Self-Reliance

Self-reliance is about finding ways to live life without always looking to outside sources for what you need. I prefer the term self-reliance to self-sufficiency because it really is impractical to be truly self-sufficient. Not many of us are in the position to provide for ALL of our needs. It’s one thing to make your own laundry powder but can you also produce the raw ingredients to make that product? Probably not, but in order to be self-sufficient, that’s what you’d need to do.

However, by purchasing the raw ingredients I can make my own laundry powder and not only cut out the  extra ‘nasties’ in the ingredient list but also the corporate layer that makes the most profit from the laundry powder. Meaning it costs me a whole lot less. Less money going into the coffers of the corporate world means more money in mine. Making your own laundry powder is just one example of how being self-reliant can also save you money.

When you choose to use your own time and skills to provide for your family, you’ll save more money and experience a greater sense of accomplishment.  And, it’s not rocket science. Often the most important skill you need to begin your self-reliance journey is the willingness to ‘give it a go’.

Each success; yeast doughnuts from scratch or a plant grown from cutting or seed builds your confidence. Each task you accomplish enables you to take greater control of your money and your life.

The important thing to remember is that being self-reliant takes time and not everyone has a lot, so choose one thing that you believe you can do for yourself, do it regularly and then build on that. That’s what ‘Patchwork Economics’ is all about, finding small changes you can make so you can create a new financial fabric for your life.

Here’s the recipe I use for home-made laundry powder.

Laundry Powder Recipe

4 cups grated laundry soap (Velvet) or homemade soap

2 cups borax

2 cups washing soda

Mix all ingredients together.

Use just two tablespoons of this powder for each wash. Suitable for both top and front loading machines as this mix is low suds.

I use my kitchen whiz to grate the soap and mix the ingredients – quick and easy.

Energy Audit

Energy is a commodity very much on everyone’s mind; between the proposed pricing of carbon emissions and the ever increasing cost of all forms of energy, we’re facing an ongoing challenge paying for our high energy lifestyles.

One thing we can be sure of is that the price of all fossil fuel based energy will get more expensive. Even if there’s no ‘carbon tax’, if the form of energy we rely on requires oil as an input, it will get more expensive as the competition for oil supplies heats up.

So, what are our options? Well, unless you’re in a position to put a photovoltaic array on your roof, (which I’m not) then you’re going to have to learn to live with a lot less electricity.

I’ve kept an eye on my electricity use (Kilowatt Hours not $$) for a number of years and for most of that time, it’s averaged around 7 kilowatt hours per day. It has recently climbed to a little over 8 per day. The time has come to find out where the ‘leak’ is and fix it but not only that, I’m setting myself the challenge of reducing my usage by at least 25%.

In my home, electricity is used for heat, light and small appliances. I use natural gas for hot water and most cooking. I also have a wood burning combustion heater in the main living area. That means I have a few options for reducing usage but nothing that will show a sizeable reduction, quickly.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be tracking my usage via the meter and taking note of which appliances are being used and for how long. Hopefully that will point out any obvious power drainers and also, if there are some bad habits that have snuck into our daily routines. 

It also means I’d better get the block splitter out and get some more firewood sorted!

Pantry Pics

This is my dining table. Once again it is in use as a storage space rather than a piece of furniture used to make dining more comfortable. On the table is part of my stockpile. 

Stockpile 1

I had to empty the cupboard this lot was stored in so it could be moved. Yes, more disruption due to the ever-unfinished kitchen. I figured if I need to move it then I might as well do a stocktake, too. 

Stockpile 2

Most of my canned goods and consumables are stored elsewhere but I'm hoping these pictures will show that anyone can start to build a reserve of food stuffs. 

Stockpile 3

Stockpiling is not an exact science or a one size fits all set of instructions. We're all different so we all have different needs. The trick is to start, then build on it regularly.


Whatever happens, you're prepared to ride out the worst of it if you know you have a well stocked pantry.

Stockpiling 101, cont...

