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How do you get off the tread mill of life?
Hi Everybody
We bought our homestead in the fall of 2013 and recently got rid of in the fall of 2014. We only had it for a year and I am sad but relieved to get it into the hands of someone that really could use it....I work two jobs so finding time and energy to get out there was not happening... So how do you folks actually get off the 9-5 hamster wheel and actually live off the land?? I really enjoy my garage time and my old truck projects too...how do you guys do life and still find garage time too???...I question how you folks keep going and still have a life with hobbies and such??? Maybe I am not the homesteading kind of guy??I dont really know now...I love the peace and quiet of the country but it seems only in certain terms...I need electricity to use for my shop...welders and grinders dont run on solar or wind power either....well maybe they do I just have never seen them... Any insight would be awesome... MikeC |
A lucky few inherited. Many are retirees that scrimped and saved and did without in order to be able to afford to purchase. Some, one spouse works full-time off the homestead while the other stays home and takes care of it. Some, both spouses work off the homestead and try to fit in the homestead work when they're home to do it. Some are single and work, but balance what they want to do vs. what they can do during their time at home.
I think for many, the homestead is the hobbies (or the hobbies are things related to home, like baking, quilting, tinkering, canning etc.), and taking care of it is the life they want to have. They are willing to give up a lot of wants (new cars, expensive toys, designer jeans, the deluxe cable package) because this life is what they want most of all. I won't make assumptions about your lifestyle, but will suggest that you take a look at how you spend your time and money, and see if there aren't some changes you could make that would get you off that treadmill. It's possible, too, that this is something you want, but now isn't the right time. |
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Yeah my lifestyle is so basis it isn't even funny. This past summer I bought a brand new (to me) 1998 S10 Chevy truck (135,000 miles on it)....because I wont go in dept for a vehicle.... We shop at thrift stores / garage sales all the time...I currently save 1/3 of my net income too... I buy as much made in the USA stuff as I can to support where I live... I have never ever had (I am 53) a new vehicle or a new house...I have owned like 4 houses and they are all as the Realtors call them "Handyman Specials"... I work 2 jobs so I can pay cash for everything...we even burn wood to help heat our house... When we bought the Homestead I looked at it like it was nothing more than another job I guess....so If I dont work as much then I wont have money to put into it????....I kinda went into panic mode really...I can handle 2 jobs and my junk I work on in my garage but darn 3 jobs?????....I dont think I could handle it and still have time to work in my garage (which is like quiet time in my life)....we went up to the property I think 4 times in the year we owned and everytime we went there was traffic event or a weather event or something was amiss for sure...never seemed to be a peaceful place in my eyes... I guess maybe I am an outdoors kinda guy but maybe not a farmer as I had hoped I was gonna be...I could even see myself on a small tractor with my corncob pipe and everything... It looks like so much fun in all the back to the earth blogs I read and the videos I watch but darn...but when actually trying to live in those situations isnt all that much fun I guess..... It seems as I get older all the folks that I know have this chaos we all call life all figured out.....I am still working weekends and not getting any wheres... So what is the trick to living in the sticks and enjoying it??? MikeC |
For me and my wife it was't too hard.. She wanted to keep working... That leaves me at home all day every day to deal with the house and land..
We saved for a long time, then bought our place.. Eventually we hope to get a home based business started, then she can stop working and work with me.. We live in the middle of nowhere with a whole lot of other people that live the life you wanted.. They work one job, then come home and wok until bed time.. Others, the wife works, the men don;t... And then others, the men work, and the wives deal with the house.. It's not something a person can go at alone.. |
Maybe you could consider a smaller step toward homesteading? Here's what we did and so far, it's working. A little background - neither DH nor I grew up rural - city folks all our lives. We knew when the kids grew up/moved out, we wanted a more rural life so we started learning, practicing what we could in the suburban life & downsizing. When we bought, we did not try to buy our 'forever' homestead. We bought a house that needed fixing up but was habitable. We bought 5 acres (not 100) with city water and electric, but septic (new to us). It came with a well-ventilated (lol) barn. We added a driveway and a work shop. We are close enough I can commute to my job ($$/health insurance) and far enough out to have land & livestock. DH runs the homestead during the week and he is building some additional income streams. We had a 5 year plan to improve the property and to learn about a much bigger garden, more canning, dehydrating, first time orchard and beginner livestock- chickens first, then ducks and then goats and now we're up to pigs. That was 2.5 years ago and I think we're learning a lot.
