A recent article shows the possible errors in being depend on mass produced, low cost, low nutrient, energy intensive agriculture. Going back to the basics may be a very good option in any long term planning you do. Even if it is only 32 sq ft garden on the patio, oftwominds-Charles Hugh Smith: The End of Cheap Food
The average household in the USA spent $7,320 annually for food in 2019. That average at the end of 2021 was running $9870. At the End of 2022 it is projected and on track to be over $11,000. Housing, transportation, taxes and Utilities are the only things that average higher than the Grocery Expense. The averaged household spends a total of $62,800 annually. The average median income is $68,000. A pretty good indicator of where we are as a nation. Several different sources track this stuff and some have higher numbers others have lower numbers and the US Government is the source I trust the least. But across all of them the Percentages are very close to the same. One of the sources I look at had this graphic. That tallies up to I believe $5811 per month. So I added my household personal expenses up in the same Categories just to see. Housing: $0 Transportation: $0 Taxes $416 Utilities $370 ( With the business shut down the electric bills have dropped by $1,300 per Month) Food: $140 (Mostly eating out and coffee) Social Security $0 I quit paying it as it was built into the self employment tax. Healthcare: $70 in copays for my meds and doc visits Entertainment: $0 I am self entertaining Cash Contributions: $0 I have donated enough! Clothing $50 I burn through T shirts Education $0 Booze and Smoke $250 I like good wine and I hate rolling papers so buy tubes but grow my own tobacco. Tubes are like $15 Personal Care $4 $2 for my Irish Spring and $2 for my pit anti stink stick. My personal total $1300 Could get it under $1000 if I cut out some non essential stuff.....Like the wine and eating out. My Retirement Income $3200 per Month average from investments and leases. I will exclude my Sketchy Stuff income and Mrs T5Rs income. So I make $38,400 per year and spend $15,600 per year and have $22,800 in disposable income to save or spend left over. If going by the averages of $68,000 avg income and $62,800 expenses that leaves the average household with $5,200 left over. Seems to me that I am doing OK in my current state of near poverty I am not doing anything special or lowering my standard of living in anyway, just living the same as I always have. I have noticed across multiple forums and venues over the last two years a fast growing interest in how to become more self sufficient and not be trapped in the rat race living with a negative net worth. I am in a VERY good place financially despite earning a near poverty level income I really wish A LOT more people had the intelligence and wisdom to do something similar to myself and experience the life of happiness, excess and joy that I can and am.
Mom had an account book that she kept track of everything, In 1942 she spent like $225 for the year; salt, sugar, lewis lye for soap, thread and needles, cloth came from chicken feed and flour sacks, traded 2 bushels of wheat at the flour mill for 1 bushel of flour. Garden and home butchering mostly fed us. Tea and coffee for Mom and Dad if they had it. Dad traded meat for some things so it might of actually cost more but that was out of pocket. No electricity and wood heat, so a little for kerosene and matches for heat and light. Gramp made farm shoes, hard leather heel and sole that he bought from harness maker and moccasin like upper water prof and soften with goose grease. When Gram cooked goose, he was always there with a ladle for his harness grease. Had to keep an eye on leather, cats, dogs and mice would chew it up. He traded hides for leather at the tannery in Red Wing and then leather for soles etc at harness maker. Tannery made leather for Red Wing shoes and would trade or sell soles. And as I have said before, Dad traded 75 pounds of meat for my delivery and I was born in a borrowed bedroom. During the war we took meat, eggs, garden goods, later punkins, squash, cabbage, for the elderly and the preacher, not money. The men would get together and make sure the elderly etc had enough fire wood for the winter and clean the chimney and make sure stove and stove pipes were good. By 1950, that whole way of life was gone, Every one had electricity, running water, toilets, cars, oil heat, and worked for money and paid cash, no credit cards and very few checks for everyday items.
Rural Southern Minnesota near Red Wing as closest bigger town. 160 acre farms with rolling hills and river bottoms that flooded so wood, fish, rabbits,etc were still left. Part of time was nearer Zumbrota, 6 miles away. Born in 1938, by 1950 had tractor, electricity, etc, like every one else. IN 1946 we were basically living in the late 1880's except for medicine and an old pickup, in 1947 the REA came with power, in 1950, they started to consolidate the schools and fix the roads, tractors became available and were for the time cheaper than horses. Remember that I am looking back 80 years and had a very loving Christian family and extended family,about 12 cousins in 3 uncles families with in a couple of miles and see the good things best. Don't talk about going to church with a sleigh and near 10 degrees or having the pee freeze in the chamber pot, etc. Or losings people in 24 hours to pnomoneia, or visiting people at the TB hospital, or being deaf with no hearing aids.
