Cheap-Ass Grub

 Have you been to the grocery store lately? Food prices are ridiculous and it appears that they are only going to get worse. With inflation and crop failures you can pretty much count on it. If you are a person of little means like me, the poor, the down and out, or a member of the “underclass” you need to do everything you can to reduce your food budget. You can clip a few coupons, which helps a little, but you need to do more than that. A lot more than that! Get hardcore and go “commando” on its ass. I’m talking about your food budget of course so don’t get all medieval with the manager of your local Piggly-Wiggly because of high prices.

Use “alternative” strategies to put food on the table. Things like dumpster diving for food that’s still eatable can have a noticeable difference on your budget. Read my article, “eating garbage” posted earlier this month. Create a weekly (or monthly) menu built around basic food items bought in bulk. Beans, rice, flour, sugar, oatmeal, powdered milk, baking powder, and corn meal are all relatively cheap (for now) and can be stored away for long periods of time without going bad.

Learn to cook from scratch and save a ton. With just the above mentioned food items and little more you can cook a wide variety of things that will keep your menu from becoming too repetitive. Some of the things you can make with these basic dry goods include bread, biscuits-n-gravy, pancakes and waffles, cookies, cakes, muffins and corn bread. Beans and rice together will provide you with all of the essential amino acids that are vital to good health. So if no meat is available to you for whatever reason you could survive in good health for a reasonable length of time on little more. Not that you would want to do that, but you could if need be.

You can also cut cost as well by growing as much of your own food as you can. Raise a few chickens for eggs; keep a few bunnies around for meat. If you have the space think about acquiring a few goats for milk and/or meat. Most people may not be able to raise all of the food they consume due to space limitations and time constraints but even a small garden and a few chickens will go a long way in helping reduce cost. Even if you live in an apartment right now you could still grow a few fresh veggies on your balcony.

People who are unemployed or employed only part time right now might want to think about Food banks and similar organizations that give out food to the needy. I know that some of you will scoff at accepting “charity”, but if you’re worried about where your next meal is going to come from then swallow your pride and take advantage of all the freebie food programs you can find. There have been times in the past when these programs have meant the difference between me eating a decent meal or going to bed hungry at night. By all means don’t let it get you down though because one minute you’re sitting there-boo hoo , woe is me and the next minute you’re lying in a bathtub full of water with your life force slowly fading away after you’ve done slit your wrist! So lighten up and try to get over any complex you might have with this.

Another freebie food idea is to find a local “soup kitchen” If there’s one in your area. Find out what time they start serving lunch and dinner and arrive on time. The Salvation Army serves hundreds of thousands (possibly millions) of meals to people every single day! Check around to see if one is in your area.

I once dated a girl who was always complaining that we never went out and did anything. One day I went over to her house and told her to get ready that I was taking her out to eat. It took a few minutes to convince her I was serious but when I did she got all gussied up, fixing her hair and putting on makeup and changing clothes several times to find the right outfit. When we left the house she was all giddy and smiling from ear to ear. “Where are you taking me”, she asked. “You’ll see” I told her, “it’s a surprise. When I pulled into the Salvation Army parking lot and shut the car off she got totally quiet, which was unusual for her. She got this totally serious look on her face as she said “you’re taking me out to eat at a homeless shelter-You really are the cheapest bastard I ever dated. Needless to say that relationship didn’t work out.

There are other ways to slash your food bill and put grub on the table. As with most everything on this blog this article is not meant to be an A to Z, step by step guide you should follow but merely “food for thought”. Options in life are more abundant than most people realize so be creative and come up with solutions that fit your particular needs. Find ways to adapt to situations that take your personal experiences into account. With a little luck you can stay fat and happy until the apocalypse. 

Blog Stuff

 I’ll be working on this blog over the next couple of days or so, adding new features and what not. The blog list will include those who link back to this site or to a particular article on this blog. So if you host a blog and post a link back here let me know. If I find your site interesting or useful in any way I will add it to the blog list. I will still add sites to the links page that I think are of interest but only those with a link to this “trashy” little blog go on the blog list.

