How to start a Homestead?

[Steve_L]

I really want to know. It is clear to me that President Obama and the Democrats will destroy not just our economy but the economy of the entire world.

So... While I have always wanted a self sufficient homestead, I think it is more important than ever.

How does a engineer who lives in a small town 40 miles outside of a major city and works for a major corporation get a homestead? I mean, Dorthy Ainsworth and Jackie Clay are my heroes. I should be able to do this too. But where? How do I buy land and where do I buy it? How do I make a living?

I'm thinking the economy will eventually crash, and I'll lose my job. That's a drop dead date. I got one year more of secure employment, but the layoffs have already started.

I'm 53. In two years I can retire and draw about $2,000/month for sitting on my fanny and still have excellent heath insurance benefits. Is that enough? I mean, if I find some other way to make money too?

I'm puzzled, and I'm tired of complaining about Obama. I want a plan. Can you help me to make a plan? Advise me where land is cheap?

[jen_in_southtexas]

In my opinion, $2000 a month is way more than enough to live on and the two years you have left to work isnt much. You start right now, start looking for land, just start somewhere. If you are flexible and can move you may be able to find cheaper land elsewhere. The amount of land you want is personal preference but for me it was about what i could afford even if times got tough. Realtor.com is a great resource but check local papers etc.

How simple you want to live will pretty much determine everything else....expenses, dwelling etc.

Remember though, when your needs are few you needn't much to live on.

-jen

[MooseToo]

what you are considering is not a change of location - rather, it is a MAJOR life-style change - if you cannot learn from experience, if you cannot accept well-meaning advice, if you cannot handle disappointment, if you are a perfectionist, and, if you are not extremely flexible, it is a change than can break you -


some folks are just not cut out to be homesteaders and will never understand the delight others take in the simplest of accomplishments -

daring to generalize, i would predict that an automotive engineer would have a far worse time than a shade-tree mechanic - having experience in "make-do" hands down beats all the book learning you can assemble - even if time were not a factor -

now that concludes the negatives - on the flip-side, homesteading is not rocket surgery and nearly anyone can develop the competency needed to succeed - it all boils down to the simple matter of personality -

[Steve_L]

Ah... thanks for the ... encouragement? :-[

[MooseToo]

your query is extremely broad - the safest answer is "know thyself" -

[bee_pipes]

If you want somebody to lay it out for you like a technical manual, it isn't going to happen here. There are books for that, and even then I don't think you'll find the step by step information you want.

A place to start might be in reading all the old posts in the boards under this board, Homesteading (http://www.backwoodshome.com/forum/yabb/forum.pl?board=sel-homesteading). You are not the first person here to ask that question, but nobody is going to do your reading for you. Information on real estate and geographical locations around the country have been discussed, along with experiences people have had with starting out homesteads. I even remember you asking some of these same questions and people going to great lengths to answer. You've got to do the reading, you've got to make the tough choices, and you've got to get the experience.

Regards,
Pat

[manoucherie]

In my opinion, self sufficiency is can be done in stages, and you can find the level that you suits you. The key is to just jump in, make mistakes and learn from them. We are all going to be learning to live with "less", but when you make the choice to take control then you are already ahead. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do?

[Native87]

Move to Va. give me 500 a month consulting fee and 8 per hour and you will be fine. lol Serious tho. Jump in. You will learn to do with less. Strive to do wth less. Put the saved cash away. You will be in fine shape. Terry

[Steve_L]

My spider sense detects some ... hostility. :'(

[Terri]

Have you decided to stay in Washington, or move? That IS what you need to decide next!

[kawalekm]

Hello Steve
Many of us have seen what happens when a starry eyed dreamer colides with reality. *IT AIN'T PRETTY. *There are so many stories of divorse, bankruptcy, and suicide related to failed homesteading attempts. *I personally was friends with a couple with a "back to the land" philosphy years back. *They failed, got divorsed, and all their dreams for the land just disappeared. *When we bought our land 10 years later, and I knew it has been stressful on my wife also, but we've managed to hold it together for now.

The first thing I can advise you to do is don't expect to earn enough money off of a homestead to pay for the homestead! *I think that is the single biggest factor in failure that I can think of. *My wife and I are taking a different route. *We both have kept our day jobs, still live in town, and spend time on the homestead only on the weekends.

