thread that was for trade. It was fun. The forum members posted what they had, and what they wanted and then worked out deals with each other. I made a trade for some Osage Orange wood, which does not grow in my area, for some leather that I had laying around. I also made another trade of pecans, which I have coming out of my ears, for flint, which I’m excited to use for fire-starting.
As I increase my ability to craft items and the sharpen knives, my wife and I want to talk to some of the vendors at the local farmer’s market to trade these items for fresh produce and eggs.
I have also had the opportunity to see my friends trade skills for skills, babysitting for a pie, tannerite for ammo, computer repair for homemade Christmas fudge. Whether it is a proper trade or not, my wife and I have a regular game night with another couple we met at church, and we take turns bringing treats to share.
Deals can also be found by shopping on sale, at thrift or consignment stores, online, using coupons and ad matching at stores, and just asking others. I have saved alot of money when looking for thing by putting it out on Facebook that I am looking for something, and often someone I know has seen it for sale somewhere, or knows someone who is trying to get rid of it.
Communication builds community. Community builds sustainability. Sustainability means survival.
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