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Thread: Howdy from OK

  1. #11
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    Right now the home is 16x80, so 1280sqft. Way too much to heat and cool for the 2 of us (soon). Stepson is off to college in another town in August, leaving the back half empty. The areas we do use now has extra space that is unused. Like, the bathroom in our bedroom is too big, the dining area in the kitchen is pretty much unused, the master bedroom has unused space, the living room is pretty large, as well. Cutting out the back half and excess space, I think we can be comfortable in a decent sized rv. For a year or two, anyways.

    Hubby has already got plans to utilize some stuff grandma has sitting around, with her blessing. He's found some line drying poles, some old structures he can repurpose, 6ft fencing for our two little spoiled princesses (ie. doggies), metal barrels, possibly some tin for the roof of structure over the rv and porch, poles.. seems like he finds stuff every time he goes out there.

    So many things working in our favor for this. I did mention I'm in Oklahoma, right? Grandma has underground house not far from us, so no worries bout tornadoes. There's a very tall pole on the property, 75-100ft, which may get used for local tv channels, possibly internet connection (a neighbor had inquired about it already), a cousin has deer stands up on our part which he's used for game for years, hubby has considered putting in a fishing pond out in a corner (they've had one before).. just so many options to consider. Hubby has warned I may have more quail than I know what to do with.

    Right now what's holding things back is money, yee. Hey, I'm a pro at saving, it's in the works. Is there money saving strategies in this forum?? I've got years of tips and tricks under my belt. You'll probably see me posting, fair warning, lol. Proud cheapskate here. You name it, I've tried it I bet, haha.

    I live cheap. There, I've said it. I'd like to live cheaper. Right now I've got things down pretty low: bought a used trailer for $1500 cash, did some sweat work in it, rent is $190 a month for lot rent, including water. Two cell phones cheapest pay as you go rate for the towers here, no data. Always working on electricity, hard in a trailer park with zero shade and hot Okie weather. Internet is my bone of contention right now, rural I get the only available, but no satellite/cable bill, we stream tv Netflix is my luxury. We drive older, used, paid vehicles, and shop liability only insurance rates for better prices, hubby is the shade tree mechanic. Groceries, I do it all: price book, bulk buying, cook at home, deep freeze, sale shopping. Eating out is a luxury, even then I'm looking for a deal (finally getting these boys to admit my cooking is better than eating out). The hubby has never thrift shopped before me, he couldn't believe it, haha.

    We do have some what I call luxuries: hubby former smoker, I got him to vape, shopped around to find flavor he liked and buy in bulk, saving tons and keeps him happy. I am a homebody, and enjoy gaming, so I do pay a subscription but save on paying 6 months at a time, I save gas and money by being entertained at home. Every once in a while we will rent a movie off Vudu instead of going to the theatres. Hubby used to get a tea at the convenience stores a few times a day, that adds up, so I got him a Yeti cup for tea we make at home and he still has his cold tea during the day. I make leftovers easy to grab for lunches instead of fast food when hubby is at work, he never thought of setting food on dash for a hot meal at lunch in his truck, at it tastes better than a big mac. These little things keep the peace. Give and take. These little things make it so I don't get too much laughing over cutting the dryer sheets in half or buying generic almost always on things.

    Truth be told, I don't see things I do to save money as a hardship. Quite the contrary, I enjoy the hell out of it! This is fun to me.

  2. #12
    Senior Member rosarugosa's Avatar
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    Pammy: We have a frugality section of the Forums and I think you would have a lot to contribute there!

  3. #13
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    What are you in school studying? Interested in what work one can do remotely. My prior field is 100% the opposite of simple, I want a life less insane as as well. I think a more peaceful life appeals a lot to introverted types which I am.
    Trees don't grow on money

  4. #14
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Our RV is 162 sq ft and after a month with 4 dogs and 2 people I am homicidal)

  5. #15
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Our RV is 162 sq ft and after a month with 4 dogs and 2 people I am homicidal)
    Ours is about 220 and I feel the same after about 3 weeks with one each person and dog.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  6. #16
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Alan, one of our small dogs passed away but still have 3. The 80lb guy lays right in the hallway and we have to step over him. We don’t have any slide outs because it is old. I think it would make a difference if we did. So basically you sit in the booth, the 1 chair or get in bed. Ugh!

