# It works! It really works!



## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

This is a small triumph, but it makes me feel really good.

As I mentioned elsewhere, July was a very expensive month for me. Much of it was preventable, but now that we're into August it is what it is. I took stock and saw that I have _almost_ enough to cover my bills ... but groceries (or anything else) are out of the question for the next three weeks.

In the past I would have gotten panicky, but not this time. I calmly looked through my pantry and found that I'll be fine before even touching my prep stash. I may have a couple of weird meals, but between my OAMC habit and the community garden where I volunteer I don't think it'll even come to that. My little balcony garden is also starting to pop, and a lot of my neighbors are begging people to take extra produce off their hands too.

All the same, I took an extra gander at my prep inventory list and helped myself to a can of tuna just because. It went great with the last of my pasta salad at work today, and it gave me an additional sense of security just to know it was there.

Thanks to all of you for teaching me about this. Today is a small thing, but now I really feel that I'm on my way!


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Congratulations! It's a great feeling to know you can deal with life's ordinary SHTF times. They're not near as stressful when you have the money to handle the situation.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Once I started prepping and adding to my food storage I was able to breath. I mean really breath. It also made the times K was out of work easier to deal with.

Congrats and keep it up! You'll thank yourself for it.


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Congrats!!!


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## Foreverautumn (Oct 25, 2010)

Congratulations, Notyermomma! It's always nice to hear of another success story!


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## Rain23 (Jul 18, 2011)

When we lost work prepping made it possible for us to pay rent long enough to find a place to stay. All those little things you've done add up to huge peace of mind when troubles come. Give yourself a high five for managing your life like you have a past and a future as well as what's happening today. It's good to hear from someone else that simple things can make a huge difference.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

A buddy of mine is looking for work, we've discussed preps often in the past and he's not without means so he's fine for now and I'd even help him out some but I don't think that's going to be necessary.

One of the things I tried to emphasize when the career path was a bit rocky is that because I can I own my future. I may only get X number of $ per 2 weeks on unemployment insurance, which I've paid into for 15 years so I'm not at all opposed to USING it if I'm stuck there, but... my point was, I can food, so I don't have to spend that pathetic $600 on food, in fact, unemployment can't even cover my rent for a month, so food would funny, unless I want to stick it to my landlord which means I'm now making someone else's life miserable...

After he's back on solid ground, I'm gonna be up in his face bigtime on food preps. being out of work today, with a skill set like his is... annoying... NOT a massive threat to survival. If something really bad were to happen, even still having a "job" doesn't mean there's food in the stores or that you get to buy it. We're seeing that today even with Venezuela and the food subsidized stores and rioting... they've been sucking hind tit lately on news coverage because Ukraine and Gaza, but they are still suffering

It always echos back to me, from http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.08/tshtf1.html

what's the one thing we wish we had more of...

food.


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## phxrising (Jun 24, 2012)

Awesome Notyermomma! artydance: I've had two personal SHTF moments (6 weeks reduced hours due to shingles--talk about something you just literally wake up with, no notice) and another costly car repair. Having food storage meant I didn't notice the reduction in the paycheck hardly at all because we were only buying meat and milk --that's a way to find the hole in your prepping plan fast--and on the car repair, our grocery money more than covered it, same thing--only bought a few fresh items.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I got sick in my late twenties. I thought I had enough cash and enough food. I did not. I was out of work for almost a year. Everybody else's life went on like normal.

I've seen storms that dropped hundreds of trees across power lines. The entire community had to deal with that for well over a week. We never know what will befall us, I'm pleased that you were ready for this one. I use my misfortunes to inspire my prepping.


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## fteter (May 23, 2014)

Kudos to you, notyermomma!!! And thanks for sharing...brightened up my day!


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## tleeh1 (Mar 13, 2013)

Yeah, notyermomma! It why we do what we do.... Thanks for sharing your success. It's a kick to hear.


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## northstarprepper (Mar 19, 2013)

I am glad to hear you are starting to realize the benefits of the homesteading and/or prepping lifestyle. While the TV shows made dramatic pitches about solar flares, nuclear wars, pandemics, and all those other things that seem like they're about to start any day now, it's the hard times of a job loss, illness, surgery, or unexpected accident that can cost all of us more than we would like to admit. That is the other reason we prepare. We know that life has as many downs as ups and the downs sometimes all get together to surprise us. All of us are glad to see the next generation learn that. So I hope you enjoyed that tuna. Just keep on going and don't let anything stop you.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Thanks everyone.

Even though I stay on top of my OAMC, I was rather surprised when I went through my freezer. One thing I've been doing for a long time is buying those fancy deli meats at the grocery store. That is, the prepared skewers for grilling, stuffed London Broil ... they go really cheap when they come close to their expiration dates, and I just toss them straight in the freezer.

So my first "poverty meal" this evening was a tilapia fillet stuffed with lobster tail, and a side of cherry tomatoes still warm from the sun. Yeah ... I think I'll do okay. 

:factor10:


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Congratulations on keeping yourself afloat!!! I shop almost exclusively by the "discount" tags in the meat section. My local market has blue and yellow tags, I scan for them!!! If I spot more than two in a section I start going through packages.... How many we got? Looks like I'll be busy tomorrow...

