Small Cabin

Small Cabin Forum
 - Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / General Forum / Ever since we moved into the cabin full time...
. 1 . 2 . >>
Author Message
Bzzzzzt
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 11:08
Reply 


Ever since we moved into the cabin full time people think we have some sort of money issues. People find out how we're living in a smaller space and think we're just dirt poor. No matter how I tell people that we're just doing something different and we're actually in the best financial shape of our life because we have zero debt they still think there's something amiss. I'm not just talking about random acquaintances either. Both of our parents think there must be some problem. My dad's birthday was last week and I went down and tried to take him out to a nice dinner and he just wouldn't have it because we need our money too much. It's just crazy. While it's true we have less income because I'm starting my own electrical business and starting out is slow, the Misses works full time and brings home quite enough for all of our needs and I work here and there when it comes available. We also still have all the proceeds from the sale of our city house and we own everything we have outright: no mortgage, no car payment, no credit card bills, none of it. I actually think of us as quite well off.

Any other full time smaller space people run into this issue? It's funny how everyone tells you to be different but if you actually are they look at you like there must be something wrong.

Gary O
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 11:20
Reply 


Gawd, I could not say it better.

One day we must gather, sup, dine on fillets, sip the 100 yr old Glenmorangie whilst drawing on Gran Habanos.

You can use my poop haus any day, my brother.

littlesalmon4
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 14:47
Reply 


People think you can't be happy if you are not up to you eyes in, mortgage, credit cards and other loans. We have everything we need, we are not driving the newest vehicles, sleds, atv's or boats but it all works and we don't owe a dime on them. There is a good pile of people that are doing with alot less then us.

OutdoorFanatic
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 20:05 - Edited by: OutdoorFanatic
Reply 


MSM is trying to make anyone living off the grid look like lost hermits. Don't worry about it! No body has to be influenced by them, nor do we have to live like them.

If they want to poop in their own drinking water and contribute to tons and tons of nuclear waste so that they can watch a night time fooze ball game or walk around a shopping mall at 8PM, let them.

Be a self thinker and a good steward of the earth and believe me, they will someday realize their destructive ways and we will be WAY ahead of them.

https://youtu.be/7U2E-In0DDg

copperhead1971
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 21:24
Reply 


My wife and I want to move up to Bancroft area,already have the place,3 season road no real neighbors ,hydro is a few miles away , who cares... no bills like gas, hydro, phone , I guess would could get a cell phone but only bell works good in the area. Its the 10 year plan hope it works out for us as it sounds like it is for you.

neb
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 22:42
Reply 


You are living the life which a lot of people will never experience. Good for you!

Gary O
Member
# Posted: 2 Dec 2015 23:27
Reply 


Quoting: copperhead1971
Its the 10 year plan hope it works out for us as it sounds like it is for you.

It works

Steve_S
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2015 06:35
Reply 


@Bzzzzt Good Luck & Best Wishes for getting your electrical business off the ground and running.

@ Copperhead, sorry to hear about having to use Bell... I switched to Telus and get as good a coverage as I ever did with Bell and I'm on the Pay as you Go plan without data which works out just grand. Maybe check and see if Telus will work at your Cabin.

I get odd looks when folks hear about what I'm doing and yeah, it's the "poor you" kind of thing... Without Debts and the related worries that go with being held hostage to $$$ Grubbers - there is a kind of "Happiness" that these folks have forgotten all about. I'm not in my cabin yet but will be soon and out of Urbanity (ok it's a wee little 4 corners of a town but still).

turkeyhunter
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2015 11:40 - Edited by: turkeyhunter
Reply 


Quoting: littlesalmon4
People think you can't be happy if you are not up to you eyes in, mortgage, credit cards and other loans. We have everything we need, we are not driving the newest vehicles, sleds, atv's or boats but it all works and we don't owe a dime on them. There is a good pile of people that are doing with alot less then us


true

Wilbour
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2015 12:10
Reply 


Quoting: littlesalmon4
People think you can't be happy if you are not up to you eyes in, mortgage, credit cards and other loans. We have everything we need, we are not driving the newest vehicles, sleds, atv's or boats but it all works and we don't owe a dime on them. There is a good pile of people that are doing with alot less then us.


Funny thing is we have made great strides to pay off all the bills. Now with a small home and small cabin and small cars (yes we have more than one car) we are looking at retiring at 55. Most co-workers who have big homes and big mortgages are working much longer. Who wants to do that!

