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hallamore
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 03:23pm
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I wonder how many of the members of this site believe at some point they may be living full time at your cabin? For a variety of reasons - retirement, choice, economic downturn, down-sizing...ect. If this is you, what are you doing today to prepare for this future? We have done the following:
1. Added more solar panels (2kw system) at 24v
2. Added larger 3500w pure signwave inverter
3. Will be replacing and adding more 6v golf cart batteries
4. Started an apple orchard 5 years ago
5. Added berry bushes, cherry trees, pear trees this year
6. Tilling up a 1/4 acre garden with my riding lawn mower/tractor
7. Learned new skills like canning, soap making and fermenting
8. paying off debt
My goal is when I place my head on my pillow at night to be as free (as possible) from worries as possible. I hope to retire in 7 to 10 years from know. What else/different are you doing????
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 05:05pm
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Pretty much the same as you. I want to be debt free when I retire, if possible. Build as much on the property as I can tween now and then, try to build a permanent house with no mortgage.
But, older I get the harder it is on my body. Can I tend an orchard when I'm old and grey? Maybe my plans assume a younger set of muscles and joints. Well see. Building the orchard is a lot harder than tending it, I think.
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rayyy
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 05:22pm
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You know both my parents retired at 65 and were both dead and gone with in a year.I don't want that to happen to me.Pay in to the system your whole working life only to die and forfit it all back over to the government.
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hallamore
Member
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 05:25pm
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Rayyy, that is almost what happened to my parents....7 to 10 years from now I will be 50-53. I want to enjoy those years....BTW here is a link to my cabin - I posted a youtube video....hope you like!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmB-3rVzjFw
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Gregjman
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 09:25pm
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I don't want to hijack this post but it fits and I drop this info anywhere I can. My wife and I are 28 years old and have both read and subscribed to the stupidly simple concepts of Dave Ramsey's book financial peace.
If anyone has not read it it's simple enough to change your life.
We hope to be debt free including our house within 5 years. The concepts are simple and the math is simple.
At that point we will start saving for our cabin. That goal seems much more realistic after changing the way we've managed our money.
Hope no one takes that advise the wrong way but I want to retire someday at my cabin too. Might have just a few more years than others to get there.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 10:11pm
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Don't forget to maintain your health while you're busy paying down your debt. If you put all your energy into working and none into health maintenance you my not have a long retirement to enjoy.
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KSalzwedel
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# Posted: 9 Oct 2013 10:20pm
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We actually are doing it. I retired two years ago. Spent a year getting our city house prepped to sell. Sold it, moved into our cabin which we are finishing inside while living in it (that I wouldn't recommend). Paid cash for well, land, electric, septic, dirtwork, cabin, and everything else. My husband will retire and go "casual" (which means he can work when he wants to) at the end of the year. Waiting that long so that we can collect the 401K funds for the year.
We pay for electric, propane, taxes, and gas for the vehicles. Hoping to get insurance soon (they only want EVERYTHING done at once). He has his military retirement (after 22 years in) and the 401K. I was a stay at home mom (because that was what we wanted) for 20 years, worked part time for a few years and full time for the last 8 before I retired. So, God willing, we will be as debt free as possible.
Forgot to mention. I am soon to be 51, and he 50. He didn't want to retire and die either. He wanted to live and enjoy each other before one or both of us was called home.
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SandyR
Member
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2013 09:18am
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This is what we have started as well. We are both 37 years old and are starting our retirement place now. We are both self-employed and are willing to work for as long as mentally and physically possible. We are putting in fruit trees and bushes and well.
We bought the land and are building the cabin with 401 money that we withdrew early. We took out what we needed to do these things now. For us, it's not about how much money we will have when we retire, but the quality of where we will live and how happy we will be together. We would have never started on our retirement place without taking out some of that money. Never. Now we can slowly build up on the place to make it our dream of living with less. And still have some 401 money leftover for backup incase we need it.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2013 12:14pm
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We are doing this now. We moved up to our cabin (now our house) in 2007. We built a 3 unit motel to give us a bit of income. We have 3 apple trees, 1 plum tree, grapes (this is our first year to try making wine with them), raspberries, strawberries and extensive veggie gardens outside. We also have a greenhouse that provides us with veggies up until the end of December (then there is a period where we don't get anything for a few months). We preserve what we grow and purchase fruit we can't grow here inexpensively in a fruit belt here in BC that is 1 hour away. We also have a dehydrator (Bob's favourite is the beef jerky). We have a cold room to store our preserves and a laundry room with a hanging rack so we can hang dry our laundry in the winter and when it is raining outside. We live a very frugal life - not too many clothes, don't shop much or eat out and only go into town once a week for supplies.
