photo credit: ryanmilani
I think that the times are changing, and as a result, so is the focus of this blog. When I first started this blog back in 2008, I really wanted to obtain financial freedom, and I still do. We still have a lot of debt (mostly as a mortgage and student loans, although we do have credit card debt as well), but I guess that over the past year I started to have an awakening of sorts.
We are very fortunate to have saved up some money (almost entirely in a 401k and Roth IRAs), but now we are coming to the realization that it may not ever be possible to “save enough” for retirement. Even if we pay off our mortgage and all of our debt, and plan on living modestly (which we do), what do we do to prepare for a medical emergency? What are our choices in terms of affordable medical insurance if we work for ourselves, or if we lose our jobs? How do we protect ourselves from the declining value of the dollar? Frankly, I think that our retirement savings may not be worth much as the price of finite resources continues to increase.
Which brings me to my next point. The price of finite resources is going to increase. I think that the writing is on the wall, and I don’t consider myself to be a doomsday type of person. The population of the world is increasing, and natural resources such as oil are finite in nature. Oil and gas are going to continue to increase in price. Food prices are going to continue to increase as well, especially if you don’t want to eat processed foods (which I would argue saves money down the road in terms of health care costs).
So, what is a person to do? Specifically, in our case, what is a small suburban/rural family to do? We’re not ready to move to the middle of nowhere, stockpiling MREs and waiting for the end of the world (although I have a lot of respect for people who are entirely self-sufficient, we personally want to raise our son right where we are for the time being). I think that our current mindset is to improve our life by becoming less dependent on larger systems and more self-sufficient. We also want to develop relationships at a more local level (think farmers markets, etc.).
I need to write about what I have a passion for. I still want to save money, and be responsible fiscally, but I think that instead of “saving pennies for a rainy day”, there now needs to be a larger focus on becoming more self-sufficient. This focus in my thinking will be reflected in future posts. I hope that you understand, and decide to stay and follow along with or participate in our journey.
