Time to shift gears, for real. Looooonng.

[GoodDaughter]

................

[countryjo]

It's good you have made a personal plan.......you will feel more in control when you have a plan.
It's so sad what our own goverment is doing ot us. I watch Glen Beck and Hannity and there are lots of people who still care.
God is still in control ,,,,,,it's not over yet.

[rantinraven]

GoodDaughter We wish you the best of luck + some in starting to live your plan. Your a very smart woman and from your previous posts I know that your goal is attainable. Stay safe and I will keep you in my prayers. Raven

[GoodDaughter]

..................

[Deberosa]

I to have been thinking long and hard. My job was shipped off to India. The same job I had to prove I was a US Citizen to get. I found another job on the other side of the country and took it. I am separated from my very best friend and partner and the banks have made getting a mortgage so difficult that I must exist in a temporary rental that is for sale. Then they declared the septic failed at Deberosa so can't sell it without another $20,000. I am taxed on every step to the max - no help here I am too busy paying off everyone else.

I considered bailing on everything - stop paying anyone but I then have nothing and no means to recover.

I haven't slept much. I thought of selling everything I own.

So... I too have made a decision. I am going to put the money I have into the septic. We'll have enough left over to hang on with Kurt's work. If they have destroyed the market so badly that I can't sell, then I am going to quit my job and go home.

We spent years prepping - it's all there in boxes just waiting to be shipped somewhere. The land is worked, the plants are in. I'm just going to go home and we'll make our stand at Deberosa. This country is against the hard working, responsible citizen on so many levels it's not funny.

The difference is that I don't blame the guy who's only been in charge for a few months. I think both sides in every direction of politics have significant hand in the gutting of America. We ship our jobs overseas, we buy our products from overseas. We tax the living daylights out of any responsible person trying to get by and we gut every attempt for people to run their own life. And I think every incumbent past incumbent in political office has a huge part of the blame for that.

That's my two or three cents anyhow.

[GoodDaughter]

...............

[AlchemyAcres]

GoodDaughter, I'm with you 100%.

The current arrogant and dysfunctional administration is only a 'product' and culmination of the underlying problems. Things will get a lot worse before they get better.

Noli nothis permittere te terere. = Don't let the bastards get you down.

~Martin

[AlchemyAcres]

go to a Trac phone and card from Wal Mart to be used only in emergencies.

I ditched my landline and went to Tracfone three years ago.....I switched to Net10 about a year ago...it's a much better deal.

I was paying $26 a month for landline + long distance......with Net10 I pay a total of $15 a month and have built up over 1,000 surplus minutes.


~Martin

[michiganmom]

I am with all of you. I have cut back so much i do not know where else to cut back right now. I still have the boys at home and a large mortage. It is very tempting to find some thing else and walk away from this place. Their are alot of places for sale here too and no one is buying. I fear that i will be the last one out of michigan and have to turn the lights out. Bad back or not i must garden as much as possible to feed the family.
Good luck to you all and my prayers are with you.
michiganmom

[johnny]

I got hurt in 95 and it took me a year to adjust to less than half the income coming in. Being single would make it sound easy--it wasnt!

By the time my SS disability kicked in I was basically broke and no savings left so thats when it hit me.

My advice--if you have your mind set--then at the first chance--do it. If you wait around and IF things get worse then what--your money is gone and you are screwed. Because of past earnings I get just about max on SS so really have no gripes coming--just not exactly how I had pictured it all but hey--its life and it does wierd things to us at times--grin and bear it--ha. Good luck to you both--no matter your decision.

[AlchemyAcres]

I've lived below the 'poverty' level since 1990.
I made up my mind a long time ago that I wasn't going to kiss anyone's a$$.
I ask for nothing and I expect nothing.
I take care of myself.
I'm living comfortably, even with a small mortgage.
I grow 95% of my own food, cut my own firewood for heat, etc.
It never made sense to me to earn money away from home to buy the things I need when I can do it myself right here.

You can do it!

~Martin

[dearg]

I feel the same GoodDaughter. You sound like a very strong and smart person you will make it!! We have cut back on all expenses which weren't much mainly because we refuse to be part of the great "change". I refuse to be part of the downfall of this country.

We live in a very rural area, and luckily have like minded neighbors, all two of them.. LOL We worked our butts off to pay for the land put an old trailer on it and have fixed up ourselves.

