I have noticed something here.

[Michael M]

Maybe it's just me but i don't think so. How many of you cut firewood just because you like that little feeling inside that says you don't have to rely on anyone else to keep your family warm. That feeling of being a little self sufficient. Sure it can save me some money but there are other ways to save money thats less back breaking. When I first got married I worked my butt off to get all the crap that doesn't mean anything. new cars, big TV's, blah blah blah. Boy did I change the last five years or so. I love that feeling of kind of "stickin it to the man" I'm not going to pay no big oil company.

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I would be raising chickens, burning and selling firewood, catching fish in my own pond, gardening, etc. I would have said your nuts! Sure I still have a real job but man just this little taste of the good life sure is fine. The job pays the bills and puts away for retirement, the firewood selling makes for a great christmas each year and supports my other addiction very well. GUNS!

 

[ryan_marine]

Maybe it's just me but i don't think so. How many of you cut firewood just because you like that little feeling inside that says you don't have to rely on anyone else to keep your family warm. That feeling of being a little self sufficient. Sure it can save me some money but there are other ways to save money thats less back breaking. When I first got married I worked my butt off to get all the crap that doesn't mean anything. new cars, big TV's, blah blah blah. Boy did I change the last five years or so. I love that feeling of kind of "stickin it to the man" I'm not going to pay no big oil company.

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I would be raising chickens, burning and selling firewood, catching fish in my own pond, gardening, etc. I would have said your nuts! Sure I still have a real job but man just this little taste of the good life sure is fine. The job pays the bills and puts away for retirement, the firewood selling makes for a great christmas each year and supports my other addiction very well. GUNS!

I sell fire wood and it pays for about everything. It is a nice little buisness to be in. I also have a garden that really helps out on the food bill. I also hunt to know that the meat I eat is good for me. My garden is 100yrds long and 45 feet wide.

Ray

 

[stihl sawing]

I've been heating with wood most of my life, I enjoy not paying the gas man. But it's always been a necessity to me. I have always liked saws and running them, the heat from wood is something i feel must happen, Like eating i guess.

 

[StihlyinEly]

Maybe it's just me but i don't think so. How many of you cut firewood just because you like that little feeling inside that says you don't have to rely on anyone else to keep your family warm. That feeling of being a little self sufficient. Sure it can save me some money but there are other ways to save money thats less back breaking. When I first got married I worked my butt off to get all the crap that doesn't mean anything. new cars, big TV's, blah blah blah. Boy did I change the last five years or so. I love that feeling of kind of "stickin it to the man" I'm not going to pay no big oil company.

If you would have told me 15 years ago that I would be raising chickens, burning and selling firewood, catching fish in my own pond, gardening, etc. I would have said your nuts! Sure I still have a real job but man just this little taste of the good life sure is fine. The job pays the bills and puts away for retirement, the firewood selling makes for a great christmas each year and supports my other addiction very well. GUNS!

Perfectly said. I love saving $1,500 per winter in heating costs by burning wood, and some years that's the difference between coming out ahead or behind. But there's just something about growing our own vegetables, hunting and fishing for our meat and putting up our own winter fuel. It doesn't just feed the body, but feeds the soul as well.

 

[jjett84724]

I am in the same boat as Michael P. The fast paced lifestyle used to fit me fine. Now that I have a few kids, the slow life is the one for me. We raise our own pork, and chicken and trade pork for beef. We hunt deer and elk for game meat. We have a huge garden that takes care of our vegetable needs during the summer. We heat our house with a woodburning stove. Cutting firewood is not a chore, it's a privilege that allows me to provide heat for my family.

Thanks Michael for taking the time to remind us all of why we cut firewood.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

There are several reasons I bought an OWB and cut wood.

1) We have lots of trees on our property and when trees and limbs fall down they must be cleaned up and burned.....might as well make the burn a useful one. Everytime I burn a brush pile I can't help thinking that it could have kept me warm all winter (Some wood is just too small to cut and stack...and stumps won't fit through the OWB door).

