I think most of us know the basics of self-reliant living. We’re living within our means, we can cook for ourselves, most of us can (and probably do!) garden, maybe even preserve some of our food. But there is so much we can do to improve ourselves. Make a goal to take a class to learn a new skill or increase your earning potential.
Moorhead Adult Education has just begun their winter classes. There’s still time to get in on some of them. Their spring classes (which begin in March) usually have a lot of great camping, gardening and cooking classes. If you aren’t getting their catalog, be sure to call or visit their website to get signed up for catalogs.
If you don’t live in the FM area, call your local school district, college or university. Almost every university offers some kind of continuing education classes for adults.
Still can’t find anything? Take some online courses. There is no end to the courses you can take online. Right now I am taking a course from University of Pittsburg on Emergency Preparedness. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed taking this course with classmates from around the world. Be sure to check out EDX, which offers hundreds of courses from the country’s top universities.
College courses are not only interesting, but will also help you increase your earning power. Most of them offer certification for a small (usually $40-50) fee.
Added bonus: many online college courses can translate into college credit if you take an ACE or CLEP test to prove proficiency. Contact your local university to see what ACE or CLEP credits they’ll accept. You may be able to get two years of college credit for just a few hundred dollars. This is also a good way for your high school students to cut the cost of their college education and graduate from college earlier—and debt-free!
Don’t want to study something so academic? Try learning (or improving) a homemaking skill. Craftsy.com has classes on cake decorating, sewing, crochet or knitting. Wilton Cakes has several online cake decorating classes. I’ve really enjoyed this course on permaculture. There are also online courses for gardening, food preservation, auto and appliance repair, just to name a few. This site doesn’t have a class, but has a series of great videos on how to dehydrate and store food.
Don’t let grass grow under your feet—go out and take some classes!