I guess what I'm saying is that maybe it doesn't have to be from the burbs to 100 acres off grid and your forever place in one big leap. It might be a stepping stone to make use of what you know and learn more of what you don't. After you're there for a while, you can decide if you want to go bigger or farther out. Just one idea that's working for us. |
All different, some do like the people above describe and some are like me. I quit my job ( when I finally had enough saved up ) and moved onto the "100 acres". It had a cabin on it and thats where I live today. I have electricity but haul water and heat it on the wood stove. Cut wood to heat the cabin, grow our own food, and sell some at farmers markets and to local people.
I don't work a regular job. What I do takes work but I find it easier than conventional work. And yes there are some things I have sacrificed in order to afford this life. No health insurance, no home insurance, few conveniences, no cellphones, no laptops. We keep a truck running but rarely leave the farm. My wife works 2 or three days a week in town. We live on roughly 16k a year. |
The saying around here is "You can live off the land . . . if you have a high enough paying job". It is pretty harsh here - short seasons, high fuel costs, snow, cold, and other expenses related to living in what is similar to Siberia.
There is some truth in that. To live off the land (to some extent) and get off the hamster wheel, you will need to live simply. No new truck - instead shop for some salvage vehicle at 1/10th the cost (sounds like you are already doing this). Smaller home that can be so well insulated that you can heat it with a small wood stove. Simple vacations - camping and fishing rather than theme parks. And the list goes on. These are not even "homesteading" things necessarily, but they are almost needed actions in order to somewhat live off the land via less time on your job(s) and more time at home. And if all of this seems unappealing, then perhaps yes, this life in the stix might not be for you. You do not need to live on a farmstead to have garage hobbies - and being in or near the city will allow you more time for these. |
Lots of good advice above but I'm going to offer a different approach-
limit your online time to 30 minutes each night. You'd be amazed at how much more you can get done during the daylight hours! :) ...that is, if it truly is time you need more of. |
Nothing wrong with buying a house and a small plot by a creek, putting up your shop, working out there when you want to...and then sitting on the creek bank for some peace and quiet. Nobody says you have to raise goats and grow taters....:)
geo |
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Decide what you really enjoy. Try to think it all the way through before you start and find yourself strapped for time, money or enjoyment. The latter definitely happened poorly for me. The previous owner of our place offered us the goats... DH was all enthused to keep them. I'm the one who came to love them as pets and ended up doing much of the work and worry, etc., etc., etc. I see now that that is a pattern for him. Always getting ready for some endeavor or adventure, but not carrying through. I don't live there any more.
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Well my wife and I started young. At 18 we married. We both worked full time at regular 9 to 5 jobs making good money. I grew up farming she grew up in the city. One day we decided is time to do what we want. We sold our city house. We bought the cheapest house we could find. It was 30 k . I fixed it up and lived in it 2 years. Then sold it for 130k. Took the 100k profit and bought the cheapest farm we could. It took us and hour and a half from home and family but it's what we wanted. My wife is now a stay at home mom. We run a wood working business and farm. We have no TV or Internet. Just cell phones. We heat with wood and are very frugal. We grow raise and hunt all our own food. It was a huge change but week worth it. You just have to say I'm going to do this and walk away from your old life. Cold turkey. Lol
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If I financed that trailer instead of it costing me $1500 or so it would cost me $2000 or so at a minimum. $500 is a lot of dinners out or gasoline. I financed a house once and if I kept it to pay off I would have paid the bank more than twice the price of the house. What is the cost of that new vehicle to impress the Jones? It does not do anything an older vehicle does. New ones are in the shop all the time. That is how mechanics earn a living. I can do most of the upkeep work on an older vehicle. Instead of paying someone $150 for a tune up I can do it for $50. I even saw a female changing spark plugs at a parts house a couple weeks ago. If I take my vehicle some where it takes more of my time than if I did it myself and I do not have to pay taxes on the money I would have spent. Say it costs $150 for a tune up. I must earn that money somewhere else. I found it cost 1/3 of my wage to get that money. Now my cost is $200 instead of $150. If I do it myself I keep $150 in my pocket and only spend an hour at most of my TV time. If I have someone else do it, it takes one and a half hours travel time, at least an hour in a waiting room if I'm lucky. Last time my vehicle was in the shop it was more than 4 hours. |
Not living on the property and being absentee land owner is tough. Good way for things to go missing or be disturbed not to mention how wildlife can mess things up. "homestead" on your property you have now or find land closer so you can still work and live on the property. sometimes it is just a matter of finding out which things you really want to spend your time. time and or money is always the limiting factor.
