I went to a local Farmer’s Market last weekend, just to browse, and see what local farmers had to sell. While I was there I began talking with a kind woman in her late 30’s sitting behind a table with eggs, and handmade soap for sale. I told her I was really interested in finding a dairy farmer, who I could buy milk from. She said, “Well… I have a milk cow. I’m just now allowed to sell the milk here since I’m not inspected or licensed and all that stuff. I bought the cow years ago because I have five kids, and I have to feed the whole bunch of them!” I said, “Really?! Well, if you were to sell some, how much would you sell it for?” She told me that she actually does have a couple people who buy it from her, and she sells to them for $4-$5 per gallon. Whew! That’s a lot! I thought. I said, “Oh, okay.” I asked for her name and number, just in case, and then went on my way.
I kept thinking about her all day long, about how I’d really like to get some milk from her. Just not at that price. Then it occurred to me, work out a trade! But, what do I have to offer? I began thinking, and I decided I was going to offer to teach her about CVSing, so that she could get her toiletries and things for close to nothing, in exchange for a gallon of milk every week. I was very excited at the idea. Surely she would be interested in saving money on shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste and stuff.
The next day, very enthusiastically I called her up. I said, “I was wondering if you might be interested in bartering.” She was excited when she said, “Sure! Whatcha got?” I told her about my idea. When I was finished explaining she was silent for a moment, then said, “Well, I kinda have a system that I use. I only go shopping twice a year, once in January, and once in June. Each trip I spend $150 on stuff that I need to last me for the next six months.” My jaw hit the floor. I was absolutely flabbergasted! Did she just say $150 for 6 months?! I blurted out, “Oh my goodness! Are you serious?!” She explained that she figured out how much flour, laundry soap, everything, that her family uses in 6 months, and budgets on that for her trip. She said she makes her own soap (a head to toe, hair and all, bar of soap!), laundry detergent, dish soap, etc. As I listened I said to her, “I need to be learning from you!” In my astonishment I became filled with questions, and asked her tons of them. Towards the end of the conversation she told me that she is having to dry her milk cow up right now because it’s going to have a baby. But she offered me some blueberry bushes if I wanted them. I made plans to visit her a couple days later.
Now, I could go on and on about my 3 hour visit with this incredible family, and this amazing Christian woman, but to keep it as short as possible, and interesting for you I will just name the things that I learned from her about how she saves her family money.
They live in a humble single wide trailer, on 3 acres of land.
They drive an older model van.
They have a garden, and raise all of their own vegetables.
They have tons of different fruit trees, bushes and plants.
For meat, they raise their own cows, chickens, rabbits, pigs, a turkey (for Thanksgiving) and hunt for deer. The cows are gifts from some dairy farmer friends of theirs. It costs $.34/lb to butcher beef any way you want it.
They keep the rabbit fur to make mittens and other things.
She freezes, cans, or jellies all of the food that they produce.
She gets her milk from her cow, and makes her own dairy products, including cheese, yogurt and ice cream, among other things.
She never bought baby food.
They get their eggs from their chickens.
She doesn’t own a dryer. She line dries everything. And she only washes on Mondays.
She buys her flour and grains straight from the mill. She says they are fresh, and much cheaper.
They have well water of course.
She only turns on the air conditioner three months out of the year: June, July and August.
For a heating system, they don’t use electricity. They have a Water Stove. First I’d ever heard of one! It’s like a huge wood burning stove. It has coils inside that hold tons of water. There are two pipes which come out of it; one goes into the house, through a car radiator, and heats the home. The other goes to the plumbing and supplies the home with hot water for dishes, laundry and baths. People bring them lumber and boxes to burn all the time.
No computer. No cable TV.
She makes a menu and plans 3 full meals a day. She said a typical meal would be: BBQ deer meat, green beans, potatoes, and a fresh apple pie. All made from scratch.
She buys all of her spices and cooking needs from an Amish store. She said they are much cheaper. For instance, a whole cup of cinnamon would cost just about $1.00. You buy by weight.
