Preparations Update

[viking]

Store had canned veggies ( good till 2020!) for .50 a can so I bought multiple cases each of green beans, corn, carrots, peas, potatoes and tomatoes. Also bought cases of canned beans. This will last us a couple of years.
Made the last payment on my FJ Cruiser so we don't have that bill now to pay each month
Paid off the mortgage last year.
Been taking any extra money and buying shiny metal lol Have 2 places to go to now and when one is out the other seems to have some
Getting out of any debt is my major project I've been working on now for a few years. It was great being able to pay for a new fridge right away when ours died on us a few months back.
And paying for the Cruiser to be serviced like it needed before winter hit. Such a satisfying feeling.

Working towards getting a metal roof on the place. The one now is almost 30 years old and will need replacing very soon

Good for you!!! Getting out of debt, now days, is an amazing feat, it often takes a lot of sacrifice and adjusting yourself to what is called, delayed gratification, but in the end you may come to feel, as we did, that each dollar spends like it was $10. We often talk about getting more expensive items if they are really needed and if we can afford them, I'm sure it certainly feels good to have the FJ paid off. Because of getting out of debt the last two vehicle were bought with cash, both Toyota's, a 2005 Sienna with 172,000 miles and a 2007 Tundra with 244,000 miles, they both run like new because they had been taken care of, saw on Car-Fax, it's a huge relief not to have monthly payments, other than the electric and phone bills.

 

[Tootsie]

WVDragonlady, you should have a good/forever vehicle there. We got a Cruiser when they first came out, and I was SO mad at my husband for getting it. It has never let us down. Now, he’s talking about something newer. Nope. It’s 17 years old. Still looks like new. I can’t see it wearing out.

 

[Amish Heart]

Sounds like it's good to hold on to older vehicles. Just watched Alaska Prepper today talk about something in the infrastructure bill that Biden put out...new cars have to be made with a kill switch starting in a couple years.

 

[SheepDog]

So the "criminal justice" folks can arrest you easier no doubt.

 

[Caribou]

Sounds like it's good to hold on to older vehicles. Just watched Alaska Prepper today talk about something in the infrastructure bill that Biden put out...new cars have to be made with a kill switch starting in a couple years.

The sad thing is that it is already built in. Anything with a push button start can be remote controlled including throttle, start, stop, brakes, wipers, more...

 

[angie_nrs]

I took delivery last week of a fairly large order of PM's. Thankfully I ordered at the dip in the beginning of the month and saved some money. Now I just gotta figure out where to put them. Some of them are going to go as Birthday and Christmas gifts next year.

The local grocery store had stove top stuffing on clearance for .80 per box. I bought a case for the pantry. We typically eat low carb, but for that price I couldn't pass it up. It'll last a long time in storage. When I went back to the store recently, they were all gone.

I'm working on a list for next week. I haven't gone to town in weeks....just been getting fresh stuff from the local store which tends to be more pricy, but I didn't really have a lot to get. I'm curious if there are any after holiday clearance items out there anywhere so I'm going to make a trip just to see what's up. The last time I was there I got a case of country sausage gravy on sale and a case of canned potatoes that hubs likes to use in his breakfast dish.

We've been eating out of the freezer to make room for a half cow that's still roaming. It's due to be butchered sometime this spring and I have no room! And I really really really do NOT want to use the spare freezer.....b/c it's supposed to be a spare. I think I need to make some venison sausage. That never sticks around here long. I'm also using more of my frozen veges in the steamer to make more room and humidify the air at the same time.....a two-fer. LOL!

 

[txcatlady]

Went to Walmart to pick up husband 2 prescriptions. New year, new deductible. $666.12 for the 2 for one month. Criminal. Decided to check out groceries there as well as the grocery store. 24 pounds of sugar for the empties in pantry still have 40 pounds already, 40 pounds of flour to bring freezer back up as only had 15 left and 10 packs of bacon for freezer as only had 6 left. Some canned goods. Tuna packed in oil, meat and other stuff. I saw a man looking over a shelf and I spoke and he was sent to buy lasagna noodles. None, only pasta was 5 packs of spaghetti noodles. I suggested he go to grocery store and check. I forgot to look but I did pick up 30 pounds of leg quarters at .88a pound. Prefer closer to .55 but when in Rome……

 

[Tootsie]

That is horrible, that prescription cost!
Ask the pharmacist if there’s any help available. We refused to use our insurance because they mandated that we get from Express Scrips. I like where we get our scrips filled. Once we used GoodRx and another time the cashier had something that she used. Both times it ended up costing much less than it would have been with insurance. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

edit- these programs are ones you take to the pharmacy and ask them to use. They should actually have information on these programs at the register.

 

[goshengirl]

Good Rx also has an app and you can have your coupon on your phone for when you go to the cashier. At my pharmacy I only had to show the coupon once, it’s now in the system and I always get the reduced price - not sure if all pharmacies work that way. But it definitely helped A LOT!

 

[Amish Heart]

If you don't have a smart phone or apps or that kind of stuff, you can apply to good RX on the home computer and they will send you a card. Actually they've sent me 3 cards. Don't know why.

 

[Tommyice]

Buzz RX is another good one. You pharmacy should have additional ones for use.

 

[hiwall]

In our local small town pharmacy, if you don't have insurance they automatically use one of the discount cards for you without you even asking. They have been in business in the same building for decades.

 

[Tommyice]

In our local small town pharmacy, if you don't have insurance they automatically use one of the discount cards for you without you even asking. They have been in business in the same building for decades.

The pharmacy I work in is a big chain one but we do this. If you’re not a Karen. Lol and if you’re really nice and patient we will actually cycle through every discount card we have looking for the best price for you.

