The Campfire Trail: October 22 - DIY Homestead

October 22, 2022

Day 386 of the Adventure

One of our cabins in snow (not a current pic)

The subject of self-sustainability was brought to the forefront again today as I read an article about the number of people who were preparing for a very difficult winter regarding heating costs. Time will tell, of course, just how bad things get, but the story said the trend was that people were already using credit cards to pay for heating costs, and we are still in October. If that truly is the case, then the costs of keeping warm this winter is likely going to spill deep into next Summer.

I also read a post in one of the social media groups I follow, of someone stating they would love to live "off-grid" but couldn't afford it. So, without making a judgement on that statement, I just feel the need to say that, in general, folks that want to move into an "off-grid" lifestyle are partly doing it to get away from the reliance on "grid services" and costs of those services. I don't know for sure in this particular person's case, but a lot of time it has to do with cost. Aside from that point though, I think there's another angle on this that should be considered.

Obviously, everyone has their own level of tolerance on how the economy is beating them up. There are those who could very easily not give it a second thought if the cost of everything tripled overnight. There are those who would complain about rising costs but still be well off enough to mostly survive without much economic pain. Then there are others who really don't know how they are going to get by without some kind of financial miracle. It's this group that probably feels the most hopeless about what's to come. Not necessarily a complete economic melt-down. Just a slow economic squeeze that robs them of the vitality of life because of the relentless rise in the cost of living.

If there was a gauge in self-sufficiency, something like a "self-sufficiency factor", then my belief would be; If the economy has an inflation rate of 10 percent, I would want to increase my self-sufficiency factor by, say 15-20 percent. Is that possible for the average person? I don't know. However, I do know that anything that can be done to offset the economic squeeze is something positive that moves one closer to a self-sufficient life. I'm not sure I will ever advocate going off-grid to the point of "Cave-Man" living, (as some refer to it) but honestly, if there is an element of hopelessness to your outlook on the economy, I have the following to say. In developing a Self-Sufficient life for yourself........ Yesterday was the best time to start, but today is the second best time.........

Carry On

Adventure Quote: “We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” ― Alan Turing

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost up the Creek (Sumatra)

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