Step Two


Now you’ll need to spend some time thinking about menus. In order to know what to stockpile you need to focus on what you use. If you don’t bake, then it’s pointless having 50 kg of flour stored. If you don’t eat baked beans they shouldn’t be in the cupboard. You know what you and your family eat on a regular basis. Most families have a dozen or so favourite meals they cycle through regularly. What are your family’s favourites? That’s where you should start your list.

Make a list of the ingredients or food items you buy regularly and start checking prices. Write the price, the size of the packaging and the store in a little note pad that you keep with you all the time. This enables you to take advantage of specials when you see them therefore making your stockpile a real budget superhero.

Remember though, only buy what you use, don’t buy it because it’s cheap. Cheap is still expensive if it sits at the back of the pantry collecting dust until it’s finally thrown away during your next spring cleaning session.

Once you’ve started to build up a supply the food items you use regularly, you can expand your stock list to include consumable items like toiletries and cleaning supplies.

When you’re comfortable with your ability to manage your well stocked pantry you’ll no doubt want to take it to the next level – preparation planning.

Preparing for an emergency, whether or not it’s financial or physical or both takes planning based on an intimate knowledge of your needs. Emergency Preparation requires you to store everything you need to survive a short term (or long term) emergency. Working on your well stocked pantry is giving you the knowledge, skills and a head start on stockpiling.

As your stockpile builds you will begin to feel a sense of self-reliance. You’re no longer a slave to the supermarket. The roles have been reversed. You can choose to buy when it suits you rather than them. You’ll start to get a taste of the real power of the money in your pocket and your respect for its power will grow.

The Well Stocked Pantry or Stockpiling 101

Step One

You need to know where you are in order to map out how to get to your destination. Organising your stockpile is no different. 

Once you decide you'd like to create your own well stocked pantry, you'll need to do a stocktake. That means getting everything out and making some decisions:

• What's in your pantry now?
• How long has it been there?
• Is it past its expiry date?
• How many of each item do you have?
• Will you (and your family) still eat it?
• If not, can you donate it?

You might by surprised at just how much stuff has made its way into your pantry and never seen the light of day again. Sort through it as quickly as you can, if you linger too long at this task you'll start to focus on the money that's potentially been wasted rather than the task at hand and that's not useful at this point.

Create three separate piles; keep, use immediately, donate. It would be prudent to throw away some things and I'm sure you know which ones when you see them. The 'keep' pile will form the basis of your stockpile, the 'use immediately' pile will mostly consist of items you bought on impulse rather than items you buy regularly so find a way to use them immediately. If you can't, donate them via a local food charity. Anything you can't ever see yourself or your family eating again, that's still well within its “use by” or “best before” date, donate.

Give your pantry a clean while it's empty. You might want to cover the shelves while you're at it, too. But, don't get too carried away or you'll lose sight of your objective, which is to start organising your stockpile.

When it comes time to refill your pantry, take a lesson from the supermarkets. Make sure the items you use every day are the most easily accessible and that usually means eye level. Items that are heavy or bulky should be on the lowest shelf or floor, items that are used less often can go on higher shelves, which is probably a good place for the biscuits!

Now that your pantry is clean and uncluttered, you’re ready for the next step. Tomorrow we’ll start on stocking your pantry.

The Benefits of a Well Stocked Pantry

Once upon a time, in every corner of the world, food security was the first priority of every family and/or village community. Food was harder to come by, took effort to grow or hunt or gather and it was the difference between hunger and health. If you didn't store food for the lean times you went hungry or died. 


A well stocked pantry is insurance against roller-coaster prices, financial trouble and external adversity. When your pantry is full, you're prepared for any kind of siege; cut off from civilisation by flood waters, snowed in or the financial wolf is at the door.


Food security was paramount in the thoughts of most communities until relatively recent history. 'Just in time' logistics systems apply not just to the movement of stock to stores but also of produce to plate. How many times have you gone to the supermarket to buy food for just one meal? Dropping into the shops on the way home from work to pick up what you need for dinner is 'just in time' logistics.