It is comfortable, heated with wood, and one small ac in the bedroom as this area gets hot and humid in the summer. Rainwater catchment system but needs to be bigger.

We do a lot of bartering for most things we can't grow or make. You would be surprised how many people are bugging out on this new "change".

Bottom line you will make it fine!! Having control of your life in as much as possible is the biggest freedom I can think of.

[SPIKE]

I too am in agreement with this thread. Withdrawing from some of the unnecessary BS created by "our leaders" has been part of my plan since purchasing my property.
I wish there were more people living near me that thought the same way.
It is amazing to me how far off track the times we live in have become.

Martin,
I've been meaning to tell you that I like your latin quote, but I thought it translated to say "Don't let the bastards wear you down".

SPIKE

[gwhilikerz]

I ditched my landline and went to Tracfone three years ago.....I switched to Net10 about a year ago...it's a much better deal.

I was paying $26 a month for landline + long distance......with Net10 I pay a total of $15 a month and have built up over 1,000 surplus minutes.


~Martin

Martin why is Net10 a better deal than tracfone for you? I'm asking because i use tracfone and it runs me 21.19 for a couple of months. I don't use the cell phone much at all and have built up several hundred minutes. But I'm always looking for a better deal. sorry, didn't mean to divert the subject of the thread.

[cinok]

This is an interesting topic We scaled back a few years ago after I got hurt built our little cabin got some land and have slowly been working on the "homestead". One thing I find a little odd on this board is the different degrees of "homesteaders" on this board. We are not off grid have a 2 cells and our Internet is cell based, but if all hell broke loose we would survive, Dearg you bring up a point that to many miss on these boards if there is a major crisis It would be difficult to survive without a group of like minded people working together in their local community, your "friends" on the forum who are scatted across the country are not going to be much help. f we had to get back to basics in this day and age it would be very different then 100 years ago back then families lived together not any more. So just remember just because you don't agree 100 percent with neighbour it may not be the best thing to isolate your self to much

[AlchemyAcres]

Martin why is Net10 a better deal than tracfone for you? I'm asking because i use tracfone and it runs me 21.19 for a couple of months. I don't use the cell phone much at all and have built up several hundred minutes. But I'm always looking for a better deal. sorry, didn't mean to divert the subject of the thread.


I use it to some extent nearly every day.
10 cents a minute.
I basically got the phone 'free', it cost $30 with 300 'free' minutes,
No roaming



~Martin

[GoodDaughter]

...............

[flatwater]

His change should read " chains " It's just the beginning of fitting in with the other socialistic nations. We are a blessed nation because we are different. When we join the other nations " Katy bar the door " because the blessing will be gone

[fredfl]

I haven't posted in a long time but gooddaughter struck a nerve. I have been feeling exactly the same for a long time now and have considered either buying some land in the midwest and packing it in or leaving the country. This business of bailing out every failed company with taxpayer money and driving us deeper in debt (with 55 trillion in unfunded debt what does another 2 or 3 matter) I don't think this is going to end well. A currency collapse with the accompanying rebellion of the citizenry would not be a pretty sight. Our country has become a banana republic. Check out "crash course" for some factual info re: the state of our economy it is scary how far we have descended in 25 years. I would be intersted to hear what plans some of you have to cope with this.

[Gwynyvyr]

GoodDaughter, Debarosa, Martin...
I hear all of you loud and clear.
I had been *pausing* in my homesteading efforts until my darlin' man deployed to Iraq.
He left at 0700 today.

I am currently in Texas.
Homestead area my partner and I have chosen is in the NorthEast US.
I am currently pricing properties and winnowing it down to our top 10 before we make an offer.

Once four more things HOPEFULLY fall into place here for me, I will leave Texas and head north.

We will be off grid---completely.
Like GoodDaughter, we are *detaching* ourselves from all the stupidity and chaos and crooked politics and *change*.

I know more and more people that are doing this.
And I am glad so many are making the decision to withdraw from society as it is now.

[countryjo]

Good daughter, Ok since your neighborhood is not a place you want to be and you have property. What about getting a 24-26' trailer or cabover camper? You could be working on it now and have it already to go when you sell or feel you must leave......
We had a 24' trailer and it had a bedroom plus you are self contained.
There are several sites and books on homesteading in a trailer.
Having a plan makes you more in control.
Do you have a dog?

