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Today, we have a previously recorded interview with Hakeem Anwar from Above Phone. He and his crew have been very helpful to me as I embark on creating a more digitally private world for myself while still communicating with yall on the open platforms like Youtube, Telegram, or Facebook.

Update about the LFTN Hurricane Helene Relief Project
Connect to help out: T.Me/LFTNFlood

Donations:
Through my podcast and NOT a non-profit: https://www.livingfreeintennessee.com/product/rebuild-roan-mountain/
Bear Independent’s 501(c)3: https://give-usa.keela.co/gsm-donation-form

Show Resources
AbovePhone.com: https://abovephone.com/?above=104
Use coupon code for $50 off: LiveFreeTN

Come see Hakeem at Self Reliance Festival!

Make it a great week

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce.

Community
Mewe Group: https://mewe.com/join/lftn
Telegram Group: https://t.me/LFTNGroup
Odysee: https://odysee.com/$/invite/@livingfree:b
Advisory Board
The Booze Whisperer
The Tactical Redneck
Chef Brett
Samantha the Savings Ninja
Resources
Membership Sign Up
Holler Roast Coffee
Harvest Right Affiliate Link

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IF YOU WANT TO HELP FLOOD VICTIMS: Join our Telegram group.

Today we will discuss rain, getting ready to be gone, and much more on our weekly Homestead Happenings live streamed show.

Featured Event: SRF Digital Passes are only $50!

Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

  • Jerusalem artichokes are well into their bloom. Mark dont harvest.
  • Baby bunnies.
  • The Swim Spa is placed!
  • BS and AS projects
  • Rams: 1 skipped the fence but so far they are behaving.
  • The Best Rain EVER – We are fine. Decent, consistent, prolonged
  • Keeping our eyes on sheep for hoof rot and pneumonia, rain scald
  • Carnivore update: Headache/migraine and down another 1.5 lbs this week. Adding cooked bacon to meatloaf.
  • Ducks making nests and not leaving us their eggs
  • Fall gardens: where to plant the garlic
  • Getting ready for a farm sitter
  • Raised bed updates
  • GSD Weekend in the offing for the Eversoles
  • Bathroom update
  • Be prepared for the unexpected!

 

Make it a great week!

 

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

 

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

 

Direct Download

Join me for a group discussion with the Angry Prepper and Shawn Mills from Hack My Homestead about building the life you choose, current events, building a durable life, community development, business, getting started, health and more. 

Each Tuesday, we welcome a different guest to tell their story, as well as take your questions live. 

Featured Event: The Self Reliance Festival: SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsors:

  • KangenWaterCollective.com
  • HollerRoast.com

Show Resources

Connect with The Angry Prepper

HackMyHomestead.com

Living Free in Tennessee

NicoleSauce.com

HollerRoast.com 

Main content of the show

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Direct Download

Today, we will discuss the long term impact of small decisions and why that $7 Starbucks really does impact your future. Well it does and it does’t but you will find out on today’s show. I will also discuss our usual sessions: Tales From The Prepper Pantry, The Weekly Shopping Report, Operation Independence.

Featured Event: AMAZING Workshops at the Self Reliance Festival:

  • Sonny Puzikas, The Best Guy To Learn Self Defense from – Mindset and physicality
    • Fight Hacker: Escapeology (Adapted to your level of fitness):
    • The SCIENCE and ART of DE-ESCALATION – You always win the fight that never started:
  • Homestead Medical: Advanced Wound Closures, go home with your practice kit: 
  • SRF bootcamp: We start with processing some rabbits and go from there. 7 instructors:

Sponsor 1: InvestableWealth.com

Sponsor 2: AbovePhone.com

Livestream Schedule

Tuesday Coffee with Angry Prepper and Shawn MIlls, 9:30am CT

Thursday: Great American Preparedness Tour Live, 6pm CT

Friday: Homestead Happenings with the Tactical Redneck, 9:30am CT

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Meat flies out fo the freezer when doing carnivore! Spent $52 per person  on “groceries” counting meats we grew here at fair market price, or actual cost.
  • Planted a bunch of swiss chard for late fall $30 total in purchased plants

Weekly Shopping Report from Joe

Dollar Tree: Stock levels were good, and she commented again about the holes she saw last week at Hobby Lobby.

