# Changes due to prices pinching



## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

on everything we buy. We all complain about gas and food prices, but it is everything for us. Being old, we have don't have some of the expenses that young people do, but we don't have the income either. We retired at age 62 = 4 years ago. The fixed income that seemed more than adequate then is not so much now. Still, the prices keep going up and the packages get smaller, or both. Even the toilet paper shrunk in width!

So, we eat out less, one of our few luxuries. We make fewer shopping trips, and only shop the cheapest sources for most things. Cheap doesn't pay for some purchases where better quality actually costs less overall. We buy almost nothing but secondhand clothes. Entertainment is 3 paperback books for 99 cents at Goodwill, or 6 bucks for a night out at the Senior Center dance. 

Last week I paid $16.06 for a quart of shellac to refinish a cedar chest that Grandad made. He only charged $24 for the whole chest back then! Today, I paid $29.44 for a set of ignition points for the garden tractor, and another $16.78 for the capacitor! That totals to $49.46 counting sales tax. I ordered 2 more sets because we have 2 tractors and I want a spare set = almost $150, and I can carry it all home in my shirt pocket! I'll have to keep these tractors running, because I cannot afford $12,000 for a new garden tractor. 

Our old truck puked up a head gasket. (I'll know for sure when I get it apart.) I have been paying a friend of mine to do our car repairs, because I had too many other things to do, but I will have to do this one. I can't see paying now for something I can do. That includes haircuts, baking pies that we used to buy, and a lot of other things. 

My wife made applesauce from our apple crop this year, and we love the result. She opened a jar of the store-bought stuff last week when we had company and finally threw out the last of it. Not fit to eat, after you have had the REAL stuff! We like our home grown fruits, veggies, and eggs better, too. So, there are benefits of quality to doing our own things. The same goes for the mechanic's work, and all the rest. When you can have it the way that suits you, then buying second best isn't attractive. After drinking God's good rainwater, the city water will make you choke. 

I don't plan to ever buy another NEW car or truck, or garden tractor. With our light usage, used stuff does us very well. By having a second vehicle, when one goes down for repairs, we still have transportation. Same with having 2 garden tractors. I only paid $1,500 for the pair of them, so it isn't like I spent a fortune. Built most of the implements myself, too. 

I find that I am building a lot of our own needs now. I just can't find the quality I want to buy, and I refuse to buy throwaways. We must have bought a dozen or more garden trowels over the years, and they all broke. Now, I have a hand-forged one made from a railroad spike, and I expect it will outlive our kids. This is the outlook that my parents and grandparents had and passed it on to me. We still have a houseful of furniture that Grandad made, all hardwoods--Sugar Maple, Wild Cherry, White Oak, Mahogany, and Black Walnut. Most of it is 60+ years old, except what I made that is from 25 to 40 years old. All of it looks and works like it did when new. We can't afford to buy stuff that only lasts a year or two and falls apart. 

My wife looked at the canned soups at Wal Mart today and shrieked at the prices. Mushroom soup was the cheapest at 75 cents, with vegetable beef soup at a $1.48. I told her it is time for her to make soup and can it. She agreed that we need to clean out the freezer to make room for a hog we have agreed to buy in December. Got enough veggies and other stuff on hand to do it all. I'm thinking chili and vegetable beef soup for starters. 

I can now justify cutting some hickory out at our daughter's place and seasoning it to make tool handles. I jsut saw the price of a new axe handle at 15 bucks (plus tax), so I can make decent money doing that. 

How is everyone else coping with rising prices? How is your life changing as things get more expensive? Or, I should say, as our money gets to be worth less and less?


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## Homegrowngirl (Apr 19, 2011)

I like to make soup, and I try to make enough so I can freeze it for later. It tastes way better than the stuff from cans, and I know what is in it also. We don't eat out, unless we are in the city for the day, where we live there aren't any real places to go and eat out at. I shop at some of the warehouse grocery places and buy in bulk, but I have priced items at different places to find the best deals, sometimes warehouse prices aren't always the way to go. I look in the papers to find the sales, and then I will hit them up and buy what I am allowed to purchase, go back the next day and do it again or bring one of my kids and have them go into another lane and buy some stuff also. I have no problem shopping at the goodwill or other second hand stores, but you have to be careful about that stuff too, sometimes it is cheaper on a clearence rack somewhere. You just have to be aware and choose smart. Levi's at Macy's and Levi's at a cheaper store, are still Levi's...just because you pay more for them doesn't make them better.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

I have been buying most of my auto part from the internet. The prices are some times unbelievably cheap. As an example, just a few days ago I purchased 2 motor mounts and a bag of valve spring shims. Total price was $15.00 not including the shipping charge. When ordering from the internet, I never expedite, that's where they get you. I still buy from a local auto parts guy, but those same motor mounts were $25.00 a piece. Next I need a new fuel tank and when I looked, I could get one off the internet for $23.00. Locally it would be $200.

