Why be debt free?
Why is it so important to be debt free when you go off-grid? I can answer that because I’m living it and reaping the benefits of being debt free, it means that you can live on so much less, when you are in debt, you are a slave to whoever you owe money. Often debt is a big hole that is nearly impossible to dig yourself out of, especially if you are living paycheck to paycheck and paying the minimums on your debt.
Before moving off-grid, my hubby and I worked our behinds off to earn and save money, we lived on the cheap even then, preferring to live in an old single wide mobile home (paid for), we only had the lot rent, we didn’t do credit cards, we didn’t spend excessively, we ate at home most of the time, we didn’t have cable or satellite TV, we chose to live a simple life so it was all the easier to transfer our lives and lifestyle when we did move off-grid.
We looked for and found cheap land in an area that has few rules and building codes so we could do more ourselves like build the house (sky castle), cheap land meant we didn’t have to go into debt to buy it, nor did we have to go into debt to build on it. We started out small, a 16×16 room was our whole house, little by little we added on, building the rooms we needed and wanted as we could.
We got to know our neighbors, letting them know we would take most anything they were throwing away that could be reused, materials from buildings being remodeled or torn down, left over building materials from new projects, over the years we have ended up with quite a few old metal water tanks, they make great storage, think a big closet if they don’t hold water anymore.
I can’t impress upon you enough, get out of debt, don’t go further into debt, do what it takes to get yourself free from credit cards, car notes and the such, do this even if you don’t plan on living off-grid, do it for your own security. I am speaking from experience here, I’ve been in debt, I’ve had mega credit card debt, I’ve lived paycheck to paycheck, it’s not a good place to be, I am much happier living like I do now.
Here is a video I found this evening, it is about how this family went off-grid while being debt free, it is from a Christian point of view (I’m a Christian so that doesn’t bother me), just letting you know before you click play. :) There is a lot of good info here.
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