A well stock pantry or stockpile is central to patchwork economics. It enables you to shop less frequently, buy in bulk and take advantage of specials at the supermarket. You've probably heard this before, but to put its value in context, you just need to have read, watched or listened to the reports of panic buying in Queensland during the floods to see the value of a well stocked pantry or stockpile. Panic buying was experienced in a lot of towns and suburbs that were faced with being cut off from that 'just in time' logistic system during the floods. Supermarket shelves were emptied in hours. In some cases, police had to be called as violence erupted and some supermarkets were forced to employed security staff. There were also reports of price gouging. In most cases these localities would have been without fresh supplies for only a few days, a week at most.


You can avoid scenes like this if your pantry or garage or spare room contains the basic supplies for at least a month. This doesn't mean three dozen tins of baked beans stacked up in neat rows, unless of course you love baked beans, it means a back up supply of the ingredients you use every day. If you cook from scratch, you understand intimately which ingredients you need a decent supply of. If you rely on prepackaged foods it might be a bit more of a challenge - they will take up more space and cost a lot more.


My pantry it an integral feature of my patchwork economics approach. It has ample supplies of white and wholemeal flour, other baking requirements like yeast, the raw ingredients for baking powder plus salt, sugar, milk powder and cocoa. Protein ingredients are dried legumes and tinned tuna, plus there's also tinned tomatoes and tinned fruit in the cupboard. And, complete meals will be added to the shelves as I get the hang of using my new pressure canner. I also have a stock of basic consumables on hand too; toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, etc. I keep a supply of fresh milk, meat, butter and lard in the freezer. Oh, and cat food, lots of cat food (Woolworths recently had my cats' favourite at brand half price). These are just some examples of what I keep a stock of in my cupboards, your needs will probably be different. 

Presto 23 Quart Pressure Canner/Cooker

A well stocked pantry gives you choices not available to those who operate on 'just in time' logistics. It saves you money if you buy only those ingredients you use, and you buy them in bulk or on special. It gives you a buffer against financial adversity because even if you're without an income for a few weeks, you still have food in the cupboard. And, the future always looks brighter on a full stomach!

Not sure where to start when it comes to building a stockpile? Stay tuned as we cover the basics on putting together a stockpile over the coming week.

Here are some news reports on panic buying:
http://www.theage.com.au/environment/weather/major-supermarkets-shut-down-as-shelves-empty-20110112-19nrh.html
http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2011/01/13/supermarkets-forced-to-close-after-panic-buying.html

No Spend February

For many years now I've appointed February as a designated ‘No Spend’ month. I think it all started as a way to recover from the additional costs of Christmas, the summer holidays, and the back to school spend fest.

It’s also the shortest month.

Last year was the first in a long while that February escaped this challenge as we had other challenges, ones that transcended money.

This year, it’s back...

What is a ‘No Spend’ month?

In very simple terms it’s a month when only the basics can be purchased. That means food, petrol and regular bills. No clothes, cosmetics, shoes, plants for the garden, toys for the cats, extra special notebooks, trips to the movies. No car washes, haircuts or manicures. No takeaway, no ‘treats’.

Obviously, emergencies can arise but the definition of an emergency is strictly limited to health and vehicular; a long awaited DVD release doesn’t count.

While the ‘No Spend’ month will inevitably change your bank balance in a positive way it will change your habits in a positive way, too. You’ll become more aware of how often you get your purse or wallet out when you’re then putting it back, unopened.

Challenge yourself to a ‘No Spend’ month. Or even just a week and see how you go.

Then come back and share your experiences.

Spending Less – The Top Five

This year money is going to be tight, very tight.

There are a several reasons for this:

·         I have employment for six months but beyond that I’m not sure

·         Whispers in the press of another interest rate rise

·         Inevitable rise in prices for basics like food, utilities, petrol (gas) and insurance plus the effect of the Queensland and Victorian floods on those prices

·         And... the roof needs replacing - desperately.