I have been buying auto parts for 50 years and these are the cheapest prices I've ever seen.

Now, when I went to get auto paint to refinish some steel wheels, I was shocked at just some 99a black paint from a local guy, $130 a gallon for DuPont paint. I used to buy it for $40/gallon. 

I needed to get a full bottle of Argon for my TIG welder and was shocked when they charged my $60 for the full bottle and another $35 for some EPA Obama regulation. I have never had to pay for addition EPA charge for anything. I have since went to another supplier and this guy will not charge me the extra EPA expense even though it is required.


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## Jezcruzen (Oct 21, 2008)

I could share similar experiences. We also have seen the increases in price against the decreases in amount, quality, or both together.

We do much the same things to stretch a dollar as you all do. We raise what we can ourselves, buy only store brand and/or items on sale and stock up on a good deal. Take advantage of senior discounts when we can. Cook from scratch, avoiding the more expensive (and less healthy) processed convenience foods, and we buy in bulk when we can and divid it into manageable portions once we get home and store it away.

Some things I won't cut corners on. I believe in "Buy quality and only cry once". That especially applies to tools, footwear, and clothing. I want stuff to last!

My practice has been to buy a whole pork loin and have it cut into pork chops, which are then re-packaged at home four chops to a pack and frozen. I do the same with ground beef. Five lbs., usually, re-packaged into 1 lb. bags and frozen.

During my last visit to Sam's, I couldn't find a 5 lb.pack of ground beef. All the packs were 3.5 lbs, but the price was what I had been paying for 5 lbs.! I asked one of the employees in the meat dept. and she told me that Sam's has a price point that must be maintained in their stores. Ground beef must be sold for between $13 - $16 per pack, which means that when the price goes up from the supplier, the amount in the pack decreases in the store to maintain their price point!


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## kejmack (May 17, 2011)

Machinist, what you are describing is how people got by in the 1930's.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

kejmack,

Yep, exactly! My family lived through that and drilled it into all of their kids. Wife and I lived that life growing up, and it serves us well now. Have to learn all we can from history. No point in re-inventing the wheel, as they say. 

Today, with some technology changes and different things available (or NOT available), it takes some creative thinking to get by, and learn some new strategies. 

Tweto,
Yes! The internet is great for getting auto parts, and a lot of other stuff. There is a lot less overhead for the supplier, with no storefront to maintain.


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## MaryV (Jan 31, 2009)

i was shocked yesterday while shopping. a jar of peanut butter 1K, was 7 dollars! as soon as I see a sale I am gonna get a dozen jars. i used to have a stockpile but gave most of it to my daughter as i dont eat a lot of it. but my grandsons do so I better stock up. 
yup, soon our money will be amost worthless. we will have to learn to barter, reuse, make do, and go back to the old ways of makin g our own. my mother tells about underwear made from sugar sacks! the material the sugar came in. I have bought enough undies to last me the rest of my life but there may be other things I have to sew.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

When times are tough, reducing redundancy can help...

3 tractors?

1 ass to it in it...

:dunno: ;


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

MaryV,

Our home already resembles my Dad's old place, with a grain grinder, huge gardens, home canned food stacked up, a treadle sewing machine, and a wringer washing machine. As time goes by, we will do more and more for ourselves.


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## sailaway (Mar 12, 2009)

Well $100.00 got me a tank of gas and a meal in a resturant, and it wasn't a fancy resturant either. I remember for my 10th birthday my grandma & grandpa each gave me $10.00, that was the first time I actually ever had any financial problems, what to do with all of that money?I finally settled in on spending 1/2 on a cox red baron gasoline airplane and saving the other 1/2. Banks were paying a whole 5% interest back then. Never should have bought the airplane though I crashed it the first time I flew it.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

The_Blob,

Yeah, but it is the old hillbilly thing of having one to use and a couple up on blocks for parts.... 