She bakes goods for about a week in Fall to sell at the Fair for her shopping money.
Her and her daughters collect cans along the side of the road, and at grocery stores to recycle for about 10 cents per can.
She uses herbs for medicinal needs. She showed me a few growing in her yard, for teething babies, and bee stings.
If they feel like having a Frosty from Wendy’s, they make one at home themselves. Though, they do treat themselves with a rare splurge of going out to eat.
She was even recently given a wood stove for cooking on. She hasn’t begun using it, and is still learning about how to heat it properly and such, but she is very excited about the idea.
As I left there, I realized just how ignorant I still really am about how to live frugally. This woman truly is an example of the Proverbs 31 woman we all should strive to be. I am filled with even more questions now, and I can’t wait for my next visit with this wonderful family. What surprised me the most about Mrs. Adelia was when I asked her how she learned all of this, if it was from her Mother. She said, “Oh, no. My mother fed me Pop Tarts and Spaghetti O’s growing up. I decided when I was 29 that I was going to get a milk cow and make my own milk, and it started from there.” She began asking around about how to do certain things, and found that the very elderly, 80-90 year old women at a nearby nursing home could tell her the neatest things. And she has just learned along the way. What an inspiration! I honestly didn’t know people still knew how to do these things. I am excited about what more I have to learn.
*Don’t miss Lessons From Butterberry Farm, the second post in the True Queen Of Frugal Series!
candace says:
That’s awesome.
Sounds like a great lady to learn from.
Wish I had a neighbor like that!
May 9th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
jennifer says:
What a beautiful story!! Really makes you think, huh? And to think, we thought we were frugal! Its amazing what you can learn!!
Amen!!
May 10th, 2008 at 12:19 am
jamie says:
what a great story. i could have read a lot more. can’t wait to hear what else you learn next time!
May 10th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Lynn says:
Wow! It really makes you stop and realize how unfrugal most of us are. You can really learn a lot from someone like that.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:30 am
Alyssa @ Keeping the Kingdom First says:
I feel very un-frugal right now. WOW! How inspiring. Sounds like the LORD intended for you two to cross paths. Thank you for sharing this beautiful story.
May 10th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Traci says:
Awesome story (and writing!) thank you for sharing this with us!!
-Traci
May 10th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Melissa says:
What an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing! What an awesome family! I would love to hear more. I wish I could go visit!
May 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
Kansas Mom says:
My husband and I are saving for a little farm and intend to grow most of our own food and raise some animals, too. (The milk cow will probably come a few years after we move.) I doubt we’ll ever be as amazing as this family you’ve described, but we are collecting quite a library of self-sustaining farm books. We joke that we’ll be the ones who thrive if the federal government ever collapses because we’ll have all the information we need to make our own soap, medicines, foods, etc! (Not that we’re hoping anything bad happens to the federal government, of course.)
Also, the milk she’s selling is probably whole milk, which I’ve heard from some families dilutes very well for drinking and baking. You might be able to make your gallon stretch quite a bit farther than ones from the store.
May 12th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Jessica says:
That is amazing. What an inspiration on how to truly be a Proverbs 31 woman.
My family started our first garden this year (you can see pics in my blog) and I am really excited for things to start being ripe.
I have thought about buying a whole cow for butchuring from the school 4h, but havent quite done the math on it yet.
Can’t wait to hear more!
May 12th, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Self-sufficient living « Are We Having Fun Yet? says:
[...] Jump to Comments I thought I lived rather frugally until I read here about this woman. Not only is she frugal, she is pretty much totally self-sufficient. Not all of us [...]
May 12th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Joy of Frugal Living says:
Wow! What a great story. You are so fortunate to have met her and get to learn from her. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer
May 12th, 2008 at 6:25 pm
cindy says:
I hope you do share more of what you learn from her. I found it fascinating to read. Especially to hear how she did not grow up with this knowledge but just knew she wanted to head in that direction. VERY NEAT!