Home Depot: A 2x4x8 was unchanged from last week, at $3.85.

Aldi: They again have the Cornish hens (essentially very small chickens). We like those. We found everything we wanted except Nutella. This included the new variety of wet cat food. Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): $1.39; eggs: $3.76; whole milk: $2.85(-); heavy cream: $5.39; OJ: $3.45; butter: $3.99; bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.49 (-); sugar: $2.99; flour: $2.35; and 80% lean ground beef: $4.39.

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.599.

Operation Independence

  • Im paying off my mortgage right after this show

Leveraging your home to build something that gives you ongoing resilience, especially when money costs less than inflation is a tool that people have used for a long time to get ahead.

But there is also a trap in there.

If you leverage, and leverage, and leverage, and then fail, you can lose the home you are living in.

One of the amazing things about the US is that home and property ownership is relatively easy, even now when things have gone up, interest rates have gone up, etc. Bi we can buy our homes, outright. And if we organize them right, they can become a source on livelihood. Still. To this day, in 2004.

But I was supposed to talk about the $7 coffee at Starbucks and that it does, on fact, matter very much when you build your financial foundation. Bluntly, if you don;t fix your income problem, that $7 coffee may not change your life – but if you can use it to change your mindset, it can be the catalyst.

Why? I mean, every penny pincher article about getting a handle on your spending starts with the coffee. We really should call is scoffee because it seems so ridiculous.

But here is the thing:

  • I had already planned to pay off my mortgage ahead of schedule – my plan was September 2025
  • I rounded up by $3-9 per payment the whole time, along with added a 2 payments when there was extra
  • I ended up paying off my mortgage 12 months (and with less total interest) early

But back to the coffee problem.

People hear about the Starbucks and are like – but I don’t buy one every day. In fact, I rarely buy one. I’ve already cut that. But I paid a mortgage off and saved at least hundreds if not thousands in interest by adding 1 starbucks coffee per month to my principle balance on my home.

But what is your mindset?

  • By default: It is easier to buy a $7 coffee than a $400 coffee maker
  • Carry through to all parts of life..
    • Vevor Vacuum Sealer VS Vacmaster
    • Vevor Raised Beds vs Wood Ones, Vs self made
    • Manageable prefabbed kitchen cabinets vs waiting

And that mindset is in fact about the $7 coffee. The $7 coffee is a symbol for making short term choices that don’t serve the long term goal.

  1. What is your long term goal
  2. What do you have in place for that now and what needs to change, be developed, be accomplished to do this?
  3. What do you need to do every day to make this happen?

Simple terms = success – this is why we hammer the My3things language so very hard – and Marge is pretty good a rewording over on the Telegram group FWIW

Complicated = not understanding really well = you wont do it

But there is a part 2 here guys.

I almost could not pay off my mortgage today despite the fact that I triggered a clause that makes me pay it off. When your principle drops below your monthly payment, you have 30 days to pay it off.

But my payoff amount is close to $5,000. My savings has been tapped pretty hard this year for a number of personal reasons. That $1000 emergency fund doesnt magically become $5000.

I could have borrowed that from a friend, put it on a card, or any number of things.

But then I realized that one of my side hustles has an account. An account I have never tapped because reinvesting in the side hustle is how you make them grow into a full time hustle. 

And so for real guys, not having 1 coffee per month, adding 2 windfalls to the tone of a single month’s payment toward my principle, and starting a side hustle is why today, right after this, The mortgage will be gone.

And guess what I am doing with the “extra money” every month?

Saving it to turn it into an asset. That payment is going toward the future one way or another.

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

 

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Join us for a discussion on the movening of the rams, the rabbits, a possible permaculture class, and more.

Featured Event: Advanced Closure Class By Chuck Peoples, Oct 3 in Camden, TN.