Actually, I do use 2 of them, since one has a 3 point hitch and hydraulic outlets. It is pretty well dedicated to the tiller and some 3 pt. stuff. The other has a "sleeve hitch" suited for different implements, particlularly the moldboard plow and mounted disc. 

Then, there is one in my boneyard to keep the first 2 running.


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## DJgang (Apr 10, 2011)

In the last few years we've sold record amounts of garden tractors, and people paying with cash. Hubby had conversations with a few because it really is rare to see people paying for a new tractor with cash. Reason: investing their money in something rather than stock or letting it sit.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

DJgang,

Makes sense to me. Wish I had enough money to do that! For me, investing in junk is more like it...  Of course, I try to invest in HIGH grade junk, and swap for upgrades whenever I can. 

For instance, I bought a leaky lawn roller for 20 bucks at the junkyard. Welded up the holes, beat the hitch back straight again, and gave it a coat of paint. It's a $100 roller now. I do a lot of that.


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## DJgang (Apr 10, 2011)

machinist said:


> DJgang,
> 
> Makes sense to me. Wish I had enough money to do that! For me, investing in junk is more like it...  Of course, I try to invest in HIGH grade junk, and swap for upgrades whenever I can.
> 
> For instance, I bought a leaky lawn roller for 20 bucks at the junkyard. Welded up the holes, beat the hitch back straight again, and gave it a coat of paint. It's a $100 roller now. I do a lot of that.


Lots of people are doing things like this!

What's a lawn roller? :surrender:


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## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Our local library has a book sale room, everything 10 cents to a dollar, even newer hard back releases. And a library card gets you access to new dvds, magazines, and books. Cheap entertainment and education.

I find myself saving money on the things I can so we can splurge on some little things every once and a while. It's a balancing act for sure.

Coupons, saving change, using cloth diapers, saving every five dollar bill I get for a few months... sometimes it's addictive to see how frugal I can be.

And as a prepper, sometimes I get caught up in the mental list of what we need. A nice change of pace for me is to look around and see just what we can really live without.


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

machinist said:


> The_Blob,
> 
> Yeah, but it is the old hillbilly thing of having one to use and a couple up on blocks for parts....
> 
> ...


Actually that was the argument I make with my more firearm-focusing 'friends', "I don't *need* 17 pistols, I only have *two* hands, and if I want to fire more bullets I'll use the carbine."


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

DJgang said:


> In the last few years we've sold record amounts of garden tractors, and people paying with cash. Hubby had conversations with a few because it really is rare to see people paying for a new tractor with cash. Reason: investing their money in something rather than stock or letting it sit.


Probably from (still garbage) home loans, or even reverse mortgages (I've seen a few). For some reason people who *shouldn't have qualified for loans* are STILL getting refi somehow?!?!!??! :eyebulge: :nuts:


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

DJgang,

http://www2.northerntool.com/grounds-maintenance/item-365357.htm

That roller goes for about $150,and the drum is plastic! The steel drums work better for rolling down mole hills. For some reason, we have an infestation of moles this year.

I used the roller this Fall to compact the garden after sowing winter wheat for a cover crop. Garden looks like a golf green! That will get mowed short next Spring and plowed under for green manure. It's a poor guy's way to enrich soil. Also put all our leaves, table scraps, hen house cleanings, and grass clippings into compost.


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

on everything we buy. We all complain about gas and food prices, but it is everything for us. Being old, we have don't have some of the expenses that young people do, but we don't have the income either. We retired at age 62 = 4 years ago. The fixed income that seemed more than adequate then is not so much now. Still, the prices keep going up and the packages get smaller, or both. Even the toilet paper shrunk in width!
(yes, the toilet is narrower and I think it's thinner:gaah

So, we eat out less, one of our few luxuries. We make fewer shopping trips, and only shop the cheapest sources for most things. Cheap doesn't pay for some purchases where better quality actually costs less overall. We buy almost nothing but secondhand clothes. Entertainment is 3 paperback books for 99 cents at Goodwill, or 6 bucks for a night out at the Senior Center dance.
( I cook more now than ever--eating out for us is Cheddars where we can still go away full:gaah:; buying yard sale or flea market is nothing new for me; I get 50 cent books at a flea market and need a new bookcase:2thumb 

