Am I crazy???

[treesaw]

Sorry for the length...ok, so everyone's been so helpful on the utilities...I have one more question. I moved to northwest Missouri in 2009. I took a corporate buy-out after 23 years with a company and moved to a small acreage that previously had been a vacation home. For the last three years, I've been traveling 75 miles one way to work to earn (net) under 2K per month; of that I am estimating I pay $600 in gas monthly....and that doesn't count the 12 hours per day I am gone off the farm. I'll be truthful...I am hating being away from the farm so much! The 12 hour days are killing me. I've collected stuff for resale for over 20 years and have dabbled quite a bit on CL, FB, and Ebay; as well as flea markets. I need to make $350 per week either very locally or thru a combo of my own efforts here at home...via selling stuff, animals, eggs, etc. I am so frustrated with my commute time and job...as I'm often called several times even when I do get home...that I feel the need to take the semi-retirement leap of faith and quickly! Any thoughts or words of wisdom? And would you do it? I should add I could probably cut a good chunk of expense by reducing expenses.

[DW]

Have you ever been to Rutledge, MO...not sure how far you are from there. That is SOME interesting flea market!!!

[treesaw]

DW...Yes, I have and yes, it is. Only problem...it's a little far for me...about 2 hours each way, unfortunately. Still do-able on occasion, however.

[Fire-Man]

Treesaw, not sure how far you are away from a ""GOOD"" Flea Market, but if its a good Flea Market/busy and you are willing to work at it you can make some good money. My Wife and I did it for several years and we did good at it.

Its hard to make any money selling eggs and animals for the small farmer. If you could let your chickens free range and find a market to sell the eggs for 4 to 5 per dozen you could make a little money. Cutting your expenses will be something that will help alot. If you work towards growing all you eat will help. Good Luck!

[FarmboyBill]

Where at in NW Mo are you at?

[treesaw]

Midway between Kansas city and Des moines.

[dkhern]

cutting expenses sounds like a good idea regardless

[PlicketyCat]

So I have to ask, what do you need the $350/wk for? I don't need specifics, just wondering if any of the things you're spending cash money on could be replaced with things that were more efficient or that you could produce self-sufficiently on your own place. It's easy to get stuck thinking that you need to work wage job to buy something, when for the same amount of time working on your farm you could produce it yourself or possibly wouldn't even need it or as much of it.

Needing $18,200 cash a year seems awfully high if you could produce most of your food, building materials, heat, power and fuel on your own land. Fuel gets a little tricky, but if you aren't traveling much and spending most of your time on the farm, you don't really go through a lot of gas. Even if we had to run the generator everyday for power, at $6/gal, that's still only slightly more than $2k a year. And we drive less than 5k miles a year, so even only getting 10 mpg @ $6/gal, that's only $3k... assuming that you can't make your own fuel off your land. If you aren't traveling much of anywhere, your vehicle insurance also goes down dramatically. If you don't have a big house and a lot of stuff, your property insurance usually goes down as well. Eating well and daily exercise and avoiding stress often makes you healthier, so your medical insurance goes down.

These are all things to consider if you really want to get out of the daily wage grind and live as self-sufficiently as possible on your land. You might need some extra income for incidentals, but it might be far less than you imagine. You might need to keep up the wage job for a little longer so you can save up and purchase a few things you don't already have that would make the self-sufficient transition a little easier... but that's all doable with a good plan and defined goals. Pencil in time for learning stuff you don't already know that can help you out... even the fuel and lodging and tuition for a 4-day workshop on some sustainable farming/building/power methods could be worth the expense in the long run.

[treesaw]

Much of that $350 right now is utilities...internet, electricity, DirectTV and some incidentals...dog food, groceries, etc. I like the suggestion of a 4-day workshop on sustainable farming...that would be perfect given that I've already had to learn so many things the hard way. I had no ag/farm experience and had lived in a large urban area before moving here in 2009. Thanks for the suggestions!

[Vosey]

I second Plicketycat. It is amazing what you can cut in your budget and do yourself. But don't forget to be saving for car repairs, a new roof and all those things life throws your way.

If your slash your budget now and save every penny you can, commute for another year, what could you save? That might give you a cushion to pursue a more self-reliant life.

I was also wondering about a part -time low wage job near your home to help out. Even pumping gas 20 hours a week. I know an awesome guy who helps out at the local gas station in exchange for toilet paper and paper towels! A good flea market, e-bay stuff should be able to get you close to your goal most of the time, but you need a cushion for when it doesn't and money to put back into scavenging things.

The other consideration is retirement money. Are you going to be destitute in retirement if you bow out of your job now?

Do you have skills you can barter with? etc..

I'd also recommend Backcountry Home Magazine if you don't already get it. Every issue has invaluable diy stuff. (and no, I have no affiliation even though I'm from Oregon!)

[Vosey]

I didn't answer your question - Am I Crazy? Hell no! I work a full time job and DH is home tending to everything. It's an awesome gift to be able to give him, but I wish I were home every single day.
I have a 25 mile commute, I am only sane because it is one rural town to another, no stop lights, almost no stop signs or traffic! I just have to worry about deer, elk, coyotes, turkeys and, in open range season, cows being in the road.