[Southerngirl]

I agree 100%! I have already started "pulling back" from people in my life that I KNOW will create a problem when it gets worse. You know the type, the loudmouth, using, "give me everything with no help back" type of person.
I go to town twice a month now, on our 2 paydays.
I've stopped trying to get people I know (family and friends) on board, if they haven't figured it out by now, they aren't going to and will be a "drag down" for us later.
Hubby tells me our 1/2 acre garden is big enough, but I still don't feel it's enough. If I am unsuccessful in getting him to help start another garden area, I will try my first luck at raised beds and container gardening (what I can). He did seem interested in the idea of a green house though.
He's not thrilled with my ideas of adding farm animals (all we have are horses), but that he will have to just sit back and grin about cause I just don't care anymore. MIL is giving me a hard time saying I can't do it all, all this negative thinking in my ability isn't going to get me down though, just pushes me harder!
Won't they be glad when I can take care of all of us! :)

I also wished I had a community of people to do the same, I met someone on this site that lives an hour from here with the same thinking as my own, and am getting to know them better so when things get tough, we could help each other.
Southerngirl

[TNDadx4]

I'm happy to hear of your plans. They sound great and I wish you the best in fulfilling them! I've been feeling to pull too. It always seems to be an urgency to get "things done" to disassociate and focus on the better things in life; God, family, self-sufficiency, etc.

I wish that we had more land, too. The one great thing is that our neighbors are pretty decent. Several of them garden and would probably be open to planning/prepping/self-sufficiency at least on some level.

Deberosa - So sorry to hear that you are going through all that, still praying for it all to work out!

Gwynyvyr - Thank you for your husbands service! It's because of people like you all that we have our freedom.

May we all use this current ecomonic situation to further our dreams!

[GoodDaughter]

..............

[flatwater]

We are one of the few countries left that can still have guns and can still own land. They are trying to take away the guns as we speak and the land will be next.

[countryjo]

Hi Good daughter, It seems to me you are doing what needs to be done.....you have property and a trailer to go to if need be.....you said before you wanted to stay at your house for a couple more years and work.
I don't know if you have made a fire pit, I would put one in in both places. Maybe make raised beds at your new place, just don't plant in them, but they would be ready to go.....stock up on seed.
get 5 gallon buckets and you can wash clothes in them.
Glenn Beck was explaining the car bail out today on his show, so right, if it goes through as it is being talked about, no bail out money will be paid back, Unions and others will get the company. Goverment Runned.
You were so right about Goverment running different sectors.......boy I never would have believe this could happen.
Keep on making plans.

[bookwormom]

congratulations. You have your place paid for and a house paid for. you still have a full time job and you are using your noodle. You will work it out very well, no doubt. Best to you

[Kelleysvt]

RE - "camp soap" / peppermint soap - I think this is referring to DR Bronners and I meant to mention it on the BOB thread - Dr Bronners is a great product and can be used for everything from toothpaste to laundry soap. The last time I bought it I paid about $8 for a shampoo bottle sized container. It's very effective though you have to get used to the squeaky clean feel it leaves behind - most everyday soaps have moisturizers which leave a greasy film that makes your skin feel smooth - Dr B's doesn't, so your skin is 'squeaky' clean... literally. I would highly recommend it for BOB's because it's so versatile. (no I haven't tried it as toothpaste but have used it on my face so I got a tad in my mouth and it doesn't taste soapy). I wouldn't advise depending on it for shampoo if you have long hair because of the 'squeaky clean' - turned my hair into a bit of a rats nest (no oily residue to help it slip through the comb).

I'll be looking into Net10 too as we are spending way too much on phone/net.

I've really appreciated this thread - I've heard people talking about "going Gault" in other contexts as well. It's sad but at the same time inspiring. Sad because we are being forced to withdraw from society and taking our wisdom and knowledge with us to a certain degree (when you don't see folks for a long spell you don't get to talk much). It's inspiring because I would like to see the world go back to the local community level again - where you were intimately familiar with everyone who lived within 5 miles of you and the only news that mattered was what was going on around you. The modern world is an overwhelming place - there's too much going on, too many people in need. We are only human and can't fix everything for everyone - why should we feel guilty about not being able to help the impoverished in Bangladesh when we don't care about the raggedy kid next door? Our sense of responsibility is all out of whack. Everyone is so concerned with having their hair like Jenn or an outfit like Britteny or a car like... well you get the point. We're so concerned with people we'll never know that we never get to know the people we should be concerned with.
DH and I are starting to take those steps as well, to move towards a more local life. The thing I struggle with the most is these forums (and others like them). I feel so at home here. I can talk about anything here - but it's been months since I sat down over the dinner table with my neighbor, and I've never done so with any of my other neighbors. We don't get cable or sat TV here, we do have a sat radio subscription but I'm about ready to give that up too. This week I've just kept everything off, no radio, very little tv, just the sound of silence and the kids playing. I used to get so frustrated by the noise level - it was so freeing to realize that all I had to do was shut those things off rather than hushing my kids constantly. Now if I could just keep myself focused on talking with them rather than you.... (not that I don't appreciate you all, but switching gears for real means stepping away from the WWW as much as anything else)
It means going back to the basics where fresh bread and fresh soup were more than enough... they were like heaven; where chattering kids were the pinnacle of your day and not the depths of frustration; where a day spent working hard around home was a weekday and not a weekend. I want that, for me, for my husband, and for our children.
I'm off to watch my daughter play with leftover pizza dough...

