For those of us that scrounge wood...

[Wet1]

I started thinking about all the work I put into gathering about 10 to 15 cords of wood these last several months vs what I could buy it for and I started to quickly question my own sanity. In fact, I believe any sane person with any amount of money in their pocket would have just bought the damn wood (or not bother burning at all) rather than do all the work it takes to scrounge "free" wood.

With that said, I started to wonder what the yearly household income is for those of us that scrounge our wood. I'm sure some of us need to scrounge wood to get by and others probably do it because they truly enjoy doing it.

Obviously the poll is anonymous, so nobody will know what your income is... Feel free to make any comments, but no need to publicly state your actual income.

 

[wendell]

I'm not quite a scrounger but I work for myself and this year realized the money I could make if I would buy instead of C/S wood and use that time to work. It was a little depressing. But, I enjoy it and I guess all work and no wood cutting makes Steve a dull boy.

 

[adrpga498]

Wow, nice to know wealthy people scrounge too.

 

[wendell]

If you are talking about me, you are VERY confused. The only thing wealthy about me is my waistline. Working for yourself just means that no one else will hire you, you can't take vacations because you can't afford them and you hope you have enough money o pay the mortgage next month.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Your choice to burn wood is completely independent of your choice to scrounge wood. Burning wood is stacked against your next best alternative and scrounging against other use of your time/equipment. Given that I burn wood, I am much more inclined to scrounge wood as it is a way to use my time to effectively generate income that neither an employer nor the government currently gets a piece of. Noticeably absent from this discussion is the effective income per hour from my scrounging...

Whether you scrounge all or part of your annual demand for BTUs, God bless you and whoever is foolish enough to part with their wood!

 

[stockdoct]

Wealthy people are often people who worked VERY hard to get wealthy ..... and are frugal as a result.

You say I'm a cheap ass .... I say "frugal".

 

[Heem]

I certainly don't think of myself as wealthy, but on this scale I guess it turns out I am...

I dunno, I will scrounge if I can and buy if I have to.

 

[mainstation]

Working for yourself just means that no one else will hire you, you can't take vacations because you can't afford them and you hope you have enough money o pay the mortgage next month.

Well said,
I would consider myself hard working though not wealthy by any real means. (At least $$ wise). I cut my own wood simply because it is who I am by character, partly the same reason I burn wood.
I enjoy cutting wood and working in the bush, and the feeling of self sufficiency that goes with it.

 

[Vic99]

I would probably scrounge if I were rich. My income is decent. I suppose I'd like to be a land baron and get all my wood off of my own property. I'm blessed with a half an acre, but that is just not even remotely sustainable . . . . plus, I hear that land barons get a cool felt hat with a feather in it . . . no wait.

 

[Badfish740]

We're definitely not wealthy, but we also live in New Jersey where everything is more expensive. We pay 6700 a year in property taxes on a two bedroom ranch on a half acre lot. That being said, I scrounge just as much for the satisfaction as the savings. I take great pride in a find whether its pallets or deadfall. Either way I'm making good use of someone's "trash."

 

[Brian VT]

I can buy oil and propane. I always have until this year.
I get the same satisfaction from making firewood that I do from putting deer and other meat in the freezer.
It's rewarding to provide for you and yours with your own hands rather than paying someone to do it for you.

 

[myzamboni]

We're definitely not wealthy, but we also live in New Jersey where everything is more expensive. We pay 6700 a year in property taxes on a two bedroom ranch on a half acre lot. That being said, I scrounge just as much for the satisfaction as the savings. I take great pride in a find whether its pallets or deadfall. Either way I'm making good use of someone's "trash."

I'm right with you but my lot is not quite 1/3 the size of yours :smirk:

 

[North of 60]

Wow, nice to know wealthy people scrounge too.

What do you think makes most of them having a good chance of being wealthy? ;-)
Other than Paris Hilton of course.

 

[Got Wood]

I have spent countless hours scrounging and processing close to 15 cords since early October 08. The results: I have 2 years supply on hand but more importantly, I have made a life style change. From the exercise involved I have lost significant wieght, my BP has dropped and I'm alot stronger. I also have a great stress relief - going out to my "woodland" and banging the crap out of a round sure helps dealing with life's issues.
From a money perspective a big driver in going the wood burning route was the concept of saving money but I have found that the financial aspect isn't nearly as important.

 

[Redburn]

My first couple years it was more fun to scrounge than now I would rather spend time other places so I pick up what I can and buy the some green at a discount in off season. The funny thing is a friend of mine who is new this year to it has that look in his eye when ever u mention free wood .

Free wood is not free...........

 

[Risser09]

Given that I burn wood, I am much more inclined to scrounge wood as it is a way to use my time to effectively generate income that neither an employer nor the government currently gets a piece of.

This is probably the greatest reason that I scrounge wood. I would probably be doing something with my time that wouldn't be generating income, and as a result, I feel like scrounging actually earns me money (tax free). This is also a reason that I take on part time bartending gigs–lots of cash without paying much tax. Also, the exercise involved with C/S/S all the wood is just as effective as paying to visit a gym.

At this point in my life (26 years old), I feel like I have the equipment, time, health & energy to negate any perceived opportunity cost involved with scrounging. That being said, spending your money locally to an honest firewood dealer is a great way to help your local economy.