What really irks me is things like hydro costs. We don't have solar panels (not practical for us running a motel) or wood heat (again not practical). We just got our latest hydro bill and it went up 50%!!!!! Fortis (hydro company out here) has a new system that the first amount of electricity you use is charged at a lower rate but anything over that is really expensive. No one can manage to keep to the lower rate so they are gouging everyone. They want us to be energy efficient (which we are) and then charge us more money to use less power! It really gets me mad when we are living on such a fixed income (no pension from when we worked in the outside world) and are doing such a good job of being frugal, the hydro company walks in and steals our money. GRRRRRRR........ 
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 10 Oct 2013 12:37pm
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been there and done that, debt free before I moved to the cabin. the ptsd and the bar next door in my old high crime neighborhood didn't mix. cashed out my 401k and bought some junk land (acreage of an old landfill no one else wanted), a camper and a motly collection of second and third rate tools and supplies (my grubstake). voluntarily went to forclosure on the mortgage and defaulted on a car loan. got me debt free with a chunk of worthless land miles from anyplace else(and with insane credit no where else to go). been living there for years, slowly building and improving the homestead as I can afford it or salvage materials.
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northparknewbie
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 02:47pm
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I am really trying to figure out what the best thing to do is. I am 62 and have my property which i am in the very early phases of getting to build on (pulling permits, getting plans engineered). I currently have a job I hate. I could retire now and collect my social security but that would not leave me enough to build with unless I cashed out my 401 plan which would cost me about 600.00 a month in pension down the road. My other option is to keep on working for three more years and build and pay as I go while i am still working, 3 years longer to work at a job I hate but an extra 600 a month in pension. If I retire now we would have an income between my wife and my self of about 2900 a month, if i wait our income would jump to about 4300 a month. I have been stressing over this for 3 months and thought maybe someone who has made this type of decision could give me some advice. THANKS!
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Martian
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 07:36pm - Edited by: Martian
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Quoting: northparknewbie If I retire now we would have an income between my wife and my self of about 2900 a month, if i wait our income would jump to about 4300 a month.
Free advice:
Start reducing your spending to get to the lower figure. When you can get by on that amount, ask yourself if you're happy spending less. If the answer is "YES!"....RETIRE!
You will save a bunch of money by not working...all jobs have some cost associated with having them...separate those expenses. I once held a job that allowed me to earn over $100K/year, but it cost $30K to perform it. Look at your taxes to see what the income drop will do to them. Your expenses will drop, most likely, unless you decide to fill your free time with toys. There are things you will do, rather than pay someone to do, since you have time now, for instance. There could be lots of extra money available depending on the lifestyle you want to live in retirement.
The two things you know for sure are you're not getting any younger, and your life isn't guaranteed to last. So, ask yourself what you want to be doing if that moment comes over the next three years.
Tom
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Rossman
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# Posted: 17 Oct 2013 11:44pm
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Quoting: Martian The two things you know for sure is you're not getting any younger, and your life isn't guaranteed to last. So, ask yourself what you want to be doing if that moment comes over the next three years.
This is really it!
We decided to move to the country next year and build something smaller, instead of waiting a few more years to build out a bigger place. Fact is you gotta live and appreciate every day - working a job you hate takes a toll!
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 06:44am - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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If you are healthy change your attitude about your job and continue to work. That extra $600.00 per month will come in very handy for your retirement years. Three years is NOT a long time!
Edit: If you are still paying into SS your check will also be larger!
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cabingal3
Member
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 09:29am
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this is our last summer to work on getting our land and cabin move in ready .we cant put fruit trees out till we live out there.
by the time we move out there in about a year...we will pretty much have the debt paid off.worst mistake was the debt.never knew the powers that be would raise the interest so high.we are going to enjoy free heat,free water,free power and free living.almost there.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 11:59am
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Quoting: Martian You will save a bunch of money by not working...all jobs have some cost associated with having them...separate those expenses. I once held a job that allowed me to earn over $100K/year, but it cost $30K to perform it. Look at your taxes to see what the income drop will do to them. Your expenses will drop, most likely, unless you decide to fill your free time with toys. There are things you will do, rather than pay someone to do, since you have time now, for instance. There could be lots of extra money available depending on the lifestyle you want to live in retirement.
