Live Debt Free

Pay off debt. Save. Give. Live your mission.

Homemade Ultralight Backpacking Water Filter

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This is a photo essay of the homemade ultralight backpacking water filter I use.

Use What You Need

Don’t waste your breath telling me this filter isn’t enough for me – or anyone else choosing to use it – and we won’t tell you your over compensating for water filtration.

It’s a free country so leave everyone to use the filter of their choice.

I’m not a water expert so only take my advice if you’re confident it will serve your needs.

Step 1

Get a 1 Micron Singed Polyester 7″ x 16″ Filter Bag Felt Biodiesel Sock Size 1, open the sock into a  flat piece of cloth, draw as many 8″ circles as you can (we fit four 8″ and one 7″), and cut them out.

Step 2

Fold them into quarters and glue the seam (I use a hot glue gun).

Backpacking Filter 2

Step 3

Create a protective sleeve to store your filter.

These biodiesel socks will catch a lot of dirt and natural material when you lay them on the ground. To combat this I sewed fiberglass screen material to fit over the filter as protection.

Backpacking Filter 3

You don’t have to make this cover, but it helps keep the outside of your filter clean.

Step 4

Put it all together and give a few to your cheapskate, ultralight backpacking friends!

Backpacking Filter 4

Enjoy!

Save Money

Effective water filtration at a fraction of the price.

What are your money saving tips for ultralight backpacking?

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Resources

Thoughts On Spending and Saving Money

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Just a couple interesting things I’m investing in or saving money on lately.

Investing in the right shoes

Merrell Barefoot Trail Gloves

I have weak ankles from years of playing full-court basketball.

Rather than isolate and weaken them further by wearing ankle braces, I’ve been looking for ways to strengthen them.

Enter barefoot trail running.

I hate blowing money on anything, but since I’m a proponent of investing in yourself (health, skills, etc.) I have no problem investing in a great pair of utility shoes that get me back to more natural movement while building ankle strength. That’s why I’m going out to buy these shoes as soon as I publish this article (did the research and love what I see).

I’m excited to see how these handle all the hiking and trail running I’ve been doing lately.

I’ll keep you posted.

MovNat.com – explore your true nature

MovNat.com is a website dedicated to something I have known to be right all along: natural exercise in lieu of gyms and a bunch of expensive equipment.

Much of it is done simply in shorts and bare feet (I’ll be doing it in my new shoes).

The MovNat website describes it as “an effective fitness system based entirely on using the full range of our natural human movement abilities such as walking, running, balancing, jumping, crawling, climbing, swimming, lifting, carrying, throwing, catching, and self-defense.  MovNat is for everyone, it is progressive and safe, and supports physical competency and conditioning for any area of life.”

They teach 13 basic movements that exist within 3 basic movement categories.

Simple, basic, natural, and inexpensive. I love it.

Owning vehicles

A few days back I made the announcement that we’re going down to one vehicle.

Originally we were going to sell both the 2000 Jeep Cherokee and the 2002 Grand Prix to purchase a used Pontiac Vibe.

We changed our minds.

Now we’re just going to sell the Grand Prix, keep the Jeep, and rent cars for long trips.

Keeping the Jeep instead of buying the Vibe will save us around $4,000.

Renting a high MPG car for trips will save us tons of money on gas, and save us from having the expense of owning 2 vehicles. We’re going back to Michigan in early April and plan to rent a Ford Focus or similar vehicle with great gas mileage, then just turn it in when we return.

Owning just one vehicle will save us hundreds every month on insurance, repairs and maintenance, fuel, and plates/registration costs (taxes).

What changes are you making?

What things are you doing to change your life for the better?

What purchases investments are you making in yourself?

What are you doing to earn more and spend less?

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We’re Going Down to One Vehicle

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One vehicle

Back in 2008 I wrecked my Jeep and we were forced to become a one car family. My buddy “knew a guy” who could fix it for cheap – you know how those deals go. What was supposed to take “about a month” quickly deteriorated into 8 months, several yelling matches, and a big headache. Finally, I got my Jeep back in working order.

It was a trying time but it taught us a lot and showed us we could get by with only one car, even when we both worked full-time jobs.

Cost of owning a car

Even if they’re paid off, cars cost more than you think.

Using the [cost of owning a car] equation, the true cost to own and drive our paid off vehicles is around $720/month.

This means owning both cars, even though they’re paid off, costs us roughly $8,650/year.

How many cars are needed

We only need one car.

Nowadays we both work from home, have no children, and spend most of our time together. Since moving to North Carolina a month ago, there has not been a single instance where both vehicles were needed so it’s time to say goodbye to one of them.

How many do you really need? Not want, need.

We thought we needed both back when I crashed my Jeep, but turns out we only needed one; and that was when we both had full-time jobs outside the home.

Our plan for one vehicle

Right now we have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee and a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. The Jeep is our utility vehicle; we use it to haul things and drive back roads and bad weather. The Grand Prix is our every day car because it’s a bit more comfortable and gets better gas mileage.

We would like to sell both and purchase a better all-purpose vehicle; kind of like a Subaru but something less expensive with better gas mileage, like a Pontiac Vibe. We priced them out and have test driven a few. We made an offer on one tonight but the owners turned us down (we offered $1,000 less than their asking price).

The plan for now is to sell the Grand Prix, drive the Jeep as our every day vehicle, and continue looking for a Vibe (or something similar, like a used Volvo wagon). If we need to drive a long distance – like our upcoming trip to Michigan – we’ll rent a car with really good gas mileage (like a Ford Focus).

For us it’s way cheaper to own one car and rent a high MPG car for long trips.

God is in the details

It’s easy to think God has better things to do than help us with our car situation; but He does have time for it.

We have to remember that God is in the details! He wants us to come to Him with all our concerns, and buying/selling our cars is a big deal.

“Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22

We have no way of knowing how long our current vehicles will last and cannot tell exactly which used cars are the best to buy. We can make educated guesses and get a CARFAX, which we do, but only God knows what is best for us… so we invite Him to help.

We want to encourage you to remember God in all your decisions – He cares so deeply for us and wants to be involved with all parts of our lives.

Save money and simplify

Less vehicle ownership means more money in your pocket. You may have to buy a bus pass or give a friend a few bucks for gas but chances are you will save quite a bit by downsizing to one vehicle.

Going down to one vehicle means less money spent toward car payments (if you finance), gas, repairs/maintenance, insurance, and plates/registration.

For us it will save an extra $360 every month. Use this equation to see how much it will save you. Chances are you will save quite a bit even if you have to pay for alternate transportation and rental cars once in awhile.

Another benefit to fewer vehicles is less maintenance and headaches. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Save, save, save.

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photo credit