2) I do get a good workout when cutting, splitting and stacking wood, and I enjoy being outdoors. I am 54 years old and in very good shape and my hard work outdoors has made this possible.

3) I am pretty stubborn about not wanting to needlessly pay money to the electric, oil and propane companies. I would rather spend money on equipment to cut and burn wood......instead of giving it to the utility company. I suppose if I ignored the labor and only what I have spent on equipment - it will take me about 6 years for a payback.

4) My house is heated to 68 and my garage to 60 all winter and very comfortable. If I was not burning wood I suppose I would be cranking the thermostat back all winter and worrying about how much money I was spending to keep warm. Now I don't worry.....all I need to do is throw another log in the OWB if I want to take a long hot bath...and having a "cold" wife is never a good thing!

5) Every day I feel the need to hold onto my income as much as possible so that future retirement will be as stress free as possible. The political and economic climate are not looking good and they certainly need to be improved. I have no idea what my savings will be able to buy in the future.....and I don't want to be held hostage by the Utility companies when I am living on a limited income.

 

[cedarman]

#### i love living off the land. we have four chicken houses moving 240,000 birds every eight weeks. im a school teacher by day, but a good ole country farm boy when I dont have to act professional. and heck yea!! doing firewood is a great workout

i make my own wine, fire wood, veggi garden. made my own smoke once too. but they were in my much younger/ wilder days when I had no cares or responsibilities. we wont go there:hmm3grin2orange:

I fish and hunt and eat what i kill.

the gov't and oil companies can control the fuel prices, but they cant control how much firewood i put in my woodstove (im sure theyd like too).

now that ive gotten roughly 4 cords already stacked up and ready to go for nxt winter i get a warm fuzzy feeling everytime i walk out to the woodpile.

 

[Woodcutteranon]

Excellent thread and all excellent posts. I was going to add my two cents but it would be exactly the same thing already said. When I read the OP I thought somehow I wrote it last night in my sleep.

 

[Mister Twister]

X2 on that.

I guess we all have a lot in common on this forum. Probably why we are all willing to help one another also. Keep up the good work......

 

[mdotis]

Cutting wood combines two of my favorite things

I work at a desk all day fixing other peoples problems Some days I hardly move off my chair when at work. Once I get home all I want to do is be outside and get a little exercise. Cutting wood is a combination of both for me. Outside and getting exercise, and it does not hurt at all to be able to save money doing it. The other thing I see happening is that at my desk job I can work all day and not be able to see that I have done anything. Not true when cutting wood. The harder you work the more it shows and the better I feel. I even split by hand so I can extend the fun a little longer. Yes I am a sick person.....

 

[Woodcutteranon]

I work at a desk all day fixing other peoples problems Some days I hardly move off my chair when at work. Once I get home all I want to do is be outside and get a little exercise. Cutting wood is a combination of both for me. Outside and getting exercise, and it does not hurt at all to be able to save money doing it. The other thing I see happening is that at my desk job I can work all day and not be able to see that I have done anything. Not true when cutting wood. The harder you work the more it shows and the better I feel. I even split by hand so I can extend the fun a little longer. Yes I am a sick person.....

You are not sick...you are perfectly normal!:greenchainsaw:

 

[mdotis]

Try to tell that to my wife

"You are not sick...you are perfectly normal!"

She seems to think I am very sick, however she does enjoy the house at 75 all winter long

 

[MJR]

A man needs to take care of the mind and body. There is nothing more relaxing in the winter then sitting it front of a warm fire, watching the flames, and hearing the sounds. Sure I like saving money but when my body can no longer do wood I will be buying it for the reasons I already stated.

 

[goof008]

I just started doing all this a few years ago...when natural gas was going up by 12% and was supposed to keep up that pace for a few years....about the same time gas went crazy.

To me it's kinda like giving the finger to the natural gas people who are a monopoly and can set prices as they please, as long as they justify it to the gov't.