  7. #17
    Simpleton Alan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Alan, one of our small dogs passed away but still have 3. The 80lb guy lays right in the hallway and we have to step over him. We don’t have any slide outs because it is old. I think it would make a difference if we did. So basically you sit in the booth, the 1 chair or get in bed. Ugh!
    We have two slides in the main living area so that gives us a bit of room between the booth and the couch but I know exactly what you mean. We're considering taking out the couch and replacing it with two small recliners. Our dog likes to claim the space between the couch and booth as well.
    Our third slide is in the bedroom so that gives us a wee bit of room to navigate around the bed, and don't get me started about trying to wash your hair in the shower, your elbows strike every surface. It's all fine for short periods of time, but I start to feel penned in after a few weeks.
    "Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein

  8. #18
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    Woohoo! Frugality forum here I come! Haha.. just so used to hitting' new posts' I haven't seen it.

    I've got a year from being done with my bachelor's in Health Information Management. I'm hoping to use it for billing/coding, which can be done remotely. My previous job was x-ray tech, but an injury prevents me from doing the physical aspect (people are heavy!! and getting heavier), so I took that x-ray degree and my AS in computer science to stay in the medical field. There's lots that can be done with that degree, but I'm introvert as well, people are draining. I picked this field specifically so I can telecommute. The health field is changing so much with everything going digital, and of course health care is always going to be needed, I hope this added 2 1/2 years of schooling I've added won't be in vain even though I'm older getting in to this different field. Hope the years of experience I've already got in medical will be a benefit. (lot of hope here, lol... 'hope' I'm not just deluding myself, haha!!)

    Speaking of introvert.. and the smallish type of housing we are looking to occupy soon, along with you guys that are already living in small quarter (thank you for the input!! keep it coming! ).. I'm probably just crazy enough to try making my very long time dream of building my own little cottage a reality. My girl cave, my own introverted space. I've spied some lumbar on structures that can be repurposed. Other people build their own homes, why not try it myself?? On a small scale, to learn from. We've tossed around the idea of trying this for extra space for the stepson so he has his own place to come to between semesters. All these grand plans, haha.

    The hubby said his grandpa used to have an outdoor solar heated shower out there at one point and it worked great, he will probably try it. Of course, he already has plans to build an outhouse, cause... well, he's a dude and he doesn't want to stink me out of the rv he said. Goofy man. But I'm cool with an extra potty, as well. Truth be told, he's already named it The Schmidtter, cause, well, we are the Schmidt's. Sounds like we will try building quite a few things out there already. My daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby will need a place when they come visit eventually. Maybe with all this future building we will get good enough to build a house for ourselves. Hehe.. I can just see how well this will go over "(stepson) here is your cabin for when you are home, it's not perfect cause we are experimenting on yours until we are good enough to build our own." hahaha

    All these grand plans, yep. But, then reality hit yesterday. A month ago we rented equipment and spent the weekend with a skidsteer filling in huge gaps from previous flood to the road leading to grandma's place to get it passable. Ran out of time with the equipment to further the road leading up to our place. Well, night before last we got a huge dump of rain in our parts, 3" in short amount of time, the rain eroded a bit off the sides of where the road is passable to grandma's and not driveable. For now they are using access to the neighbors, bit rough but they can get to their place. So now, not only do we need to finish the road to our part, but fix again the washed out spots the rain got. Two steps forward, one step back. That's life. So, we keep on trucking and I keep dreaming and reading.

  9. #19
    Moderator Float On's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pammy View Post


    The hubby said his grandpa used to have an outdoor solar heated shower out there at one point and it worked great, he will probably try it.
    My dad built a cabin on the farm and that's where I stay when I go home. It has a very high pitched roof and seems to do a good job of staying cool...ish under the trees. I open the windows all night and keep the ceiling fan running. It has a solar outdoor shower and it's nice. The bags just lay out on the ground then you hang one from tree limbs behind the screen. Since the roof is so high he hasn't built a roof system yet but if you can store water tank and hose on roof it stays really warm. I'm trying to talk him into a wood fired hot tub for chilly winter weather outdoor soaks. The cabin does have a portable toilet with battery operated flush but he prefers people go out in the trees somewhere so he doesn't have to haul it to the campground dumping station in town. I use to lead 10 day backpacking trips so I have no problems with the dig a hole and leave no trace method but we've probably got more trees than you do.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

  10. #20
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    We plan to pull up the carpet and pergo and take out the one small chair and put a small table there. Then we will put dog food and water under the table. We are forever kicking over them both by accident. Float, your cabin sounds great.

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