In recent threads about poverty and rural living, there's been some heart-rending stories, some cries for help, some offers of help, and lots of great ideas. One of my own recent posts had a bunch of links that I've been collecting in my "Survival" bookmark folder. I'll get to those after the flip.
First, however, I want to say a few things.
In one of my first diaries here, back in October 2005, I reminded people that we have not always had everything our modern lives give us. It seems obvious, but many people are also amazed when the facts of how Americans lived before about 1940 are pointed out to them. My diary offered ways to save money AND live a more simple life. I actually have
an Amazon.com guide that lists good books and videos to help you get in the mindset of a Depression-era American.
Something that blew my mind when I read it a few months ago was this article, The Middle Class on the Precipice. What shocked the hell out of me was that the middle class is NOT digging their own grave by buying a bunch of crap they don't need. We are falling further and further behind for a lot of other reasons, but the biggest reason is inflation. Check this out:
If Americans are out of money, it must be because they are over-consuming--buying junk they don't really need.
But is this argument true? If families really are blowing their paychecks on designer clothes and restaurant meals, then the household expenditure data should show them spending more on these frivolous items than ever before. But the numbers don't back up the claim.
A quick summary of the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Expenditure Survey paints a very different picture of family spending. Consider what a family of four spends on clothing. Designer toddler outfits and $200 sneakers are favorite media targets, but when it is all added up, including the Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirts and Ray-Ban sunglasses, the average family of four today spends 33 percent less on clothing than a similar family did in the early 1970s. Overseas manufacturing and discount shopping mean that today's family is spending almost $1,200 a year less than their parents spent to dress themselves.
The picture is the same for food, appliances and transportation.
The same offsetting phenomena appear in other areas as well. The average family spends more on airline travel than it did a generation ago, but less on dry cleaning; more on telephone services, but less on tobacco; more on pets, but less on carpets. When we add it all up, increases in one category are offset by decreases in another.
So where did their money go? It went to the basics. The real increases in family spending are for the items that make a family middle class and keep them safe (housing, health insurance), that educate their children (pre-school and college), and that let them earn a living (transportation, childcare, and taxes).
Okay, so now that we see the real picture emerging, we can't really blame it on overspending. BUT (no comments about my big but), since magical money won't be falling out of the sky any time soon, and since things are steadily getting worse, we have to look back to the time before the relative wealth of the 1970s. Back before WWII brought wealth back to the American economy.
Whether the pundits want to say it or not, we are in a recession. We are about to enter another Great Depression, brought on by both idiotic governmental fiscal mistakes (I throw the Iraq war, NAFTA and other stupid ideas into this category) and by peak oil. And also by big box stores, especially SprawlMart, who are ruining our entire economy one small town at a time.
Sadly, it's time to realize that we cannot have what our parents had. We can't have one working parent and actually afford to buy a house. We can't have a big fat travel trailer to drive around on vacation for two weeks. We can't have a swimming pool in every suburban backyard. We can't have affordable medical care. We can't have an affordable college education, and we can't get a decent job without a college degree.
The party's over, kids. Time to go home. Everybody out of the pool.
If you're still with me and haven't already hit the bottom of the diary to leave rude comments about how Chicken Little I'm being, welcome to the fun part of the diary. :)
So what do we do? Eat Ramen noodles and Kool-Aid for the rest of our lives?
Nope... we cook things ourselves. We do without. We grow our own. We teach the kids that commercials lie. We seek entertainment in simple family activities. We buy used instead of new.
"But... but... how do we DO all that? That sounds like a lot of work!"
A little more, yeah. But it's worth it. And it'll be more and more necessary as time goes on and the economy goes to hell. Better to start changing a few easy (and maybe even fun! gasp!) things now and make good habits for your family.
Last night I spent about 2 hours on a great website, The Hillbilly Housewife. It has a goofy name, but it's a really good site (if a bit overly fundamentalist Christian). There are TONS of very simple, easy, fast, nutritious recipes that use very basic and cheap ingredients like potatoes, flour, cornmeal, oatmeal and so on. I printed out recipes for Praline Sweet Potatoes, Quick and Easy Pizza, Oatmeal Pancakes, and lots more. The Emergency $45 Menu for 4 to 6 will feed your family nutritious meals for only $45 a week. The $70 Low Cost Menu for 4 to 6 has a lot more meat in it and more variety too, all for $70 a week. This whole website will tie you up for hours!
More really good frugal/simple living links:
Frugal Living on About.com
The Simple Living Network
Path to Freedom blog
Tightwad Central
If you're already living more lightly on the land, maybe even homesteading like my family is, you've probably heard of Mother Earth News. They've been around since the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s. What you may not know is that their entire back article catalog is on the internet right here.
More really good homesteading links:
The Modern Homestead
The Gentle Survivalist
Pioneer Thinking
Still want more? Want to really, REALLY live off the land? Okay, you asked for it!
Primitive Technology
Boy Scout Outdoor Skills
"Abotech" Primitive Living Skills
Native American Technology and Skills
Native American Indian Resources
Some of these sites require a little digging to find what you want, but they are all loaded with really great information, and I've personally referred to them over and over. Most of these also link to other similar or related sites, so I didn't list every single one I know about or I'd be here all night.
This isn't about BUYING a bunch of stuff to cram into already overloaded garages and storage lockers. It's about changing the way you think. You have to. Sooner or later we all will have to change and live more simply, more local, and more conscientiously.
Why not get started today? Learn a new recipe. Cook for a friend instead of eating out. Grow a few herbs on your porch. Turn off the TV and play cards. Turn off the power and have a romantic candlelit evening. Make some jam. Make your own gifts and giftwrap. Read a library book. Talk to people. Go for a walk. Learn to sew. Shop at thrift stores.
You can do this. You can start right now.
"I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it." -- Morpheus, The Matrix