[TNDadx4]

It means going back to the basics where fresh bread and fresh soup were more than enough... they were like heaven; where chattering kids were the pinnacle of your day and not the depths of frustration; where a day spent working hard around home was a weekday and not a weekend. I want that, for me, for my husband, and for our children.
I'm off to watch my daughter play with leftover pizza dough...


+1

Very nicely said! I wish that more people would "turn off the world" and focus on their families.

Last night, I had a few of our children working in the garden with me, We planted more tomato plants, French Marigold and transplanted some corn where we needed it.

Before I knew it, it had started getting dark and we were outside over 2 hours together talking, etc.

Our youngest son sums it up nicely when he says, "I like doing this. It gives us time to talk."

I can't wait for the day when all of our days will be more like that one.

[cwatson]

+1

Very nicely said! I wish that more people would "turn off the world" and focus on their families.

Last night, I had a few of our children working in the garden with me, We planted more tomato plants, French Marigold and transplanted some corn where we needed it.

Before I knew it, it had started getting dark and we were outside over 2 hours together talking, etc.

Our youngest son sums it up nicely when he says, "I like doing this. It gives us time to talk."

I can't wait for the day when all of our days will be more like that one.

TNDad you are so right. My kids are grown but my grandson loves to help grandma in the garden. He loves that I let him dive in the dirt and "get dirty" and he loves to pick fresh veggie. He planted rows of turnips and beets in our last planting. He moved away to NM with his Mom now but the last thing he said before he left is "I will miss our garden Grandma" and he is only 5. He loves to help me can too. I am really going to miss him when it comes to harvest time this year.

[GoodDaughter]

................

[SPIKE]

Hope for the best and plan for the worst is about all I know to do at this point.
But, do not give up the dial up yet, please. You would be miss here too much.
Send me a notice and I will send you the 9.95 a month. ;D

SPIKE

[countryjo]

Hope you don't have to leave, enjoying your posts.

[Southerngirl]

I'll 3rd that comment, sure hope you stay here, we do enjoy reading everyone's input!

[TNDadx4]

He loves to help me can too. I am really going to miss him when it comes to harvest time this year.


Hopefully he can visit like Gooddaughter mentioned. You could take pictures of the veggies that he planted as they mature and maybe send him a block print (I think that's what it's called) of the veggies that he helped plant.
There is a link here (http://www.kinderart.com/printmaking/fruit.shtml) that shows a bit of what I mean. That will be something that he can look back on and remember the time spent with you in the garden.

[GoodDaughter]

..................

[cinok]

I believe we have quite a few members who live basically but also have to work in offices or other places of business. Take Jackie clay she lives a basic life but does go without the "comforts". Maybe to make your transition easier set up your office in one area and only use the equipment in there for business, you are at an advantage by working at home such as less use of gas, also it doesn't mater if you have to wait until mid morning to shower because the water isn't hot and many more. Just my 2cents

[GoodDaughter]

................

[cinok]

Heres one Idea we run our laptops on cell based usb we run all of them(4) with no problem we are one edge of the service area but get good service cost is 60 a month it is also portable we have an email fax server 5.95 a month

[edward_4576]

I'm in a similar situation but not by choice. I've posted on what's going on in my life and when it came down to it, the wife and I decided to G.O.O.D. Lucky for me I've a place to go with more then minimal support as I detailed in the thread that I started. In my case, the value of my house has dropped by 17%, the local utilities just raised everything by 9%. My income has dropped by almost 4/5ths and there's little hope of getting a good job here.