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Since I have no regular internet connection just yet, and because I have been pretty busy with other things I haven’t posted as often as I had planned. Hopefully things will change soon and I can pick up the pace. So please come back often and have a look around.  Sorry this post is so short.

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I want to leave you today with some more search words people have used to find this site. I thought they were pretty amusing so hopefully you’ll get a kick out of them.

Auburn Washington trailer trash

Assland

Asswood

Home ass mobile

Trailer trash ass

Ass linging

Free mobil Ass

Paying rent sucks ass

Death in a grocery store compactor 

Easy Money

   

New jobless claims are up according to a recent news report and economist are no longer talking about a recovery from the “great recession” but instead are talking about an economic downturn that’ll make the great depression of the nineteen thirties look like a day at the beach. So in this crap economy one needs to find ways to pinch every penny until ole honest Abe cries out in pain. There are many ways to cut back, find cheaper alternatives, and just make do. Go back and read my post “cheap living tips” to get a few ideas.

But sometimes you just need to figure out how to make a few extra dollars to supplement your current income. If you are currently unemployed it is even more important to find ways to make a little extra money. In this article I want to toss out a few ideas to help stimulate your imagination. Read over these and see what else you can come up with to earn a little cash in your spare time.

Handy man service work odd jobs whenever you can. Mow lawns, rake leaves, paint houses for people. If you have a truck or van you could haul off junk or move furniture on the weekends. Tree trimming can really bring in some decent cash in your spare time if you have the right tools and equipment. A mobile auto detailing service could be started for very little money. Get the word out by printing up flyers and passing them out to people. Knock on doors and offer your services. Once you get started and people see that you offer honest services at reasonable rates they will call you again whenever they have something for you to do.

Sell crap at flea markets Set up a display of used stuff at a flea market or swap meet on the weekends, kick back with a beer in your hand and let people bring money to you. Where do you get the crap to sell you ask? Anywhere and everywhere you can find it. Dumpsters at apartment complexes around the end of the month are areas to find useful stuff, as people move out and toss anything they don’t feel like taking with them. Most Cities and towns have a certain day every month that residents are allowed to place larger items on the curb for pick-up. Furniture, toys, household items, and other crap you could make a buck off of can be found. The free section on Craigslist is an excellent source for totally free crap you can turn around and sell. Have a yard sale as often as you can to save the expense of renting a space at a flea market.

Baby sitting and house cleaning For the ladies out there who don’t want to try trimming trees and moving heavy furniture around find a couple of people who need good cheap babysitting service. Small children are not the only people who need “sitting”. Lots of seniors need caring compassionate folks to check in on them every day and do some light house cleaning. You could also offer your services to people who are planning to go out of town for work or vacation. You stop by once a day and feed and water any critters they have, check up on the place and then go about your business.

Scrap metal Money can be made in your spare time as a “scrapper”. All sorts of scrap metal can be found just about everywhere. Aluminum cans are going for about 65 to 70 cents a pound right now, and #1 copper is more than $3.00 a pound. Learn the difference between ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Between #1 and #2 copper. Learn how to find the scrap and how to turn it into cash with the least time and effort. There are all sorts of videos on you tube that will explain how you disassemble junk appliances for the valuable metals inside. There are also forums on the internet where scrappers exchange ideas about making money from scrap metal.

Doggy Style No I’m not talking about becoming a porn star. I’m talking about breeding dog’s (to each other of course) to make a little extra spending money. Look in the newspaper to get an idea of just what a pure bred k-9 can go for these days. One bitch can have six or more puppies per litter and can have two litters a year. Let’s say you have one male and two females. The potential is there for more than twenty puppies a year! If you only made $200 apiece that’s over four thousand a year. All you have to do is raise a few dogs. They can’t be mongrels however; you need pure bred registered animals. Don’t try this unless you really love dogs, you’ll be miserable and so will the dogs.