it sounds like you have many other hobbies and as nice as homesteading my be it just might not be your time yet. it does take a lot of money to homestead the extra gas to commute is a killer. Where there is a will there will be a way. |
Well I'm a woman whose husband makes 3x more money than she does. I just work out of the home because I tried staying home once and he came home to find I'd crotcheted a noose. That was before we bought our property. Now I'm keeping my job until I get the infrastructure of my homestead funded, as that's hugely costly. Also might have to keep it a bit longer because DH wants to get his MBA. So eventually I'll be a full time farmer. Getting out there now is kind of stubborness though. I grab the toddlers and go out or I wait until they're in bed. It's difficult.
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I work a "9-5 job," but do it remotely out of my home. Cutting out the commute has the been the single biggest driver in allowing me to take some big steps forward. It's been 13 months that I've been 100% telecommute. Without that, i would not have a dairy cow or pigs.
I've also allowed homesteading to become my hobby. Sure, I still watch football and play with the kids and stuff. But I've largely shelved my music composing and guitar playing for the time being to get things up and running. I guess, in my mind, it comes down to priorities. What's most important? Are you willing to sacrifice for it? |
I would flounder like a fish outta water were I to dive in to full homesteading right now.
I grew up rural, but at darned-near 50, the skills I learned as a child are not honed to a level that could sustain me... It'll take a while of practicing to get to where I feel vaguely ready to make that plunge. So, in the mean time, I pretend - at our little city home, in my back yard. Taking baby steps, and getting my skills figured out. I suggest that you have a place in town, maybe with a bit of land where you can practice, and take those Garage Moments that you so value (DH is a garage dweller, too) and see if you can develop one of those hobbies into a sell-able skill. Your therapeutic tinkering could make you side-income out on the Ranch later... :-D Especially if you get a following of folks who use and appreciate your skill. Be it car repairs, or woodworking, or welding, or inventions... Whatever it is that your feeling like you miss, can be a possible income later. Don't give up. Just take a smaller bite, and take your time to grow into it. |
Mike, I would suggest reading "The Richest Man in Babylon". Its a good parable story about getting ahead in life. I tend to do the opposite of what many have suggested here, and there is nothing wrong with the suggestions, you just have to be okay with what you have to work with. I don't have a lot of land (1/3 acre in the burbs) so I started with a raised garden this year. Next year, we are expanding the garden and I'm going to try my hand at canning. I'm content with that for now. Sometimes being content with what you have is the hard part.
Living in the sticks might not be for everyone, my wife is one of them, while living 30 minutes outside of a decent sized town is a good compromise. Start with what you have right now. Begin a garden and try to grow half of your food, or build up to that. Volunteer at a local farm a few days a month. |
Mikec
I think the trick to living in the sticks for you will be having a house and your shop on some kind of acreage. Just 4 acres or what ever. I believe being a "homesteader" is every bit as much about working in a shop as a garden. Everybody got different skills. Sounds like you've got some talent. I was able to quit work at 52. Always saved and I have a wife that want quit work. Let me tell you when I quit at 52 it was like I stepped off the planet but at least I got off the hamster wheel. One of the first things I did was build me a nice welding table. Was aready living here and had a pole barn for the equipment. Next time plan a place with a house and a shop and start from there. Be carefull watching Facebook farmers. They can be misleading. Bellcow |
Pretty hard to get off the treadmill working 2 jobs and having all the toys one wants, IF you want a lot of toys. Homesteading is a way of life, simple and rewarding. Not for everyone. You can enjoy living simple IF you want to but you have to want to but it takes time, you cannot hurry all the time. Course, who wants to. My toys support my way of life....James
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How far were you from the property? I don't think it can be a weekend thing for most people. I'm very lucky in that I have $$$ from a divorce settlement. I do work besides, run the farm, and do odd jobs to catch $40 here and there (e.g., take care of horses, bake for a farm stand). I actually have a masters degree, but none of what I do relates to it.If you're determined to do it, I'd cash in on your city property. Buy something cheap, and work jobs that are local, even if they are jobs and not careers.