DW and I watch the news networks and we saw people in the same predicament as we are just mail in the keys to their houses. It's called "jingle bills". I also reviewed "Atlas Shrugged". In our discussions the wife and I came to the same conclusion. They can have this white elephant back, we're history.

We're almost finished packing our possessions and I've got plans for a small cabin. With help from family and friends I hope to have the place under roof by September. First items are garden, chickens, rabbits. We're going to keep what is the best quality and convenience, all the other stuff that we've collected over the years that is excess baggage will be sold at flea markets for seed money.

From now on we deal only in cash, no banks, no taxes, etc. If I can't make it myself, grow or raise it or barter for it, I think maybe I don't need it. After two years of minimal employment at wages that are only enough to keep you in poverty, using up all my savings, cashing in all my stocks and 401K just to survive I figure to hell with them.

I figure we (DW and I) will never collect SS because of the anointed one in DC. So if we want to retire we best get our retirement home set up now. One thing a family member said to me when I finally told them how bad it was here and that we were bailing, he said "you should have done it two years ago". He was right. If I had done then what I'm doing now, I would be setting pretty, as it is it will be harder for us to get everything set up the way we've planned.

If your going to do something similar to what I'm doing, you might want to consider not waiting too long.

One last thought, with all the money Uncle sugar is giving away their gonna need to tax every citizen as much as they can just to keep things running. If more people drop off the radar how then may I ask are they gonna come up with the revenue needed?

[countryjo]

Good daughter, I've missed you and what your doing? You are on the right track, thinking of things you can do with out, but maybe right now you can still do most things, your still working, But if things go really bad, higher taxes, cost of utilities and higher interest, we may all have to make changes.....until then I'll keeep on enjoying what we have.......plus if we change now will be told we have to cut more later?
Did you hear they may tax soda and other things to pay for health care.....when I was young sodas were a treat.

[Southerngirl]

LOL ::) Taxing soda pop, well that's no surprise, they are going to find things that people use/want the most and tax the heck out of everything..... I've been needing a "better" reason to stop drinking the stuff anyway!
Southerngirl

[Catalpa]

GoodDaughter,
I see your dilemma and I feel your pain. I'm getting very serious about paring everything down as much as I can - the sattelite tv is going to go, it's my last little luxury.
But how do I get what I need, yet disconnect as much as I need to? My internet is only 34.95/month for high speed, which from what I read is pretty good. I have to have it, as I'm trying to develop a work from home service. I don't have a landline, so no fax, and my current cell phone is fifty a month, unlimited minutes.
So if phone and internet are needed, what else can I do without?
I live thirty miles from work, so I have to have a vehicle and gasoline.
I don't have any cows or chickens, but I get eggs from the neighbors and I have deer in the freezer.
I don't eat out.
I don't buy clothes/shoes/etc. until what I'm wearing is in rags.
Electric and propane bills are killing me - yet I have to have heat and light.
I just don't know where to cut anymore.

I have great plans for selling this big old house, and building a small ranch home on my land. But the market in Michigan is down over sixty percent, and the house won't sell.

So I'm stuck in a big, drafty house with a lousy furnace, and no closer to my little efficient place of my dreams.

I guess all we can do is keep plugging away, but it gets tiresome day after day, doesn't it?

[jonvee]

The powers that be are sooo follish (no surprise there) with this soda tax. Don't they know that most poor people, especially in the urban areas live on soda and junk food? It would never occur to them to drink water instead of soda. They're just gonna pay the extra and be that much worse off.

Penny wise and pound foolish if you ask me.

Obama is so hell bent on pinching the rich he hasn't figured out that they're smart enough to get around anything he throws at them. That could be why they're rich.

Yet again, the only one's who will suffer are the poor.

[epeterd1]

Don't forget the recent large cigarette tax increase. That goes against the poor folks too.

peter

[fredfl]

Just a couple thoughts that may be of value. If you have high speed internet why not use Magic Jack at $20 year for phone service? Back in my self sufficent days I used to heat with wood raised a lot of my own food (tried animals but too much work) had an orchard and various types of fruit etc. I was working full time then so most of my free time was devoted to wood,gardening so I would say that anybody can scale these things so they don't totally consume your time. The heating problem offers many solutions ie corn stove, pellet stove, outdoor wood stove one that we use here in Florida is to move to the bedroom at night and use a 1500 watt electric heater to just warm the room we are in as opposed to a 6000 watt heat pump for the whole house. Even though we have a small lot here I am also going to put in some raised beds in place of our ornamentals. When I lived in NH I made some mini greenhouse covers for my raised beds which extended the season by a few weeks on either end. When I heated with wood I had plenty of land but I found that the locals would throw away all soft wood in fact they used to pay to take it to the landfill so I bought a stove with a catylitic converter and began burning soft wood during the day. I never cut another tree for the next 5 years as I put the word out that I wanted softwood and had to turn people away they would deliver it to me cut to length all I had to do was split it. Not sure if this works everywhere but it worked in NH.

