About quarter acre lifestyle

When I started this blog it was to record how we managed to cut our living expenses by $300 per week so we could save on the mortgage and have some money in the bank….something that just wasn’t happening. We have always grown alot of fruit and vegetables and we have chooks but it wasn’t really till last spring when my husband got work on a farm that we realised we could probably live from the garden, eggs and the free meat that goes with his job. He also gets free firewood which is great with winter coming on.

Things have changed a little now in that we decided I should give up my job, and that $300 is my wages we will be losing. Down to one wage (and not a great wage) we will be living off the smell of an oily rag. In past years lack of money has felt extremely stressful but we are actually thriving…never eaten better! and are pretty sure we’ve got this covered. This will be interesting 🙂 No money for wants, just needs and alot more time to do what is important for us is sounding more than ok.

I consider us extremely fortunate by some other people’s standards in that we get some free meat – not a huge amount but enough to eat an adequate diet. I believe growing our own fruit, vegetables and eggs has given us a lifestyle, one that enables us to eat well, one that enables us to only buy staples which has saved us a fortune, one that provides interest, better health and a sense of self reliance we never had before when dependent on supermarkets for our diet. Our garden has evolved by frugal means, it certainly has not been expensive to do. No-one needs expensive kitset gardens and fertilisers. I believe when families hit hard times this is a way of at least supplying food, leaving money for other things.

We purchase locally grown food if we can to supply what we haven’t got just yet – eg nuts, honey etc. We believe in buying from others directly keeping money in our own community. We also buy everything secondhand and recycle, we live well but as frugally as possible.