Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire individuals living at a lower standard of living, what would we give up?

say peak std of living has occurred, like peak oil, give or take.

what would we give up if we needed to reduce expenditures by 5 percent, 10 percent, or heaven forbid 15 percent, on average?

i know, for some, the std of living isn't in risk of decreasing. they're lucky, rich, quite astute, etc. etc.

but, for us lowly commoners, say that things are tough, but we're facing a decrease in purchasing power...just imagine, ok?

so, what would be the first things to give up?

My barrel. After I'm done scraping the bottom of it.

Probably hafta quit looking in the free classifieds.

I am not sure one has to give up much of anything important, but one has to think about what they are doing.
Set the thermostat a little lower or higher and bundle up or down.
Grow a veggie plot in the back yard and fruit trees like we do.
Buy groceries only on sale.
Budget your driving time and gas if possible.
Shoot, start making your own beer.
It is surprising in some ways how little it takes money wise.
My parents and grandparents survived the depression and said they didn't know there was one because they never had any money anyway.
Course the houses was paid for, they grew pinto's made their own beer. I still have stored the "night soil" soil gramma used to grow bit veggies. This spring it will be back in duty.
one of the things one my agenda at some point is to get rid of those monthly "ding" charges for t.v., electronics, etc. The local azzwipe paper charges me about 19bucks a month, and are starting to charge sales tax, for some reason. The only reason i take the rag is for ask abby and the comics.

Why, Obama said he would take from Spanokopitas and give to me that way we all enjoy equally.

Electronics and associated subscription based services.

I would go with only one vehicle - save on fuel and insurance.
Cancel my COX internet/TV/Phone bundle -
Sell my home and buy a much smaller house - save on utilities and insurance

Just don't give up your guns.
Those used to freebies will attempt to get them from others.

there ya go RAS2, the Democratic way!


someone told me the other day we could fill the Rose Bowl with what this nation wastes in food each day. don't have the source, just conversational hearsay.


wasting stuff ain't the right thing to do.


but we've had it good for a long time


hope it continues for much, much longer


er the good times, not the wasting

Easy I was just funnin.

I am pretty frugal (or at least in some areas)So this is a hard one. I have my house paid for, have an antenna outside instead of cable, truck 11 years old and still going strong. Won't give up my hunting expenses. I guess I won't get to go hunting in Africa or Alaska.. Might have to give up those dreams..lol

been broke before, hell grew up broke......could easily figure out how to deal with alot less.....could do without cable and the newer vehicles, still have my first vehicle and its still perfectly functional other than the fact my knees prefer not to run a clutch every day.....

easy enough to entertain myself with the stuff i used to stave off boredom when i was a kid, my mountains of books, firearms and lots of country i can roam on for nothing...plus now ive got a beautiful woman to share my bed and we are pretty good at entertaining ourselves

I'll prolly sell the house cheap and move into some senior housing apt by the hot springs. Can't give up everything. Thinking I'll do OK. I'm pretty frugal.

My biggest costs are mostly fuel related since I live so far in the sticks, I have to drive to get anything. I could easily pare down the driving and get everything I need in 1/3 the number of trips to town. I'd sell a couple of cars and just keep the truck and my wife's car. Satellite TV and internet would go, I already got rid of the house phone. I'd get out of the deer camp on the other side of the state and start hunting exclusively on my own land. I'd fire up the fireplace more because I've got plenty of free firewood on my land, just have to get out and cut it. A serious garden would get put in and I'd be eating a lot more deer and less beef. Most of my shooting would get put on hold and my only reloading would be for my 7mm rem mag of which I have enough components to last quite a few years. The wife and I wouldn't be going out to dinner nearly as much and the relatives christmas/birthday presents would be much cheaper.

I suspect I could easily live on 1/3 the money I spend now, I might not have as much fun but I'd get by just fine.

I live in a 420 sq/ft home w/o power now. We grow about 75% of what we eat and could barter for what we don't. I could cut my driving to about 25 miles a week.

We do eat out about once a week. That would go.

How much lower do you want me to go? We liven in a wall tent two winters. Could dump the farm and do that again.

Hell, could just bight a bullet and end it all. That would cost nothing, I already have the bullet.

Since you brought it up, when are you gonna post some more pics of your place?

Every time you do, I look at 'em and think how rerlaxing it would be to live in such an uncomplicated manner.

It's kinda my fantasy existence.

Need to add: I less than five months I will be retiring to $1250 a month SS and whatever else I can scrounge up. Perhaps I can give you a better idea what I can do without then.

Not real good picture taking weather but I will see what I can do this weekend for you.

You could just come for a visit. We could put you up and you could try it out for a while.

Not to be giving advice or anything like that,...but guys who know their way around a Bridgeport around here often pick up some good pocket money by pulling some hours here and there at contract shops.

I'd like that,..but I'm almost as close to Europe as I am to Washington state.

Besides,...you'd probably have to run me off to get rid of me.