5 Year Plan - Frugal Transportation "Mickey"

Tonight we took Mickey out for one last spin before we pull him into the shop for the new diesel engine.  So after pouring in a fresh gallon of oil we headed down to the beach to watch the Alaskan sunset.

We wanted to lock in the hubs and check out the new 37" tires but we caught the high tide.

Here's a glimpse at Mickey.  It will be next summer before the weather conditions will allow us give it a paint job and some body work but you can see we have a great model to work with. 

 

So with one last look at the Chigmit mountains we turned toward home.

I hope that your Saturday was as beautiful as ours.

Lovin' Life in Alaska cruising around in a van named Mickey.

A Sweet Alaskan Day

Every year we travel to Anchorage to celebrate my grand daughter's birthday.  Yesterday was d-day and I thought it would fun to share the day with you.  We were excited to take "Mickey" out give it a test drive.  (Click here for more about Mickey)  The mechanic has been working on it sporadically and it now sports 37" tires, new brakes and a few other repairs. Mostly we were curious if the engine would run better if it had a nice run. I can answer that by saying we were the stinky diesel everyone hates to follow.  The next project on it will be to replace the engine and hopefully get the veggie system mapped out.
 
We started out bright and early at 7:00 am.  It was a crisp and clear morning but saw fog rolling off Skilak lake.

Sterling Highway near Skilak Lake

Traveling over Turnagain Pass we saw our first snow of the season.  You would think that Alaskans wouldn't get excited over the first snowfall, but we do.

Turnagain Pass

It was fun to see that Alaska's fall colors include white and yellow.

New Seward Highway near Girdwood, AK

It took us 4 hours to go the 200 miles but we finally made it to the "Peace" birthday celebration.

Peace cake made by Whitney and Zoe

Zoe and her Uncle Robert opening presents

My oldest son, James and youngest child, Stormy, playing together

After the party we relaxed and visited.  We had one more activity until we could go home and it was the perfect end to a pretty wonderful day.

Ted Stevens International Airport, Anchorage, AK

Grandma is home!  It's been a year since she left and it is so nice to have her home again.   The trip home was uneventful but full of love and talk.  We pulled into our driveway 23 hours after we left and stumbled into bed.  Today has been a day to stay in pajamas, settle into the recliners and relax.  Hope your weekend has been as wonderful as mine.

Just a day in a blessed life in Alaska.

The 5 Year Plan - Frugal Food

My family teases me that I am the only female they know that hates to shop.  To me, it means sacrificing a day off, driving 20 miles to the nearest store of any size, pushing a squeaky cart around the store, swiping my debit card (sigh), loading and unloading the booty, usually in the rain.  Where is the joy in any of that?

Considering my poor attitude toward the whole ordeal, our five year plan includes as little shopping as possible.  Right now, we shop for groceries once a month.  Shopping twice a year is music to my ears, and once a year is downright dreamy.  Some around me are skeptical but here's the plan.

The new shop area we are building will have a generous storage area to keep our can and dry goods.  Most items are shelf stable for a year or more.  We have a large chest freezer that, with some creative stuffing, should be sufficient for our yearly needs.  We will have chickens for eggs and a goat for fresh milk.  Veggies from the garden will be canned, frozen or dehydrated.  This is the easy part of the plan.  The big question is how we can get it to fit into our very frugal budget.

Current pantry.  Our new space will have a lot more room.

The last time I went shopping, I purposely turned my brain off and just bought what was on my list and what I wanted. I even brought my hungry husband along.  Hungry husbands are great.  Not only did he do the driving, he pushed the squeaky cart, did the loading and unloading, and only disappeared when it was time to swipe the card.  We spent $418.13 on that trip. With the frugal budget for entire living expenses at only $500 month, what can we do? 

Taking a look at the receipt and the bigger picture, there is a lot that can be done.  Here's what I see:

1.  Leave the hungry husband at home.  Instead of two containers of Greek yogurt we  bought five.  We bought two cases of San Pellegrino water instead of one.  Some vitamins caught his fancy and he contributed a carton of ice cream to the cart as well.  By leaving the hungry husband home I could of saved $61.

2.  The kids will grow up.  Stormy needed a box of diapers.  We treated the teenager to his favorite juice.  Just for those two items - $54

3.  Raise chickens and goats.   We consume a gallon of milk every 2-3 days and a dozen eggs a week.  The hungry husband is the biggest consumer of milk but the teenager is the egg fan.  In five years this won't change much.  I'm not sure what the cost of raising chickens and goats will be but I'm confident it will be less than the $75 we are spending monthly on just those two items now.

4.  Stop the Full Circle deliveries.  Right now our fresh fruit and veggies are delivered to us by Full Circle Farms.  A nice box every 2 weeks or organic produce is $75.  By gardening, picking wild berries and sprouting we will save this expense.

5. Shop once or twice a year in Anchorage.  Anchorage is Alaska's largest city and has the best stores and prices.  It's about 200 miles away but if we drive our veggie powered van, the cost of driving there will be minimal. Anchorage also has no sales tax whereas we do pay 7.5% here. 

We have a lot of planning and learning to do in the next few years.  The payoff will be huge and healthier with less shopping.  Win, win, win! 

 

The 5 Year Plan - Frugal Transportation AK Style

By far our biggest expense is fuel.  Alaska fuel prices are typically one of the highest in the nation.  Unleaded gas at the pump almost reached $5/gallon this summer and is sitting at $4.67 right now.  Heating fuel is cheaper but still very considerable when the cold winter sets in.  Our goal is to cut those expenses by at least 80% in the next 5 years and this is how we are going to do it.

Meet Micky and MInnie.  

"Micky"

"Minnie"

 

 

 

 

 

The look pretty rough 'huh?  No worries, my husband it a brilliant mechanic and isn't afraid of body work.  Micky is an extended Ford Econoline Van.  We so named it Micky because it reminds me of an activity van I used to drive for my son's hockey team.  That van had two spot lights on it that looked like mouse ears so hence it was dubbed Micky Mouse.  Micky will be converted into a 4WD camper.  We will replace the engine to run off diesel and veggie fuel making our mpg pretty much free.  It will be the vehicle we use not only for camping trips but supply runs.  Because of the freezing weather we will not be plumbing in a water tank.  That's just asking for future problems and continued maintenance.  Instead we will come up with some alternate facilities.  We like the way our current camper is designed and will steal some ideas from it. 

current camper Dodge Xplorer

picture of our last trip,inside view

Although we like the Dodge, gas mileage is horrible and it does not have 4 wheel drive.

Minnie is a Datsun Z car.  (Sorry, I am a girl and don't remember the specs on either of these cars).  We are still debating about having a gas or diesel engine for her.  Diesel,of course, would yield the best mpg but has its challenges starting in the cold temperatures.  It will become our main commuter car and it would be nice knowing it will dependably start.  Even if we kept it as a gas engine, with some modifications, we think it could still get over 30 mpg.  As a diesel, maybe even close to 40 mpg.  

We will still have other cars that we will use with a more traditional set up.  The plow truck is a gas hog, but pays for itself.  Nick, the husband, has various work trucks but again they pay for themselves or give us a tax write off.  Still the bottom line is a huge savings that will fall into our retirement budget.

Lovin' life...even at the gas pump! 

Don't forget that if you want some road trip music or a camera for your next vacation, shop in our store for the best prices!