Budget with me | Paycheck 1 update | March 2024 | Zero-based Budget | Sinking Funds | Real Numbers 

Thank you! So happy to hear your month is going well!

I'm glad it's working for you and that your March is going well!

Glad to hear you March is going ok! We buy all of our beans, grains, and nuts in bulk and we just fill up when we need to. That's why our grocery budget can be so variable and also why we don't go to the grocery store regularly. I love that you have a rain collection system. That is something we need to add.

@@kronsonfamily we have a small footprint for the house. Half the roof goes into the septic system and drain field beyond. In tje 1960's there was a female comedian and the title of one of her books was "The Grass Grows Greener Over the Septic Tank". We left the down spouts alone on that side of the house because there is an established ecosystem beyond the drain fieldwork sime differences in the vegetation . On the other side of the house, we cut and routed 2 down spouts into a blue barred (fitted with screen at the entry point) into a blue, plastic, 55 gallon barrel each; one for half the small house and one for the deck covering and a few feet apart. We plumbed PVC (3/4" I think) a gravity fed exit at the bottom of each barrel into an orange 5 gallon bucket dig into the ground with the top rim a kiss above grade. In the bucket, we have an inexpensive but regular sump pump from Harbor Freight Tools (HFT); its plugged in 7/24/365. From the sump pump we have 3/4" white PVC that goes over ground under the low deck then under the grass to a bank of IBC totes. The IBC totes are on pressure treated 4"x4"'s (2 totes across seperated by 3'-4' across and 3 down seperated by inches),! and interconnected with assorted sized plumbing and grzvity fill each other from the 1 inlet of sump pump water. At the end, we have a ball valve with a hose fitting. We were sure to leave over flow capability at the barrels and the totes. We also have 2 independent IBC totes which we fill from tje Bank of totes with a garden hose and our first water pump trial (going outside to turn the pump on and off showed the system worked but....). We are in IBC totes because once empty, we can move and/ or reconfigure our system. Also, a formal system takes an expensive amd lengthy permitting process and so much more. Our totes are not painted black nor covered which means they do grow algea. A light preventing black coating or covering would be much better.

That sounds like a pretty complicated system. I was just thinking of getting a few rain barrels and attaching them to the down spouts. But I guess I'll have to do some research.

@@kronsonfamily That is how we began after determining which down spouts to use. Our water is pretty expensive and we decided after the first year that we wanted more holding capacity. Its one of those projects that grows with/ on you.

Ahh. We don't pay for water use since we are on a well but that doesn't mean that we don't try to be conservative with our water use.