That includes haircuts, baking pies that we used to buy, and a lot of other things.
(our car/trucks are 9, 21, and 17 years old..we too pray they last a while longer! I have long hair now, on purpose, and have NOT colored it for 5 years) 
We can't afford to buy stuff that only lasts a year or two and falls apart. 
(but that's what I say about our old truck--when and IF it breaks down, we are just gonna call the junk car man, because repairs will be more than it's even worth--I have this idea about cars/trucks and mowers--they are so expensive to repair, just buy cheap, used ones, drive till they won't go another mile and then buy another used, drive it till it dies--save a lot of money that way)

My wife looked at the canned soups at Wal Mart today and shrieked at the prices. Mushroom soup was the cheapest at 75 cents, with vegetable beef soup at a $1.48. 
( I saw mushroom soup for $1.15 today--I'll be getting more at Aldis, I believe .60 cents, cause I use a lot and am low)



How is everyone else coping with rising prices? How is your life changing as things get more expensive? Or, I should say, as our money gets to be worth less and less? 
(I see every time I shop--which with the stores I have, isn't often.
I do wonder how families make it from month to month--I pray for all of us and especially for them when it gets worse--and it will)

Peace...jayjay


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I don't see why you are paying $50 for a points and condenser..... and then buying THREE sets at that ridiculous price, are you nuts?

First, points don't need to be replaced 90% of the time when people change them... clean, adjust the gap, lube, and go another year.

I have some engines that have been running the same set of points for over 20 years. I have an Onan generator that has the original set, 40 years old (only about 600 hours on them) from 1972. The ones in my Farmall C have got to be about 40 years old (or older). Just clean, adjust and lube. I won't "fix" it if it is not broken!

If you are "burning" points, there is something else wrong with the ignition system that needs to be fixed.

On another note... Why don't you just buy a used MSD 6 ignition box on ebay for $50 and use that? Your points would last a *million years* because they are used as just a "trigger" and no real amount of electricity goes through them anymore. That, and you could cut the side electrodes completely off of your plugs (if you wanted to) and they would still fire just fine.

The MSD box is amazing... I have taken the absolutely ugliest carbon and oil fouled plugs in existence that wouldn't run in anything, and put them in an engine with an MSD box and they fire just fine.

There are much smarter ways to skin this cat than waste $150 on three sets of points. I would see if you could get your money back.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

My Onan's are 42 and 44 years old, in the garden tractors, and AFAIK have the original points that I am replacing. They worked--sort of. New ones made one heckuva difference in the performance. Yeah, I did the silicon carbide sandpaper trick, and got them running--sort of. Sputter, sputter, miss, etc. The one I have replaced runs like new. So, yeah, they were broken. Maybe sitting in the rain for 4 or 5 years before I got 'em had something to do with it? 

I want spares on hand. These things have been out of production for YEARS now, and the parts prices are NOT going down. Call me nuts. I don't mind. I just want to insure that I can make these things run. 

Toward that end, I bought and parted out another small Case Ingersoll, a 224, saving all the hydraulics stuff, the electrical, and some wear parts. Got all that sealed up in plastic totes in the barn loft for use as needed. This winter, I hope to get through a pretty complete restoration on my 448. It has new rear tires, tubes and restored wheels, I added quick disconnect hydraulic couplers, and plan to add a 4 way valve to allow operating a 2 way cylinder with it. 

The transistor ignition is a great idea! Did that years ago on old GM 6 cylinders and got phenominal improvements. That was the very early stuff made by Heathkit. Added a higher voltage Accel racing coil and it would fire anything that resembled a spark plug. That change, plus some good headers, a little carb tuning, and a plastic fan for the radiator got me 26 MPG with a Chevy 250 inline 6 back in 1974.

Edit to add: 
Also have an old Miller 200 amp stick welder that is powered by an Onan like the 2 tractors. In the barn are 3 junk engines in various states of disrepair, to use as needed for parts. One of those I intend to repair as a spare for the 3 that are in service.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

One other thing about Onans... when you replace the points, you must also re-set the timing, or at least check where it is at. It's because of the geometry of the plunger and points box not being centered over the cam. I have seen timing change 5-6 degrees after changing points in a Onan.

The beauty is, the points box slides left or right to adjust timing. They are the easiest small engines in the world to set ignition timing on. I have also found that Onan's spec of 18 degrees is pretty damn conservative.... I guess they want you to be able to run on "drip gas" and not ping?? 

If you have at least 87 octane gas available, I have found 22 degrees works pretty well, and if you don't lug them hard 25 degrees makes for one that runs like a sewing machine.