And don't feel bad about 'splurging' on a can of tuna!! You EARNED it.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

notyermomma said:


> Thanks everyone.
> 
> Even though I stay on top of my OAMC, I was rather surprised when I went through my freezer. One thing I've been doing for a long time is buying those fancy deli meats at the grocery store. That is, the prepared skewers for grilling, stuffed London Broil ... they go really cheap when they come close to their expiration dates, and I just toss them straight in the freezer.
> 
> ...


What! No MRE's&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;cooked over a rocket stove&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;in the rain&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;&#8230;while wearing camo?

What time is dinner?:wave:


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

If you like that, you should have seen my second dinner! (Yes, I eat 6-7 meals a day.) Spaghetti with fresh garden produce, mushroom quiche, and fresh strawberries and cherries. 

I went back to the community garden this evening and liberated some more green beans and cucumbers. So that, along with some potatoes, is lunch for the next couple days ... I think I need to give myself more credit as a prepper/survivalist. There's survival, and there's doing it in style. I'm definitely doing it in style here.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

Good for you. So many people would be starving if the stores closed.

Sites like this will save lots of lives or at least keep us more comfortable when thigns go bad.


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## notyermomma (Feb 11, 2014)

Well, I'm almost there. My goal was not spend a single dime between the 1st and my next paycheck on the 20th, and I almost made it. I had to go for the bare minimum on a couple purchases that couldn't be put off:

2 weeks worth of prescriptions
a small bag of dog food
one grocery-store sandwich when my bg plummeted suddenly
half a tank of gas

... so I wound up having to tap my emergency funds anyway. But not nearly by as much as I expected. Since these were all valid Needful Things, I'm considering my challenge a success.

For what it's worth, here are a few things I've learned from my prep drill:

*Don't beat yourself up.* Seriously, what's the point? I realize I put myself in this position by not paying attention to my spending over the last couple months. Any further stressing is likely to wind up at Ben & Jerry's, digging myself in even deeper.

*Garden!* Both as a noun and a verb. Yes, I have canned and frozen veggies in my stash. But I hate both those variations, and food fatigue would have made things a lot harder. Between my humble balcony and the neighborhood garden, I've had a constant pipeline of green beans, collards, kale, cucumbers, peaches, plums, strawberries, tomatoes, and potatoes. 'Nuff said.

*OAMC is a really important working strategy for me.* My usual rationale for doing it is as a luxury for days when I don't feel like cooking. But if I didn't have that option, and I couldn't eat out, there have been times historically when I simply wouldn't eat. With a disability, that's a major safety issue. So now OAMC has gone from a luxury to a prep to an essential practice. After two and a half weeks I'm still enjoying the benefits of what I have, with Mongolian beef, tomato-mushroom quiche, ham-bean soup, chili, gazpacho, and asparagus chowder to spare. It makes a _huge_ psychological difference.

*Don't skimp on the staples.* My beans, rice, eggs, meat, and baking goods are all organic as a matter of policy. But for many of the reasons listed above, it's gotten me through the last three weeks in style. When I eat clean, I find that my energy level is better, I sleep better, and I'm more relaxed and alert psychologically. All of which are critical in stressful times. Likewise, having a supply of high-end coffee and tea made my mornings a lot brighter, which carried over into the rest of the day.

*Condiments are your friend!* Come payday, I'm marching down to the grocery store to get freaky with the hoisin, the ajvar, the chutney, the coconut milk, the hot sauce, the stone-ground mustard ... and whatever else looks like fun. Like spices, they're an investment that can last forever in the fridge and can add infinite variations to whatever bland staples you may be stuck with.

*Cook.* I'm eternally grateful to my parents for many things, but raising me in the kitchen is at the top of the list. I'll eat anything from any cuisine, and I'm fearless with experimenting. I'm just about to scrape the bottom of my fridge today, which meant that I was reduced to a tragic lunch of chicken-curry salad and fresh green beans (the _horror!_) Without my skills there would have been no OAMC, no fun creativity, unbalanced nutrition to screw up my body, and a general sense of deprivation which would have spiralled very quickly into depression.

And above all ...

*Gratitude.* To myself for planning ahead for a period of tight resources, and the opportunity to test things out while the stakes are low. I do still _have_ an emergency fund, and of course all these resources are available if I really had to fall off the wagon. (For which I referred to #1 the other day.  ) Above all, I'm just grateful that I made it through in comfort and style. There are many times in the past when I haven't, so ... what can I say? Life is good. I've come a long way, baby.


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## Cinsue (Apr 25, 2012)

You have inspired me!


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## nightwing (Jul 26, 2014)

I would never have to spend my money if not for that silly rule in banks about wearing a mask and other things :teehee:


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

Good for you. You just used your self insurance.


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## tc556guy (Apr 28, 2011)

August was a pretty busy month for me. Worked 40 hrs a week at both jobs and many days only made it home to sleep a few hours before getting up to go back to work. The couple of days off I had were consumed with getting my relocated FFL business location stood up to make the code guy happy ( haven't cleared the move with ATF yet so we'll see how that goes ).
never made it to the store although I did stop into the local mom and pop store once for some drinks..milk, etc.
I did just fine
I don't understand the folks who never keep any meaningful amount of food in their kitchen shelves
I was working at my part time village a couple of months ago and there was a weather related storm that knocked out power for about 6 hrs. 
No local grocery store because its only a small village,
When the power came back on the stop and robs were flooded with people who hadn't been able to eat because they had no food they could prepare without power ( presumably a microwave, since the gas supply was never interrupted ).


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