Plan for self sufficient into amazing retirement plan?

[Britesea]

There was a barter system for a while in my old home in CA. You started out with a gift of 20 "barter dollars". Let's say you have eggs for sale/barter and someone else wants some eggs. Let's further say that they do tattoos, which you aren't interested in. Instead of the tatoo, the artist pays for the eggs with "barter dollars", which they earned from someone else wanting a tattoo. Once a year, the organization also ran a holiday bazaar so that all the people that had various arts and crafts available for barter would have a chance to earn barter dollars, which they could then use throughout the year for anything from haircuts to dental work. Some people would hang onto their barter dollars all year and use them at the bazaar for their holiday shopping. The government did get their share however: if what you bartered would normally have been charged sales tax, that part had to be paid in cash, and you got a tax form at the end of the year showing those sales. It was an interesting melding of barter and cash systems.

 

[baymule]

@Beekissed has a knack for repurposing Goodwill finds. Get old headboards and make benches.

 

[Carla D]

IMO, barter would be the best way to go when ever possible. Cash is also a handy thing. But the beauty of barter system: It benefits all parties concerned, and Uncle has yet to figure out how to get his greedy fingers into the barter system.

That is one of the best points I’ve ever heard about the barter system.

 

[Carla D]

@Beekissed has a knack for repurposing Goodwill finds. Get old headboards and make benches.

That is one of my favorite hobbies. I even went to school to learn how to repair or refinish furniture. As a couple, my husband and I like buying off of Craig’s list or auctions. Buy things that in working condition with some repairs or modifications. Another thing we like to do is find free pallets or pieces of limber. We tear the pallets down and use the boards to built things out of. Same with the chunks of lumber. We have built so many things with free wood and lumber. We have built several indoor hog pens, doors/gates, trailers, a goat house, and a couple of nice pig huts/houses for our outdoor pigs. We’ve also built some small pieces of furniture and made cabin repairs with free lumber and other free materials. One mans junk is another mans treasure.

 

[Beekissed]

That is one of my favorite hobbies. I even went to school to learn how to repair or refinish furniture. As a couple, my husband and I like buying off of Craig’s list or auctions. Buy things that in working condition with some repairs or modifications. Another thing we like to do is find free pallets or pieces of limber. We tear the pallets down and use the boards to built things out of. Same with the chunks of lumber. We have built so many things with free wood and lumber. We have built several indoor hog pens, doors/gates, trailers, a goat house, and a couple of nice pig huts/houses for our outdoor pigs. We’ve also built some small pieces of furniture and made cabin repairs with free lumber and other free materials. One mans junk is another mans treasure.

That's something we share....I LOVE getting something for free and making something useful out of it, repurposing it, etc. It's definitely among my favorite things to do and it just feels right to recycle unwanted things and give them a new purpose. Sort of how God recycled me in much the same way, so it's sort of holds symbolism for me as well.

 

[Carla D]

First of, let me say I love your ideas! I have done some farming for profits when I lived in South Africa, only on a small scale. With 3 (human) mouths to feed and bills to pay, coupled with the ridiculous costs of absolutely everything in S.A. and losses to theft, we didn't make enough to keep us afloat, but we did o.k. I kept a lot of chickens and sold eggs, I raised and butchered pigs and sold meat, I grew vegetables for home use and some for animal feed. It's a wonderful way to earn money, if you can balance out the cost of feed, etc and income generated. For me it was as much a hobby as a business, as I kept things to a small scale. I had at most about 100 chickens and 8 pigs at a time.

I’ve often though I grew up in the wrong time period. I kind of have a settlers mentality. Grow what you need. Need what you grow. Don’t waste anything. Prepare ahead for a season or two. Live frugally.

I highly doubt that we will ever go back to the barter system. But when times are super tough it’s a good idea to have things you can trade or sell for much needed supplies.

The price for everyday staples has become completely outrageous. Milk, flour, bread, eggs, cheese, fresh vegetables and fruit prices keep climbing. Farms are going out of business because they can’t make ends meet due to what creameries and processing plants are willing to pay for their milk. Farms are being bought and sold to developers. Large acreage of land is going to disappear. Acreage for grains, feed, hay will shrivel up and the prices for flours, pasta, and grain products will skyrocket. The only way people are going to survive is by producing goods for their own use. And in order to do that people are going to need to use self sustaining means.

Am I exaggerating the scenario of our future? Resources are being wasted, used frivolously, and replaced when they no longer work or look like brand new. The health of our planet is going down the tubes. This will likely be 100’s if not 1000’s years down the road. But, Humans are headed down the road to extinction if our ways of life don’t change. What other result could ultimately happen if our resources are depleted to the point of nonexistence? Test tubes can only create so much. They can create nearly identical plants, animals, tissues. But, they will never be as good, valuable, or quality as the original, organic, natural thing.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

My issue would be direct marketing. I just don't like dealing with the public....Call me an old grouch, lol. But, I still do it on occasion - like when selling goats.

I've hatched chicks before and sold them as day (or 2) olds...that went pretty well. If you sell them young before you get much feed into them they're almost all profit except for the electricity to run the incubator and the brooder for a couple of days. I need to separate some of my breeds and try that again.

 

[Carla D]

My issue would be direct marketing. I just don't like dealing with the public....Call me an old grouch, lol. But, I still do it on occasion - like when selling goats.

I've hatched chicks before and sold them as day (or 2) olds...that went pretty well. If you sell them young before you get much feed into them they're almost all profit except for the electricity to run the incubator and the brooder for a couple of days. I need to separate some of my breeds and try that again.

I hadn’t even thought about selling chicks. I had planned on letting a broody hen hatch some when it is time for new birds. It may be well worth my time to look into incubators and brooder, and what ever else I may need to do something like that. Look into sex link(?) breeds. But it may be less involved to sell as straight runs. But, I really should know how to determine the sex of a chick if I want to broaden my target market. I can see people wanting strictly females or a single rooster. They may even want a particular sex as a pet or show bird. Thank you for that idea.

 

[Carla D]

That too! I have that problem. Our plan is to try to sell some AGH sausage (talk up that heritage breed!) and eventually lamb. And maybe soap.... none of which will make us rich but can help. We hope.

Exactly. My ultimate goal is to be able to support and meat the needs of my family in times of hardship. And to provide mental stimulation, personal satisfaction, and enjoyment for the remainder of our years or after my husband retires. I could honestly care less about making any profit. But earning enough income to sustain these activities is a must. Otherwise we really only need 2-4 pigs and goats, 1-2 cows, 10-20 chickens, and a dozen rabbits. Whatever amount we would need to fill or freezer, provide eggs, and milk for our family. That could be done on ½-1 acre of land. But then we would be missing the satisfaction, stimulation, and enjoyment down the road. Hmm...

I guess there is always the option to raise and produce meat, eggs, milk, etc. for our entire family. Meaning parents, siblings, nieces/nephews, grandchildren. But then there is the hassle of trying to get nominal money from people who think you should generously GIVE to them because they are family. I bet that would be the quickest way to lose the farm.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Will this be a supplement to some other form of income - or will it be the only income you'll have. Not trying to be nosy - but it is an important consideration.