Sponsor 1: DiscountMylarBags.com

Sponsor 2: TheWealthstedingPodcast.com

  • Tactical, can you think now? (Concrete pad is poured)
  • Rabbit Babies…?Not yet
  • The movening of the rams
  • Keeper ram??
  • Community help was great this year!
  • Found Yarrow in the pasture
  • Fence break woes and the need for backup supplies of springs
  • Carnivore update: Missed that tomato and onion on my burger patty
  • Planting chard in the raised bed
  • Training CYCY not to use raised beds as dog beds
  • Location of the future workshop and barn (as things loc in for zone 1 the rest of the design is also unfolding)
  • Tree Class Nov 2 – $90 includes lunch
  • Harvest: Peppers, herbs – tomatoes have slowed down
  • Prepping sheep pasture for winter
  • Finances – Getting closer to launching the glamper site

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Direct Download

Join me for a group discussion with members of our community and beyond about building the life you choose, current events, building a durable life, community development, business, getting started, health and more. 

Each Tuesday, we welcome a different guest to tell their story, as well as take your questions live. 

Featured Event: The Self Reliance Festival: SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsors:

Show Resources

Connect with Alan: http://i2rd.co/

HackMyHomestead.com

Living Free in Tennessee

NicoleSauce.com

HollerRoast.com 

Main content of the show

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Direct Download

Today, we discuss all the things I learned the hard way through my first two winters with a well system in Tennessee. We will also cover our usual Monday segments!

Featured Event:

Back to the Land Festival the weekend of Oct 18-20: https://www.backtothelandfestival.com/

  • Use Coupon Code SRF to get 15% off

Sponsor 1: KangenWaterCollective.com

Sponsor 2: AgoristTaxAdvice.com

Listener Feedback from Brian

I wanted to let you know your episode resonated with me since I never know what to say on this subject of death either. Whenever we pass around a condolences card at work most people will write “Sorry for your loss.” I prefer “Let the good memories get you through this tough time.” I remember feeling exhausted after my mom’s time on hospice. I hope you are getting some time to relax and reflect especially with the traveling you were having to do to support your family. 

On the subject of heart, I used one of my pig hearts in chili last year. I called it “Heartburn” the meat never got soft it was firm even after simmering overnight. Most of the kidneys I eat are from smaller animals which turn out awesome when cooked in a roasting pan. Pig kidneys deep fried while you are rendering lard is pretty good. Cubed up and lightly floured is good too.

Take care and keep up the great shows.

Livestream Schedule

Tuesday Live at 9:30AM Central

Friday 9:30AM Homestead Happenings with the Tactical Redneck

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Holy cow
  • Fridge management on carnivore
  • Frozen tomatoes that need canning

Weekly Shopping Report

We skipped Home Depot this week, but the online price of a 2x4x8 has gone up 20c to $3.85.

Aldi had neither the old nor the new varieties of wet cat food. We’ll just dip into our stock a little this week. We found everything else we wanted. Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): $1.39; eggs: $3.76 (-); whole milk: $2.92; heavy cream: $5.39; OJ: $3.45; butter: $3.99; bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.59; sugar: $2.99; flour: $2.35; and 80% lean ground beef: $4.39 (+).

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.599.

Frugality Tip

  • A thank  you to Margo

Operation Independence

  • THE POUR is Thursday

Main topic of the Show: Maintaining Your Well Through Winter

Someone asked how important a whole house generator is now that they live in the country on a well and power goes out.

Define your goal – is it having water or having running water because storage is practically free

Simple and cheap options

  1. Bottles – 2 gall per person per day for at least a week, include livestock
  2. The bathtub and toilet
  3. Is there a pool, creek or pond outside and can you carry baskets
  4. Repurposed rain water collection

Generator thoughts

  • Why power the whole house when you can just power the pump for much less money and effort?
  • Land level stored water plus a 12v pump back feeding your system can run off a battery and get you through on conservation mode
  • Have you done a power audit of your home to get a long term plan?

