Friday, February 6, 2009

Almost finished!

I can't believe we've been here for three months now! And, we just got internet...finally...

Time flies when you have nothing but work to do...but the weather has been fantastic, so it's not even a chore to be outside!

I just ordered the first of probably 2 wind turbines, and it should be here very soon. It's nothing special, just a small one, Chinese made, sold on Ebay. It probably will last 5 years at the most, and it'll need replacement, but in the meantime, it'll cut down on generator running time, which is extraordinarily costly, in gas and even more so in propane. The propane is nice, because it's electric start, and will start in the coldest temperatures, but it's twice as expensive to run! What I really need is an extra outlet from our main propane tank. I pay wholesale price for that propane, and all I use it for is cooking (so far). Then, I wouldn't have to keep changing over the tank every 7 hours either! Ultimately, I'd like to try and run one of the generators on methane or wood gas, or even both.

I've been trying to secure a long term financing solution, and a short term cash infusion to get us through to August. The fact is, I need a part time job of some kind to provide some extra cash on my days off, at least until I can put together some sort of business idea. We approached ATB financial with a refinance request, so hopefully, we can repackage all these short term loans that we needed for services into a long term, low interest, low payment solution. Then, all the extra money that I may have from time to time will be used for paying it down faster, and buying silver. The silver is a secret debt repayment strategy for when the economy implodes around us, which could be as early as next year! My plan is to pay off all of my debt using the proceeds from selling silver, which I expect to rise in price 10 - 15 times it's current value. Once we're out of debt, we could potentially live with almost no income at all! I'm really hoping for a few more years of falling prices, so I can stock up on more silver, put aside food, and start some long term food production with fruit trees, livestock, and a large productive garden. And trees too, for firewood. I'd really love to have about 2-3 years of stored firewood in case I can't get any more!

I've still got a ton of work to do, not including the daily chores, like wood cutting and stacking, making lunches and meals, and trying not to spend too much money! I've been a little frivolous with money, and I'm trying to reform. Something that I'm doing more is making hot chocolate and coffee, and bringing them in a large thermos to work. There are days where I've spent $7 on coffee alone, and that's not acceptable. I can afford to buy lunch every now and then, but snacks I've got to bring. I usually eat healthy lunch food, but garbage-y snacks, so a few apples, homemade muffins, and granola bars will keep me healthy, and save money too!

There are a few hard sacrifices to be made this year...I've got to sell the motorcycles, and probably a bit of silver coins too, to keep the cash flow up. I've got some major projects coming up, and no money to fund it (right now). I can always buy another bike, and more silver later on. I'd do anything, and sell anything to avoid losing this land!