Cut Back on Bills
for a Simpler Life
I got divorced at age 52, and by 62 I’d
lost everything in the stock market crash.
At rock bottom, I lost my job and my
unpaid-for fancy home and car. I realized
that everything I had worked and saved
for my entire life was gone, but I simply
didn’t want to re-enter the corporate world
just to go into debt all over again. I was
tired of the rat race, so I took early retire-
ment and decided I could still “have it
all” with some serious adjustments.
I poked back every possible penny I
could. I rode the $1 city bus, I never
ate out, I only bought groceries twice a
month, and I learned all the different
ways to cook rice and beans. No cable. No
extras. Eventually I saved enough money
to pay cash for an old car with peeling
paint that runs great. I kept an eye on
houses as they went up for auction, and
found a home on an acre with excellent
soil and no nearby neighbors. The house
had fire damage and had been gutted to
the studs and rafters, but the price was
right, and the out-of-state owner was will-
ing to carry the note.Now, every penny I save goes toward in-
sulation and other materials for the home,
which I’ll have paid off in 2018. I have
a nice garden going, and an animal trap
furnishes me with free rabbits a few times
per month. I forage for wild foods and dig
up starts for flowers and wild fruit tree sap-
lings. I’m happier now than I’ve ever been,
and I’ve learned that you can “have it all”
at any age. The only way to forgo money is
to banish bills!
Vicki
Okmulgee, OklahomaHot Water on Demand
I read and enjoyed “Heat Your Water with
the Sun” (August/September 2016), and
have a question for the author, Bob Ramlow.
I’m sure he’s familiar with on-demand hotDear MOTHER
Archive Gold
I’m currently reading the MOTHER EARTH
NEWS Archive on DVD for a second time. I
took so much away from my first perusal,
but wanted to go over it again in case
I’d missed something. I’m enjoying some
of the articles so much that I wanted to
suggest the Archive to your readers who
haven’t yet purchased this gold mine.
Some of the contributors are ex-
tremely entertaining. I’ve just read Sharon
Kruse’s “Living the Homesteading Life”
(September/October 1976) and it left me
laughing so much that I had to hold my
stomach! Kruse writes of her experience
in the Ozarks and describes in great detail
the pros and cons of an incinerating toilet.
I strongly encourage all subscribers to
purchase the Archive (available on DVD
and USB at http://www.MotherEarthNews.com/
Store). It may seem like a big chunk of
change at first, but the information and
education you’ll gain will be worth ever so
much more. Throw in plenty of good old-
fashioned LOLs and you’ll be storing your
DVD under lock and key.
Sherrie Reits
Kissimmee, FloridaEDITORS’
PICKPhoto of Jean-Martin and Maude-Helene - Alex Chabot
Farmland illustration - Elayne SearsWWW.MOTHEREARTHNEWS.COM 5“I’m happier now than
I’ve ever been, and I’ve
learned that you can
‘have it all’ at any age.”
Real-Life Greenhouse
Spike Carlsen wrote that “almost anyone
can build an affordable greenhouse”
(“DIY Greenhouse for Winter Growing,”
February/March 2016), so my husband
put that to the test. Here is Spike’s
greenhouse come to life!
Savannah Boone
Apricot Skies, New Mexico
FOTOLIA/GORD HORNE(CONTINUED ON PAGE 92)p 5 92-99 Dear.indd 5 10/13/16 9:08 AM