Blood Money Become a blood plasma donor. You can make two to three hundred a month with just a couple of hours of your time, twice a week. Last year, being completely broke I did just that and it meant the difference between keeping a roof over my head and having to sleep out on the street. The first four times I donated I received $50 each time. After that it dropped down to $30 and $40 if I donated within the same week. It is extremely important to eat something prior to donating though. I’ve seen people pass out who didn’t eat before donating so don’t forget. I’m not trying to scare you away from this however, just eat an hour or so before hand and you’ll be fine.

There you go just a few ideas to help you make a couple extra dollars in your spare time. These are not the only ways to earn cash obviously but hopefully they will stimulate the old gray matter a bit. Do you have any unique or creative ideas to make extra money? Please share them with me if you do.

More Cheap-Ass land

I have for you today a list of properties I found on yet another real estate site that are pretty damn cheap! Most of these properties are five to ten acres and are around a thousand bucks or so per acre. Some are considerably less than a thousand bucks an acre and one is a little more. Most of these properties are in remote locations and should increase your odds of survival when the inevitable zombie out brake occurs. These are larger tracts of land and should allow you plenty of space to do your own thing far removed from the zombie hoards.

Some are more suited toward desert rat types but they are all relatively cheap! The site I found these listed on has 25 pages of cheap land so if nothing on this list appeals to you check out the site to see if you can find something more to your liking. These however were the best deals that are listed, in my cheap-ass opinion.


Even with the dessert properties listed here you could still conceivably construct a rainwater harvesting system to meet your water needs. It would have to be rather large and you would need to practice conservation in its use but it could be done. Something you couldn't really do with anything under an acre.

40 acres Sweetwater County, Wyoming $7,697…. that’s just $192.43 an acre!

20 acres Hudspeth County, Texas $7,831…. $391.55 an acre

10.17 acres Hudspeth County, Texas $ 4,148…. $407.87 an acre

20 acres Jeff Davis County, Texas $6712…. $335.60 an acre

10 acres Reeves County, Texas $4,482…. $448.20 an acre

5.46 acres Culberson County, Texas $3,297…. $603.85 an acre

5.44 acres Culberson County, Texas $3,297…. $606.07 an acre

10 acres Culberson County, Texas $4,712…. $471.20 an acre

5.25 acres Costillo County, Colorado $4,897… $932.76 an acre

5.54 acres Costillo County, Colorado $5,097…. $920.04 an acre

5.36 acres Costillo County, Colorado $4,897…. $913.62 an acre

5.5 acres Costillo County, Colorado $5,097…. $926.73 an acre

6.2 acres Costillo County, Colorado $5297…. $854.35 an acre

5.06 acres Costillo County, Colorado $4897…. $967.79 an acre

11.1 acres Douglas County, Washington $12,653…. $1139.91 an acre

All prices listed are cash prices. You can still buy these properties however with a small down payment and no credit check. I believe the interest they charge is rather high but there is no penalty for early payment. So if you don't have cash outright you could still acquire one of these properties and pay it off as fast as you can. Go to Land Central and click on the "cheap land link". you'll have to search though a lot of properties to find the ones listed but you'll probably discover others you like as well. Good luck and happy hunting

Finding Cheap-Ass land

   

Buying land in this day and age is a real chore. It’s not as easy as strolling down the isle of your favorite supermarket, casually browsing the merchandise until you run across something that strikes your fancy. To find a piece of property that suits your needs you must be diligent in your search. You should make it your number one priority and be willing to put in the time and effort that it takes to find what you’re looking for.

This is especially true if you are seriously lacking in available funds to purchase your own little Shangri-La. Even with the end of the housing bubble in the United States real estate prices are still ridiculously high and will only go up in the long term. Remember, they aren’t making any more land but new human beings are minted every day!

