Growing your own mangels and sugar beets for livestock is a good start. I got a 1/2 oz of mangel seeds from Rh Shumway awhile back, if all goes well I will harvest them in the fall for chicken food for the winter, if the mice don't get to them first.

We have a sawmill close by and we get sawdust from them for free. :) Problem is, they haven't been working much in the past few months.

Not sure what sorts of things you are looking into saving money on, except for feed costs stuff like that.

you can plant bottle gourds and make your own birdhouses.

When your and your neighbors' vegetable gardens overproduce, set up a co-op to sell them. Set up a table with an umbrella in one yard and take turns manning it during peak buying hours (we find the on-the-way-home crowd buys the most). That way everyone wins--gardeners get money and purchasers get fresher produce at slightly less than grocery prices. You will find that customers will return frequently and you get to meet some nice people.