Winter Well Maintenance Considerations

  • Dripping water and keeping pipes flowing versus draining the whole house. Yes. I said draining the whole house. Related drain valves.
  • What keeps pipes and other essential things from freezing at your well head and what do you do if power goes out to keep things from freezing, then breaking
  • What about sediment?
  • Documentation of the components, learning what they do for troubleshooting problems, learn what a check valve i and does and what happens when they break what they do
  • Water testing and treatment
  • Integrating an automatic shut off to avoid burning up the pump
  • Some thoughts on naturally occurring fluoride
  • The local plumbing supply shop is a hidden gem

All in all what you do in year one depends on budget and priorities – but I find the problem isn’t usually that power went out and I have no water. It is more that something happens in the system and when I did not understand the system, it could take days to remedy even with the help of a professional because a plumber/ electrician mix cant always drop everything and come to a place way out in the country. And all plumbers are not created equal.

So time to man up and learn about well systems this year while you also cover things you know can go wrong.

Welcome to country living!

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

 

Direct Download

Join us today for a discussion on managing a homestead in autumn while also overseeing a major construction project.

Featured event: Advanced Wound Closures with Chuck Peoples (House)

Sponsor 1: AgoristTaxAdvice.com

Sponsor 2: DiscountMylarBags.com

The Pool Project
Concrete on Tuesday
Our First Garden Bed
Neighbor’s Tractor as an Accelerator
Rabbits Need Nesting Beds
Forage for Amanda Willis
Nostr, Mewe, Discord and Connecting with Community
Cooking in bulk to get more convenience food
Week 1 Carnivore
Still Haven’t Moved Rams – afternoon?
Need more hay
Holler Neighbor Dinner Foiled By Illness
About to offer sheep for sale

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. It makes a great Christmas Gift!

Community

Advisory Board

Resources

Direct Download

Join me for a group discussion with members of our community and beyond about building the life you choose, current events, building a durable life, community development, business, getting started, health and more. 

Each Tuesday, we welcome a different guest to tell their story, as well as take your questions live. 

Featured Event: The Self Reliance Festival: SelfRelianceFestival.com

Sponsors:

Show Resources

Connect With CJ

AbovePhone.com

HackMyHomestead.com

Living Free in Tennessee

NicoleSauce.com

HollerRoast.com 

Main content of the show

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources

Direct Download

Join me for a show on tactics for beating inflation that anyone can work on. This goes beyond “stop buying froo froo coffee” and delves into five places to focus your attention as we navigate quickening technological advances, a transitioning economy, and, well, friggin high prices at the grocery store that are outpacing income increases.

Featured Event: Oct 3 Fight Hacker, Escapeology with Sonny Puzikas in Camden, TN

Sponsor 1: EMPShield.com, Coupon Code LFTN

Sponsor 2: TheWealthSteadingPodcast.com

Livestream Schedule

Tuesday 9:30am: Tuesday Coffee with CJ Killmer and Shawn Mills

Friday 9:30am: Homestead Happenings with the Tactical Redneck

Sunday 6pm: Shoot the Breeze with Toolman Tim Cook and Spags

Tales from the Prepper Pantry

  • Freezer Audit Complete
  • Livestreams of weird things: beef heart
  • Collecting much more herbal tea items to dry
  • Final round of tomato canning up this week to free up freezer space
  • Canned good reorganization
  • Prepper Pantry Redo Update

Weekly Shopping Report

Home Depot. The online price of a 2x4x8 there remains $3.65.

Along with the new type, Aldi had some of their canned cat food back in stock, so we got two cases. We found everything else we wanted, but noted they were out of watermelon (not on our list this week). Staple prices were: bread (20 oz. white): $1.39; eggs: $3.77 (++); whole milk: $2.92 (+); heavy cream: $5.39; OJ: $3.45; butter: $3.99; bacon: $3.99; potatoes: $4.59; sugar: $2.99; flour: $2.35; and 80% lean ground beef: $4.39 (+).

A gallon of untainted regular gasoline remains at $3.599.