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First define what you want. The term homestead is used to describe a bunch of different situations. Make a list of what you want. It is easy for me to imagine that what you want is more free time and perhaps some peace and quiet. If you want some advice I would suggest living off one jobs income for one year. Bank the second jobs money. Don't touch it. Do not purchase anything extra this year. Pay off your credit cards and destroy them. Pay off your other debts. Develop new cheap hobbies. Google things to do for free in your area...and do them. After one year quit second job. Take the time you now have and do more free things. Picnics... Library...hikes....card games with friends. Then take one quarter of your income and bank it. Live only on the three quarters left. Be brutal. After two more years go three quarter time at work. Meanwhile strengthen family and friend relationships. Learn to garden. Learn to cook and preserve. Learn energy and water conservation. In other words....you don't need another job....you need a life.
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Hard if you are alone....best case if there is a partner (must be on the same page): She works full time for $ and benefits, you work the homestead and projects you can make/do for a little extra $. BUT..... if you do stay home that is your JOB....8-5, not after 10AM coffee/breakfast and then get going.
Goes without saying, be very thrifty, treat yourself also. We do date night Friday night. Nice homemade dinner, borrow a movie from family/friends, make popcorn, you get the picture. It is our time also to go over past weeks progress/failures and plan TOGETHER the coming weeks goals. You would be surprised how much stress/hassle this eliminates during the week!!!!!!! A bit of advice.......when setting your schedule, do NOT set yourself up for failure. Be realistic about what you can get done. |
We haven't.
But we did get off the treadmill of commercialism and that in itself was plenty of relief. We not longer have tons of debt. No car loans, no any loans except the home and we're paying it off in double time. DH's talents and skills are in advanced science fields. He wouldn't do well with just a farm to run. He needs his kind of work. As we get older, I do less and less on the farming end. We sold all the animals this year but the chickens. Maybe I'll get back into it this spring, maybe not. If not, I won't feel guilty for not doing more. Life is to be enjoyed. When it ceases to be fun or becomes financially impossible, you go on to what is. |
Our ancestors managed it because they usually did not work off of the land. Well my husband worked all of the time and I worked a lot of the time, and so we never DID live off of the land! Our ancestors worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week during the summer raising food, and those hours are simply not available to us! The old stores 200 years ago would trade cloth for eggs but modern stores insist on cash!
Oh,sure, some summers we did not bother to buy vegetables because we had plenty, but that was more because the year was fruitful than because I was trying to raise all of our vegetables! Mostly I only ever tried to do what was practical or what was fun! That meant that when I cut a weed tree to get it out of the fence I would also cut it up for firewood and once every yer or so I would burn the heap of small sticks. My idea of fun includes harvesting and scratch cooking and keeping poultry. The thing is, I never tried to be self sufficient because I knew it would take too many hours! I always rather wanted to provide everything for my family, there were simply not enough hours to do it! The garden is finished for the year, and the only home raised produce in the house is frozen corn and peppers and dried apples. I did not have the time to do it all and that does not worry me: there is a store just 10 miles away. I never preserved any eggs while the hens were laying but that also does not bother me: I spent the last 9 months gathering eggs every time I fed the birds and the next eggs will come from the store. Basically, I have done some of most things- including raising Christmas trees while the kids were little- but I never tried for year round self sufficiency. I could do it if I tripled the time spent working on my homestead but I never had that kind of time to spare. Ad, BECAUSE I never tried to raise every bite we ate I still have time to read a book, or to sit and digest after a large meal, or to go out to dinner once in a while. Basically, I raise the bell peppers and the store provides the lettuce. I provide the eggs but the store provides the sausage. I provide the blue gill but the store provides the cod. That is why I still have some free time for hobbies and such. As for living in the sticks, we do not. Instead we live near a major road so that we can drive 65 miles an hour to reach a small city where we can work. Have you ever driven on a major road and looked to your right and seen fields? THAT is where we live! We each commuted about a half hour each way. |
The treadmill of life.... Our society makes it worse, We are expected to have certain things, like electricity, running water, waste disposal system (septic/ sewer), and if we don't they can threaten to take your children or fine you for code violations. If you fail to pay your property tax, your homeless. If you don't register your car or get inspection or insurance, your fined or lose your right to drive. We claim to have freedom but we don't. Even if we had freedom from society we still need to eat and have shelter and cloths, not as bad of a treadmill, but the only way to be completely free of any treadmill of life is to be dead. I hope this cheers you up. :)
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There are people who find their dream, but the only people I know that consistently excel are those with a good attitude. From what I have seen one's attitude outweighs their environment every time. Can't say that knowing this has helped me better my own, but it is something I attain to. Otherwise, it is like Cubs baseball.... always waiting for next year. I envy people that can always be thankful for what they have, no matter how little it is, rather than being disapointed at their present situation. If you are a Bible believer it is summed up in these words " Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;" I know there are those who don't follow the Bible, but if we look around us at the people that are mostly content have a great attitiude for the most part no matter what their religious beliefs are, and are thankful for what they have. At least that is true of the people I know. They may dream, and work towards that dream, but they expect little, so that every good thing that comes their way is a pleasant event. |
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geo |
I didn't read the other replies.
