When I started my first garden, and compost bin, I had the benefit of years of experience to draw on in the form of my mother-in-law. She was old-school Kentucky Hills and had been raising the family garden since her mother passed when she was in the sixth grade. She had been pulled from school as the eldest female, to run the household in her mother's absence and while I feel for what she went through, she didn't seem to think there was anything odd about it. She then moved on to marry a farmer in Michigan, raising gardens, cattle and two sons. All the books and reports offered on this site that I have written are a tribute to her knowledge and wisdom. She left us in 2011 at 92 years of age, and I feel that sharing all that she taught me is a fitting tribute to the woman who treated me like the daughter she never had. She may not have had a formal education, but I get the feeling she had more life lessons and wisdom than most of the so-called educated people I have ever met. She would have been 93 next week, and we miss her terribly.

Every year, before the flowers came up, she foraged in the yard for Dandelion Greens, and I picked on her about it at first, telling her if she was that hungry I would make her a sandwich. Then I did a little research, and was surprised to find that Dandelion Greens are a Spring cleaning tonic for the whole body.Dried, in teas, they help flush fat and other toxins from the body, eaten cooked, like spinach, or even chopped up raw in a salad, and they help cleanse the entire system, are a natural diuretic, and contain potassium for heart health. All she knew is they always did it where she was from, and she liked them, so she ate them. 

Only pick the small, light green leaves, from areas where there is no traffic or chemicals used that can get into the plants.Your own backyard is fine if you don't use chemicals on the lawn. Weeds can have their uses too, and if you want to know more, I have a report coming out soon about the benefits of those "weeds" that pop up all over the yard, and in the flower beds.

Having several websites to create and manage has cost me the time I had planned to devote to this site, but now I have the schedule reset to include doing the ones I love as well as the ones that were meant as income. 

The climate of the world has become increasingly difficult for the average person to make a living in, and tightening belts and budgets are all many seem to have time for. So what do you do when the budget won't stretch any further?

That's when you have to figure out what you NEED versus what you WANT. 
Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of life's little luxuries and treating yourself on occasion, but you have to have a plan if you are going to survive until times improve, or your situation improves.
Cutting back doesn't have to mean doing without essentials, it just means you may have to get a bit creative with what you already have on hand and make it stretch to fit your needs.