VERY smart advice and absolutely true!!! It does cost money to work - transportation, clothes etc. but most people don't think about that. Depending on what type of lifestyle you want when you retire, you can live on very little money.
Quoting: cabingal3 this is our last summer to work on getting our land and cabin move in ready
That must be exciting times cabingal3!!! I'm so happy for you and the Mr. 
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suburbancowboy
Member
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# Posted: 18 Oct 2013 12:24pm - Edited by: suburbancowboy
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1. Get out of debt. The older you get you see how big of a ball and chain debt is.
2. Reduce bills and expenses. This is easy to do if we live like our ancestors did.
3. Do what it takes to stay healthy. Healthy weight, eating, and exercise. Nothing can kill a great retirement like bad health. Saw my parents go through this.
4. Generate alternate sources of income. 401k, rentals, write a book. My daughter is a writer and sells them on amazon. She is 26 and makes about 15000 a month. She got me to writing again and I should release my book in dec or jan. Every book seems to bring in 500 to a 1000 a month if it is good.
5. Work hard and make it happen. Most people that live long happy lives tend to still be living life and going on adventures. Those who don't die in their sixties.
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ljohnsaw
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 01:23am
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Very interesting thread. I was working up until this past June and I just turned 54. I looked at what I was taking home (net). I had upped my 457 withholding and compared the net to what I would get from my pension (retiring early - before 55). Things go away like SS, FICA and SUI as well as my 457 withholding. My net now is about $30 less than when I was working. If I worked another 18 months, I'd be netting about $300 more than now. To me, it wasn't worth it - I have all my time to my self and my children - that is priceless! My plan is to have my house paid off in 4 years and my property in another 2. In the mean time, I'm building my cabin in the woods!
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 09:26am - Edited by: silverwaterlady
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Curious on how those of you that are retireing early. How are you getting medical insurance? If you have medical insurance how are you paying the deductible?
I think retireing early while still in debt is a huge mistake. Cashing in your 401K while you are young enough and healthy enough to continue working but could not stand to wait and save for a cabin is a HUGE mistake. Planning for a carefree retirement is one of the most important things you will do for yourself and your children.
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TheWildMan
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 10:35am
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silverwaterlady, I have another take on the 401k thing, I cashed it out (paid the tax) and used it to get land and a grubstake, and wipe out my debts. while i'm still working that makes me debt free and all the money I make is mine to use as I wish (including reinvesting it), while i'm in my 30s I still have plenty of time to invest and being debt free I can put up to 40% of my annual income into such investments (if I had to maintain debts it would only have been 5%).
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 12:02pm - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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Quoting: silverwaterlady Curious on how those of you that are retireing early. How are you getting medical insurance? If you have medical insurance how are you paying the deductible?
I am debt free and very thankful...I got to retire at 48 ( govt retirement 90%) 4 years ago--I got a raise to go to the house. My insurance is paid through my retirement...about 150 bucks a month is my share which comes out of my check.
carefree retirement : well I am still in my PJ's and it noon on Monday..veggie soup in crock pot and cornbread in the stove......so yes...pretty carefree.. ...but I am getting dressed to go hunting this evening at the cabin
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hallamore
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 12:40pm
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Turkeyhunter - you are doing what I want to. Retire early. Too many people are concerned about putting as much money away for some arbitary date in the future. I have young children and want to spend QUALITY time with them as they grow. I have 8 more years until I am 50 and want to fully retire by then.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 12:56pm
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Quoting: silverwaterlady Curious on how those of you that are retireing early. How are you getting medical insurance?
We don't need to worry about that here in Canada.
I do agree with you about being debt free before you retire. We were, and still are. When we added to our cabin to put in a small motel, we paid for all of it as soon as it was done. No mortgage. We both agreed we would never retire with a mortgage over our heads. Same with the car. We always pay in full so there are no car payments.
Neither of us has a company pension therefore we don't have prescription and dental coverage. We do have to pay that out of our pockets, but we had a nest egg set aside because we did without a lot in the years we worked. The money we make from our motel is small but that, together with what we have saved, makes for a frugal but comfortable retirement.
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