Episode 6 – Becoming Self-Sufficient
Considering the present state of the country and the world, Becoming Self-Sufficient is something that families need to look at more closely. Amy discusses the current situations that we are facing and lays the groundwork for steps that you can take to get on the path the self-sufficiency in order to ensure your family can make it through the tough times that lay ahead.
Transcript/Shownotes can be found at bottom of page.
Becoming Self-Sufficient Timeline:
:00 Intro
:23 About Becoming Self Sufficient
:56 Why we are in this position
2:40 Economy
5:45 Crime
8:04 Government Overreach
10:57 Food Security
18:09 Digital Currency
19:18 Becoming Self-Sufficient
26:22 Bartering
Resources:
‘Becoming Self-Sufficient’ book by Amy Bell
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Transcript
Becoming Self-Sufficient
Welcome back to farm life and freedom. I’m your host, Amy Bell.
Well today, everyone, we are going to be talking about becoming self-sufficient. Now. You’ve heard me mentioned before about a book that I wrote and to show it to you.
Becoming self-sufficient. Steps you can take today to ensure your family survival in an uncertain time. And the reason that I wanted to talk about this is because of a lot of the things that are going on. Currently.
There’s a lot happening right now. And I know that if you, if you live here, you know it, and it’s not just in America. But.
It’s globally right now. But America in particular is definitely feeling. The pinch. And, Possibly an orchestrated pinch. We’ll see, but there’s a lot going on right now and we have no control. The people. The people who are being most effected. Have zero control at this moment. We can take back control, but we do not have it right now. Now the reason I want to talk about this is because. If you pay attention. Pardon me? If you pay attention, if you’ve been paying attention for the past couple of years,
You would have noticed a lot of various. Let’s call them coincidences. I’m not a big fan of that word. I don’t think that happens very often.
Especially at this scale. But there are a lot of those. Coincidences. Happening. There’s no way I don’t have time to point out all of them. But I want to mention a few and because this is, this is, this gets us set up for the reason why I want to talk about becoming self-sufficient.
The economy is heading down and down and down and down. We’ve had a rough time for the past couple of years.
Amazingly enough, it coincides with the current administration’s first day in office. When they just started. Canceling our. Energy. Independence and those kinds of things. Fuel skyrocketed and things are really not looking up right now. There was a poll recently that showed 65% of Americans have an unfavorable view. Of their economic future. That says a lot 65% of Americans have an unfavorable view. On the outlook of their economic future.
That is rough because a lot of times, even if. Even if. Things are generally kind of in a down direction. A lot of times people have their own personal yeah. I’m going to be okay. You know, But right now with the majority. Large majority of Americans thinking this is not looking good for me. That’s kind of rough that shows you how far reaching.
That our economic situation. Currently is. Economists are currently predicting a recession this year. They’re predicting the third quarter of this year. And I believe it’s lining up to be worse than that. Just by a few factors that are. That keep lining up. There have been large layoffs and there can continuing to be more and more layoffs by big companies , but also by small companies. , companies are having a very difficult time. Struggling right now. And if a company is struggling, they have to cut costs. And that’s one of the first places that I’m actually, I’m going to say this I’ve been a business owner for a long, long time.
As a business owner, especially a small business, your goal, your main goal is to make a profit because that’s how you feed your family. But at minimum, you want to be able to break. Even you want to pay the bills, pay your employees and break even. But , when everything is tightening in around you, when there’s additional regulation, that’s you putting a choke, hold on. You.
Um, when there is problems with the economy and people don’t feel comfortable going in making a purchase, there are things that you have to come back and, and that, you know, cutting off employees, even if you don’t want to, sometimes you just have to go there. So. That has been happening and I guarantee you there’s a whole lot more of that coming.
Down the road in the possibly the very near future. , something else to can consider. Uh, the crime epidemic that we have been facing. It’s gotten. You to say, crime has gotten out of control is, is like sugarcoating it. If you really think about it. Because it’s not just that it’s gotten out of control.