I’ve been practicing a simple, frugal approach to life for many years but in the last year or so, I’ve dropped the ball a bit. Now is the time to get back on track and to ramp it up a notch or two. That’s going to mean being very organised, spending less on everything is much easier when you’re organised. For example, last week I grabbed a serve of chilli con carne out of the freezer for my lunch at work. When I’d divided the chilli into single serves and put it in the freezer I was in a hurry and didn’t label it thinking that I’d recognise the contents easily. If only that were true... Instead, I’d picked up a serve of tomato and vegetable sauce, which is very nice over pasta or chicken but not so appetising on its own. So, I was faced with buying a sandwich or going hungry. I’m motivated to save money but starving requires more motivation than I possess!

Sandwich - $6.00
Lesson in labelling frozen food – priceless

Five ways we’ll be spending less this year:

Library only for magazines, books and DVD’s
Our regional library carries a great range of titles and they’re free. It also has an online catalogue which means I can log on at any time and request the book or DVD I require and they let me know when it’s ready to pick up. This saves time and money.

Home cooked
Food in general will continue to get more expensive but when you pay someone else to prepare it you’ll be paying even more. This year I’ll be vigilant about preparing our food at home.

Stay out of the shops
When I first chose to change my approach to money this was the first step I took – I deliberately stayed away from the shops. I no longer went for a stroll through the central shopping area during my lunch break and I was amazed at the effect on my bank balance. In order to reinforce this mindset again, I’m having a ‘No Spend February’.

Stay out of the car
This is a no-brainer. The less you drive, the less you spend on petrol. And petrol is getting more and more expensive every week.

Turn off the television
The television is a dangerous object to have in your home. It not only sucks vast quantities of time from your life but it also exposes you to a universe of ‘wants’. The introduction of the television heralded a substantial shift in our society. People we would never normally associate with were suddenly in our home deliberately influencing the choices we make in our daily lives and those of our children - for their benefit not ours.
Also, the time we lose while watching TV undermines our ability to do what we need to do. Have you ever totalled up your viewing time? What else could you have been doing during that time? While I don’t watch much television per se, I do watch DVD’s. The end result is pretty much the same, though – less influence perhaps but lots of lost time.

These are the top five ways I’ll be spending less this year. There are many other lesser approaches that I’ll be employing in my quest to spend less money and ultimately reduce my mortgage and I'll be sharing them with you, too.

What are your top five ways to spend less money?

Queensland Floods and Food Security

The short term impact of the severe flooding throughout Queensland is devastating. Even to those who have just lost property and not loved ones, the scars of this experience will last a lifetime.

The long term effects will filter through to us all.

Many areas of Queensland currently under water grow a large proportion of Australia's food supply. Unfortunately, replanting can't begin as soon as the waters recede. The ground will need time to dry out and so will the equipment. A lot of equipment will have to be replaced, too. Seed stocks will no doubt have to be replaced and fodder for livestock will also be a problem. It could be 12 months or more before these regions are planting again.

What does that mean for the rest of us?

It means we'll be facing short supplies, strong demand and high prices for fresh food. When the tonnes of fresh produce grown in Queensland as well as commodity foods like corn and sugar are removed from the supply chain there will be shortfalls. Certain items might not make it to the supermarket at all, for example: tomatoes might go straight to the food processors.

How can we soften the blow to our budgets?

The most obvious first step is to ramp up your vegie garden (if you have one) or at the very least plant a couple of vegie 'pots'. Any options available to add fresh food to your table for the least cost are worth exploring.

The next step is to consider the state of your pantry. Do you maintain a stockpile? It's always worth buying items you use regularly in bulk, if you can. That can mean going to a wholesaler to buy 10kg bags of flour or just buying extra from the supermarket when items are on special. Maintaining a reserve of the basics enables you to ride out the high prices caused by temporary disruptions. It's also an insurance policy against being 'shut in' for any reason.