 

[Wood Duck]

I scrounge wood because I enjoy it and it makes me feel like I am saving money. I enjoy looking around at the types of trees that grow, the quality of wood they might have, and the opportunities for scrounging. I seems a little bit like fishing or hunting (searching the outdoors for your quarry), but the search is conducted from my car while I am doing the other things in life that interfere with wood cutting. I enjoy cutting, splitting, and stacking the wood (don't tend to enjoy hauling the wood, but there is no way to avoid that part). I also enjoy the feeling that I am probably saving money, and that makes it a little more fun. I could afford to buy wood, but that would take part of the fun out of wood collecting.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

I started thinking about all the work I put into gathering about 10 to 15 cords of wood these last several months vs what I could buy it for and I started to quickly question my own sanity. In fact, I believe any sane person with any amount of money in their pocket would have just bought the damn wood (or not bother burning at all) rather than do all the work it takes to scrounge "free" wood.

With that said, I started to wonder what the yearly household income is for those of us that scrounge our wood. I'm sure some of us need to scrounge wood to get by and others probably do it because they truly enjoy doing it.

Obviously the poll is anonymous, so nobody will know what your income is... Feel free to make any comments, but no need to publicly state your actual income.

As abundant as firewood is in western WA it is not cheap to buy. $150 per cord for Doug Fir in the round is not uncommon. I enjoy cutting, hauling and splitting firewood. But I'd enjoy it a lot less it I was splitting and stacking rounds that I payed retail for. I will not pay for firewood. I'd sooner get a gas furnace.

EDIT - @ $200 per cord I figure that I'm making $40 per hour - not counting the cost of the saw or truck (which I'd have anyway).

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Wealthy people are often people who worked VERY hard to get wealthy ..... and are frugal as a result.

You say I'm a cheap ass .... I say "frugal".

I fall well short of "wealthy" but I can't imagine a level of wealth at which I'd stop being cheap.

 

[gpcollen1]

All in all, I would never stop scrounging wood - even if I supplemented it with purchased wood in the past. These days I am just about set for next year already so I am passing that year ahead mark soon and should be on my way to never having to purchase any at all. And besides, scrounging is fun.

The income thing will likely be skewed by how old you are and where you live - in many ways. If I were 5 years older, like my brother, I would have bought a house for about half of what I did and may even be able to have the wife stay home instead of working, reducing the family income by 50k - for example. If I decided to move upstate or to Vt or something, I could probably do well with less income.

 

[Risser09]

Great point about our ages/locations. Just goes to show that everyone has their own unique set of circumstances. I got a great price on my house and have a pretty low cost of living, but my wife and I don't gross a lot of money. A lot could change for me in just a few years in terms of income (good or bad), but I can be relatively sure my cost of living will most likely be close to the same, especially since I eliminated the purchase of heating oil.

 

[Flatbedford]

The income thing will likely be skewed by how old you are and where you live - in many ways. If I were 5 years older, like my brother, I would have bought a house for about half of what I did and may even be able to have the wife stay home instead of working, reducing the family income by 50k - for example. If I decided to move upstate or to Vt or something, I could probably do well with less income.

So true. We bought our house in 2003 when prices just started to go crazy. Had I bought the same house 2 years earlier, my mortgage would be a few hundred less. I also live in the NY metro area where the median selling price for a house when I bought was $750,000, I paid much less than that. I am on several forums and I can say that I have a higher income than most people around the US, but I just get by where I live. I am not complaining, just saying that those numbers alone can be misleading.
That said, I scrunge what ever I can and buy when nesessary. Firewood is advertised at $200-$250/chord around me. I have a tree guy friend who sells to me for $150. I paid about $4400 for propane in the last 12 months. Any scrounged wood is worth a lot to me. I hope that upgrading to the Woodstock stove will make a big my scrounging even more effective.
I also like to spend the time time messing with the saw, the truck, and the maul. It makes up for the hours I spend inside at work.

 

[basswidow]

My propane was $ 5500 winter before last. Hence the reason I burned wood last winter. Problem solved - I don't think I bought more then $500 in propane this winter.

I could afford to buy wood from guys selling - but I've been disappointed with the "so called seasoned wood" and the questionable quantities delivered. I can't find a good wood dealer. So I scrounge to take matters into my own hands.

I scrounge wood that has been fallen by ice storms, construction, and other causes. I am hoping the process will be fun, healthy, and rewarding. Next year - I will start around December and finish by March - because this is cutting into my spring fishing big time!

 

[Flatbedford]

I thought a little more about this. For me, it's not just about the money, but it's also about doing it myself, working for my own heat and not buying propane, wood or anything else from anybody else. I think that that is the appeal of burning wood to a lot of us. That's why I don't understand burning wood pellets. I big part of burning wood especially scrounged wood, is the independence and the "sticking it to the man" aspect of it. Even If I had money to burn, I would still want to find my own wood. I would just do it on my own darn land.

 

[stejus]

I buy most of my wood but I also scrounge about 1 cord for shoulder season, the stuff that's burning now! I enjoy pulling the logs and large branches out of the woods because I sit all day long.... except at lunch when I run 6 miles and drop for 30 pushups ;-)