It has been put into an out of control position with no hope of turning it around. Because these areas where it is. Really out of control. They’re continuing to, to follow the same guidelines. That got them into that position. They’re continuing to not prosecute the offenders. Just let them out the next day, um, you know, slap on the wrist, if that, and , it’s kinda like being a parent.
If you have a child who is unruly and you allow them to get away with whatever the unruly behavior is, they will continue. To get away with that unruly behavior. And they will go a little bit further each time. It’s like a step, step, step. And that’s the same thing that you, you know, that’s the way you can look at this.
The parent is. Supposed to be. Uh, the people are in charge and in these big cities, they’re all. Sorry. Sorry guys. They’re all Democrat run cities. They’re all liberally run cities. And these DA’s that George Soros has placed in there. , they’re not doing, they’re not doing the job. You know, they’re doing their job. They’re doing the job that Soros has put them in there for, but they’re not doing the job.
Because the job of the da is to prosecute crime, get criminals off the street, keep citizens safe. And in none of these cities, is that happening? So that’s something else you can factor in to all of these things. So the first thing was the economy is in the toilet. And then of course there’s crime, everywhere. Crime is out of control.
Well, then you’ve also got the added component of the government overreach being at an all time high. It’s getting crazy. , they’re talking about defining what cars we can drive as free citizens of America. They’re going to tell us what cars that we can drive. They’re trying to tell us what kind of stoves that we can cook our family’s food on, which is.
Asinine considering everything that’s falling apart. Around us. We’re talking about what kind of stove that we can use. So anyone who mentions anything like that, any politician mentions that. Uh, in any kind of a serious speech. I’m done with, I mean, I’m just, I’m laughing at them because they are ridiculous.
But let’s talk about government. A little bit further. They’re trying to replace parents. In raising children and in making decisions for children. And you can see that. In the way that the schools have been operating. With, , Pushing children toward transitioning to a different sex. And by the way, don’t tell your parents.
Pushing children towards making these kinds of decisions that they have. No. They are in, they have no business making. These are children who haven’t had enough experience. To know, even if they thought that they might’ve been, you know, they’re a girl, but they really liked to do boy things. That doesn’t mean that they are a girl or a boy trapped in a girl’s body. It’s ridiculous, but that’s what they’re doing. And then of course, there’s the whole idea of the.
Trans people being able, or I’m sorry, trans women. So, so men. Who claimed to be a woman and compete against actual women. In women’s sports. Knocking women. Out of scholarship opportunities and that kind of thing. Just because they want the right. Do you compete at that level at, at a woman’s level?
As a man in. , that’s I won’t go any further than that, on that. Right at this second. I’ll definitely go further. Just not right now. Mess. Not where I’m at.
But the government doing this is the exact same government. That cannot define a woman. So. Something to consider there as well.
Then. Okay, so you’ve got all of that. Now. Let’s look at the fact that food security in America is at an all time low. You think about it? Okay. China. Is buying up. Farmland in America. for weed? I know in Oklahoma, that was the case for China was coming in, buying up all kinds of land. I had no clue that was even legal.
You can’t go to other countries. A lot of the other countries. As an American and by their land. So why are we allowing China? Or people, Chinese people or whatever in China, his name. To, to buy up our farmland. That’s how we feed our people.
So they’re doing that and they’re also buying up land or attempting. In some cases to buy up land outside of our military bases. Big fricking no. Now that’s, it’s ridiculous that that’s even a question that anyone would consider. I can’t believe that anyone would think, oh yeah, that might be okay. It’s asinine.
In fact, this past week I just heard and I forget what state it is. Michigan. Maybe it’s one of the Northern states where a city council. Just voted. for China a Chinese company, which any Chinese company is. And acting as part of the state, that’s just how their laws are. So China. Is buying up.
And land in whatever state this is, and they just got approval to put together a battery plant. And pushing, basically pushing people out of their homes off of their farm land. To put in a battery plant. On our soil. So instead of an American company, Being able to do something, you know, with batteries or whatever, we’re allowing China.