However don’t think because you are cash poor you will never be able to obtain a patch of ground on this planet that you can call your very own. To do so you need to be creative and use “gorilla tactics”. Going through a realtor or looking in the classified section of your Sunday paper is not the only way to find land, and it’s damn sure not the way to find “cheap” land.

If you read my post “camp 420” last month you know how I found my little oasis. If you haven’t read it go back and check it out. I’m by no means a real estate expert but I purchased a book a number of years ago called How to Buy Land Cheap and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to find their own cheap-ass property.

If you purchase the book through my amazon account you will be helping this blog out and I certainly thank you if you do. Check your local public library first however to see if they have a copy for you to read. The last addition to the book was written in the 90’s so some of the info is a bit dated but it is still well worth your time if you want some cheap-ass land.

The internet is a great tool for finding cheap-ass land as well. E-bay of course is one source you can use in your search. Craigslist is another site to watch for some cheap-ass land. About ten months ago I found an acre and a half on craigslist for only $1500! It was less than twenty miles from my location as well. Unfortunately the owner wanted cash and I didn’t have $1500 at the time. Needless to say it sold pretty quick. Ozarkland.com is a site you might want to check out. I haven’t seen anything cheap from them in a while but they will email you any new listings when there’re available.

Another possibility is to place your own ad on craigslist and even in your local newspaper. Tell people what you’re looking for and what you’re willing to pay. It might take a while before somebody calls you with a deal you can afford but you could get lucky.

A couple of days ago I discovered a site on the web selling some pretty cheap-ass real estate. I haven’t yet had the time to fully explore their site but these are a few of the cheap-ass properties that are currently listed.

2.7 acres in Benton county, Missouri $2500 cash price! Ask for Finance price and terms. Contact info-360-354-1171

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10 acres-2 adjoining 5 acre lots-In lake county, Oregon! $5500 cash price for both lots. Ask about financing terms and cash price. Contact info-360-354-1171

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1 acre-south of Albuquerque NM in Socorro county $1250 contact info-360-550-8943.

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5 acres in Ne NM four corners area near the Zuni mountains $5000-contact info 360-550-8943

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5 acres adjoining 5 acre lot also available for possible 10 acres! $2750 cash price per lot. Call Char at 360-550- 8943 to ask about owner financing.

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½ acre in Rio Rancho NM about 15 miles NW of Albuquerque and 50 miles SW of Santa Fe. $1600 contact info 360-550-8943

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10 acres Elko county Nevada $3000!  Contact info 360-550-8943.  I believe it’s somewhat close to the “infamous” Bison survival compound! If you buy this property Jim Dakin might actually give you a tour of the Bison Pit of Doom!

These are not the only cheap-ass properties I found on this site so go over and check em out at Eaglestar.net. If you Know of any other sites where people can find cheap-ass property send em this way and I'll pass em on.


End

Wall-Mart Sucks!

If this corporation were a woman she would be a sleazy, lying, thieving, cum-drinking gutter slut! They sell way too much merchandise that is shoddy, unreliable and just pure crap. It appears they only care about their bottom line and not who they screw in the name of profit. Basically they’re just a front for the Chinese commies to hawk all of their worthless garbage to poor and working class Americans. 

I’ve known all of this for a long time but like everyone else I just shrugged it off. I mean it’s Wall-mart after all so if I refuse to buy anything from this “Junk merchant” then I would be limiting myself in the number of places I have to buy cheap crap. At least 40 percent of the time that I purchase something from these greedy bastards however I have to return it for a refund because it immediately breaks or it’s virtually useless.

Over the years I’ve had to return bicycles, hair clippers, stereos, tools, clothing, shoes, small appliances, and a host of other things that were total junk. This hasn’t really been a “major” problem in the past, just a bit of a headache at times. All that changed this morning when I went back into Wall-Mart to get a refund on a mobile phone I purchased two days ago.