Bancroft bound
Member
# Posted: 3 Dec 2015 21:43
Reply 


Quoting: copperhead1971
My wife and I want to move up to Bancroft area,already have the place,3 season road no real neighbors ,hydro is a few miles away , who cares... no bills like gas, hydro, phone

copperhead, what part of the Bancroft area are you in?
We are SE of town and hoping to build this year and move there in 3 yrs max. Hope you plan works for you. We can't wait to get there full time.

Bzzzzzt
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 07:05
Reply 


Quoting: Steve_S
Good Luck & Best Wishes for getting your electrical business off the ground and running.


Thanks, Steve. Where we live now in NW Arkansas is a smaller population. I have made a couple of good connections that have led to some business but breaking into a small market like this from scratch is a little tough. Because everybody knows everybody around here and nobody knows me that works against me. It's just slow starting out. One of these days I'll grab that one customer that tells everyone else how wonderful I am and I'll be off to the races. I'm under no illusions that I'll be rich in 6 months time, but I'm sure I can eek out a living.

turkeyhunter
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 10:51
Reply 


the BOSS OF THE SWAMP posted this video yesterday...about sums it up

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lZtjgvCkcI

I really enjoy his videos!!

copperhead1971
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 12:57
Reply 


we are NW of town just past mcgarry flats

Bancroft bound
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 20:16
Reply 


Quoting: Bzzzzzt
We also still have all the proceeds from the sale of our city house and we own everything we have outright: no mortgage, no car payment, no credit card bills, none of it. I actually think of us as quite well off.

Congratulations on Living the Dream! You doing what a lot of people just hope to do. Good Luck on your business to, just hang in there and Good things will come your way.

rugercpl
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 20:55
Reply 


I guess it depends on your friends and family whether or not you are thought of as a weirdo for living in a small cabin on or off grid. I'm really not interested in anyone who would consider that as wrong. They are usually the pretentious douche bag types who are the reasons I bought 8 acres to get away from. I struggle with materialism everyday...sort of the "you can take the boy out of the city but you can't take the city out of the boy" syndrome. My cabin is a step in the right direction.

neb
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 21:26
Reply 


Quoting: turkeyhunter
the BOSS OF THE SWAMP posted this video yesterday...about sums it up


Yes that about sums it up. I like this one also.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPWYa_6QelM

OutdoorFanatic
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 21:46
Reply 


Quoting: neb

Yes that about sums it up. I like this one also.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPWYa_6QelM


Freakin Awesome!

RichInTheUSA
Member
# Posted: 4 Dec 2015 22:09
Reply 


Don't worry if people think you have money issues... who cares?

Many millionaires live life well below their means and blend in with the average family. Many folks who appear wealthy are up to their eyeballs in debt. Things are not as they appear.

Congratulations on living debt free!!!

rayyy
Member
# Posted: 5 Dec 2015 08:39
Reply 


It makes me smile like crazy whenever someone thinks I live in a cold dark shed shack,no water,no electric,,,what do I do to keep myself busy?How do you see at night?What do you use for a toilet?Don't you freeze to death in the winter?He-hee,I love it.Then when they finally come see for themselves,,,HOLY COW this is awesome!No debt.My paycheck goes right into my pocket for me to decide how to spend it and that is the greatest feeling!

Bzzzzzt
Member
# Posted: 5 Dec 2015 18:02
Reply 


Quoting: rayyy
My paycheck goes right into my pocket for me to decide how to spend it and that is the greatest feeling!



Awesome feeling, Ain't it?

Quoting: RichInTheUSA
Congratulations on living debt free!!!


Thanks Rich.

RichInTheUSA
Member
# Posted: 5 Dec 2015 20:29
Reply 


For those of you who are not yet living debt free, but want to get there... as you know, there are multiple ways of achieving that goal (and they are hard, and not always quick depending on your individual situation).

While selling your city house and moving into a cabin works... I'll share an alternative approach that worked for me an my wife. I only do this because it worked for us, and it may help you.

First, we took a Dave Ramsey class which was instrumental. However, in addition, we payed our mortgage off 23 years early by using a "mortgage recast" technique (multiple times).

Every time i got a bonus from work, we applied it to the mortgage as a principle payment. Normally if you do htis, they simply keep your monthly payment the same and apply the funds to the end of the loan. That's great, but it doesn't help you *now*.

With a "recast", you make the principle payment but ask the lien holder to re-amortize the loan, thus reducing the monthly payment immediately. That allows you to then make additional principle payments.

I don't want to be presumptuous and think this fits everyone's situation... but it does work. Rather than debt snowballing out of control.... you use the same principle of compounding interest to pay debt early. It's using compound interest in your favor.

