I assume your first question is “Why are you talking Christmas gifts in October?”
The answer is “YES”, I know it is only October, but if you are anything like me you wait until the end of the year and then you have a MAD rush to get all your gifts sorted out. I thought I would help those like me get an early start on the holiday shopping. Even though I know that Christmas falls on December 25th (every year… (smirk)), it still let life get in the way and then I am scrambling to get my shopping done. And it never fails that the gifts I need to ship are always being shipped too late to make it to the recipients.
So, THAT is why I am starting early this year!
To start with I will cover six books that I have found to be inspirational and/or helpful on the No Budget Homestead. These six books have all helped me on my continuing homesteading journey. This is by no means a complete list, but they are some of my favorites. This is an eclectic list that covers everything from the spiritual, financial, demographic and logical aspects of our homesteading journey.
Before I get started I would like to give you a disclaimer. This post will have affiliate links embedded in them. You will not pay any more for these books if you use our links or if you just went to Amazon. However, you will really be helping Little Man and I out by using the links. We will make a very small commission which Amazon pays that will help support the No Budget Homestead. I have a video review I have done on some of these books on our YouTube channel and soon on Steemit. I would check the No Budget Homestead YouTube Channel for a more in-depth review.
Now that that has been said on to the:
Six Christmas Gift Ideas – Homestead Related Books
1. The American Patriot’s Bible: The Word of God and the Shaping of America.
This book is at the top of the list as it is the most important book ever, in my humble opinion. What is even better about this book is that it shows how the Word of God is deeply interconnected with our Founding Fathers and the creation of the United States of America. So, not only will your soul be nourished by reading this bible so will your knowledge of the United States. There are two translations that I am aware of at this printing, the King James Version and the New King James Version. I give these as gifts to my pastors, friends, family and I even gave one to my lawyer who was not a believer.
2. Strategic Relocation - Joel & Andrew Skousen
This book has been very instrumental in how we went about selecting our homestead. You can get lost in this book for days learning about the best places to live. The Skousens cover topics like the best places to live in times of crisis and what different factors you should consider before moving to a new area. Things like the type of government conservative or liberal, taxes, crime rates for different areas in a state, the state’s level of corruption, gun liberty, personal liberty, how they are about homeschooling, alternative medicines and what types of military targets are in each state. Plus, there are many more things to consider before moving to an area.
There are full color maps of each state and he also rates each state with a star rating. From Zero stars (Florida, New Jersey & Hawaii) to Five stars (Idaho & Montana at 4 ½). Strategic Relocation will also go over different parts of the world if you were inclined to think about moving out of the United States. It is a real eye opening read. Joel covers a lot of information which you may not have considered. It would be one of those books that is a must when looking at setting up a Bug Out location. It is one of my favorite reference books.
3. Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens - Gail Damerow
If there ever was a book that covers just about everything you would ever want to know about raising chickens this is the book for you! Ms. Damerow covers the entire life cycle of a chicken. It has been extremely helpful for us in planning how big to make our coop and how large of an outdoor run to build. This book has helped me to know how to clip a chicken’s wing so that I do not hurt the bird and when is the best time to clip them. (After they molt) When I get concerned about the way a chicken is acting or if their poo doesn’t look right I open up Storey’s Guide to Raising Chickens and get my questions answered. You would be hard pressed to NOT find what you are looking for in this book. I highly recommended it for anyone who wants to raise chickens and for those of us who have chickens.
4. The Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey
Dave Ramsey and his book The Total Money Makeover is one of the greatest blessings to my family. When I started reading this book, I could not put it down. I don’t even remember buying it or getting it as a gift. It just seemed to appear. So, I am indebted to whom ever gave me this book. This book helped me change the way I looked at money and debt. I used to think that there was good debt and bad debt…. I was wrong, THERE IS NO GOOD DEBT!
This book inspired to take Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University about three years ago.We have been debt free since January 2015 and have remained so to this writing….. Well, since June of 2017. We did purchase our new homestead in June. So, now we have a mortgage, but it is less than what we were paying for rent by about $170 a month! I still do not have a credit card and I will not finance anything we need. We save the money and buy it when we can. The Total Money Makeover will help you if you apply its principles and keep your focus on the end goal of being debt free. It is VITAL that homesteaders be debt free. You have a much greater peace of mind. Even if you only have your mortgage and no other debt it is incredibly liberating. This is a must read for everyone! Not only homesteaders, but anyone who breathes!
5. Chenier’s Practical Math Dictionary - Norman J. Chenier
This little yellow book can be a godsend for anyone that has building projects on the homestead or even children in school. There is an amazing amount of information in this book. If you want to know what the radius of a circle is when all you know is the area, No Problem! It’s in there! Want to know how to figure out the angle needed for those rafters you need to build for the shed roof, No Problem! It’s in there! Your child is struggling with his Algebra or Trigonometry homework and you don’t have a clue how to help them, after all it has been awhile since you even thought about this stuff, No Problem!
This book has saved my butt a couple of times, especially with Little Man’s Algebra homework! This is one book you should have multiple copies of so you can have on in the house and one in the workshop or shed. If this book was to cost a couple of hundred bucks, and it doesn’t, it would still be well worth the money!!
6. Possum Living - Dolly Freed
I bought this book several years ago as it had the subtitle of “How to Live Well Without a Job and With (Almost) No Money”. I was in debt and barely getting by on my paycheck. So, I was open to anything that would help me live better without spending any money. I learned a lot from this book. Written originally in 1978 by an 18 year old girl with a 7th grade education. Dolly Freed chronicled the 5years she and her father lived on a ½ acre plot in a suburb of Philadelphia. It was a pleasure to read.She has a very different outlook on life than most of the kids her age at that time. Some of the things covered were how they would eat well without having to shop for groceries. How they supplemented there food stocks with a garden and raising animals like chickens and rabbits. Dolly explained how they could live well without a job and very little money. She explains her feelings on growing up, social issues and about living differently while living a fulfilling life. This was one of the inspirational books that started us on our homesteading journey. Highly recommended read!
Well, that is the list of my favorite six books that have either helped or inspired me on my homesteading journey. You may be thinking that, “Wow, that is an eclectic list!” You would be right but as I have mentioned they each cover a part of the homesteading lifestyle.
I would welcome to hear what books have helped or inspired you on your homesteading journey. Thank you very much for taking the time to stop by and staying a “spell” with us. Y’all have a Simply Unbelievable Day and God Bless!
Oh, and before I forget….. “MERRY CHRISTMAS”!
Scott & Little Man..
“…As for me and my house we shall worship the Lord.” –Joshua 24:15