The next 12 months will be a lesson in 'making do' for a lot of us. Food security will become a headline issue and will hopefully create a new awareness of the need for greater self-reliance in food production. We'll also become much more aware of the fragility of our supply lines and 'just in time' delivery schedules as the interruptions to transportation will affect our food security just as much as the loss of crops. Ultimately, what we do with this knowledge is up to us.

Our thoughts are with those people directly affected by the tragedy of these devastating floods.

You can donate to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal here.

Cost of Living Increases Expected for 2011

This article was published in the AGE newspaper this morning:

Hikes to hurt households

Jessica Wright

January 2, 2011

FAMILIES face cost-of-living increases that could drain the weekly budget by up to $100 this year.

New data shows Australians are being hit with record expenses for basic services while the floods that have wiped out crops in Queensland and NSW are predicted to raise fruit and vegetable prices by up to 50 per cent.

Any hope that the strong Australian dollar would shield motorists from increases in fuel prices have been dashed - global oil prices are tipped to hit record highs early this year.

 

This year's price increases will compound the cost pressures already inflicted on households.

The price rises for local commodities such as wheat, sugar and coal as a result of the flooding come on the back of a 26 per cent increase in global prices for grain and rice from June to November last year.

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said: ''There is no doubt there will be upward pressure on food - bread, fruit and vegetables. It is a bit like a few years ago when we saw a cyclone and what happened to bananas. Some things will reach up to 50 per cent extra, others not as high, but there will be definite rises. There are entire crops under water and this is going to have a big effect.''

In the three years to September 2010, the price of electricity for the typical Melbourne home rose 54 per cent. The price of water rose 62 per cent, the price of gas rose 28 per cent - the highest price increases during the period of any capital city, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau's projections for utility prices this year paint an equally severe scenario of escalating costs.

The trio utility costs alone represent an extra yearly burden of about $1000 on family finances - or $20 a week - for an average household of four, while grocery bills are set to rise on average by $50 a week, based on an average weekly bill of $150.

The figures sit in contrast with inflation, which rose during the same period by just 8 per cent.

Annette Beacher, the head of Asia-Pacific Research at TD Securities, said inflationary pressures were increasing and could translate into another interest rate rise in the first quarter of this year.

''We're starting to see … [a] shift into more price rises than price falls,'' Ms Beacher said.

Housing affordability has taken another dive, with industry figures showing the largest yearly decrease in affordability in a decade.

A report by the Real Estate Institute of Australia showed the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments increased 5.8 per cent to 34.8 per cent during 2010, a 10-year high.

The Bureau of Statistics also identified health costs, communications services and petrol prices as having risen sharply over the year.

FUELtrac managing director Chris Kable said that along with oil price rises, motorists were carrying the extra costs of supermarket loyalty schemes, which he believed were artificially inflating prices.

However, the dollar is set to continue its record-breaking run against the greenback and the euro.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/hikes-to-hurt-households-20110101-19clr.html

How will these price rises affect you?

Now is defintely the time to sort out your budget, sort out your priorities and prepare for a much higher cost of living.

Spending Less

Spending less... what does it mean to you?

To some it means spending less than they do now. To others it means spending less than they earn. Others still believe spending less applies not just to money but to the time spent acquiring that money.

To me, "spending less" is a combination of all three. I aim to reduce my current spending level so that I can maintain the level of my outgoings despite inflation. I aim to spend a lot less than I earn so that I can pay down my mortgage and have cash savings and, as I reduce my debt and other liabilities I can reduce the amount of time I have to work in a 'real job'. This frees up time and energy for projects that are more fun and more fulfilling but more importantly, should the economy take another downturn, I already have a lifestyle that thrives on less income. Spending less is the batting that adds weight to my personal patchwork economics.