To come in, buy up farmland. And put together a battery plant. And who knows. I mean, you can’t trust anything that they say, so who knows if they’re even who knows what they’re actually doing? But let’s just say it is a battery plant. So they’re gonna, they’re gonna use our country. Too. Create these batteries that we will then I guess, have to buy for our electric cars or whatever.
From China. Um, I’m out on the whole China deal. I’m out. But that’s part of it. So then, then let’s, let’s go a little bit further. Let’s talk about an American. Bill gates is buying up farm land all over the place. Like in huge numbers, bill gates is buying up farmland for what exactly. He believes that people in America.
I guess around the world. I should be eating 3d printed meat. Meat and bugs. So what does he need? Farmland? Exactly. What is he buying it up for?
I mean, just to keep us from farming. Maybe make his 3d meet and bugs. Um, the only thing, the only option that’s out there. I’m not sure, but it sounds kind of fishy to me.
So, um, okay. Here’s another one over the past year or two, I’d actually have to look back and see when all of this started, but over the past year or two, we’ve been, we’ve been hearing. Like. Really frequently. About all of these livestock places that have gone up in flames, we’re talking about chicken farms and, you know,
A meat, packing plants and just so much, so much that has just gone up in flames, I guess there’s explosions and fires and whatever else, but. That takes that, that food product. Out of the system. Just all of a sudden we’re having so many of these things happening. I don’t believe that’s a coincidence. I don’t believe that. I don’t believe it’s.
Can even be a coincidence. It’s too close together. It’s too much. In one time for it to be a coincidence.
Um, okay. What about this? The cows that, I mean, it’s like thousands of cows. I don’t know how many, I don’t even remember how many, but I believe it was in Kansas. Last year, last summer that we had, so many cows, all of a sudden die of heat stroke. Now. I live in Southern Oklahoma. I think it’s really frigging hot here. Hot.
Humid and it’s, it gets really hot. And. In areas that you. That you raised cattle. You, you know, you really have to have a certain amount of space to, to graze them. Um, you, you should have ponds and that’s typically, you know, your ponds or some sort of watering device. For the cattle to be able to, to.
Get water. But. I live in a really hot part of the country and I’ve never, ever heard of that. Can cows die from heat stroke. Of course they can. But.
That one again. Awfully fishy.
And then of course, there’s all the chickens we’ve been taken off the market from avian flu. That seems to happen often. Especially here lately.
I don’t know, but that brings me. Two. What can you do? What can you do? To ensure your family’s survival. Now, the reason, okay. When I wrote this book, the becoming self-sufficient. It was.
It’s written to, for people who are. Just beginning. In this lifestyle or just getting some, some information, maybe they want to lean toward this lifestyle. My suggestion is let’s lean a little faster because the way things are happening right now, I don’t think it’s something that we really want to wait on.
For very long. Things just seem to be snowballing, um, a lot more. Recently. I don’t know how you could describe this otherwise, because in the past two years, All of this stuff has been happening. Like, I mean, You can have some of these things happening here and there over years.
But in two years time, All of this stuff is happening one after the other, after the other. And of course they’re talking about. Going to it. An all digital. Money thing. Well,
Call me suspicious, but if we don’t have cash money, Everything’s digital and there’s hackers fricking everywhere. Getting into everything. How exactly are we going to keep track of keep hold of our own money and how are we going to keep the government, that whole overreach thing from just shutting us down?
Exactly. Um, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t trust them. And I’m not one of those big conspiracy theorists at all. I’m I’m. I watch. And I do not. I do not trust them. Not in the least. But I’m not one that runs around thinking that the government’s. You know, they’re only jobs to be out to get us, I think are a few there.
But. Okay. So, so now we’ve talked about that. We’ve talked about why. , you might want to start looking in this direction. But let’s talk about this. Being self-sufficient becoming self-sufficient. It’s a process for most people, unless you are independently wealthy. And you can just, all the sudden drop all the cash to have all of it. Just ready for you.