Now I like the added warmth...with nat gas the temp in the house was set at 68, and sometimes was nudged up to 70...but rarely...now it's between 72 and 74 all winter.....very nice!!

 

[gwiley]

Much the same for me. There are 3 strong reasons for using an OWB:

1. I hate having my work taken from me. Every time I pay taxes I am trading hours of my life that I will never see again so that someone else doesn't have to work. Things like gardening and firewood can't be taxed - I love being able to more fully benefit from the sweat of my brow,

2. The products of my labor (gardening and firewood) are far more enjoyable than the alternatives (LP heat, grocery store veggies).

3. I spend my work days at a desk (or in a data center) so I really look forward to working outside. I NEED the exercise and de-compression that I get from physical labor.

 

[rmotoman]

Yep it feels great not paying the propane bill. We turned the propane furnace off when I got the wood furnace going.

The next bill I want to reduce is the electric bill. I hope to put up a wind generator this next winter. I am cutting and scrounging wood now to sell for next winter and pay for the generator.

 

[Billy_Bob]

That's me! I don't mind paying a reasonable price for something and paying a reasonable profit to the business selling the product or service.

What I don't like is this shameless excessive corporate GREED going around lately.

I'll read that the big shots in these companies have incomes in the double digit millions, yet they continue to hike prices and fees so they can make even more money.

And when they institute these rate increases, they are making some people on fixed incomes choose between food and heating. Some of these people literally do not have an extra $5 per month. These selfish big shots could care less about anyone other than themselves!

I talked to one lady who went all winter without heating. I read about another lady (older) who closed off all the rooms in her house except one because she couldn't afford the heating oil this winter. Etc.

What's worse is a lot of people can't add. People don't realize an extra dollar charged here and another dollar there adds up. All they know is they don't have enough money at the end of the month anymore.

But I can add and I know where all that money is going... To the big shots! I guess so they can buy another yacht or whatever.

Anyway I'm fighting back! I do everything I can think of to reduce my energy costs. Good energy saving tips here...
http://www.energystar.gov

 

[jerryw66]

I think we all have some of the same feelings, I just can't imagine my life without a woodburner or the chickens or hunting or fishing, on and on, but I for one don't burn wood to save money, I spend way more money on woodburning than heating my house could ever cost, saws, 3000 dollar stove, chimney, fuel, splitter, shed, and countless other expenses, I just love to burn wood and all the stuff that goes with it. Love to spend time with my kids cutting and splitting.

 

[bowtechmadman]

Can't agree more gents. Love the opportunity to burn wood for heat and DHW, grow a garden for the veggies, and hunt for the meat. Can't dismiss the lessons taught by having the youngsters out there helping learn about work while splitting, loading and unloading.

 

[mtfallsmikey]

Perfectly said. I love saving $1,500 per winter in heating costs by burning wood, and some years that's the difference between coming out ahead or behind. But there's just something about growing our own vegetables, hunting and fishing for our meat and putting up our own winter fuel. It doesn't just feed the body, but feeds the soul as well.

Amen brother!!! Same goes in Va. as well as Minn. BTW, nice article in Cabela's mag about pike fishing in Mn.

Much the same for me. There are 3 strong reasons for using an OWB:

1. I hate having my work taken from me. Every time I pay taxes I am trading hours of my life that I will never see again so that someone else doesn't have to work. Things like gardening and firewood can't be taxed - I love being able to more fully benefit from the sweat of my brow,

2. The products of my labor (gardening and firewood) are far more enjoyable than the alternatives (LP heat, grocery store veggies).

3. I spend my work days at a desk (or in a data center) so I really look forward to working outside. I NEED the exercise and de-compression that I get from physical labor.

Amen X2....You and I work in the same area, with the yuppies/Metrosexuals here having the same retarded (IMO) mindset about work, and life in general. Was trying to explain some of these principles to a Govvie the other day, they just don't get it. They come to my 'hood for "recreation"....