How do you survive with no income?
76Impossible
You can survive from self generated income (by that I mean things of value, the currency doesn't necessarily have to be the dollar).
The easiest method is to own some land in a decent climate, with a good garden and a few animals, your income requirements are pretty small. You will need to restock your seed supplies, and supplement animal food, and don't forget those pesky property taxes.
If you can make your own clothes in addition to your own food, you can really keep your cost needs down. I loved wearing the stuff my mom and Grandmother used to make me. You never had to worry about showing up to school wearing the same Department store outfit as someone else(there were like 8 kids in my class). My sister almost always wore a handmade dress. They were always good looking and cheap to make.
You don't need electricity but it is very nice to have, you will need fuel on occasion to run a generator (for the well pump) and some other tools that will make life much more productive. Having your own well with good water will reduce your costs even more. Plus you don't have to worry about the chemicals water companies dump into the water.
I grew up in Rural Oklahoma, I didn't have it that bad, as many modern convenience were around in my day (electricity and a TV that got 4 channels), not everyone had indoor toilets but we did, my mother had a small income from teaching so we had a few perks others didn't.
My grandparents lived through the dustbowl and they used to drill it in my head exactly how it was done. My grandfather was very tight with what little pension money he got. Most of their money came from a small beauty shop my grandmother ran from the house. My grandfather would feed and tend the animals and grow the garden. My grandmother would prepare and store the meat and do all of the canning of the fruits and vegatables. I loved her dill pickles the best. When I joined the service she would mail me her homemade goodies no matter where I was in the world. She even mailed me a home made pecan pie once. I loved canning season the most as there was always lots of goodies at my grandmothers house.
We lived close to a river with lots of fish. My grand father would fish about 3 times a week in the spring and summer, and he would catch enough catfish to fill the freezer and last all winter long. We always hunted in the fall and winter, that was never as predictable as the fishing, but made for a nice variety when we got lucky. I went to McDonalds once when I was growing up(it was sixty miles away) it made me sick so I didn't eat there, but maybe two or three times since.
My mom made about 800 dollars a month on her salary and we lived very well at least I thought so, but then again I didn't have time to watch TV so the commercials never really got to me either. The Point is you have, to have, something to get by, but it doesn't have to be a lot, and you sure don't have to be a slave to it.
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Now if you could only get property and animals you are well on your way. Not to mention enough land to grow enough potatoes to produce you own energy (telsa power) then you could filter your own water.
Though, if I were living on my own plot of land I would probably do without clothes unless I got cold, in which case I would have to use a bale of hay. lol :)
Sandra,
You reminded of some of my best memories. I have no childhood pictures of me with clothes until I am about 4. LOL. I only got shoes just before school started, and if out grew them, we would just cut out the toes. Sometimes after picking one of the cotton fields by the river we would all strip off our clothes and jump in. Man I miss that life. I can't believe I listened to my teachers and traded all of that to be a flunkie for the Government.
As for how we got the land my grand parents were given 160 acres each fee simple in exchange for all lands ceded east of the Mississippi. You guessed it Dawes Act. My Great Grand mother is one of the last 3 living original enrollee's of the Choctaw tribe. She is 104.
TMG
no wonder you got off not paying your credit cards! luck! jk. tell me more. :)
Good hub, I would add, just because you're broke, doesn't mean you have to be unhappy.
Truer words have never been spoken.
TMG
Good hub....broke is just a temporary state...Poor, now thats an attiude..My people lived throught the Dust Bowl and granddad never would keep his money in banks...maybe he was right.
P.S Oklahoma finally won the Dust Bowl
Foodwise I didn't have much trouble this summer. I stumbled across a huge nest of cherry trees and they made up a huge part of my diet for about two months. They turned my urine purple but there were no negative side effects.
I enjoy reading your hubs.
I guess what you're describing isn't living off the grid but could be. I've always thought that would be a very peaceful way to live, as long as you don't mind doing a bit of work.
Thank You all for the comments,
Dr. Jim, I think Okies are best summed up in the last lines of John Steinbeck's great american classic novel "The Grapes of Wrath" As he stated. "Okies are the People That Live"
Andrew, There is rarely a side effect from living off the land. I only gained fat weight when I was thrust into society. I faired much better physically eaiting fish from the river, the occasional dear, squirrel, rabbit, pheasant, turtles and frogs. All the vegatables home grown or picked wild. I stepped foot into one McDonalds growing up before there was any media bias to alter my perception, and I could feel the unnaturalness of it immediately. As an adult and being forced to eat from these places it has taken it's toll.
Shirley, at my home in Mexico I am completely off of the grid and I never plan to allow it to go on. All energy, and my currency (coconuts) is produced on the place. I can get anything else I need with the coconuts. But, alas even their is starting to get crowded.
TMG
to live with no income, think street people---if you call that living
I was raised with the belief that; proper food, clothing, and shelter is all that is required, anything more is a luxury. Simpler times when a person had the time to get to know oneself.
Thats funny, I was told the same thing growing up that all I needed to worry about was food, clothing and shelter the basic necessaties, actually what ended up happening is that consumerism turns the basic NEEDS into a overpriced WANT. LOL
Nice tip! And i like the fact that your childhood was introduce along with the tips.
Great Article.
Thank you all for the comments!!
Cool Hub! Nothing better that garden food! Thanks!
Your Welcome!!
I am a bit older than you MoneyGuy, but your childhood has many similarities to my childhood in Australia.
Thank you all again,
TMG
Hi MoneyGuy this is a really great hub with great advice.It appeals to me as I don't go for all the material crap in this world.It fits my motto that I always say,"No matter how wealthy you become,how successful you become,if u dont have peace inside you will never be content in life
So very true!!
TMG
Hi TMG, I always associate you with being so savvy about handling money, credit, investments and the like. This hub is a refreshing back-to-basics primer. You obviously have happy memories of your childhood and didn't feel deprived. These days, I can only guess what the Joneses are up to -- probably getting their house foreclosed and their stocks in the tank. I hope our entire country takes a life lesson from the Okies about what's really necessary in life.
Thanks for writing this!
MM,
If you saw the pummeling I took on a trade yesterday you might rethink that comment. LOL
Nope happiness is a state of mind that requires no fancy printed paper.
TMG
I always enjoy your reads Moneyguy. Attitude is everything.
that lifestyle sounds like heaven to me...now if we could only afford the property!
Thanks for the nice hub! I agree, it's not what you need, it's what you want that gets expensive.
An excellent and enjoyable hub
Very relevant URL... In today's day and age, this blog should be made into a book!
LouiseKnittel says:
13 months ago
Thank you for answering my hub, and sharing so much of your life!