this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023
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What have you changed about your lifestyle to deal with the cost of living increases? (self.newzealand)
submitted 1 year ago by ciaocibai to c/newzealand
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I was having this conversation with a friend and we both got some useful ideas from each other (cancelling various underused subscription services, making use of libraries, more home vege gardening etc) - curious to know what else people are trying.

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[–] ciaocibai 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Fair enough too. Probably depends on motivation as well - we grow our own for many reasons including a goal of self sufficiency and a better understanding of what’s in the food we eat so it’s not just economics for us.

We’ve obviously invested a fair bit in getting the garden set up, but once you can grow from seed (and especially saving your own seed) it might be just a few dollars for a few hundred seeds (depending on the crop) and some plants (beans, tomato’s, watermelons etc) that are super easy to save seed from. We’re even self sufficient for things like popcorn (and have a couple of kilos worth of seed left - some which we’ll still eat) so that makes a difference too.

Lastly though we just love gardening, and I really enjoy showing my kids the lifecycle and getting them involved in the process. They get to choose and manage some crops of their own, and always speak with pride when we eat the things they’ve contributed to.

[–] Dave 2 points 1 year ago

That's really cool. If we had more space I'd like to think we would grow more.