For the last couple of years I have been using a cheap-ass, pre-paid, mobile phone that I purchased from the dollar store for thirty bucks. I spend $25 and get 750 anytime minutes that are good for thirty days. I have been really pleased with this service because I don’t use up all of the minutes before the end of the month and I’m able to get a signal most everywhere. So for the price it’s not really a bad deal. The phone I have though is just a bare bones unit that does nothing more than send and receive calls and text messages.

For my internet usage I mostly just take advantage of “hot spots” from places like McDonald’s or the public library. But using free Wi-Fi hotspots for your primary internet access does have its limitations. Last year I bought a mobile broadband card from virgin mobile and it really sucked. Sometimes I could get a signal and sometimes I couldn’t. Sometimes it would be fairly fast and other times it was slower than dial up. It was expensive as hell too so I didn’t want to go that route again. Google the words “Virgin Mobile Sucks” and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

So for the last month or so I’ve been looking at different options that will allow me to have access to the internet whenever I please. This time I thought the best idea would be to go ahead and purchase a smart phone with a built in Wi Fi hotspot and go with the “unlimited everything” plan that most carriers now have. I should have gone with the Net Ten phone because that’s what I now use but they charge $50 for their unlimited everything plan where as “Straight Talk” charges $45 a month. Well being the cheap bastard that I am I went with the latter. Big Mistake!

I spent a hundred bucks on the phone and $45 for the top up card not to mention taxes. I get the thing home and try to set it up. After calling the toll free number provided and dealing with a recording for nearly an hour they say that their service is not available in my zip code! Can you believe this crap? I didn’t buy this at a Wall-Mart a hundred miles from here. I bought this thing from the junk dealer 10 miles down the road!

Anyway I go back into this junk shop and go directly to the phone section. I have to wait around for an hour because no one that works in this department has arrived yet, even though it’s nine o’clock in the morning. Finally some woman that looks like she has Down syndrome shows up. She’s a total idiot, and clearly not playing with a full deck so I tell her to call the manager.

He shows up and I explain the situation to him as calmly and rationally as I can. I show him my receipt and tell him I only live ten miles away but the carrier says I can’t receive service in my location. He seems real suspicious like I’m trying to run some kind of scam on him or something. This is understandable since “ye olde crap shoppe” has people trying to scam them all the time so I just remain polite and continue to plead my case.

Finally after twenty minutes or so he tells the Down syndrome employee to refund my money. She scans the receipt, opens the cash drawer, and hands me back a hundred and nine dollars. I’m thinking WTF! I spent almost a hundred and sixty bucks on the phone and the top up card and I’m only getting back a hundred and nine!

Then it hit me. The “special” employee doesn’t know how to make correct change. She obviously rode the little short bus to school every day and they just gave her this job out of sympathy. I turned to the manager and calmly pointed out that I was not given back the correct amount of money. He told me that it was the correct amount so then I wondered if maybe he didn’t ride the little short bus to school every day.

Speaking a bit slowly, so he wouldn’t miss anything, I told him that the correct amount of money for the phone and top up card would be close to $160. He then tells me that he can only refund the money for the phone and not the card! Now I’m starting to get pissed. I bought the damn phone from this place, in good faith, thinking I would actually be able to use the thing. I can’t use it for anything other than a paper weight, and this douche bag is now telling me that they are keeping nearly fifty bucks of my money! I don’t care what you say, a thief is a thief, and these bastards are clearly thieves.

I try in vein to get this asshole to see things my way but he won’t budge from his position. All sales are final on the top up cards. Even if it doesn’t work in the same area that you bought it in, so what? Wall-Mart will keep your money! After another twenty minutes of trying to get this thief to come off of my money I feel my blood pressure rise and my head feels like it’s about to explode. Finally I tell him to just give me the damn money for the phone and I leave.

