What Preps are you doing this week

[jansman]

Thanks Le Mouse. We are both in the same boat,are we not?the original redundancy after 20 odd years WAS traumatic. Now I think I am becoming battle-hardened to it all.
I have prepped for eleven years now. Originally I was one of the type who REALLY believed we could be facing a societal collapse. I guess with the economy going pear-shaped we are facing a 'collapse-lite' as the Americans might say.
We prep for different things, but I feel that economic downturn is the real and present danger.

Anyhow, I am out at the weekend collecting firewood off the local common with me bike trailer. Then some pigeon shooting and polytunnel work. Lots of positives there.

Oh yes, and we have some lovely homemade beer to have a go at!

We are living the homemade and homebrewed lifestyle now.

[Arzosah]

Jansman, thats rough for you! Great to hear about your initiatives bearing fruit, just in time.

[itsybitsy]

I have gone and stocked the pantry today with a load of spare cash I made. Damn good timing. Today I was told-after being taken on permanently 2 weeks ago- my job is no longer! Redundant 3times in as many months! you could not make it up.
Top that with the fact that Jan is on 90 days notice,and yesterday my Daughter's chap was told he had two weeks.
Daughter could possibly lose her flat as a result,as bloke brings in the bulk of the cash.

I have told them to move in here if they have to. It will be tight but the property is ours and we can muck in.

As good luck would have it, the polytunnel is producing plenty of salad, the new spuds are coming in and the fowls are laying well. Jan tells me we have a spare hundred quid this month, so I will be out shopping for tinned stuff and what I call 'cooking sauces' to make meals with pasta , rice and spuds etc.
No doubt about it, these are tough times.

Hellfire no, you really couldn't make that up! At least you've still got your sense of humour. And the homemade beer!

As regards cooking sauces - I've found that anything tomato-based can be made cheaper by using chopped tomatoes as a base and then adding whatever you want, as opposed to buying a ready made sauce in a jar. If it's a bit tart I add a good squeeze of lemon juice and that will balance out the flavour. Or, if you've got one - a pork chop, bone and all.

[Le Mouse]

Thanks Le Mouse. We are both in the same boat,are we not?the original redundancy after 20 odd years WAS traumatic. Now I think I am becoming battle-hardened to it all.
I have prepped for eleven years now. Originally I was one of the type who REALLY believed we could be facing a societal collapse. I guess with the economy going pear-shaped we are facing a 'collapse-lite' as the Americans might say.
We prep for different things, but I feel that economic downturn is the real and present danger.

Anyhow, I am out at the weekend collecting firewood off the local common with me bike trailer. Then some pigeon shooting and polytunnel work. Lots of positives there.

Oh yes, and we have some lovely homemade beer to have a go at!

We are living the homemade and homebrewed lifestyle now.

We are indeed in the same boat jansman. I've deliberately taken this month off from job hunting to get used to being back home and out of London (it's a bit of a culture shock), to unpack and sort out my new home and to rebuild my preps. I'm lucky that when I was in employment that I was in a position to squirrel money away, so if it came to it I could exist on my savings for about a year. Obviously I don't want to have to do that, but at least I could if I had to. Job hunting starts next week I think.

I've been embracing the homemade lifestyle a bit. I'm eating so much better now that I have a proper kitchen to myself - I'm actually *cooking* not just heating things up, and my vegetable intake has skyrocketed! I've got back into making my own bread again which I hadn't done for years and I really enjoy it. I find it's cheaper too because there's much less waste. My first lot of vegetable seeds turned up yesterday so I'm hoping the weather will improve so I can plant things outside. If not, my windowledges will be getting busy!

[jansman]

Thankyou all. It will all iron out, I know. Like you Le Mouse, I squirreled a lot away in the good times. If we HAVE to, we can manage a year, but I would rather keep that by us. At least we cannot have the house taken away.

[Ferricks]

Thankyou all. It will all iron out, I know. Like you Le Mouse, I squirreled a lot away in the good times. If we HAVE to, we can manage a year, but I would rather keep that by us. At least we cannot have the house taken away.

I think over the past few months you have both demonstrated what prepping for most of us is really about - and you've done so with good grace, dignity and good old determination.

Thanks for the inspiration guys..... !

[jansman]

I have spent today(after a crap night's worry and no sleep-why is it like that?)tidying the yard,sorting greenhouses,and splitting firewood. Keeping busy. Started an inventory of stores. Looking good I am pleased to say.
I have a neighbour who is looking for workers, good money and hours. We will see.

Jan, bless her, reviewed the accounts. Seems we don't need as much to live on as we thought. This will make it easier to find work.

I am picking radish, spring onions, lettuce, new spuds, spinach, rhubarb and various herbs. It isn't bad. In fact,apart from no income and another that looks shaky,life is pretty fair it would seem out here in the sunshine!

[dazz675]

good luck Jansman .... hope things improve in the future.........bought my first BOB a 30ltr low alpine rucksack.... hopefully never have to use it.... but at least puts some of my essential preps in one place

[triffid]

Spent the morning investing in wood 'futures' - we cut down some dead trees & fallen branches for a local farmer. Our wage being a couple of months worth of logs (once I have sized/chopped them ).

Sorry to hear of your bad luck re employment Jansman. I think Jans approach of reviewing your spend is a great prep. And this quote from Charles Dickens', David Copperfield bears repetition: (Mr Mcawbers' recipe for happiness):

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen [pounds] nineteen [shillings] and six [pence], result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."*
Mr Micawber's recipe for happiness, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield


*For those us unfamiliar with pre-decimal currency the amounts are £20.00, £19.975, and £20.025


In other words providing you spend less than you earn then you should be happy. If you spend more than you earn you will be miserable.
And the first step is to work out how much you actually spend (and Jans' doing that) so you can take steps to control spend. So full marks to you both.

[Cougar]

The last few days must have been the time for preppers to lay in wood, like many others I also spent yesterday splitting wood and turning old pallets into kindling.