Spending less is also a subversive practice. We're constantly bombarded by corporate advertising showing us how wonderful our lives will be when we have the latest 4WD vehicle or 3D television or overseas holiday or cupcake maker, or... the list goes on and on and on. To choose to spend less is to choose your financial well-being over the corporate world's financial well-being. To choose to spend less is to choose to be debt free not a slave to a bank's asset ledger.

Newspapers and magazines

Where to start?
Once again you need to know where you are before you can map out where you want to go. The simplest method and one you've no doubt already heard of, is to track your spending. Note down every single cent you spend for at least a fortnight, a month is better. It's not rocket science but it can bring about a quantum shift in your perception. Where's your money going? Which areas surprised you the most?

Some of the usual culprits are:

• Food and drinks when you're out and about
• Parking meters
• Lottery tickets.

If your employer reduced the hours you work and therefore your income, which of these expenses would be immediately slashed or completely removed? Can you do that now? Are there any areas that you're willing to voluntarily slash in order to have cash in the bank or pay down debt?

Once you have the numbers in front of you, you can start to make choices. What will you choose?

2011 - Preparation Time

As the new year approaches it seems natural to want to set some goals and lay out a plan to achieve those goals.

My goals for the coming year fall into three main categories: health, money and personal achievement.

Health

The saying goes, if you don't have your health then you have nothing, or something very similar. Watching my father be consumed by pancreatic cancer and the affect his illness and subsquent death had on everyone around him, health has become a very high priority for me.

Luckily, making health one of your big rocks can also be a huge money saver. Buying (or better still growing) fresh produce and preparing it simply is much cheaper than buying a pre-prepared and packaged meal. Buying cheaper cuts of meat (gravy beef, lamb necks, etc) and creating slow cooked stews and soups is also cheap, healthy, filling and most importantly, nutrient dense.

The Health plan for 2011 is to:

• Ramp up the kitchen garden so we can increase our intake of fresh, organic vegies
• Reduce our sugar intake
• Remove all commercial convenience foods
• Increase our sun exposure to optimise vitamin D
• And make exercise an integral part of our lifestyle.

Money

Like it or not, money or more specifically debt is the chain that keeps us shackled to a job or lifestyle that steals our spirit. I'm lucky, my only debt is my mortgage but that debt also attracts liabilities like rates, insurance and maintenance. I could avoid the debt and the liabilities by renting but I'd also be at the mercy of the market and the landlord. No thanks! My mortgage is about half the average and therefore very manageable but some of the large maintenance tasks are now due, like replacing the tin roof.

In 2011, the challenge will be to undertake some minor enhancements, some major maintenance and pay down the loan.

Specifically, the Money plan is to save money by:

• Spending less - on everything
• Making every litre of petrol (gas) work hard by only using the car when necessary and making sure it's a multi-purpose trip
• Earning more where and when I can
• Learning how to do more of the maintenance tasks myself.

Personal Achievement

We all have dreams that we'd love to see come true. In 2011, I will set aside time to work toward making one of mine come true. Finding the time to dedicate to a purely personal goal can be a challenge. Work, family, friends and life in general all make demands on the time we have.

In 2011, I will make time available by:

• Turning off the TV - the greatest time waster ever invented!
• Establishing routines to ensure everything (well, mostly) gets done
• And, scheduling time specifically for working on my personal goals. 

Using patchwork economics to ensure that every little bit counts will be a guiding principle for my 2011 goals. Each tomato, capsicum and pumpkin that comes out of the kitchen garden and onto our dinner table is another patch added to the quilt. Each trip taken on foot rather than in the car, each book borrowed rather than purchased, each dollar saved rather than spent adds more patches. It is the small things done regulary that make the biggest difference.

What are your goals for the coming year and have you thought about how you will achieve them?

Rising Fuel Prices

The concern with upward trending fuel prices is the flow on effect.

Living in a regional area, public transport seems to be focussed on school kids and shoppers not commuters. So, I'm faced with little choice but hopping in the car to get to work. Every extra dollar I pay for fuel is either a dollar I don't spend elsewhere or an extra TWO dollars I need to earn. With tight budgets in most households, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one thinking this way.

