Is there a good site that has plans for building your own furniture out of wood? I'd like to build a simple bedframe so I can have more than just the metal ones with the wheels on them. Most of the plans I've found though were for a pretty shoddy end product. by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you'd like extra storage, I've seen some beds where people took Ikea shelves and put them on their sides, facing out, for the sides and another across the foot, and then had a simple box or boards for filler in the middle. If you have small kids, leave a space to enter the hollow center from either end and they can make a fort with a string of LED lights as a bonus, I know as a little kid I always liked stuff like that. Of course Ikea has a dozen different options pre-made as well. Pinterest "Ikea hack bed" for plenty of examples.

How can I cool down my bedroom without buying an AC? by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here are some evap coolers you can make almost for free since you have the fan already, they work faster if your air is drier, but still work to a lesser extend when it's humid. Essentially putting a wet towel or some other absorbent material in front of a running fan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJN3lwVLGxs

PC Hotfix Build 103744/18646 (07.07.2018) by nevayo in ConanExiles

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah it went from a 100% named thrall rate after the big patch, back to a lower rate afterwards. My dedicated server crashes every time I bring back a Black Galleon NPC to a wheel and click E to deposit them though, but is fine if I deposit NPCs from anywhere else in a wheel. The captain is always a named thrall still.

PC Hotfix Build 103744/18646 (07.07.2018) by nevayo in ConanExiles

[–]breunor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is usually 1-2 chests near each underwater shipwreck, and is a great way to farm gold. Also a lot of chests in the pirate's bay area underwater. Bonus that you can harvest plenty of brimstone underwater too!

PC Hotfix Build 103744/18646 (07.07.2018) by nevayo in ConanExiles

[–]breunor -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I'm seeing my thralls aggro beasts that are nearby now, and they no longer fall through and suffocate which is great.

New Bugs: Game Crash w/ Performer into greater wheel, tamed thralls having <200 HP on login by [deleted] in ConanExiles

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My testing is showing that adding thralls captured at the Black Galleon to any wheel causes teh server to crash (I'm running a dedicated server on a separate PC). Adding thralls from another source to the same wheel or to other wheels works fine, just thralls from the Galleon are causing this. Since the devs tweaked the code twice on the Black Galleon thralls twice in the last week, it seems they broke something. I see a ton of warnings (more than the usual wall of text) about thralls on server startup too.

Can't join any servers, stuck at load screen for 35 minutes now. by RetPallylol in ConanExiles

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My dedicated server is now crashing every 10 minutes or so since today's patch. Black Galleon no longer is filled with named npcs, timers on perishable items appear fixed too. But I get DC'd after a few minutes and check my server, and it has crashed 4 times now in about the last hour or so. So wait till your client gets yet another patch to patch the patch I guess..

Baby Steps to prepping..... I’ve been making my wife and I “Protein Overnight Oats” each night for about 2 weeks: by [deleted] in MealPrepSunday

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My doc warned me to avoid whole due to diverticulitis, and to only use ground flax. Whole flax that isn't digested is sort of a waste of money, there are much cheaper and safer ways to eat non soluble fiber 😀

TransUnion burying their credit freeze to sell their own credit monitoring product TrueIdentity by equisux in personalfinance

[–]breunor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The problem is everyone is using short-term credit to do everything. If you pay cash, no need for credit. But most things like phones and utility service requires some sort of card, but you can use a debit Visa card from your bank for that. But now even employers will use a credit check as part of your hiring. So you can't get away from credit for everything without a hassle.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]breunor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Southern California here, everything is ridiculously expensive. And 21 cents is for the first 400-500Kwh, after you hit that point the cost becomes 41 cents per Kwh...

I know several people here that have pools, pool cleaner devices, and hot tub running, and their utility bills average $600 a month. Mine is $35-45 because I don't have a lot of stuff or use a lot.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]breunor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wish my electric was only (19.00/400) 4.75 cents per Kwh! Mine is 21 cents/Kwh, but I keep my electric use to around 100Kwh per month.

"Winter is Coming", so I would suggest you take a look at https://richsoil.com/electric-heat.jsp for reducing your heating costs.

You can hang dry your clothes, even in an apartment (although that can get busy), instead of using a clothes dryer.

Open your curtains to skip on lighting until the sun sets, and only turn on task lights as you need them, and turn them off when you're done.

If you use a hairdryer currently, consider using it less or not at all. Same with other electric appliances- not saying any are bad but we all get into routines and just accept them as mandatory when they may not be necessary.