In five years though, we have accomplished a lot. *We have roofed a cabin, planted an orchard, built an irrigation system, and are in the process of installing running water, insulation, wood stoves, and alternative energy. *Yes, it's dead slow, but we are doing it without going deeper into debt, doing everything ourselves, making mistakes as we go along.

Your case is somewhat different. *I think you need to find a piece of land NOW. *Not because of the political environment, but because right now you can document a stable income. *Two years from now, nobody is going to loan you any money to do this, so you'd better do it right now while you still have the highest credit rating.

I'd stay away from realtors that deal in residential or recreation properties. *Start looking for agriculutural realtors in your area. * Sometimes you can drive on the back roads in your area and see advertized properties on the side of the road. *You might not want the one being sold in front of you, but you'll get contact numbers of the correct type of realtor. *I made a cover sheet to realtors outlining what I was interested in. *I mentioned acreage, water, soil, ect. *I also specifically stated I wanted a property where shooting and hunting were legal ON THE PROPERTY. *I'm not a gun nut, but that requirement made it easy to narrow the choices down to remote parcels I was interested in.

We found our property in 2003 and payed for it with a home equity loan. *You might not be able to do that now, but you yourself can work out your own finiances. *If you're going to retire with 2K per month, will 500-1000$ of that be devoted to a mortgage? *This is why you need to get the papers signed now. *A loan officer might not accept that idea two years from now.

Keep asking more questions. *There are lots of people here that will help you through it.

Good luck to you,
Michael

[MissouriFree]

as far as realtors go .
I agree -stay away from realtors that are residential and/or recreational. You might try united country.

Another way is to go online and read the local papers *classified.

BUT the very best is to pick where you want to go and drive the land. we found ours off a sign on side of the road .

there are also webs sites out there that only deal in farm land.

Not sure what Washington is like but in MO there are a lot of easy ways to find good land.

[TSJ]

My spider sense detects some ... hostility. *:'(

I am not currently homesteading but I plan to do so in the future when I retire in a few years and I have an approach somewhat figured out on how to do it. It took some reading and research and asking questions on this forum. So therefore I don't have answers for you per se but I have some questions.

How remote do you want your homestead?

What do you see as a minimum size?

Will you be disapointed with 3 acres?

Will you be disapointed with 20 acres? etc.

Do you expect to have a lot of animals?

Who will watch your animals when you take a trip?

Do you want to be hooked into the electric grid or will you eschew electric companies and generate your own power?

What kind of harsh weather are you willing to tolerate on your homestead? 40 below? 110 above?

Do you want potable water from the well on the property or just water enough for gardening and the animals?

What if you have to drill 500 ft down or more to get potable water?

What if there isn't any potable water to be had by drilling a well on your property?

What kind of county building restrictions are you willing to put up with?

What if a neigbor puts in a cattle feed lot or hog farm operation with a sewage lagoon next to you?

What kind of taxes do you envision paying. Property taxes? Income taxes? Depends on the state you live in.

That's some of the questions that I have for you. I realize that you may not have any answers for these right now but you should be thinking about them and studying up by reading this forum and various publications mentioned on this forum.

As far as buying land you can look at or landsof(put state name here).com. I think it fair to say that the more amenities the land has the more expensive it may be.

Take care and happy exploring! - TSJ

[rivahmom]

I do not have the homestead but I have the plan I can share with you. We bought a piece of land with good water table, nice hardwoods on it, a previous cleared homesite, and in an area with little regulations. So far, even though it is a few states away, we managed to get there to plant a few fruit trees. Next goal is a well and home. We are wanting to use a composting style toilet and grey water collection so we won't need a septic system. A large garden and fencing is the next priority. I have experience with pigs and chickens, hubby has experience with rabbits so those are the first farm animals we will raise. We will add other animals as money and confidence permits. We know one of us will have to work a part time job minimum until the farm is producing enough to sustain us. As far as the land goes we went for less acerage (6)in order to afford to have it paid off before the move. Our home is going to be made of earthbags which is durable yet affordable and we want to be off the grid but I'm leaving how we will do that to hubby because that's his niche. Hang in there.