You did REALLY well getting those Case Ingersolls. Around here, they sell for over $1000 in any condition. I am not joking. Another good one to get is the early 70's Allis Chalmers (Simplicity made) with the cast iron Sundstrand hydro gearbox, Onan engine and hydraulic implement hitch.

Nobody makes garden tractors like those anymore.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

LincTex,

Don't know anything about the Simplicity's except the glowing testimony of several friends who have them. But yes, those old ones are really tough! 

Have a 4 ft. sickle mower made by Allis Chalmers/Simplicity that I intend to convert for use on the Case 3 pt., using an old Case hydraulic motor drive as done on my tiller. Salvaged the Hydrive motor from the 224 for that. That mower and a bunch rake will make enough hay to feed a couple cattle easily. In general, my plan is to provide the machinery and let my kids use it to feed us all as times get harder. 

The biggest change for us has been to shut down our shop business as a result of outrageous record keeping required for filing taxes. It just ain't worth the effort. I'm better off to use the shop for our needs and work at Wal Mart if needed.  The shop is a great benefit to us, though. All the stuff to do sheet metal, steel fab, and machining. I tucked away a little 5 ton punch press in the back years ago, and a couple diesets, so I could bang out some little stuff if that becomes competitive one day. Have done aluminum foundry at home and have some cast bars and slabs on the shelf for machining work. But it takes a LOT of fuel oil/diesel to melt scrap. 

As long as my health holds out, I can make it one way or another, but trying to insure against old age infirmity with savings is nearly impossible now. As fast as I can learn how to do that, I will implement the ideas, such as expanded solar power, and maybe solar/hot air home heating. I have a start on building a solar water heater with the foundation and elevated frame. Location was a problem, so it goes up above the proch roof. Anything to cut that electric bill! And, to insure that we can live reasonably without grid power if it is either too expensive or not there at all. 

We have already converted to a wringer washing machine to save water and electricity. We can wash 4 loads of clothes in an hour using the 1/3 HP wringer machine, as opposed to the automatic that took 3 hours for 4 loads running it's 1/2 HP motor. Saves about 50 gallons of water, too, which is important living on a cistern and collected rain water. 

We changed from an electric kitchen range to LP gas, and can cook on the wood stove if req'd., or on a campfire in the yard. Make our own hand soap and laundry soap for almost no cost. Lots of changes in our lifestyle, mostly going back to what I knew as a kid, but incorporating all the best of the newer tech where it seems to make sense.


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## Tirediron (Jul 12, 2010)

Good to hear from people living the life instead of saying when the shtf I am gonna..... 
A lathe and mill etc will be pricless here in a few years, when china no longer chooses to extend credit:eyebulge:


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Tirediron,
That's the way I see it. If I won the lottery, a big part of the money would go to mothballing a bunch of machine tools for future business. They last a LONG time. I read in the mid-1980's that HALF the machine tools in service at that time were built during WWII. :eyebulge: Running for 40+ years and going strong, 3 shifts a day. I wonder how much of the new stuff will be running in 40 to 100 years?

My machinery is mostly recycled from junk, and some it is well over 100 years old. Got a #4MT drill press (will do a 2 1/4" hole or more, but that is the biggest drill I have) that has a patent date in the 1890's. Paid $100 for it and have used it for 10 years. All it needed was a really good bath, some paint, a new flat belt, and a lube job. 

Our place is on the cutting edge of 19th century technology! 

LincTex,
We may be lucky to have drip gas some day soon. I want equipment around that will run on most anything I feed it, in case I have to make moonshine to run it. Some tinkering with carb jets oughta get that done, IIRC. Guess I can make new jets if I have to, as long as there is enough solar to run my old 10" South Bend lathe, or that little Taig I traded for.


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## Fn/Form (Nov 6, 2008)

FWIW...

I really like Rock Auto for online parts. They occasionally send out sale codes. http://www.rockauto.com/ The backup light sensor in my 'yota manual tranny went out. @ Rock Auto it was less than 1/3 the local third-party replacement price. And I got an OEM part to boot!

The local True Blue welders (Miller fanatics) say the current Onan engines are crap compared to the current Kohler. Nothing like the older Onans.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

Fn/Form said:


> FWIW...
> 
> I really like Rock Auto for online parts. They occasionally send out sale codes. http://www.rockauto.com/ The backup light sensor in my 'yota manual tranny went out. @ Rock Auto it was less than 1/3 the local third-party replacement price. And I got an OEM part to boot!
> 
> I have used Rock Island with no complaints. Right now I'm using Parts Train and I have no complaints with them.