All this was a bad move on their part because karma is a bitch. Things happen and merchandise gets damaged. People sometimes tear open a product to see if the hungry dude dinner will actually satisfy a hungry dude, toss it back on the shelf then move on. Accidents happen and things get broke. I know because I’m a pretty accident prone individual. I can be pretty clumsy at times if I’m not careful. If I go to Wall-Mart just once a week over the next twenty years that’s over 1000 times that I need to be careful! Yeah, these bastards screwed up. Their mistake will end up costing them a hundred times more than the amount of money they stole from me. This corporation is now at the top of my shit list and will be forever more!

End of rant

420 Update

I started this blog recently and it has been the primary purpose here to chronicle my journey from being just another rat in the race to a rat that doesn't have to worry about the race anymore because he refuses to play the game. 


A self sufficient little rat that is able to do what he wants, when he wants, and however he damn well pleases. A rat that doesn't have to bow down to "the man" ever again for a few measly crumbs of cheese.


This is of course an ongoing journey, but along the way I hope to provide you with plenty of useful information that you can use to escape the treadmill-or the hamster wheel. What you will read about on this blog are alternative strategies that you can use to acquire the necessities in life without having to "whore" yourself out to the system for chump change. And hopefully I'm able to do it in a fun and fascinating manner that will to hold your attention.


I've gotten a comment or two (and a few emails) from people who wanted to see pics of my cheap-ass "homestead in the making" or wanted me to give further info about what I am up to at camp 420. Right now the summer heat is in full swing so that's why I am not out there as much as I would like. That and the fact that I am still "whoring" myself out to the system for chump change, and the "brothel" that I work at is too damn far from my zombie hideout. But today I want to share (with those who are interested) a few photos.

This is a view from the street. Can you see the trailer? I have tried to be careful about removing too much brush. I want my zombie hideout as secluded as possible. Out of sight out of mind. Besides I absolutely love the the woods and I am surrounded on all sides by trees. Very peaceful. 




In fact when I purchased my little empire It was so covered with trees and brush that I had to hack out a spot to pull in the trailer. I already owned an electric chainsaw but with no electricity to operate it I had to buy a cheap gas powered saw to do the job. It's a piece of crap compared to the electric but it got the job done. 

This tree is right in the middle of the property and it is huge! I want to eventually add solar panels to provide electricity but will either have to remove the tree (a  major chore) or build something that's portable enough to move around to catch the sun at different times of the day.                     

  
This is my very own mail box and no the address is not camp 420. So if you send any fan mail (or more likely hate mail) it won't get to me. I found the mail box on the side of the road and a buddy of mine painted it and built the post its attached to. I'm now an upstanding citizen.




This is a view from the trailer to the street. I plan on removing enough of the weeds and brush to make a pathway out to the mailbox with paving stones. I don't really care much for the whole manicured lawn thing though. I actually like a much more natural and wild look.

This ugly ass little love seat was in the trailer with all the other crap when I got it. I got rid of most of the other junk but kept this so I would have something to sit on. It's really trash though and not even fit for a hobo to sleep on. It's probably going to be thrown on a fire before too long.



                                               
 I found this black leather love seat on the side of the road the other day and used it to replace the ugly piece of crap in the above picture. as  you can see it's not in the best of shape but it's a major improvement over what I had. I'll probably get a blanket and cover the cushions and then it'll be good as new!

Here's the inside of my $200 trashy trailer. Pretty crappy looking, huh? Believe me though when I say it looks a lot better in the picture than it does in life. It's a "work in progress" however, like this blog. I don't know if the stove in the bottom left of the picture works or not but I'll probably get rid of it.



I just bought another Coleman lantern like the one I had. Two of them together lights up the trailer pretty good. I plan to paint the walls white and that should help even more. The batteries in the first one are still good despite the fact I've used it quite a bit. I really love these things.


I still have a long way to go to really get this place in order but little by little I'm putting it all together. There are repairs to the trailer itself that needs to be done and of course lots of things to be done outside as well. I think once the summer heat has runs it's course I can really get serious and tackle all of that. I will have updates from time to time so stay tuned.

