October 14, 2008

Personal Responsibility

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you are aware of the current state of our economy and how serious this mess really is. What I find very interesting is that everyone is blaming the lending institutions for the housing crisis, but I'm not hearing much about personal responsibility on the part of the homeowners who applied for those sub prime loans. Whatever happened to living within your means, paying cash and using credit sparingly? Our American motto seems to echo that of Scarlett O'Hara, "I'll think about that tomorrow." Well folks, tomorrow has arrived, and we are all paying for it now. So, while the governmental big-wigs try to decide how best to bail us out of this mess, what can we do personally to survive this crunch?

Some basic things I feel everyone should be doing include stocking up your pantry, cooking more at home, eating out less, reusing and repairing items, conserving electricity and water, and driving less. Things that take more time and effort, but will save you in the long run, include growing your own produce and herbs, composting, canning, sewing and mending, and making homemade cleaning products and gifts. It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway...get out of debt and resist the urge to spend your bucks on unnecessary items. There is a big difference between a 'want' and a 'need' and now is the time to distinguish between the two.

Neal and I have chosen to treat this crisis as an opportunity and use it as a push to get us permanently to our rural mountain property. We already have a shed (built by Neal), and we are in the research phase of building a workshop or barn type structure (to be mostly built by Neal) that can be used as temporary housing for us and the critters until we get a house built. Once we're living on our land, we hope to learn and put into practice even more sustainability measures so that we can rely on ourselves and our skills to see us through tough times. For me, going back to the way things were done in the "good ole days" has become very appealing and satisfying.

2 comments:

Robbyn said...

Congratulations on your plan and your determination to see it through despite the obstacles! We, too, are trying to get to our land. I applaud you both on your consistency and your priority of getting out of debt...wonderful (God really blesses those efforts, doesnt He? He's so good!)

Lilla said...

Thanks for the comment, Robbyn. It's rather exciting to think of all the possibilities available to us, isn't it? We'll have to compare notes on our progress and share our experiences along the way.

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