May 12th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
sara m. says:
This woman really goes the extra mile to be frugal, but I wouldn’t ever want to be like that. Modern conveniences are not a waste of money - they were created by God just as much as milk cows and chicken eggs.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Carrie says:
I wouldn’t call this frugal living, or at least not only that. This would be known as “subsistence farming” in older days. Very much like the way the Ingalls family lived in the “Little House on the Prairie” books.
Then again, the Ingalls’ family’s father was always trying to raise a cash crop so they could get ahead, even if he usually failed. I wonder if this family is able to generate assets (for catastrophe, for the future education of the children, for retirement) or if they just get by each year.
And by the way, do they have a father in the home? It sounds like the mom does it all! Or is the dad the one doing the hunting?
May 12th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
Melissa says:
Unbelievable! What a blessing it must have been to run into her!!
Will you continue to share what you learn with us?
Many Blessings,
M.
May 12th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Susan says:
I grew up on a farm. We did some of the very same things. My grandmother came from the Azores…so she knew lots of stuff from there. We canned and baked…I sure miss growing up that way. I wish I could do that now. I will say this…I have scaled back alot lately. I make my own biscuits and freeze them. I make broth/stock. I try to grow my own veggies…sometimes they don’t make it.
You need to let that lady know she needs to write a book. I would LOVE to buy it!!!
Thanks for sharing!
Susan
May 12th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
audra says:
I am amazed by people like this- I have a couple of neighbors who could almost rival her. I wish I had that determination- my computer however will be staying hooked up, my frosty’s will be from Wendys, but I now just might attempt making my own bread.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
mommaof10 says:
We would love to be so self-sufficient someday. We are working on getting there ourselves with a cow and her steer-calf, chickens and milk and meat goats. From personal experience, I know that having animals do have a cost involved.
With only 3 acres, she must be spending money to feed and care for those animals. For a real cost analysis, that cost, which is going up by leaps and bounds with the ethanol issues, must be figured into what she’s spending to care for her family.
The offset to that cost is the health benefits to raising and eating you’ve grown.
I’d love to learn from her too!
Laralee
http://www.PlymouthRockRanch.com
Recording the Faithfulness and Provision of God for Future Generations
May 12th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Marianne says:
All I can say is … wow!
I love the idea of self-sustainability. I think we’ve lost touch with that side of our American heritage.
Unless sustaining green grass in the ‘burbs counts (guilty!).
Please post more! You should interview her for a series here!
May 12th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
socorro says:
Nice open minded interview!
May 12th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
I’m Back in the Saddle aga-yeah-yea-in . . . « Counting My Pennies says:
[...] if you have a second, read this cool story at Handprints on the Wall. A very frugal family of 7 that lives on $300 worth of groceries a [...]
May 12th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
rachel says:
I would love to live like that and raise my children to appreciate the simple things of life. I do many things like from-scratch cooking, but I’m also losing some things that I learned growing up amish. Like butchering chickens and gardening. I really really want goats and chickens, but not while living in a development. Maybe someday…
May 12th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
Christine says:
Wow-Just Wow!
May 12th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Heather says:
WOW! I want to meet her, too! That is what I want for us!!! We are on our way, just not nearly that far….. We do have chickens, pigs, cows and a garden….. I spend WAY more than that on groceries.. What an inspiration!!!!
Thank you for sharing this!
Heather
May 12th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Shari Ellen says:
It sounds like the way people used to live in the older days. I love the idea of it, but it sounds like oh so much work. The radiator heating system sounds very interesting. We have water filled heating pipes running through our house, but they are heated with oil.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
Denise says:
Wow! How interesting! I too could have read on and on! That is awesome!
May 13th, 2008 at 12:44 am
Angela says:
Totally off topic–people in the Portland, OR area would LOVE to pay $4-5 for a gallon for raw milk. We have to pay upwards of $10/gallon plus a 45-60 minute drive to pick it up. You’re lookin’ at a bargin!