[goldengate]

please, check your personal messages

[Steve_L]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I did the calculations and if I buy the property outright in a low tax area, I'll have no debts and have as much spending money as I do now. I live below my means and I have a high savings rate.

I think what I'll do is engineer something to sell, like a solar power kit, and sell it on the web to make a modest income. Or a pic programmer. Or killer robots. Or something. Not because I'll need the money, but because that is the kind of stuff I always wanted to do.

[jen_in_southtexas]

SteveL,

That is what they kind of talk about in the book Your Money or Your Life...Being debt free and doing what you've always wanted to do. That is awesome!

-jen

[Terri]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I did the calculations and if I buy the property outright in a low tax area, I'll have no debts and have as much spending money as I do now. I live below my means and I have a high savings rate.

I think what I'll do is engineer something to sell, like a solar power kit, and sell it on the web to make a modest income. Or a pic programmer. Or killer robots. Or something. Not because I'll need the money, but because that is the kind of stuff I always wanted to do.



I would LIKE a solar power kit that was complete. I have read the directions for DIY, but I did not understand them well enough to go shopping. Something that comes complete, with instructions of "plug this into that", would be about my speed!

And, WHERE are you going to live?

I ask this because I THINK property is still going down. It would be a good thing if you could buy when land was at its cheapest. And, *IF* you buy in your area-if you WANT to buy in your general area- you could put sweat equity into it.

If you buy in your area: your plans might be different.

[cookiecache]

I should point out a flaw in your plan. In post #1 you say:

"I'm thinking the economy will eventually crash, and I'll lose my job. That's a drop dead date. I got one year more of secure employment, but the layoffs have already started. *

I'm 53. In two years I can retire and draw about $2,000/month for sitting on my fanny and still have excellent heath insurance benefits. Is that enough?"

If your first statement, that you only have one year until lay-off is true, then you will not get a retirement! In two years you will not be sitting on your butt and collecting retirement money. Instead, you will have been unemployed for a year. With no income, your assets will be eaten just trying to stay above water. How long can you live if your source of income goes away as you say it will in the first post? Think about it. No job. No retirement money. Nothing. And, thousands of other people in the same boat. Watch the news. Hundreds of people are lining-up for any job offered. Just think what it will be like next year when you lose your job!
Better get that homestead NOW!

[Terri]

"Better get that homestead NOW! "

Or plant a garden, and develope your idea.

[Steve_L]

I should point out a flaw in your plan. In post #1 you say:

"I'm thinking the economy will eventually crash, and I'll lose my job. That's a drop dead date. I got one year more of secure employment, but the layoffs have already started. *

I'm 53. In two years I can retire and draw about $2,000/month for sitting on my fanny and still have excellent heath insurance benefits. Is that enough?"

If your first statement, that you only have one year until lay-off is true, then you will not get a retirement! In two years you will not be sitting on your butt and collecting retirement money. Instead, you will have been unemployed for a year. With no income, your assets will be eaten just trying to stay above water. How long can you live if your source of income goes away as you say it will in the first post? Think about it. No job. No retirement money. Nothing. And, thousands of other people in the same boat. Watch the news. Hundreds of people are lining-up for any job offered. Just think what it will be like next year when you lose your job!
Better get that homestead NOW!

::) You're right! I'm doomed! ;D

But, I'm not going to give up just yet.

[randallhilton]

I'm 53. In two years I can retire and draw about $2,000/month for sitting on my fanny and still have excellent heath insurance benefits. Is that enough? I mean, if I find some other way to make money too?

From reading your other replies it appears that you have some excellent resources at hand. You might consider setting up a lifestyle that's easy to maintain without that retirement package. If history serves, the past few months are a harbinger of some really big financial turmoil. After pumping all this vapor money into the economy it will be pretty much impossible to keep inflation under control. My inkling is that in the congressional cloak rooms they are planning that the trillions they're spending can be paid back with inflated funny money. What this would mean is that if and I do mean IF you actually get that retirement package it will be worth far less than you expect.

[12vman]

Just do it like I did it..