[PlicketyCat]

There's also usually a seasonal surge and lull with work in rural areas as well. You may be able to do enough odd jobs and fleamarketing locally during the "on" season to smooth over the "off" season... then you'd only be working off the farm a few months a year. You'd be surprised how many people need help doing totally random stuff that isn't really that difficult, they just need a second set of hands etc. We have several folks here who fur trap in the winter, do house repairs & site cleanup in the spring, sell their produce in the summer, and do firewood in the fall. None of those jobs take them far from home or consume all their time, and the little bit of cash money or trade/bartering earned in those pursuits is enough to cover their expenses.

It's all in how you look at the problem... if you can identify your needs and goals independent of a solution, you can often find more efficient and less expensive solutions than the costly one that's staring you in the face everyday

[PlicketyCat]

If most of your cash expenses come down to utilities, then the #1 thing you need to start doing ASAP is conserving.

Like the old adage says "A penny saved is a penny earned" -- or in this case a watt or gallon saved is minutes of your timed earned back from your wage job that you can have available for your own pursuits.

Any investment you make in higher efficiency and conservation will pay you back ten-fold in your annual operating costs amd your need to either earn cash money or produce something yourself. We're a perfect example of this. When we lived in our wall tent while building the cabin, we had to have 10 cords of firewood to make it through the winter. We spent an extra $1k on thicker walls and insulation and $1K more on a high efficiency wood stove for our cabin than our neighbor's did on their cabin; but we can now comfortably heat our cabin with only 5 cords of firewood a year while they require at least 7 cords with a cabin nearly half the size. Even cutting that firewood from our own property, we save at least a week's worth of time and gas on the saws and splitter because our efficient cabin needs less wood to heat it... and it always will, so I get that week+ back year after year.

Check out http://www.powerscorecard.org/reduce_energy.cfm for lots of simple, lost-cost things you can do to get your power bill down and that'll be a few less $$ you have to worry about earning in the future

[teethdoc]

Is your spouse on board with this lifestyle? That could make a huge difference. If not and you start cutting out cable, internet, and rationing electricity, you may end up living in a tent by yourself. What about a local job at a gas station or McDonalds etc.?

[jwal10]

I would cut back on expenses and find part time work close to home. I work 1 block from my cottage, walk to work and have time for me. 16 hours a week is enough. I make 1/3 less/hour than I did but it is fun. 16 hours makes more than enough to pay the bills. Haven't had to dip into the retirement yet. Life is too short to waste it in misery. BTDT....James

[ceresone]

I get my TV with a antenna

[PlicketyCat]

We have extremely limited options for communications and entertainment out here, so we utilize our satellite internet connection for everything. Our internet plan is $70/mo with $15/mo for Netflix/Hulu to stream & watch a couple shows or movies a week in the evenings. We could get DirectTV (another $80) for a better selection, but we don't really have so much time to watch shows and movies as to justify the additional expense. We're way too far out for antenna reception, and there's not even phone (land or cell) out here.

In less remote areas, you may find that bundling phone/internet/entertainment with a minimum package can save you a lot of money while still giving you a decent selection. In another location, I had a basic cable/phone/internet bundle for around $35/mo. At another location, I had an unlimited cellular phone/data package for around $30/mo. So, it pays to shop around for what options are available in your area, and figure what's the best price for your actual needs. No sense spending $100/mo for 500 channels when you only watch a few. But you'll probably find that actually working your farm reduces the amount of time you'll have or want to sit in front of the TV or surf the web

[PlicketyCat]

As for dog & cat food... you can always make your own, especially if you are raising small livestock on your homestead. A large dog or several cats, can be fed on a budget of 1 chicken/rabbit a day (mostly culls & retirees) along with any leftover eggs, dairy, & larger animal offal.

Because they're omnivorous, dogs can eat most of your table scraps and leftovers, and so can your chickens or hogs if you have them.

If you're feeding your livestock and other domestic animals off your own land rather than buying in feed, you can really save a bundle. So if you're aiming to produce most of your own food, you may find that it's really not much additional work or expense to raise & feed small/medium livestock and your other critters. As long as you have a good mix of crops and creatures, not much gets wasted because somebody will always be able to eat the extras left over from producing what you need for yourself.

[PlicketyCat]

Originally Posted by treesaw

Midway between Kansas city and Des moines.

Originally Posted by treesaw

I like the suggestion of a 4-day workshop on sustainable farming...that would be perfect given that I've already had to learn so many things the hard way. I had no ag/farm experience and had lived in a large urban area before moving here in 2009. Thanks for the suggestions!

You might want to check out the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at IA State, the offer lots of workshops and seminars.

There's also tons of learning resources, online programs & courses, as well as a listing of local events on the Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education site (sare.org)

[salmonslayer]

I hire a part time farm hand due to some physical limitations I have and pay $10 an hour and often have a hard time finding anyone and most of the farmers in my area have the same problem, particularly for things like fencing, milking, etc. Have you thought of doing some of that? Once you get a reputation for hard work and for being reliable you may find more work than you can handle.

I also see a lot of part time job openings at stop and gos or places like that and maybe a combination of those would work better for you.