This Blog has hit the Big Time!

I just checked the stats on here and was quite amused by what I found. It's nice to see the number of page views every day but Since this is a new blog my audience is quite low. Some days are better than others of course but still not anything to write home about.


What's more interesting to me are the search terms people use to find this site. Cheap ass living is of course the most common search term used and that makes sense, but there are other terms people have used to stumble upon this blog. Cheap ass survival blog is a little less common but still understandable. Lots of traffic (relatively speaking) found their way here by searching for "free mobile homes" and "cheap travel trailers". Cheap living tips is a search term people have used to get here. One search term somebody used recently was "ass liging". Not even Cheap "ass liging" but merely "ass liging". I don't really even want to know what that one was about!

This morning however someone used the search words "trashy living". Now sometimes I'll go to google and type in the search words people have used to see how this blog ranks in the results. Of course Cheap-ass-living is listed on the first page when someone types in those words. Usually though I'm not very high up on the list. But when I typed in "trashy living" guess what blog was at number one! That's right, Cheap-ass-living! Not only was this blog on the first page but it was the very first one. With ten gazzillion sites on the internet this one is the number one "go to site" for trashy living!

Being number one comes with a huge responsibility. It is something one shouldn't take too lightly and I promise to try and stay humble. To continue as the top dog in this area however requires nothing less. I promise to do everything I can here at this blog to supply you the information you need to do some trashy living so keep coming back to trashy living Cheap-ass-living and have a wonderful day!

Eating garbage

Think about those words for a moment my friends. What is your initial reaction? Are you completely repulsed by the thought? Do you feel the urge to run to the bathroom and hurl your last meal? Maybe you think that the title is just a clever play on words to use as a segue into a rant about the current state of the economy.  No my friends when you see an article entitled "eating garbage" on this blog you can damn well expect it to mean just that.


Now I'm not going to get into a discussion about all of the starving children in Ethiopia and how tragic it is that so much food gets tossed. I'm not going to go on about all the people who go to bed hungry in this country every night because of "food insecurity". Those things are tragic, make no mistake. But you can read about that stuff all over the internet so we won't be covering any of that here.


In this article we will only be talking about how you can profit from the tremendous amount of good eatable food that's thrown out every single day. In fact there is so much usable food being tossed in the trash right now in this country that you could feed an army with it all! All you have to do is get past any mental roadblocks preventing you from taking advantage of this valuable resource.

I know most of you will never "lower" yourselves to eating food that came out of a dumpster. In fact if I thought that this article would change the mind of everyone who read it then I probably wouldn't post it. The fewer people doing this the easier it is to find good food! But this blog is about Cheap-ass-living and how much cheaper can you get than something that's free.


So if you've never cracked opened the lid of the dumpster behind your local Piggly Wiggly and looked inside then Boy are you in for a treat! Over the years I have Found Damn near everything that is sold in a grocery store. Milk, cheese, frozen pizzas, potato chips, coffee, dry goods, sodas, beer, and tons of cakes, pies, and bread. I once found over a hundred candy bars and various other sweets. Mops, brooms, paper towels, you name it and I've found it.


Canned goods are dumpster gold because their expiration date is usually three or four years away! If you find a load of these you can increase your survival food stash significantly. When you're shopping at the Piggly Wiggly and you come across a can of  green beans that's dented do you throw it in your cart or do you grab the one behind it? That's right, nobody will buy something in a dented can if they can buy the same item undamaged. Since the stores can't sell it, in the trash it goes but there's nothing wrong with food in dented cans.


I know some knuckle head will probably leave a comment saying that if the food was tossed out it's not safe to eat. If this were true then I would have died a long time ago! But I haven't died and in fact I've never even been sick from eating food scavenged from a dumpster. Just use a little common sense. If something looks bad or smells funny then don't eat it. If something is way past it's expiration date then toss it back. More often than not stuff gets tossed because of damaged packaging.