[Jared]

Net10 is great. I've got a blackberry now that i actually do most of my surfing on. But, I used a Net10 for two months and loved it. I've still got it and everything that came with it in a box so I can use it later. I won't keep the blackberry forever. Point is, Net10 is great. No daily use charge, no monthly use charge, etc. Just ten cents a minute and great coverge.
Gooddaughter, good luck on what you're doing. I want to, desperately. Wife doesn't. Other issues there that i won't go into.
The cigarrette tax hits everyone that smokes. Not just the poor. And, honestly, (this is coming from an active smoker) they can just quit if they can't afford it. End of story. When I can't afford it, I'll quit. One of the worst things about this country, and what contributes to the very things that are wrong with this country, are people whining about things that are actually under their control. Granted, the taxes aren't under our (smokers') control, but whether we light up or not is. Not griping at the guy who posted that, just venting.
Jared

[GoodDaughter]

..............

[cinok]

Couple of hard questions here please don't take this as an attack. You said that the little bit of overtime doesn't help as much as it did. here you counting counting your overtime as constant income and using that to figure the budget. That is a common mistake never mind jobs can be gone in a heart beat companies also get rid of OT first. The downturn that has happened has been a long time coming while I do not support Obama in the least and strongly disagree with his current agenda and what he has planned to blame him for your current problems is misdirected anger. You have land (is it paid for) and a trailer so you have a leg up on most. The housing crash is terrible crisis that was a result of boom and greed and the foundation finally gave out. What is your current equity in the house is it worth cutting it loose for a smaller profit or break even point. Then your major expense is gone, no need to work if you can be self sufficient. There are many on this board that are at different levels of preparedness some just starting while other are ready for the EOTWAWNI. Learn from all and decide what is important.

[GoodDaughter]

.................

[epeterd1]

My point about the cigarette tax was that it's my understanding that the lower the income level, the higher the tobacco usage. Of course, that is a tax that's easily avoided. Doesn't bother me much since I don't smoke, other than the fact that I don't care much for tax increases of any kind. Now in MS, they're about to raise the cigarette tax about 50c I think. Heck of a double whammy for smokers.

peter

[fredfl]

Haven't heard of anyone who smokes growing their own tobacco why not, I've seen it growing as far north as Connecticut. I don't use it anymore but would sure consider growing my own at these prices. Seems like selling tobacco wouln't be a bad sideline. Good way thwart Obamunism also.

[MrsL]

I've found this a fascinating thread to read, albeit a little late coming to it.
Things are bad over here too, but what concerns me is the head-in-the-sand attitude of most. *They don't seem to see what is coming, and that coming is inevitable. *People carry on consuming at the same rates with absolutely no thought for the near and distant future (few years hence, if that). *Our Government is in total turmoil at the moment along with the other parties; will be interesting to see just how many bums get off seats to actually go out and vote on 4th June - apathy everywhere. No-one is interested in scaling back, making hard choices, getting ready, being prepared, giving up what are in reality luxuires, but what a lot of peoople see as given rights. Willingness to work for what you need (in the widest sense of the words) is almost non-existant that I can see. We've had it too easy, and folks are going to flounder when the going gets really tough, and it will, whether their heads are in the sand or not.
We are quietly doing what we can; we have a house and garden (nearly paid for, but not quite), some livestock, grow lots, but it's not enough for me. *I need and want to be as indepent from other people as possible, and rely on myself and immediate family for what we need. Yes, it's hard work, but no-one ever said that peace of mind came easy.
I've foudn this thread inspiring, and it's made me more determined to make further strides in our plans.
Best of luck to everyone here in what they're doing.

[MrsL]

I grew my own tobacco a few years back here in teh south of England. I don't smoke, it was an experiment to prove it could be done, and it can. I didn't get as far as curing it, but no reason why not. Never say never.