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Here are the top 6 reasons I think that living a self-sustainable "off the grid" lifestyle is beneficial....
- To give my daughter- and any future children a legacy for an independent lifestyle. So that they do not have to run with the masses of other "sheep" in this country so incapable of thinking for themselves that it's easier to be completely miserable than to break out of the norm. I want my children to be able to make their own decisions on how they want to live. Not be sucked into the cycle of doing "what everyone else does" just because it's the only thing you can do.
- To become debt free. Can you even imagine your life free of credit card debt, mortgages, car loans, school loans, etc.? It really is hard to conceive that it is possible. And I am not saying it's easy to get to that point. It takes a lot of hard-work and dedication. For the last 3 years my husband and I have been living credit card free. In May we paid off our final car loan. We rent instead of own our house (which is mainly because we intend to build our own home on our own land). But it also prevents us from getting stuck in one place in a house that we can never get rid of our recoup what we put into it. I will have a ridiculous school loan until I am probably about 50 (another 25 years or so)...which is one of the bad decisions I made along the way from being pushed into living the "norm". A 30 year loan for one semester of school is insanity. No one should have to feel sucked into something so terrible. I can't imagine where I would be if I had continued on with the same ridiculously overpriced school for a full 4 years. Anyways, aside from that, we really have no "loans". It does make things difficult sometimes--especially for me. My husband is much more able to roll with the punches, but I have a harder time and worry a WHOLE lot. Like, what happens when our 2001 Subaru with 210k miles on it decides it's had a good run and it decides to quit on us? Not getting into another car loan is tough because it means you have to have the cash to purchase another car (whatever it might be) in full. But in the end, it is so worth it. Not to have to worry about getting that $350 car payment in on time and working one day to the next just to save up enough money for those crazy loans is crazy.
- To learn to be frugal. This is a tough one for me. It's one of those things that I completely agree with and understand and have been getting much better at...but I still need a little help. As I look around our 2500sq ft house at all of the THINGS that fill the place up, I feel kind of spoiled almost. We have a LOT, I mean a LOT of STUFF. Not expensive stuff. Not brand new stuff....so I guess in a way we are much more frugal than some people, but we do surely have more than we need. I tend to keep everything. Which I guess is in part a method in frugalism? (yes, I made that word up) If you already have it...why get rid of it...someday you may need it or may be able to re-purpose it for something later on. All of that makes sense to some extent, but it sure is hard finding the space. My daughter has probably more toys than any daycare around. I honestly can't think of one thing to buy her for Christmas this year...but at the same time, I'd feel like a terrible mom if I don't do something! All of this is something that I think will change when we move on our own land. I think moments with our family will become more valued than material things. I don't spend a lot of money on big expensive things...I don't even own an Ipod or MP3 Player...or smartphone...or any other of the new-fangled technological devices out there that "everyone MUST have!" I have 4+ year old computer and a half broken cell phone (yes, it will eventually be upgraded) and an old CD player that plugs into the wall. I don't feel like I need to spend thousands of dollars a year on the newest greatest device. I can get everything I need on my computer. Sure sometimes I think it would be nice to know what everyone was talking about when I hear things like "Instagram" and "Face Time" on a daily basis...but if I'm getting along fine without it right now, why do I need it? It will be nice to move into our old place and "shed" some of our overstock of stuff. I'm sure it will be hard for me as I have a tough time parting with things...but there has to be a limit. If I haven't used it and it hasn't seen the light of day in 5 years....chances are, someone else out there probably could have more use for it that a box in my basement. I don't want my daughter to be without things, but I know that she loves the outdoors, and would much rather be out there exploring than inside playing with her 20 different Leap Frog toys she has now. So even getting rid of some of these things will improve our lives, not make them worse.
- To live Healthier & Grow your own food. This one is really important to me. The way we live in modern society is just plain disgusting. We have become such an unhealthy country it's sad really. To sit back and allow my daughter to fall into this life of wasting away to me means that I will have failed as a mother. I myself have a "man-made" autoimmune disease- Multiple Sclerosis- I truly believe that I have this due to the way we live...I just happened to be one of the lucky ones that wore my body down so much and treated it so poorly that it decided to punish me for the rest of my life. No one should have to suffer like that. I truly think that living a healthier less polluted lifestyle will not only help my health and my illness but help prevent anything like this from happening to my daughter. All of the preservatives and chemicals and other "crap" that we eat on a daily basis is really just awful. It makes me sick just thinking about it. And I really think that unless you get out of the rat race and start growing your own food and really paying attention to what you allow your body to consume--you will never be able to reach an actual healthy lifestyle. Even buying "organic" at the grocery store does not necessarily mean it is good for you. Seeing "All Natural" on a box does not even mean it really is ALL Natural. It's kind of depressing knowing that the food industry is allowed to trick us into thinking we are eating healthy because the package says so and we paid a TON more for it... This is probably one of the most exciting parts of the project for me. I cannot wait to feel less stressed and just feel better.
- To be the Master of our own Destiny. I think this is probably one of my husbands top reasons as well...but it is also important to me. It is basically what we want for our kids, only we want it for us as well. To be able to decide for ourselves what we do on a daily basis and why we do it. To not have media and corporate greed or the government or the general population of "sheep" cramming their rules and garbage down our throats on a daily basis. It will be so nice to be able to decide what our house looks like because we wanted it to look like that and because we built it ourselves...not because some law says it has to be built this way or because all the other "Jone's" have their like this. To be able to work for ourselves and not to make someone else rich. Or to take a day off because we CAN. Without having to worry how we will still make this months ends meet because of that missed day of pay. To be able to just sit back and take our time with things and not rush through them missing every important moment and not taking the time to enjoy our life. It's awful that we are so rushed and stressed that we cannot spend the correct amount of quality time with our daughter that we would like to. Even when I do take the time to be with her my mind is racing or I am so used to doing several things that I have to be reading or thinking or typing or something. I can't just BE. I don't want to worry about everything, I want to enjoy life. And enjoy watching my daughter grow up (even though the growing up part makes me teary eyed) and enjoy my husband. Not be running a dance around each other everyday...not being able to spend time together--date night? What's that...I don't think we've been on an actual date in years. We just need time to unwind and get away from the horribly doomed cycle that life has become.
- Always Be Prepared. With the way this country seems to be headed--on all facets, who knows when the so called "shit" is going to hit the fan. Finally. For the last time. WWIII? Zombie Apocalypse? Civil War? Or just a plain old economic collapse? Who knows. It could be anything. Or all of them. We just don't know for sure. But either way, it doesn't look promising. We want our family to be prepared. To be able to feed ourselves and take care of ourselves as well as protect ourselves if the time of running out to WalMart to grab some milk and bread and flipping a switch to get electricity comes to an end. To be so dependent on the things that we are is not healthy. When the power goes out for a few days, due to a hurricane, people go nuts. Pulling knives and guns on other people, stealing, its pandemonium. And that is just due to a temporary break in the everyday "routine" of life. People panic if their hot water doesn't work or they can't throw dinner in the microwave or their computer doesn't turn on. (Heck, I'm not saying that to some extent I don't panic when things like this happen). We're so dependent on the way things are that when we get thrown the slightest curve ball, we go nuts. Look at the show, The Walking Dead....now maybe it would never get to anything that extreme...but even still, what if something happened where people couldn't just do what they normally do. I want to be prepared for that. At least the best that we can be. We have to be, we owe it to our daughter. Even if nothing ever happens (which seems unlikely). But even if it never does, it's still good to be prepared. Because it puts our daughter into this new lifestyle so that if long after I am gone something does finally happen--she will be prepared for HER children.