The flow on effect is that it impacts other non-negotiable areas of the budget, where the same equation of either redirecting dollars or earning extra can be applied. Pretty soon, all the money earned is directed to must haves only (food & shelter), consumer loans go into arrears and the household budget (and economy) springs a leak.

When fuel prices go up it creates a negative feedback loop that doesn't stop until the price goes down again, like after the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) in 2008. These bumps on the graph leave behind a lot of wreckage and lots of people and businesses either wont recover or wont be recovered enough before the next bump completes.

Building resilience and self-reliance into your daily life is the most economically responsible thing you can do.

Fuel prices are the bubble in the level. Our entire economy is based on cheap fuel so when the balance tips toward higher prices - everything tips. Another GFC is not impossible and this time most of the developed world is carrying huge debt from bailing out big business. Where will the next round of bailouts come from? How will they finance them when all credit sources are exhausted?

I don't think you need to be a fatalist/doomsayer/'The end is nigh' type to see the logic in finding a way to soften the impact of another global economic meltdown. 

Along with mortgage interest rate rises, fuel price increases are a great motivator for adding another patch or two to your own patchwork economics.

Waste Not, Want Not - Banana Muffins

Like many people whose parents were born during the great depression, I was raised with the adage "waste not, want not..." as a permanent echo. This seems to be a value we've lost. How often have you cleaned out the fridge or pantry and discovered a whole basket load of food that needs to be thrown out because it's either past its 'use by date' or has at the very least, seen better days? Have you ever totalled up the cost?

In the spirit of not wasting anything if I can help it, I do my best to ensure perishable food gets used as it comes through the door rather than going into the fridge (this is easier when you have a kitchen garden) but there are always occasions when I find myself with food that either has to be used today or put in the compost tomorrow.

Bananas are a regular feature on that list. Here's a great idea for using some over-ripe bananas. These muffins are 'Texas' sized in Robert Gordon muffin wrappers.

Banana Muffins sprinkled with rapadura sugar and ready for the oven

Banana muffins straight out of the oven

The recipe for the muffins is a simple one:
Ingredients
1 + 1/2 of plain flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of melted butter
200 mls whole milk
1 egg
2 mashed bananas

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix milk, egg and melted butter together in a jug.
Using a knife, stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just mixed.
Spoon mixture in muffin pans and bake for 15-20 mins for normal size muffins or 25+ minutes for Texas sized. I usually sprinkle some rapadura sugar on top before baking for some added texture.

What food item regularly features on your throw out list? Why? And, can you find new ways to use the ingredient rather than throw it out?

Asking these questions and then acting on the answers can add another piece to your own patchwork economics. Money you don't throw out is money that can be used constructively to build a resilient financial future for yourself and your family.

Steps Toward Resilience

As promised yesterday, here are a few of the simple changes I’ve made to my environment in an effort to increase my resilience and lower my exposure to risk.

The most important goals for me are to ensure that my family has a roof over their head and food on the table. These are just a couple of the areas I am working on to achieve those goals.

Learning to Live on Less

In general, my needs are quite simple. I have a small car, a small house and I don’t drink or smoke. It might not seem like that much but smaller cars generally have much better fuel economy. Small houses are cheaper to furnish and to heat and cool. And, addictive habits like drinking and smoking can chew through vast amounts of money for absolutely no positive return. Money that might have gone to oil companies, utility companies or tobacco companies goes to my mortgage instead.

Gardening

My garden isn’t a sprawling acreage but, I’m using it to reduce the impact of economic risk by lowering my expenses. Robert Kiyosaki says that your home is not an asset for the simple fact that it creates expenses not income. For the last few years, I have been working on creating an ‘income’ from my property to off-set the expenses. I have planted a wide range of fruit trees to provide a variety of fresh fruit over an extended season as well as fruit for preserving. I have a substantial kitchen garden with everything from potatoes to herbs for tea and flowers for the table. I have also planted deciduous trees where they’ll have maximum cooling effect for my house. The ‘income’ I receive is probably not income by Robert’s definition but in my view, the house is beginning to pay its way. My only regret is not thinking this way when I first planted out the garden 10 years ago!