Like, you know, your energy needs, your water needs, your food needs and all that. Um, Unless you are that person, then this is kind of a process. It’s a step-by-step deal. And in the book I go through. Lots of different things, areas of life that you would want to think about areas like obviously gardening. Um, I’m always talking about that, but that’s how we grow a lot of our food.
And as Americans. We have that right. still currently. And if you are able to even start on a small scale growing some of your food, and that takes from the, I guess it pulls back from the amount of money that you’re having to spend at the grocery store, which by the way, Might not still be there another year or two down the road.
I mean, we still got two years left of the Biden presidency. So.
I don’t know. Guys. I, I would be considering this.
But becoming self-sufficient means that you are working towards providing for your own needs instead of having to rely on outside forces. To provide for your needs. Okay. Now, if you think about it this way, the government really. Especially. Especially now. The government is always pushing.
For not always. Certain parts of the government. I’m really trying to be careful here. Certain parts of the government are always pushing for. You. To be completely reliant on government. Because then you’re malleable. . If I rely on you for everything that I have. I’m probably going to say yes. When you tell me to go do something.
Right. Okay. So if, if you are reliant on the government, you are going to feel beholden to do what they want you to do. So.
Probably best to try and stay out from under that situation. And the best way to do that is to be able to provide for your own needs, your family’s needs. And then of course, some of the things that you can do to provide for those needs to become more self-sufficient. Obviously the gardening being able to grow a lot of your food. And with that,
Being able to preserve that food. Right. So canning, , freezing. But that requires electricity. So that’s something you would want to think about as well. , livestock. Uh, that all, obviously again, on the food side, that’s probably the main thing that your family really needs. We own. We could do. Let’s say let’s just say an EMP hits.
America. Everywhere. It’s not gonna affect the whole thing unless it’s in certain spots, but let’s just say we have MPS hit. And, um, none of our electronics work anymore. No, . You know, engines, don’t work motors and what have you. None of that works anymore. So, what do we have to do? We can live.
I mean, Laura Ingles did it. We can live without light. Because daylight. Right. We have candles and we can even make candles so we can, we can do without the power thing. Most of us. Some people have medical situations and really require power for those purposes generator going to be important. In that kind of case.
Or solar or wind. Um, you don’t have to have something like that on a large scale, you can do it on a small scale and make sure that whatever your needs are, your electrical needs are met by whatever scale, um, uh, solar or wind you that you decide to go with, or that you start with. And, you know, you can maybe build up as you go, but starting out on a small basis that could run like.
Main things. Let’s say you got several freezers with your. Food your meats and what have you. In there. If you were going to start out on a small scale of solar. You might start there. Because even when in a storm, like we get tornadoes through here and sometimes there’s, you know, sometimes there’s weeks without power in some areas. So if you have solar.
That can take care of your freezers. Then you’ve still got food, but we can all pair down. I mean, if, if forced, we may not all want to pare down, but we can all pair down if forced. So that’s something that we can. We can do without electricity.
That we purchase from. Big companies. If we have to water, we can’t do without. Water is something that we have to have. And it’s not just the bathing thing. I mean, we can. We can go back to stinking and you put a little water on rag and wash off your arms and stuff. But. We have to have water to drink. We have to have water to, um,
Cook, you know what I mean? We there’s waters required. So that’s something that you have to kind of consider, um, having a well. Is you. Terrific option. Of course, if there’s no power, you’re going to have to be able to find another way to pump the water up. And which is totally doable. And there’s some things about that in my book.
But. Those are some of the areas that you want to consider does not mean that you have to jump in. You know, feet first and get all of it at the same time. You can tip toe in. You can get yourself started with a little bit here and a little bit there. And start working towards that lifestyle. Because the closer you get the closer you’ll be right to.
Being able to say, you know what? I don’t need your help because I’m helping myself. Um, something else I want to mention in this whole area is. Becoming self-sufficient doesn’t mean that you have to have, you personally have to have everything. Yourself. Because. Going back to a system of bartering.