Unfortunately not all grocery stores are the same. Many supermarkets use those giant compactors and crush all of their waste. If the only grocery store within a hundred miles of your location is set up like this then you are S.O.L. But if you can find just one store that tosses their trash in a good old fashion dumpster then you have a potential gold mine. Open the lid and dive right in!


Always be aware of any local laws regarding dumpster diving and act accordingly. If you found this article interesting and would like to read more on the subject then you should read "The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving"  by John Hoffman. If this book doesn't get you excited about the subject of dumpster diving then nothing will.

zombie defense 101

Defense of ones self and property is a topic that is sure to elicit many kinds of responses. Some people will swear that an automatic handgun is needed for home defense while others are vehemently opposed to any kind of firearm whatsoever. The survivalist types with plenty of money to burn feel completely naked unless they have a small arsenal of assault rifles and 10,000 rounds of ammo for each and every one. 


Some people however feel the need for a means of defense but don't know a whole lot about firearms, nor do they possess a whole lot of money for a collection that would make the terminator green with envy. For these people the best option for home defense (IMO) is to purchase a good 12 gauge shotgun. You can acquire a brand new single shot, break open 12 gauge shotty for around a hundred bucks.


Now before you yawn and click on over to another site somewhere else consider this. A shotgun does not require a whole lot of skill in its use. A shotgun is a very intimidating weapon at close range. A 12 gauge can do a whole lot of damage and anyone in their right mind will probably crap on themselves once they're looking down the barrel of a 12 gauge shotgun, where as they could be brave enough (or stupid enough) to try and wrestle a handgun away from their intended victim. 


Now if you are really strapped for cash even a hundred dollars can seem like a whole lot of money. It is still possible however to obtain a good decent shotgun for a lot less than that. Go to a gun show the next time one is held in your area. Check out the classifieds in the local paper. Talk to any gun owning friends you have and tell em what you're looking for and what you're willing to pay. 



It might even be possible for you to acquire one without spending one single penny. Craigslist has a barter section for people who want to trade items they have for something else. Look around the house and see what you can find that you never use. Maybe that old guitar sitting in the back of the closet that you haven't touched in years. Or how about the desk top computer that's just sitting in the corner collecting dust since you bought that new laptop. Most people can probably find something to use as a barter item.

And if you are going as cheap as possible in this then what you want is something that's in good shape but ugly! The uglier the better. If the finish on the stock is almost worn off and the barrel is a little rusty then it'll be much cheaper than something brand spanking new or something that's "as good as new". Remember what you really need- a good reliable means of home defense and not a pretty little show piece to impress your friends.


So now that you've got your ugly little Elmer Fud Gun you can use it to go out hunting "waskely wabbits" or you can sit down and turn it into something that's a true work of art. A can of W-D forty and a piece of steel wool will take care of any rust. A Hacksaw and a little spray paint will do wonders for it's appearance. If you don't believe me then take a look at This. Is that a sweet little zombie whacker or what? Not only can you take out the zombies but you'll look damn cool doing it.


Use your imagination and create something as individual as you are. A can of gray primer for the barrel and a can of flat black paint for the stock will give you the "rat rod" look. Or go totally off the deep end and do something like this. Sort of a post apoc Blade runner look. 


Whatever you do to personalize your new little shotty don't forget the ammo. I am no expert by any means when it comes to the differant types of ammunition that's available for the shotgun so stop in at your nearest gunshop and talk to the owner. Tell him Your looking for something to use against the zombies to defend you castle in a SHTF situation. Wanting to make a sale he will be more than willing to give you the run down on the various types of ammo.


And last of all don't just set it in the closet and forget about it. Take it out somewhere and practice with it. Learn to use it like you would any other tool. If you don't know the limitations of your zombie survival weapon you could be putting yourself in serious danger in the event that you are ever in need of it's use.