I purchased some property that was totally useless to most folks. (2K/10 ac.) I owned 2 houses in the city. I sold them and bought a 20' camper for $500 and moved in. (This was the point of no return) Had to use a hand saw to cut small trees down to get the camper where I wanted it. (didn't own a chain saw)

I heated with kerosene. Took baths from a small tub with water heated on the kerosene heater. Didn't have any solar stuff or own a generator. Carried a large marine battery in my work van to charge it during the day and used it at night. All I had was a small 12 volt TV, car stereo and a light.

Times during the winter I had to carry kerosene and water well over a half of mile because I didn't have a 4WD. (I carried all of my water in 5 gal. containers) Did the majority of my cooking on a gas grill..

I lived like this for my first 5 yrs. I'm an FCC licensed/CET certified tech for Motorola. I was far from being a woodsman. I made a choice and I went with it, irregardless of the outcome. I didn't have the luxury of a computer to get information from folks that have already been there. I used my knowledge and read books.

My venture started in '89 and I'm still kickin'.. ;D

I've came a loooong way from that camper. Determination is what kept me here. Things are pretty cozy now. This is my dream and I built it..

Tighten up your boot straps and jump in there! Even if the property doesn't have a well, creek, or septic you can still survive! I did and I still don't have any of the above.. ;)

[Steve_L]

From reading your other replies it appears that you have some excellent resources at hand. You might consider setting up a lifestyle that's easy to maintain without that retirement package. If history serves, *the past few months are a harbinger of some really big financial turmoil. After pumping all this vapor money into the economy it will be pretty much impossible to keep inflation under control. My inkling is that in the congressional cloak rooms they are planning that the trillions they're spending can be paid back with inflated funny money. What this would mean is that if and I do mean IF you actually get that retirement package it will be worth far less than you expect.
I am truly blessed with the product of my labors, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why I get some of the replies that I do: I am clueless, and I should get by with what I got. I must appear spoiled and ungrateful for what I have.

You're probably right about the inflation. But didn't money deflate in the great depression? I know my 401(k) is worth about half of what it was before the election.

[Steve_L]

Wow, 12vman. You're one of the homestead heros!

[12vman]

Naa.. Not a hero.. Just determined.. ;)

Imagine waking up at 4-5 am to get ready to go to work when it's zero degrees outside in a camper. Frost on the inside walls around the ceiling. One little 6" fluorescent light, a large pan with water in it setting on the kerosene heater preparing for a bath. The van is about a half a mile away. (gotta carry the battery to get it charged)

Many times I stared out of the window and thought.. What the @$#! am I doing? I could have easily given up and found an apartment (shutter.. :P) somewhere but I am stubborn to the point of stupidity sometimes.

I will never regret what I put myself through. Taught me my limits mentally and physically. I have an inner calm that I would have never found if I would have stayed in the rat race..

[kawalekm]

I am truly blessed with the product of my labors, and perhaps that is one of the reasons why I get some of the replies that I do: I am clueless, and I should get by with what I got. I must appear spoiled and ungrateful for what I have.

You're probably right about the inflation. But didn't money deflate in the great depression? I know my 401(k) is worth about half of what it was before the election.

Yeh, in some ways you do sound a bit clueless, but not really ungratefull. *I give you credit for starting to take action now. *If it had been 5 years ago it would have been much better, but that's hindsight.

You have a big advantage over maybe 90% of the population in that you are forward thinking enough to be thinking about this way before the SHTF. *Another advantage is you are starting to look for land during the worst part of the year, so you can see how difficult it would be to drive up a snowy dirt road in winter. *Better now than 6 months after you've laid your money down. *Another advantage is that by the time you find something, you'll most likely be in the middle of planting season, so you can jump in with both feet and start things growing immediately.

Back when we became serious about finding land, I spent about 5 months between the time I first learned of my property, till the day the papers where signed and we were handed the keys. *Speed that up a bit and you might be on land by June 1st. *A little late, but you can get a good garden in the ground and have a harvest this fall.

Get to work NOW. *Spend the next 3 months looking for a piece of land and purchase it. *You might want to hire a lawyer to write the contract to make sure you are protected. *We did. *Make sure you have a controlled source of water and legal access. *Be on the land before the SHTF. *As soon as you have the land, plan on how you can stay there. *Is there a cabin, or will you build one. *Like 12Vman you can put a trailer on it temporarily and build something more permanent. *Install a wood stove. *You'll be way ahead if you can produce your own energy. *Break ground and get a garden started.