Ok, enough of the rant... Hope this helps at least one of you.

If there are more questions, we could move it to a different thread. I don't want to "hijack" bzzzzt's thread here.

Bzzzzzt
Member
# Posted: 5 Dec 2015 22:01
Reply 


Quoting: RichInTheUSA
I don't want to "hijack" bzzzzt's thread here.


Hey, the main reason I am debt free today is because I have been listening to Dave Ramsey for years. We were debt free except for the house before we moved. Selling the house was just a means to get out of the city that we both hated and move to the country. Life is much easier and stress free. Glad we did it.

RichInTheUSA
Member
# Posted: 5 Dec 2015 22:36
Reply 


We're on the same page then ... no "hijacking" necessary! Agree life is much easier!

Now I need to convince my wife to move to the cabin full time like you all... (she's scared of bears, cougars, and coyotes... which is an entirely different problem).



copperhead1971
Member
# Posted: 6 Dec 2015 01:46
Reply 


Quoting: RichInTheUSA
Now I need to convince my wife to move to the cabin full time like you all... (she's scared of bears, cougars, and coyotes... which is an entirely different problem).

just need a good med to large dog that will detore (bad spelling) them from bugging you and a small double barrel shot gun doesn't hurt either

turkeyhunter
Member
# Posted: 6 Dec 2015 08:25
Reply 


Quoting: RichInTheUSA
For those of you who are not yet living debt free, but want to get there... as you know, there are multiple ways of achieving that goal (and they are hard, and not always quick depending on your individual situation).



Thank God~~NO DEBT ..for a few years now. I always saved 100 dollar bills since I was 12 years old. No stocks/bonds etc. Amazing what you can buy cheaper with CASH...had new down stairs heating and air unit installed this past spring ....was $300 dollars CHEAPER cash price. CASH IS KING!!!!......because living in the country people like their CASH and not paying taxes

Bzzzzzt
Member
# Posted: 9 Dec 2015 08:03
Reply 


The one thing I really miss from living in the city is access to high speed internet. Out here we just barely have Verizon service for cell phones and none of the other carriers work at all. We use our phones most of the time for internet but I have a hot spot that works okay. I COULD get satellite but that's so danged expensive, and we're SOOOOO poor. LOL. We'll figure something out after we build our main house.

offgridliving
Member
# Posted: 9 Dec 2015 08:25
Reply 


I cannot even begin to recall all of the things people said to me?
"Are you crazy?"
"Are you hiding from something?"
"Are you in some kind of trouble?"
"Have you finally flipped your lid?"
"Do you think the world is going to end?"
"You're not going to go crazy and start killing people are you?"
Blah, blah, blah
Even my younger sister, who I love dearly and have a good relationship with, told me years later that she was a little worried about me.

Fast forward 15 years. I now have two cabins on the property, the original log structure and a regular stick frame cabin. Both are finished out nicely, full solar package, plumbed in shower, etc. AND it is all paid for and I am debt free.

So, when I go off traveling and the cabin is vacant, I will give you one guess where my family and friends want to go spend time.

Here is the way I look at it. There are many, many, many people in the world that are happy and secure living in their little box. They work the typical 9 to 5 job, pay their taxes, never travel much and almost never risk doing anything different.

I think this is absolutely wonderful. This is how the world at large continues to work. After all, what if all of the doctors in the world decided to chuck it all and head for the trees? What if all the researchers and engineers did the same thing? Where would we be? How would we get all the technology that makes our off-grid lives just a little easier?

All these people that live in a little box makes it that much easier for the off-gridders to do what we do.

Bottom line, structure a lifestyle that supports and nurtures who you are and what you believe in. And don't let anyone tell you any differently!!!

Topper
Member
# Posted: 9 Dec 2015 14:41
Reply 


Quoting: offgridliving
After all, what if all of the doctors in the world decided to chuck it all and head for the trees?


Likewise if half the people who want to, moved to Alaska...

Here ~ where & how you live is a non-issue. Plenty of people, even in & around town live in dry cabins.

Gary O
Member
# Posted: 10 Dec 2015 05:33
Reply 


Quoting: offgridliving
All these people that live in a little box makes it that much easier for the off-gridders to do what we do.

What a beautiful posting, so right on

. 1 . 2 . >>
Your reply
Bold Style  Italic Style  Underlined Style  Thumbnail Image Link  Large Image Link  URL Link           :) ;) :-( :confused: More smilies...

» Username  » Password 
Only registered users can post here. Please enter your login/password details before posting a message, or register here first.