The Greening of Gavin

TGoG 102 – Can You Be Self-Sufficient in the Suburbs?

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Tom+and+BarbaraCan you be self-sufficient in the suburbs? That is a big question. It may have worked for Tom and Barbara, but can it actually be done?

Let Gavin guide you through some of the barriers that may hinder true self-sufficiency in the suburban context.  Being self-sufficient is hard work.

There is a bit of something in this episode for everyone.  Very thought-provoking.

Also if you like the show and would like to help it continue, please visit my Patreon page and pledge a dollar or two for hosting and equipment costs. www.patreon.com/greeningofgavin is the place where you can help.

Become my patreon!

Spuds. Why Not!

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Spuds Why Not

I love growing my own spuds.  Today, I dug up 2 kg (4 lbs) of volunteer potatoes from my garden.  Yes, volunteers!

These spuds were ones I missed from the last of the summer harvest and grew over winter.  Fantastic and certainly one to put in the lazy gardener category.  Free spuds without any work except to dig them up.

This got me thinking of the last time I was in the supermarket when I saw prepackaged, peeled spuds and carrots ready to roast.

It never ceases to anger me when I see everyday items like this, packaged in the name of so-called convenience, wrapped in layers of plastic, slightly processed, with a token sprig of rosemary packed with it.

Do supermarkets think that consumers really are that lazy that they either don’t know how to peel and chop vegetables, or would rather pay at least four times the price of a couple of spuds with a bit of dirt on them?  Just craziness.  But I suppose some would.

The more sustainable alternative is that you could buy some cheaper spuds, peel them yourself, toss in a little olive oil and roast them.  All the while saving a small fortune in the process.

Or even better still, throw a back of seed spuds in the ground, wait a few months, dig up, wash, and cook.  Saving even more money!

The ultimate method is the one I mentioned at the start of the post.  Do nothing, wait for volunteer spuds to grow, harvest, wash, cook.  Cost = Zero!

Potatoes are one of the easiest vegetables to grow and there are just so many varieties that it boggles the mind.  There is a potato to suit every cooking method.

So do yourself a favour, and grow some spuds today!

TGoG Podcast 064 – How We Budget and Tips to Save Money

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Budget tips save moneyHas the recent Australian Federal Budget got you down?  Don’t know how you are going to stretch your income to pay all your bills and debts?

Well, we may have some help for you.  To strike while the iron is hot, this very special out-of-schedule podcast episode is about how we budget and tips to save money.  It is in response to the recent Australian Government budget which will affect many low and middle income earners over the next few years.

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Belts are definitely going to need to tighten, and to make ends meet we are all going to have to be a little more frugal.

So to that end, Kim and I decided to put together a special podcast episode all about how we put together our fortnightly budget, and share tips on how we save money on all things in life.

We start the episode by talking about where we started with basically living from pay to pay, then a flush of cash when I landed an IT job and how our behaviours changed with all this disposable income. Then we hit our greening stage and sorted ourselves out by living a more sustainable lifestyle and living within our means.

Note: Neither Kim nor I are financial planners.  Our advice is just plain common sense, which anyone can follow to save a buck and to stretch your dollar further.  Our budget tips save money.  Frugal is not a dirty word!

So please join us by listening to our budgeting special edition.