IMO, a lot of people are homesteaders, but very few are really hardcore about it. I think most people simply live in the country, have a big garden and put up food, have chickens and maybe some larger livestock (cow, goat, pig), and live a rural lifestyle. But there are HUGE degrees of what people accomplish and that's fine. Some people never have more than the garden and chickens and enjoy that. Others want more. You may have decided that you had to do it all and to the hilt and that there was nothing in between. No one is measuring you with a list of things that you have to accomplish before you can call yourself a homesteader. It may have been too soon for you. You tried it, it didn't work out the way you expected, but you can try it again later if it's still something that you want to do. Good luck. |
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What has to be done is done, and often much more.. Trust me about trying to set hours, it doesn't always work the best to do that around the home, and it can also cause problems between two people if you try to make it an 8-5... |
I cant speak for others, but I got off the "treadmill" the easy way. I just stepped off and hit the ground runnin. I bought a little piece of dirt with no "improvements" on a land contract deal, swapped a 12 gauge shotgun and a black powder rifle for all the odds and ends of lumber that was laying around on the local sawmill yard and built a house designed around what was in that pile. It worked out to be a 24'x30' A frame. I lucked into enough used tin off a farmers barn he was taking down to cover the whole thing. Not a bad deal.... I took all the tin off his barn, stacked half of it for him, and took the other half home with me. We packed our water from the creek for several years, no phones, no electric, none of those kinds of luxuries, but we made it ok. I did a lot of odd jobs and a fair amount of "horse tradin" in those days.
I recall one trade that even had a horse involved! I swapped the horse to one friend for an old falling down barn, which I then traded to another feller for his hundred dollar bill. I got rid of the expense of feeding that useless nag plus a hundred bucks, one neighbor got his old barn lot cleaned up, and a mighty fine horse, (his words, not mine) the other neighbor got enough barn lumber to build his house with.... a win win win deal all around. Sometimes ya just gotta be creative and find ways of getting things done. |
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I never did get to work "9-5" and instead being the youngest of the old guard crew I was attached to was doing 24/7 on demand until my employer bought my contract out.
After the severance buyout I chose to alter my career path to a more home based no frills fashion while using my savings investments earlier than originally planned but in less intensity than I had planned years before. While financially more restrictive, the flexibility is priceless. |
We started small where we were. We started with a small garden that increased a little each year, canning, cooking from scratch etc. We are now on our homestead and will expand a little at a time, what we can manage. We both work full time because we like our jobs (weird I know) but we've set up our lifestyle so that if something changes with our jobs we will be okay, and by that time we may be close to being food - independent.
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I cant see myself leaving my gov't job (career) until I reach my 20 year mark and that wont be for 3-4 years from now... My wife wants to stay local to her kids....I kinda wanna be nearer to me kids...both mine are in rural settings but not near me... I will keep saving as I am now...keep looking for something that we both can agree on.. You folks on here are way more brave than I am...I am chained to the stability of a steady incomes that I currently make... If anybody wants to chime in I am all ears... MikeC |
I get being scared Mike.. me and my wife both up and quit our very secure jobs in DC making a ton of money so we could "get away from it all"
It was funny, we left STL for DC and were twice as scared back then than we were leaving our jobs and moving to the country. When we left STL, I was being transferred, and my wife landed a great job before we moved, but we still feared the unknown, even though we knew our jobs provided a ton of security... It ended up being the stepping stone that got us into the country again. It provided a bunch of money to buy our place, and be able to afford to live a while without jobs.. My wife found a job after only looking a week or two. That was the plan. She would work, and I'd make living for us cheaper by providing food and such around the house. I would also get started on a home based business that would allow her to quit working. She just got a request for an interview for a state job a lot closer to home than her job is now. We're hoping that pans out, and she can work that a few years while I get a home business up and running... If you sit around all your life wondering "what if" you won't have the fun of all the "oh craps"... Security is what's gotten us in trouble with the government running our lives.. Too many people want to be secure, and because of that, not enough people take risks that could pay off much better than the security we've grown to love in our jobs.. |
My fear is jumping off that treadmill and landing on a hamster wheel. I can't do anything until most of my monthly income is replaced and health insurance in place. I have 40 acres of woods that is my favorite place to be. I can prune trees, cut trees and work all day long and enjoy it, but if I had to make my living from it or depend on some income from it, I'm afraid it would become more of a pain than pleasure.