Steve, do you own any guns? *If not, this is the time to get them. *Look at the back issue of BHM. *Ayoob has a good article on the four guns that every homesteader needs. *At a minimum, get a .22RF and a shotgun. *Buy those now, even before you get the land.

Start stocking up on staples. *What do you like to eat? *Are you good at making any bean dishes? *How about baking bread? *Do you cook with rice? *Start stocking up on the staples that you need for cooking what you like. *Don't go crazy buying survival rations. *Just start buying in bulk the kinds of foods you normally eat. *Instead of *buying 5lbs of rice, buy 50lbs.

Finally, there are books. *Start with Karla Emery's classic "The Encylcopedia of Country Living". *Get that immediately. *Storey's "Guide to Homesteading" is also good. *Go to your local public library. *Get a library card if you don't already have one. *You will find many valuable texts there about construction, hunting, gardening, home canning, first aid, finance, auto repair, wine/beer making, ect.

Get to it Steve, you're way behind!
Michael

[rice paddy daddy]

As several have mentioned, homesteading is not for those who are motivationaly challenged. TSJ has some good questions.
Because of an employment re-location, my wife and I were able to realize our longtime dream of moving to a rural area. We rented, and kept our house in the big city in case we had to move back. In 99, we sold the place and bought all that we could afford, 3.25 acres and put a SMALL double wide on it. The land was once part of timber land, planted pines. Planted like corn, 12X6, meaning in rows 12 feet apart, 6 feet between trees. A bull dozer pushed down enough trees to get the mobile home 150 feet in, plus just enough to put in a well, septic and drain field. For the first year, I spent my week ends dragging trees out of the piles (ever play pick-up-sticks as a kid?) with the wife's Bronco and cutting them into short enough lengths to manually load into my pick up and hauled them away 600-800 pounds at a time. I saved the dump tickets, and in the first year, hauled 22,000 pounds!
In 10 years, we have fenced the property (essential to keep out large wild animals and feral dogs), put in a 50x75 garden, build sheds, chicken coops, horse stalls, etc.
We sold two acres of trees to a pulper and got just enough money for a dozer to push up the stumps.
The labor is endless, but the rewards are many.
What I ( and the others) are trying to stress is there's a lot of work involved.

[Terri]

Steve, NO body's job is secure right now! That is why you are getting the advice you are getting!

I would suggest that you develop your solar lights idea now, and market it now. The money might be something you can fall back on IF your hours are cut back at work.

It tales time to develop and market an idea. If you start when/if you are laid off the time crunch will be a problem. But, if you are already set up, you could EXPAND it pretty quickly!

When you get your homestead, then send out change of adress cards and just MOVE!

There is one OTHER reason that people are telling you "NOW".

Things are changing right now, and nobody is sure how MUCH they will change. Right now if you want land you can buy it.

Right now.

Next year, you might not have a job: the older people are often laid off first, as they earn more per hour than the younger folks. In the field of engineering this is short sighted, but, it happens!

For the sake of completing your dreams, do SOMETHING now. Otherwise, you might lose the chance.

[rice paddy daddy]

+1, Terri.
I believe in the next couple of years the economy's going to get worse. Being stuck in a city will be really bad if society breaks down even a little bit more than it already has.
We live on a dead end dirt road 6 miles outside a one stop light town of 2,000. We're fenced sturdy enough to keep horses and dogs in, and I'm always armed whenever I'm outside the house. The wife packs heat, too. ;)
If claymore mines were legal, I'd have those too. ;D
Bottom line - hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

[Michael32170]

RPD and I have similar opinions (except for the mines). I also think the Government will be forced to sell major portions of their land to raise cash. I don't have gold right now for the same reason. When the USSR went down the tubes back in the 90s, they started selling gold to pay their bills. That drove the price of gold from about $450 down to $275. I expect more of that to happen, and that's when I'll start looking at gold, again.

But anyway, pick several locations of US land that you may like to own, and keep a close eye on it just in case they do start selling. Maybe you'll get lucky.

[Anon001]

I'll start by saying that if the economy gets as bad as some think it will, your $2,000 per month won't be there anyway, so you better get what you can NOW and be debt free if you believe the SHTF.