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## stayingthegame (Mar 22, 2011)

I was able to be a stay at home mom because I cooked at home, sewed most of our clothes, drove one car taking hubby to the bus, built our own furniture, canned, fixed what broke till it couldn't be fixed, didn't buy "bling". even went dumpster diving for useful things (not food ). now we still save by not turning the air on unless we really need it (hubby needs it in main summer heat due to health) or the heat. we go to town only when we need to get things and then combine trips to get everything in one. we raise some of our food (wish we could do chickens but meds I take and doc say NO,NO,NO).


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Fn/Form and Tweto, 

Thanks for the parts sources! 

Yeah, Onan went broke I heard, and somebody took them over, so it just ain't the same now. The older gas powered Miller welders like mine, when you start the engine, it idles until you strike and arc. The new ones start the engine at full throttle! NOT good. 

stayinginthegame, 
AC is a need for me because I had a heatstroke already, and it is easier to have a second one. So, we use window units and only cool a small part of the house to save money. 

I hadn't heard of anyone not being able to eat chicken (or maybe it is eggs?), but better listen to what the doc says! You might find something else you could raise and eat? Or make use of the abundant fish and seafood in LA. Got a buddy in the oil business that says LA food is the BEST! 

Our area is different, so gotta use the local resources to your best advantage. They raise a lot of chickens, beef, and pork up here, so we just keep chickens for the eggs. Just found a procedure to make dry powdered eggs, so we'll have to try it now that our chickens are laying heavy. Good quality brown eggs go for around 3 bucks a dozen here, so we can do well at this. I figured our feed cost at 55 to 60 cents/dozen.


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## Dakine (Sep 4, 2012)

stayinginthegame said she couldnt raise chickens, I'm thinking it's not about eating chicken but perhaps more to do with contact with the birds (mites and bird diseases?) or cleaning the coop, and besides physical contact with chickens and their poop, there's also some respiratory concerns.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

*Good Point!*

Dakine,

There are so many people that have problems we never consider. Maybe we need a thread about how people work around those problems and become more self reliant?

One change that is obvious to my wife and I is spending more time at home. Somebody commented to me that if he goes to town, he spends money, so he doesn't go as often. Duh, okay. But he went on to say that it got him thinking more about how to make something work out without buying anything, which I think is important.

Whether your limitations are physical, having enough cash, your location, or whatever, the answers are always about how creative you can be. Sometimes the answer is staring me in the face, but it took me a while to realize it.

When my wife was shocked at the price of canned soup, I suggested that we can some of our own. Neither of us had thought of that before, but it will solve several things: 1) Use up some stuff in the freezer that is getting old, 2) It will make room in the freezer for meat when we get the hog we're buying, and 3) Avoid the cost of canned soup.

Simple answers are best.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

machinist said:


> LincTex,
> We may be lucky to have drip gas some day soon. I want equipment around that will run on most anything I feed it, in case I have to make moonshine to run it. Some tinkering with carb jets oughta get that done, IIRC. Guess I can make new jets if I have to, as long as there is enough solar to run my old 10" South Bend lathe, or that little Taig I traded for.


Well, any old Deere or dual fuel Farmall with low compression will run drip gas.

I have on old H Farmall with one small tank (gallon?) to hold the gasoline to get the tractor started and warmed up...you then switch to drip gas or distillate, or kerosene. You just shut the valve off on the main tank to run the carb dry when you shut it down.


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## Indiana_Jones (Nov 15, 2011)

Machinest - you sound exactly like us. I retired 7 years ago at 62 due to health problems. I had two strokes in the late '90s and no insurance company would cover my health insurance needs. I'm a Viet Nam vet so I use the VA for all medical situations now.

DW and I live on a tiny farm in a rural area and we MUST be as frugal as possible to make it on our fixed income. I have about 20 chickens (I really don't count them) that free range - some are layers and some are meaties, 6 New Zealand rabbits that are excellent for producing meat for the dinner table, two 8,000 sq. ft. +/- gardens, 4 milk goats, and 6 beehives. I also plant my livestock food plots in a neighbor's 4 acre field that has not been used for 20 years (He's glad to have someone make use of it). I also have a 2 acre pond teaming with panfish. DW usually puts up 100 to 150 quarts of canned meat, veggies, fruit, etc. every year. She also sews, quilts, and knits.