Employment

I have more than one job. I currently work two part-time jobs as well as run my own business from home. Yes, it can be awkward at times but I know that not all my eggs are in the one basket. I feel insulated against the vagaries of the employment market.

All these changes have occurred over time. In isolation, they probably don’t have a huge impact but stitch them together and they begin to provide the fabric of a resilient life.

Patchwork Economics - Risk Assessment

Risk (n) A chance or possibility of danger, loss, injury, or other adverse consequences.
Source: The Concise Oxford Dictionary, Ninth Edition

Assessing your vulnerability to risk is a quick and simple process. Determining how to build resilience into your lifestyle so you can either reduce the risk or lessen its impact, is a little trickier.

What are the potential risks to your financial well-being? You might be surprised at the list!

Here’s a few to get you thinking:

Economic Recession/Depression/Collapse
The economic environment in which we live is completely and utterly beyond our control. We cannot change the environment but we can change the way in which we’re affected by it.

Unemployment
If the company you work for decides to downsize in order to show their shareholders a profit, your job could be gone. What then?

Keeping a roof over your head (literally!)
If you are lucky enough to have a home of your own, whether or not you carry a serviceable mortgage, what happens when general wear and tear over time brings about the need for a major repair job; like replacing the roof? Do you have the money to get it done? Do you even know how much it would cost?

Increasing Fuel Prices
Even the International Energy Agency admits that we’re already seeing the effects Peak Oil (where production exceeds demand) in their recently published World Energy Outlook 2010. When demand outstrips supply, prices go up. If the price of petrol (gas) doubles, how much will it cost you to get to work? What sort of impact will it have on the basics that you buy regularly, food for instance?

Increasing Energy Prices
We’re already seeing ongoing rises in electricity prices. At what point will using electricity to keep you warm or cool become a luxury you can’t afford?

These are just some of the big picture issues that we all face. I guess you could say these are the big rocks that we need to deal with first. As you begin to ponder these issues, I’m sure you’ll be able to fill in the specifics with details from your own experience and add some colour from your own lifestyle. At first they might just seem like headlines but as you place them into the context of your own life they will become personal.

Tomorrow, I’ll share with you some of the steps I’m taking to ensure financial resilience for myself and my family. I hope it will help spark some ideas for you to use.

Patchwork Economics - Creating a lifestyle that insulates against adversity

A while back I heard the term ‘patchwork economics’. It really caught my attention.

No, it’s not about making quilts economically; it’s about applying the same patchwork theory to the financial side of your life.

Traditionally, patchwork quilts were created using a variety of fabrics that were salvaged from worn out clothing, off-cuts from the construction of new clothing or recycled from packaging like flour sacks.

This is the approach I am now applying to my financial life. I’m piecing together lots of small changes to create a new financial fabric. This new fabric will insulate us against adversity in the same way a nice cosy quilt insulates against the cold.

Where do you start? You've got to know where you are before you can plan the route to where you want to be. One of the best ways of finding out where you are: assessing your risk for adversity. If you have one source of income and very high expenses, you're exposed to a huge financial risk. What would happen if you lost your job?

Spreading your financial risk is the same for earning a living as it is for investing - don't put all your eggs in one basket. So, look at ways to create new avenues of income - legally, of course! And, just as importantly, find ways to reduce your dependence on your primary source of income and that means also lowering your expenses.

Applying Patchwork Economics requires a considered approach to determining where your money comes from, where it goes, and how you can hang on to more of it while becoming less dependent on it in the first place. It means giving serious thought to what would happen to your financial well-being if the economy took a serious downturn.

It's certainly giving me lots to think about.

How secure is your financial future and can you benefit by applying Patchwork Economics theory as well?