Will even do this if you have insurance and are still working on a high deductible that you know you’ll never meet. And we’re pretty good about telling about the manufacturer coupons on the brand name stuff.

 

[txcatlady]

On back of GoodRX card it says not for use with state insurance or Medicare. We are on Medicare

 

[Weedygarden]

Daughter has been using my dehydrator and seems satisfied with it. I was not always happy with the results from that dehydrator. Yesterday on Nextdoor Neighbor I saw a used Excaliber advertised. I go to church with the seller. I bought it today.

 

[goshengirl]

Yesterday on Nextdoor Neighbor I saw a used Excaliber advertised. I go to church with the seller. I bought it today.

How perfect is that!

 

[Weedygarden]

How perfect is that!

I thought it was great! I thought it was a great deal as well!

 

[Bacpacker]

IMO best dehydrator on the market

 

[Tommyice]

On back of GoodRX card it says not for use with state insurance or Medicare. We are on Medicare

None of the discount cards can be used with any insurance whether commercial or government funded (this includes Medicaid, Medicare). Manufacturer vouchers also can’t be used with Medicare and Medicaid or any other government funded health insurance (this is insurance provided to federal employees, state employees, municipal employees) There are a few manufacture vouchers that you can use when you’re on Medicare. Xarelto is one of them. In fact Xarelto has a voucher for a free one-time 30 day supply.

 

[Tommyice]

IMO best dehydrator on the market

I got a good one last year, Backpacker. It’s an Elechomes. It is the quietest dehydrator I’ve had. It has stainless steel racks, silicone mesh sheets and a couple of lipped trays. The quiet is what sold me on it. Living in a tiny space that’s an important feature.

 

[Bacpacker]

Never heard of those Tommy. Noise can be an issue for sure

 

[Amish Heart]

The Excalibur is not really that noisy, but I have a table set up in the basement with the Excaliburs on it. I use them there. Mostly because of the smell of some foods, husband doesn't like smells with his asthma, and because they take up alot of space any other place.

 

[Morgan101]

We finished up a BOB for the dog, and stored it with our other BOB's. He only weighs about 20 pounds so it doesn't take much. If time and space allowed we have a crate for him just in case.

 

[Sourdough]

Just bought more "Black'Out" Curtains. Only $13.69 with the 30% off coupon. I get the 8 foot long ones and cut to fit and use the extra for other windows. They are for summer and SHTF.
Amazon.com: Deconovo Solid Room Darkening Thermal Insulated Blackout Grommet Window Curtain Living Room, Black, 42x95 Inch, 1 Panel : Home & Kitchen

 

[angie_nrs]

Just bought more "Black'Out" Curtains. Only $13.69 with the 30% off coupon. I get the 8 foot long ones and cut to fit and use the extra for other windows. They are for summer and SHTF.
Amazon.com: Deconovo Solid Room Darkening Thermal Insulated Blackout Grommet Window Curtain Living Room, Black, 42x95 Inch, 1 Panel : Home & Kitchen

Thanks for that Sourdough. I nabbed a few of them. That was a good price. The 30% off coupon only applies to one curtain at a time in the cart. After my first order (that was over $25), Amazon sent me a notice that anything I ordered within 24 hours (no matter what the price) would be shipped free. So, I placed seperate orders per each panel and then got the 30% off each of them. I was kind of a PIA, but at least I got the full 30% off.

 

[Smalltimefarmer]

Saw where Russia has stopping exporting grain. Prices will rise so stock up. I think the article said they supply 29% of the world's grains.

 

[Amish Heart]

We just need to stop sending ours to China.

 

[angie_nrs]

I went shopping this week just to top off a few things and look for clearance deals. I didn't see a whole lot for deals, but I did find a few.

Lighter fluid - on clearance for $2 each - I bought the last case (9) on the shelf
a few clothes - 50% off clearance prices, so the pants and Christmas gifts I bought were all less than $10 each
beer - rebates were attached
humidifiers were on clearance for $22 - I bought 2 b/c mine broke last week
extra filters for the humidifiers (4)
chicken breasts on sale for $1.69 per pound - and that's a sale price? I still nabbed 4 packs since I was out
filled 2 more propane tanks that we just used
shelving units (2)
surgical gloves pk of 100)( on clearance for $3.29 - bought the last pack
lavender disinfectant cleaners (6) on clearance 40 cents each

The stores were all pretty well stocked, so shortages haven't really hit my area.....yet. Even though I hit the stores early, the stores weren't very busy even later in the day.

Hey, we got beer and snacks. I even got some pizzas and chicken wings. We can ride out what's coming.....or not.....in relative comfort for a while. The frig is stocked with fresh fruits and veges, at least for now. Hopefully I can find the time over the weekend to start organizing my stuff and get some more storage shelves put together to help with that.

 

[Acdoctor]

In the process of freeze drying so lean ground beef tonight, next up will be green beans , mixed veggies and the wife wants to do some strawberries And pineapple over the weekend.

 

[Sourdough]

Yes........I did the same thing. It would only give the discount on one, so I canceled all but one, then made several orders. got the discount on all.
Blackout Curtains plus Bear Board Shutters. Should keep the Light-in and Bears-out. | Homesteading & Country Living Forum (homesteadingforum.org)

Thanks for that Sourdough. I nabbed a few of them. That was a good price. The 30% off coupon only applies to one curtain at a time in the cart. After my first order (that was over $25), Amazon sent me a notice that anything I ordered within 24 hours (no matter what the price) would be shipped free. So, I placed seperate orders per each panel and then got the 30% off each of them. I was kind of a PIA, but at least I got the full 30% off.