I nurse one 1952 Harry Ferguson TO-30 tractor and one Ford 8N to do our mowing and gardening. 

We only go to the stores one day a week and our church is only 1 mile away. DW drives a 2004 Honda w/80K miles (built right down the road) and I drive a 1994 Chebby 1/2T. pickup w/200K miles. I love my old pickup.

We heat mostly with wood from our woods but at 69 I'm really slowing down on cutting and splitting. I have a woodshop in one of the small barns and a welding/mechanics shop in another small barn.

So in one sense we're poor as church-mice and in another sense we're rich with our own resources. I don't know what we'll do if these prices for everything go much higher.


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## Tweto (Nov 26, 2011)

Indiana_Jones said:


> Machinest - you sound exactly like us. I retired 7 years ago at 62 due to health problems. I had two strokes in the late '90s and no insurance company would cover my health insurance needs. I'm a Viet Nam vet so I use the VA for all medical situations now.
> 
> DW and I live on a tiny farm in a rural area and we MUST be as frugal as possible to make it on our fixed income. I have about 20 chickens (I really don't count them) that free range - some are layers and some are meaties, 6 New Zealand rabbits that are excellent for producing meat for the dinner table, two 8,000 sq. ft. +/- gardens, 4 milk goats, and 6 beehives. I also plant my livestock food plots in a neighbor's 4 acre field that has not been used for 20 years (He's glad to have someone make use of it). I also have a 2 acre pond teaming with panfish. DW usually puts up 100 to 150 quarts of canned meat, veggies, fruit, etc. every year. She also sews, quilts, and knits.
> 
> ...


You are in better shape then you think to weather the inflation to come. Basic skills and having the tools and equipment to do your own stuff is priceless.

It sounds like the most important thing to do is to watch your health and don't get over stressed.


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## GrinnanBarrett (Aug 31, 2012)

It is funny that my wife and I were just talking to friends about what we do for ourselves. This week we fixed our skylight, added insulation in attic, replaced watch batteries in some watches that had stopped, caulked all our windows, painted rooms in our house ( we get paint at store that had wrong tint at discount ), reset tiles on wall, and we hit all the senior discount meals if we eat out. 
Just replacing the batteries in a watch you can save up to ten dollars. You can buy a blister pack of the flat cell batteries for about $4 at Northern Tool. That is 40 batteries. GB


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

Machinist--I hear ya about the soups.
I bought soups when I started prepping for 3/$1.
Now, a dollar each can?
I have canned chicken, pasta or noodles, and chicken bouillon= chicken noodle soup. Healthier, less sodium.

Oh, if your ramen noodles package gets old..use the noodles, a can of chicken, a bouillon and you have chicken soup.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

JayJay said:


> if your ramen noodles package gets old....you have chicken soup.


Oh, Ick. Ramen noodles have some sort of unique oil in them that gets rancid over time and makes them taste very foul to me.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

I had to do some digging, but here is a simple way to get rid of points on small engines

http://gardentractorpullingtips.com/ignition.htm#cranktriggerwiringdiagrams


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## JayJay (Nov 23, 2010)

deleted for a good reason


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## tsrwivey (Dec 31, 2010)

Retirement is a blessing in itself. The babyboomers will likely be the last generation that will even get a retirement. The rest of us will work til we die. Between inflation & taxes, there's not much left to put back. Only the wealthy will have the luxury of retiring.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

*Inflation is here now*

on a lot of things we buy. I have seen prices at the hardware store go up 20% a year for the past 4 or 5 years. Groceries are about the same rate, nearly doubled in the same period.

Wife and I were born in 1946, so we are the "leading edge" of the Baby Boomers. It looks like I had better go back to work before long to take the load off our finances, and do it while I am still able to work. Looks like we will have to work as long as we live, in some fashion.

That is why I am trying to get our shop back in shape. I would a lot rather work at home. At least I don't have to drive to work!


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

We live the lifestyle we do so we can afford a decent standard of living. We've both had to take early retirement due to disabilities and it doesn't sit well with either of us. Prices here are going up so fast we have to keep rebudgeting through the year to make sure we don't get behind. We're working as hard and fast as we can to become financially independant again both because we hate being on a pension and because we don't see it guaranteed into the future. 
Another thing we are doing is spending more and more time bargain hunting just to afford the basics we are used to buying.


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