I also read back up a ways that a homestead won't pay for itself. I say it CAN and it WILL if you know how. Mine has not cost me one dime out of my pocket (except the down payment). I had accumulated some old cows and they were debt free. I only put down the money for the down payment which was $35,000.... (1997) I financed the other $63,000 +. (160 acres...$600 per acre). In less than ten years the calves had paid it off and paid all the hay, insurance and taxes. In 2007, I became unemployed and have not gone to work away from the farm since and do fine. Just before I became unemployed, I sold off a lot of cattle. My down payment has been paid back and was used to pay cash for another 40 acres this summer.... one that I would like to sell(LOL).... it is too far from home to take care of.

By the way, I live on 160 acres with three ponds (one stocked heavy), timber, deer, turkey, quail, pheasant, etc. There's a lot of timber, pastures, creeks, etc. It is not flat like western Kansas. LOL It is actually nice here.

I did like 12Vman and bought me a 27' bumper pull camper and lived in it from May 1998 until Oct 2002. But, after the first couple months I bought one solar panel and batteries for lights and radio. I was tired of trying to read by lamplight lol. In the fall I bought a ventless propane heater for heat. I stacked straw bales around the outside going up 4 foot. I left one very small opening for the dog and cats to get under the camper. I stayed warm and toasty even that first winter with 14 below zero temps.... An entire month that never got about 20 degrees in the day. I had five 5gallon buckets I used for hauling water from work to home about every other day in the back of the pickup.

So... it CAN be done and a homestead can certainly pay for itself and you too. I won't buy any ground that won't pay its own way.

So... get started now.... and good luck to you....

PaulNKS

[12vman]

If I was to start over, I believe that I would invest in one of these (http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ts1_tension_fabric_structures;e176d41f.html) and find me a cheap mobile home or camper and park that puppy inside. Put spouting on the pony walls at the bottom of the cover and collect all kinds of rain. Store the water inside of the shelter.

Close it up in the winter, open it up in the summer. Keeps the winter weather off of the house which makes it much easier to heat. Provides shade in the summer to keep things cooler.

The cover can be custom made. Add some clear panels in the south facing wall and start the garden early inside, transplant later.

Use it for storage of building materials while building your real home. Heck, ya might consider staying where your at!

Just a brainstorm.. Figuring that you already have the property.. ;)

[TSJ]

If I was to start over, I believe that I would invest in one of these (http://www.teksupply.com/farm/supplies/prod1;ts1_tension_fabric_structures;e176d41f.html) and find me a cheap mobile home or camper and park that puppy inside. Put spouting on the pony walls at the bottom of the cover and collect all kinds of rain. Store the water inside of the shelter.

Close it up in the winter, open it up in the summer. Keeps the winter weather off of the house which makes it much easier to heat. Provides shade in the summer to keep things cooler.

The cover can be custom made. Add some clear panels in the south facing wall and start the garden early inside, transplant later.

Use it for storage of building materials while building your real home. Heck, ya might consider staying where your at!

Just a brainstorm.. Figuring that you already have the property.. * ;)

Need to make sure it is properly ventilated during the winter for carbon monoxide but otherwise I think it is a darn good idea.

We had a number of people asphyxiated after hurricane Ike when they ran their generator etc. either in their garage or too close to their house.

[12vman]

Yea.. I was thinking about one of those outside wood burning boiler systems to heat with. That keeps the mess outside and the carbon monoxide too..

To Add..

Maybe an insulated room with insulated duct work from the room to the house for the heat to flow through with a wood burner inside. (one high.. one low) It would convect without a blower or the need for any type of power..

[bear-in-wv]

another realty place you might try is unitedcountry.com
thats how i got my 28 acres and the owner fininced most of it on a 10 year note, than thankfully i paid off early last year :)

there are things you can do now where you live to practice abit, such as canning and reading as much as you can get your hands on.

but i agree with some of those here who say the time to get into this is now, as the economy is headed down in a hurry.

bear

[randallhilton]

You're probably right about the inflation. But didn't money deflate in the great depression? I know my 401(k) is worth about half of what it was before the election.