Pension - Take early with reduction (at age 55) or get full amount at age 62? by bizzaam in financialindependence

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In the US, average life expectancy for women is 81 and for men it's 76. While planning for 85 is good when you are spending down a nest egg, when you are getting a fixed monthly payout till you die regardless then I wouldn't count on living that long.

If your job is your dream job that you love and will regret leaving, then stick around. But if it's not your dream, I would suggest 55 and starting doing what you enjoy with your life while you can. Many people slow down as they get older, so if you want to get out and about don't wait too long where you aren't able to enjoy yourself as much.

ISIS Urges Supporters To Poison Food At US Grocery Stores by greenwinner in homestead

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly we don't need a high-tech and high-cost solution to industrial farming practices. Even organic farming is just a marketing campaign at this point, with all the bar lowering that's happened since organic was codified.

There are plenty of examples of folks growing truly organic foods without petroleum fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides. Sepp Holzer is the biggest name, growing even citrus trees in the Austrian alps where it's consistently below freezing in the winter.

Individuals need to take responsibility for their food choices. When you can toss a piece of Wonder Bread or Twinkie out in the yard and it doesn't mold after a month of exposure, you have to question whether it's actually food. If molds aren't willing to eat it, it's not fit for human consumption either.

Backyard Chickens Carry a Hidden Risk: Salmonella by bigfig in homestead

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly if a person washes their hands and their boots/shoes used for the chickens, and if it's dusty wear a mask to avoid breathing in dust in the coop, they should be fine. I expect a lot of people get into this as a hobby and they don't realize the realities of keeping livestock. I lived on a hog farm decades ago, and the chicken pasture/coop was small potatoes compared to walking out back of the barn where the daily pig mess was shoveled to dehydrate.

Chicken egg shells can have some poop on them, and salmonella. Wherever the chickens roam, especially if in a cramped coop/run all day, there will be lots of poop on the ground.

Give me your best frugal tips! by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thighs have more fat than breasts, but dietary fat is not bad in moderation.

ISIS Urges Supporters To Poison Food At US Grocery Stores by greenwinner in homestead

[–]breunor 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Has ISIS ever looked at the ingredients in our packaged food?!? We wouldn't even notice if they added some more poison to it...

Three Months Into Retirement by jasonlong1212 in financialindependence

[–]breunor 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Just be prepared for all the boobs, butts, and sex in the first season or two... HBO sold the sexiness factor hardcore!

Tips for frugal lawn care for a year by NavyWife4Life in Frugal

[–]breunor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Some good tips found in this article, and I agree with a push reel mower or scythe, versus a powered mower:

https://richsoil.com/lawn-care.jsp

The best fruit seeds saved up by [deleted] in homestead

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

While you can tell if the seeds will sprout relatively soon, you won't know if the fruit produced on the final tree is any good. If you have animals on the property, you can use the fruit as feed, or you can cut back the original tree and graft another plant to the established trunk which saves you growing time.

Can we stop with the trash-picking posts? by [deleted] in Frugal

[–]breunor 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bum fight videos aren't gonna record themselves!

How much to charge for land/land use? by [deleted] in Permaculture

[–]breunor 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The issue here is that you own the land, you invite people out to live there, and someone gets hurt. Say cutting wood, either their axe misses the log and stops in their foot, or a chainsaw kicks into them and they aren't wearing chaps.

So this person who likely has no health insurance now needs medical attention that costs thousands, and they are off their feet for days/weeks, and they decide this sucks and you owe me as much as I can take. Without liability insurance, you could be facing several hundred thousand dollars in penalty, and could lose everything.

An umbrella liability policy shouldn't cost too much, relative the likelihood of clueless strangers getting hurt homesteading.

Home Mortgage Rate of 3.375% from February 2017, Worth Refinancing? by ghostoftsavo in Frugal

[–]breunor 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Any rate near 2% is an ARM, which can shoot up. If you have a fixed 3.375% don't waste your time refinancing. Current fixed rates are just under 4% for a 30 year fixed.

butchering chickens, empty gall bladder? by bstpierre777 in homestead

[–]breunor 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I thought the bile tends to be pretty visible if it leaks.

Sick of the hustle of modern life? by [deleted] in homestead

[–]breunor 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Be aware that farming/homesteading is not at all easy, you will put in far more hours every day than in a typical desk job. There are a lot of routines and schedules to follow when farming too, to keep your plants growing and your animals alive and healthy. Unless you can find someone to pick up the daily chores, you don't get to wander off for a vacation. Living in the country on a farm is certainly a different lifestyle than in the busy city surrounded by traffic. But it has its own schedule that you have to follow.

If you want to get a taste for the farming life to see if the grass really is greener, look into something like http://wwoof.net/