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Its like everything else in that there are degrees of homesteading. To some it means being totally off the grid and to others it means having a way to produce their own food. You'll have to decide what sacrifices you want to make for what advantages. |
Behind every successful farmer there is a wife who works in town....LOL
Except for me, I work a fulltime job, and raise sheep, you just have to be dedicated to your goals. It has turned me into somewhat of a hermit, however you get to see the beauty of living a good life and feel accomplished at the end of the day. The old man across the road likes to sit out under the shade trees and watch me brush hogg, one day I went over to talk to him and took him some peach cobbler, and we sat and chatted, then he told me women like you, (then he rephrased his words) people in general dont work that hard at what you do on your farm. You are a dying breed. I just told him I have a goal and a dream along with determination. He replied, that he looked forword to watching my progress and was impressed with how far I have come. That was the biggest compliment I could have ever gotten only he and I know that I did it by myself. All I could see was more work, but he saw the progress :) |
We found that there are two ways to get off the treadmill. We tried both. One way is to jump off and hit the ground running. The other is to just turn it off and start walking.
Hitting the ground running was extremely hard. Most people (like us) do not have a lot of resources when they are young. That is why you work - to build your resources. No matter how off the grid you want to be you still need money to get started and continue. Even wanting a piece of land meant we had to pay for it so we had to produce enough for living as well as paying our way. Off the grid was a great adventure in roughing it but not the kind of life we wanted forever. So back to civilization and paid work. We live in a very homesteady region now and we do not know anyone who does not have an outside job whether it is 9to5 or seasonal or contract. Our friends and neighbours are like us. They understand that you can't always get exactly what you want but you can get 50% or 75% of what you want and can be very happy and fulfilled with that. Getting off the treadmill and walking was the best thing we ever did. Getting off the treadmill means figuring out what it is that you want. How you want to live and what you want to do with your time. Homesteading or choosing a simple life is not about where you are but what you are doing. You really can do a lot of what you want to do without having to go back to "the land" or at least until you can get back to the land. No need to wait. Just because you live in a 21st century city does not mean you have to live a 21st century city life. I always laugh at my friends who complain that there kids are plugged into technology. Just shut the technology down. And if you want to have dinner sitting around the dining table then have dinner sitting around the dining table. We actually have the power to make the rules of our lives. Just ask yourself "how's that working for you?" and if it isn't change it - whether you live in an apartment or on a farm. We managed to homestead in everything from an apartment to a suburban house before we ever got onto the land. We spent this time walking - learning to do all the things we would need to homestead. You can can and bake and cook from scratch while living in an apartment. You can garden even if you only have a small corner lot. And you can take courses or volunteer your time on farms, orchards, greenhouses etc. We did all these things over many years so when our life demanded that we be able to cut wood or manage a wood stove we knew what we were doing and did not have a steep learning curve. And trying things out before you actually become life dependent on them will show you what you are willing to do and/or live with or without. Personally I am not living without indoor plumbing ever again. I am very grateful that my husband has a great job that he loves and that I had a career that let me open my own office at home and continue to earn good money while we got to do a lot of what we wanted to do. Not all and certainly not all at the same time. Self sufficiency is fun and character building but it is hard work as well and money comes in very handy. Living in the wilderness is great but I like that we do have a bank account and the security of an income and a retirement. My Mom always used to chastise us when we complained too much or were dissatisfied. She would always say - you are only ever going to be as happy as you make up your mind to be. She was right. Sometimes you have to just look at things differently. Be unhappy because you are not on your bit of God's acreage or be happy that you are working and saving towards getting that acreage and a pension in just a few years. |
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