Frugality Tip from Margo

Hey y’all. After talking to someone recently I realized there are probably some things that are second nature to some, but unfamiliar to others. This week’s frugality tip is using media mail with the post office. If you are mailing books, movies, music, or educational material you can send them via media mail. Maximum weight is 70 lbs and it is $4.13 (at time of writing) for any size package. But don’t put anything else in the package, they can and will, randomly open media mail packages because some people have tried to skirt the system and mail other things. So send a book to someone and save a few bucks by sending it media mail. 

Happy savings y’all.

Operation Independence

That single beef heart yielding 7 meals was pretty slick – especially considering that people all but THROW hearts, livers and tongues at me.

Main topic of the Show: Five Tactics To Beat Inflation

Long Term View on Necessary Purchases: Quality – repairable freezer without a computer was $200 more than a good-name freezer. Likely to last twice as long.

  • Maintenance on a regular schedule
  • The $5 coffee coffee “problem” and gearing up at home
  • How can you side hustle this?

From Scratch Cooking: This CAN cost more but doesn’t have to. Do you eat bread? Bake it. Make homemade tortillas. Make them. 

  • How often do you grab something for lunch or dinner from a place. Can you premake things and replicate the ease while getting more bang for your buck
    • $15 foot long subway
    • Premade burritos in the freezer
  • Make your own spice mixes
  • Start where you are and make one change at a time. (eating out and making convenience foods on the weekend, meal planning, learn to cook rice or steaks well. If you dont know what to do, do something)
  • SavingsNinja on tiktok -2000/ calories a day on $4
  • Soapless laundry
  • How can you start a side hustle with this?

Prioritize health whatever that means for you. If you are not getting nutrition, exercise, sleep, health maintenance like regular dental attention, mental health – it is harder to tap into new ways to beat inflation.

  • Exercise is free. Making time for exercise is in your control even when you are slammed. Excises do not serve you.
  • Nutrition Reduced Bills, whatever that means for you and your family, when done right will push down the hunger and the bills. Yes. Plenty of people point out that chips are cheaper than vegetables and meats. But in the aggregate ARE THEY? When you cut out the refined sugars, the processed foods and transition to whole foods (yes even if that includes Nicoles nemesis CARBS), the overall grocery bill goes down. At first you may eat more, but your body adjusts. And if you must bake a thing to have a treat, I dont know about you, but it slows me down. Especially since I dont even keep the supplies on hand for something like a cookie. 
  • Learn herbal remedies.
  • Dr’s and herbalists OH MY. Create access to care for you and your family whether that be insurance, direct care, relationships with herbalists, taking that on at home, etc. Do what you can.
  • Good mental health = resilience. Hard times are hard to get through and if you are mentally weak, it is EVEN harder. Address your mental health. (Nutrition and exercise helps with this) 
  • How can you make a side hustle out of this?

Produce What You Need: your home can work for you no matter where you live. Growing food, making beer, taking up knitting as a hobby, weld things together for projects, fix things yourself, find the ways to do this that reduce reliance on cheap Just in time solutions that do not last.

  • Herbs and kitchen garden – lowes barrier to entry
  • Backyard meats, rabbit, chickens and eggs, quail
  • If you drink beer, brew beer (Caveat about how much you drink)
  • Make a list and find things that fit with your lifestyle that you can build into how your household works from a production standpoint
  • Adjusting by just spending less doesnt address the other side of the battle: You need more income. Side hustle, start a business, etc.
    • How can you make a side hustle out of that?

Community – This is what gets it done. No one can do everything but together we can do most.

  • Trade/sell based on what you are good at (Side Hustles)
  • Bulk buying in groups to tap into savings without having to buy a WHOLE CASE of chicken
    • Jacks show on food pma and the roundtable at SRF
  • Project blitzes
  • Tapping into the lows when there are highs and lows (Eg lumber)
  • Entertainment for free (potluck, campfires, picnics, movie night, etc)
  • Events and gatherings
  • How can you make a side hustle out of that?

What ideas do you have?

Make it a great week!

GUYS! Don’t forget about the cookbook, Cook With What You Have by Nicole Sauce and Mama Sauce. 

Community

Resources