Trading pennies for dollars (Part 1)

This series is one of those things that has been on my mind for a long time. Food insecurity is real for so many people. Budgets are tighter. The story is no different on our farm. Feed costs, supplies, and such all cost more than they did when we started. There are things we do; some are seen as normal, and some are maybe extreme, to try to stretch every dollar. 

Off-farm income is a way we pieced together the living expenses. I worked in a very good job, with an excellent income, security and benefits. But then, suddenly last month, I was handed the gift of being here full time, in a pretty ugly package: a major debilitating health problem.
I went from partnering and running multimillion-dollar businesses to needing a driver to go to the store. I now have to check with my support system to see if it's okay to plan something because I may not be well enough to go. To be the same mind and soul who supported, managed, and coached thousands of people over the years, to have the basic functions of life that I need assistance with, it's bizarre.
This was not how I expected things to go and yet we are blessed. Blessed, because I would have never picked the farm over my work. I was called to help people become better and to leave that work would have meant giving up somehow. I would have never left that work. Being forced into it broke my heart. 
Of course, I felt pulled to this lifestyle. This farm was my passion project. Creating a life that is sustainable and that works for all the needs we have here. For me this was the retirement plan. This was the back up. This was healthy food, extra income, and a way to connect with our community. A way for the our kids to gain experiences and knowledge that will serve them through their lives. Now this homestead has to become more. Teaching, coaching, partnering will always be my calling. So I'll grow where I'm planted. I'll teach, coach, partner from here. 

We love good food, which is why we raise our own. We know the inputs and how it was raised. More than anything, we've noticed that the flavor is unlike anything we've seen for sale in the grocery store.
We raise chickens for eggs. Sometimes, the cost of raising them exceeds the output, while at other times, they provide much more. During winter, the chickens don't lay as much, but in the spring and summer, we are in egg overload! It's definitely a blessing. I can't explain in words how much better our eggs are from our girls.

To stretch our dollars, I make some condiments because it just makes sense. It takes all of 5 minutes of work, but the money saved is worth it. Same deal here I know the inputs. And it cost pennies vs 2 to 6 dollars in the store.

Cost to buy: 

Name brand 20 oz: $5.99 (.30 per oz)

Generic brand 15 oz: $2.12 (.14 per oz or $2.82 for 20 oz)

Cost to make: 1.76 (.08 per oz) 
Oil 12 oz = $1.20
Mustard 1 teaspoon .2 oz= $0.05
Vingegar 1 tablespoon .5 oz= $0.01
Two egg yolk= $0 (free for us, 0.50 for bought)
Total= $1.76

Mayo recipe: 
Whisk egg yolks and vinegar and mustard (an immersion blender works best but you can still make it without these)
Add in oil a tablespoon at a time. You want everything as smooth mixture so take your time. 
You'll see it start to turn whiteish like mayo and then you can get slightly more liberal with your oil. Keep blending until smooth. 
This mayo keeps in the fridge for about a week. 

If you're like me and like games to be more frugal. When I do these types of savings measures I think of what paying myself the difference would be. 5 minutes of work= $5.99-$1.76= $4.23 saved (name brand) take this into an hourly wage, means I just made over 50 dollars an hour during that 5 minutes 😆 

If I buy 1 jar a month that's 48 dollars over the year. 

Does this its make or break us? Of course not. But the only mindset is to do what you can with what you have and this is part of a whole system that makes those dollars cost pennies.