May 13th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Heather says:
Thanks for sharing this, I really enjoyed reading it. What a wonderful example of living a simple and frugal life. I’m feeling really spoiled right now with my “city ways” and all the “convenience products” I buy.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:20 am
tanyetta says:
wow. she is truly amazing.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:32 am
Lucy says:
I second Carrie - where’s Daddy dearest in all this? This is a LOT of work for mother and children. Those 90 year old ladies in the nursing home were homemakers during the Depression - they had to raise their families on nothing and work like dogs with large families of children to help with the endless chores. A lot of those ladies tossed their canning jars and killed all the chickens when times got better after WWII.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Becky says:
I don’t mean to be a downer
I just wanted to point out some expenses this lady may have in taking care of these animals. Cows and chickens have grocery bills too and unless you have alot of pasture and hayfields and/or access to cheap grain and hay it’s cheaper to buy eggs, meat and milk than to raise your own. I speak from personal experience 
May 13th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings says:
WOW! WOW! WOW!
And I thought I was doing good on a budget of $500 a month for 9 people!
May 13th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Stacey says:
VERY inspiring! Sounds like a very “rich” woman to me.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
lisseej says:
I can’t imagine raising rabbits and then killing them for meat. In these modern times, these sweet animals are viewed as pets. Frugality is great, but I would have hoped that we would have progressed beyond this.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Amy says:
Wow! That is the most amazing story ever. I can’t imagine only shopping twice a year for that many people, but that sounds wonderful to me
May 13th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Kara S says:
For those who sound “down,” Mrs. A. is probably recouping the costs of keeping the dairy cow as well as her other animals at $4-5 for a gallon of raw milk. We sell our raw milk for $3 gallon and that easily pays for the grain for two dairy cows and 30+ chickens (a 100 lb bag of grain in our area is $12; during the summer 100# will last about 2 months, winter about 1 month or less). Plus we sell chicken eggs. The extra money is then rolled over to purchase fuel for the tractors to make hay and for seeds for the gardens. We plant enough for three households (9 people) in our family to eat year round (frozen or canned for wintertime) and then any extra is sold at the local farmers market or to neighbors/friends. The concept of having a small farm is wonderful and provides us with delicious food all year. However it isn’t for the faint of heart since it takes many hours to plant, harvest and prepare as well as milk the cow, collect the eggs etc. Also as a side note, while Mrs A may spend only $150 every 6 months, she’s probably spending around $300 to have a cow butchered depending on the size of the cow. With a family of 6 or 7, they may butcher once or twice a year, again depending on the cow size. So, yes, there are hidden costs to farming, but you also know exactly where your food came from.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Allison says:
Wow. That is very amazing. Personally, I couldn’t imagine living like that, but I have SO MUCH respect for people that do. That is truly amazing! And what a way to help the earth, that’s for sure
May 13th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
monica says:
Wow, and I think I am being frugal when I ge a box of cereal for $1! I guess I don’t really know that much about being frugal after all:0)
May 14th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Suzville says:
What a fun story! If I had met this woman, I’d be sticking to her like glue! I don’t know if I could ever do all of that, but I sure would love to do as much as possible.
When I was a kid, we lived on an acre and raised rabbits, chickens, and goats. I and my sister hated goat milk, but we didn’t use the goats for meat. I helped to clean the butchered rabbits and chickens - that was quite a childhood!
Raising dairy cows and chickens for eggs top my list of what I’d really love to do.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:38 am
The Happy Housewife says:
Kendra-
That is just amazing. I really admire her attitude and resourcefulness. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Toni
May 14th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Karen says:
It wouldn’t be hard to plant the fruit trees in the city, just get a dwarf tree. We are getting ready to have our first harvest from our apricot tree. We used to have an apple tree and the harvest from that was incredible. More than we could handle, but it was an awesome experience. We moved and I still miss it. Blackberries can be free for picking and so can other fruits if you ask around. Some people will allow you to pick in exchange for some of the finished product ie, jam or jelly or pie filling.
May 16th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Jenny says:
Yes, what a treasure those 80-90 year old are. How inspiring! Does she have a tv/computer? What things did you learn from her that you will put into practice for yourself?
May 19th, 2008 at 11:43 am