And then with you build a community of people. That that can. Help each other. Like-minded I mean, you’re, you’re going to be like-minded. If you’re building that community. And people who have. Skills or resources. That you don’t, but you have something that they don’t. Being able to barter and you make deals and make you arrangements that were your community helps each other.
Now, I’m not talking about communal living, although I guess it’s not outside of the, um, picture. It’s something that could. I could absolutely work for a lot of people. But I’m just talking about basic bartering and I’ll tell you this. You know, when I first started doing the farm off in freedom podcast.
Uh, one of the things that I said in the beginning is that I want farm life and freedom to become a, like a community of people who want the same thing and can, add support, can help each other. And. Along those same lines I’m working right now to put together a, um, let’s call it a bartering community, um, on farm life and freedom.com I’m working. I’ll I’ll let everyone know when I’ve got it up and running and.
I mentioned before. I’m not that technically adept, however, I’m in working on getting help for that. And I’m working on trying to put together this thing tour weekend, all kind of have one place that we can create that community of people. Wherever you happen to be, and.
You. I have this, I need this. What do you got? You know, Um, can you help me out here? Cause I can help you out. You know, that’s something that we’re, we’re all gonna have to. We have to consider.
Using your skills. The skills that you have to take care of your family to take care of yourself, take care of your property. That’s that’s a fantastic thing to be able to do. Um, But using those skills in that same fashion with bartering. That is that’s something that I believe is going to end up needing to be used the most, you know, I may be able to grow vegetables really well.
And you may be a, you may grow, I mean, lots of livestock and you need mine and I need yours and we can trade out. However, um, I’m a great carpenter. My husband’s a great carpenter. We build stuff for people. And maybe you aren’t a builder. Maybe you don’t really have the tools that it takes to do all the building that you need done.
But you’re a mechanic and you’re really great at fixing vehicles or fixing small engines, you know, generators. And what have you. Uh, bartering that kind of thing as well. Is could be huge. That’s something where I think everyone needs to start. At least. Giving some thought to. We may be in a position.
Not too long from now where at least on a small scale, that’s something that’s going to be needed. And if you give that some thought ahead of time, then you’re kind of all you’re not running behind when it happens. Um, I’m not talking about full on prepping, going underground and all that. Although I do not denegrate those people.
I believe. That when it, if the worst happens. Those people are going to be the, the best set up. They are going to have exactly what they need. To take care of themselves and their families. And how huge is that? Right? I think there’s going to be a lot of people who pointed and laughed that are going to be begging for help.
But, I mean, you got to take care of your own. And if you’re not someone who wants to even look into that and you can’t be crying about it when it happens and you have nothing. So that’s why I kind of preach the, you know, at least looking you go, go into. Do the research think about what it is that you have to offer.
Or what it is that you have that you could, um, do to start putting yourself on that path. You know, you don’t have to have a big acreage. To start out homesteading. You can, there are people. I’ve I know people who make a great living. And take care of their families very well. In a backyard because they do intensive gardening and in a greenhouse and things like that.
Um, that is absolutely doable. And that is a great way to get started. In, in this kind of situation, typically it’s a stepping stone. Typically people will start in their backyard. While they’re getting geared up to find a small piece of property where they can move in and do more of the things that they want. But you know, a lot of that stuff is detailed in this book.
Becoming self-sufficient. And, um, there is, there’s a link to it on twooaksfarmstead.com. Um, you can also just go on Amazon and search it, although. For some reason, it’s harder to find through a search. If you go to my, if you go to twooaksfarmstead.com, you can find the link there. And I will try to put it in the show notes of this as well on farm life and freedom.com.
Guys. Y’all have a great week. Take it easy and, and think about what it is that you might be able to do. To start pushing yourself maybe a little bit more in the direction of taking care. Of yourself and your family. If the worst happens.
Until next time. We’ll see ya.
