I spent a year there, in a manner of speaking, while in grad school.  I lived in the bed of my pick-up truck (rather than a boat).  Like the author said, no shower, no warmth, no easy way of making yourself look presentable.  I hadn't realized before then that Charlottesville could be so cold and damp. 

One other tidbit of advice.  You can always spend a few warm hours in a laundromat.  They are always warm and dry, and even if the excessive fluorescent lighting makes you look like a box of detergent, you can get some reading done.

Emmeran wrote:

1.  Own your car
2.  Don't buy a damn thing
3.  Buy hard staples in bulk, meat is a luxury
4.  Keep your seeds dry
5.  Know how to work and I mean really work; drive HE or pound a fucking nail

6.  Be well armed.
7.  Stockpile potable water.
8.  and stable fuel (diesel, propane)

Hey, Dusty's a prepper, I'm sure he could add to this list.

That was a good read, though pushing the Prozac was kind of weird.  I've been lucky... I've been poor and without transportation, but never for long.  I've never gone hungry and have always at least had a friends couch to crash on.

Auto-edited on 2020-08-02 to update URLs

opsec wrote:

That was a good read, though pushing the Prozac was kind of weird.

Yep, so was the dog, the boat, the car and no honorable mention at all of weed.

I was born on third base and truly believe I hit a triple.

The cops don't pull you over because your insurance is expired, they pull you over for something else then nail you if your insurance is expired.  I still stop buying things any time my outgo is more than my income in any given pay period.  It's pretty deeply ingrained from my ramen noodle eating days.  If only I could convince the Boss to think the same way.  To add to the list:

9. Fix your own stuff.  You can't afford a mechanic/plumber/whatever when food money is a problem.

You need to read this.

Plus, she likes guns.  A lot.

Dahl, remember Heads 'n Feds (pdf), the Freak Brothers Board Game?

I had it kind of rough the first two years after high school.  I was paying for the whole mechanics tool list (had to get all snapon tools on credit) along with supporting a pretty solid diet of marijauna and alcohol.  The worst part about it all was realizing that I was just one, maybe two, paychecks away from losing my vehicle, tools, apartment and whatever chance I had of getting laid for awhile.  I sometimes think back to that miserable part of my life and it's really lead me to be prepared for things that might come.  To prepare for any surprises I've invested in a lot of high quality tools over the years that might get me a job and in a pinch could be sold to keep me going awhile.  I also convert about half of what would go into my savings into gold and silver as a store of wealth.  It's just too easy to go to an ATM and pull out money to go on a shopping spree, spending one ounce gold bars and ten ounce silver bars is a little more difficult.  I've pondered using simple living techniques to stop feeding the beast and become more self reliant, but I'm a fucking consumer and I like to buy cool shit.  My next purchase is going to be a Ruger Redhawk .44...

On a similar note, I would like to mention that the best thing that I've done for myself recently was to stop watching the news on television or participating in any political discussion.  None of it is real, all it does is create crisis after crisis to turn people against one another.  It's good to be prepared for when things go bad, but not allowing yourself to get sucked in by those fearmongers makes the world a lot happier place to live.

fnord wrote:

And it looks like I may be about to fall further, or at least lose what shrinking reserve I still have.  You see, Partner™ and I both need expensive dental work that isn’t covered by our insurance.  Not having it done means that both of us would eventually experience a lot of pain, and possibly other complications (arthritis, heart problems, kidney failure) if we just let it go.

I can personally recommend dentists I know with practices that cater to westerners. Located in Mexico or Thailand.  The savings are in the order of 70 to 80%. What we did was to get family an affordable apartment for a month and get it all done.

But of course if you have complicating medical conditions such as heart issues, you may want to have your dental work done near a top rated specialist center. Of which our family has found that the best in the world is now in India. Where instead of nearly a 300k bill for 10 days of intensive care it cost about 20 grand.

opsec wrote:

Tall Paul wrote:

I was born on third base and truly believe I hit a triple.

Am I missing some deep philosophical meaning here?  If you hit a triple, you can't be anywhere other than on third base.

I believe it refers to someone who is born into opulence and somehow believes he earned his position.

wolfpitlord wrote:

opsec wrote:

Tall Paul wrote:

I was born on third base and truly believe I hit a triple.

Am I missing some deep philosophical meaning here?  If you hit a triple, you can't be anywhere other than on third base.

I believe it refers to someone who is born into opulence and somehow believes he earned his position.

Hadn't heard that one... the googlethulu brings up...

Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple.
    Barry Switzer
    US football coach (1937 -

So thank you both for broadening my cultural horizons.  I know it's unlikely, but I'm hoping that at least one of you actually raise wolves in pits, and makes them call you lord.

Summer was short at 10,000 ft, winter work was scare and fishing was a five man job; two snagging, two clubbing and one watching for the game warden.

I ate Kokanee salmon October to May three winters running, fresh thaw poached, broiled, grilled, baked, fried, and pickled. The memory still hits my gag reflex.

Shirt sleeves to tee shirts in seven generations.

Dirckman wrote:

On a similar note, I would like to mention that the best thing that I've done for myself recently was to stop watching the news on television or participating in any political discussion.  None of it is real, all it does is create crisis after crisis to turn people against one another.  It's good to be prepared for when things go bad, but not allowing yourself to get sucked in by those fearmongers makes the world a lot happier place to live.

Hear Hear!  To quote Mencken:  "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."  (Chrestomathy - 12/1921)

My only addition to the "Rules":  Have a public library card.  Thanks to inter-library loan, I have expanded my music collection exponentially and have explored genres of music I would never in my life have even given a second thought without spending a dime.  Of course, as long as you have music in your life, things are much more bearable.

Guinea hens. Maybe.

choad wrote:

So...

Kill your television.
Your library is your friend.
Acquire marketable skills.
Tear up your credit cards.
Invest in things you care about.
Turd world travel for healthcare.
Plant a garden and raise chickens.

You forgot:

Get to know Mr. Clean
Go clubbing with fish

God but I'm fucking drunk....  Rule #1 when it comes to being fiscally responsible on a personal level is don't pick up any major drug or alchohol dependencies!!  I'm doing just fine now, but if something happened I doubt I could support my four to five hundred dollar a month alcohol allowance.  Of course I'll just blame the govt. for taxing, regulating, and making it so fucking expensive in the first place.

Last edited by Dirckman (2010-11-25 01:56:12)

When I was growing up we were dependent on church donations for clothing for a while, and we went barely making it month to month for a long time, so while we weren't really poor, I know what it's like to have to scrounge to make it.  At the moment, though, I just happened to land myself in one of the few non-banking sectors that is rolling in cash.  It's a bit surreal.  I try to help out people where I can, because it's a pretty shitty situation in this country right now where some people are raking it in so many people's job prospects are sluggish or worse, but I try not to let it stop me from enjoying what I have now, even though it kind of feels like I fell ass-backwards into a nice job when the rest of my family is feeling the same crunch as everyone else.

Don't suppose that might be folk etymology?

choad wrote:

Dirckman wrote:

I'm doing just fine now, but if something happened I doubt I could support my four to five hundred dollar a month alcohol allowance.  Of course I'll just blame the govt. for taxing, regulating, and making it so fucking expensive in the first place.

Or hide a still next to your grow box. Where you live, revenuers will never find it.

I have a relative who makes his own, but he lives on 100 acres of deep south forested land.

Fled wrote:

Hi HK - It's good to see you around.

Hi Fled!  I missed (some) of you.