We went into a "typical" depression while on the gold standard. (Great Britain was trying to get back on gold after financing the Great War with inflated pounds). FDR started jacking around with the value of gold -- some say he sometimes determined the value on a whim. His machinations turned the "plain" depression into the "Great" depression. Our current administration seems to be convinced that FDR's failing was that he didn't do enough meddling.

If we still have a currency 18 months or so from now, look for it to be inflated. We can't pour all that funny money into the system without leading to inflation. I don't feel like I'm going too far out on a limb to also predict there will also be calls for wage freezes. Not that it's a conspiracy or anything. It's just that once you start tweaking an economy it touches off a cascade of consequences that also require tweaking.

Regardless. . . Considering the fact that states like Kalifornia and Kansas are hanging on to income tax refunds and can't make payroll and the like I would be very wary of counting on a financial instrument like a retirement plan. I really and truly want to be wrong about all of this, really (this financial stuff is not in my bailiwick). But if you're making homesteading plans, consider having a "plan B" in case the retirement evaporates.

Oh, almost forgot. . . keep in mind that Madoff's Ponzi scheme took out some retirement plans. His Ponzi scheme pales in comparison to the mother of all Ponzi schemes, formally known as Social Security.

A couple of decent books that I found enlightening:
"FDR's Folly" by Jim Powell
"The Forgotten Man" by Amity Shales

Not long after I had finished a series of books about the 20's and 30's Hank Paulsen got up there and told the congress that TEOTWAWKI is imminent. It sent shivers up my spine! :o

[huckelberry]

ive done it in tennessee,,,alaska,,,an now montana,one was 4 acres .one was 27 an this place is 20.just do it...huck

[firegirl969]

SteveL,

IMO, you are very smart to begin working on your plans now, considering these uncertain times. I would reccomend you add the book Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living to your knowledge bank. She gives some very good ideas on homesteading and how to go about it. We moved onto DH family land, so our homestead just sort of came to us. It was fenced pastures, a 2 acre pond, 2 wells, septic system, a large barn with corral and shelter, and electric hook-ups when we moved here. Therefore, I can't really giver you that type of advice, but I gleaned alot of knowledge from Emery's book and hope you will also. Good luck, firegirl

[Steve_L]

SteveL,

IMO, you are very smart to begin working on your plans now, considering these uncertain times. *I would reccomend you add the book Carla Emery's Encyclopedia of Country Living to your knowledge bank. *She gives some very good ideas on homesteading and how to go about it. *We moved onto DH family land, so our homestead just sort of came to us. *It was fenced pastures, a 2 acre pond, 2 wells, septic system, a large barn with corral and shelter, and electric hook-ups when we moved here. *Therefore, I can't really giver you that type of advice, but I gleaned alot of knowledge from Emery's book and hope you will also. Good luck, firegirl
I have two different editions of Emery's book: my wife just bought another one as a gift to me. It is a wonderful read.

I also have an old edition of "Finding and Buying Your Place in the Country" by Les Scher, "The complete Idiot's guide to country living" by Willis, the books that Dorothy Ainsworth referenced in building her wonderful log home and Piano studio, various books on Chickens including the Backwoods Home version. A couple of books on rabbits, that I used to raise and slaughter for meat and fur when I was younger, The Reader's Digest Book "Back to Basics" which I can spend hours reading and dreaming about. A couple on fish farming, the "Five Acres and Independence" book, and a bunch more.

I need to get off my backsides and do some of this and stop just reading and dreaming about it.

Looks like the way the economy is going, my schedule for homesteading is moving up!

[firegirl969]

Also, I enjoyed the Have-More Plan by the Robinsons. A very easy read, but gives excellent reference points to consider when planning your homestead. Good luck, firefirl

[firegirl969]

Yes, no time like the present. I also enjoyed the Have-More Plan by the Robinson's. It is an easy read, but brings up some very good points when considering how to set up a homestead. Good luck, firegirl

[manoucherie]

firegirl969 has a great suggestion- Carla Emry's book is amazing. Good luck to you. My husband, mother and I are in the same boat, in that we are just beginning the process of looking for a homestead. We will take it step by step, and keep our day jobs, as they say.

[mdcreekmore]

I found two acres of "junk land" way off-grid and parked my 26 foot travel trailer on it. Everything is paid for and I can live just fine on $100 a month. It's not for everyone but worked out great for me.