Posted in Homestead or Bust

Last time I updated you on our journey, I said I'd be paying off a bill with our next paychecks.   Well, I was wrong.  We didn't pay off a bill. 

We paid off 3! 

I am so proud of us.  That is 3 extra payments that can be rolled over onto something different!   In fact, because of this first step in our snowball, we should have at least 2 more items paid off this month, and one more the next month. 

I have such high hopes for the future.  Though we still don't know exactly where our Little Slice of Heaven will be; mountain or Valley, we are on our way!

Kristina Duckett

Posted in Homestead or Bust

We are one step closer to our goal of becoming debt free!  Or rather, we will be on Friday. 

On Friday we will get to pay off a debt. That is going to free up $100 per month to go onto something else.  This is the first step in our “snowball”.   We are going to apply that $100 to another debt, which will be paid off very quickly as it is relatively small, then we’ll take the combined payment and apply that to something else, and so on. 

We are so excited to finally be making progress!  I realize we have been progressing to the point that we can pay this off in one lump sum, but this time we will have tangible evidence that we are actually getting there.  Baby steps; but steps, nevertheless.

Little Slice of Heaven, here we come! 

Kristina Duckett

Posted in Homestead or Bust

I have to admit, I’m getting a bit frustrated on the road to Our Little Slice of Heaven.  I was looking through some homesteading magazines this week and it just almost makes me depressed.  I so desperately crave that lifestyle back again.  I miss the simple life.  I am fed up with being in the city.

So I have to keep telling myself that October will come.  October is the date we have set to have our goals met.  October will be the date that we will be debt free.  If we can just hold out a little bit longer.

But then we have to stay in the city until we can get a down payment saved up.  So how long will that take?  How much longer must I continue to work full time, knowing that I’ve been called to stay home with my crew?   My oldest son will be 13 this year.  I don’t have much time left to mold him and shape him into the man God wants him to be.  I don’t want to waste what little time I have by selling 40 hours of my week to someone else.

A word of advice for those of you just starting out…avoid debt.  Just avoid it.  Make wise financial decisions a priority.  We are struggling now because of poor decisions.  We simply didn’t take the time to learn and follow good financial principles.  I am currently working full time outside my home to help pay for our mistakes.  We are finally taking responsibility and suffering the consequences for our past.  But at what price?  Please, do your very best to avoid the pitfalls of debt.

On a happier note, we will be debt free in October.  That is a mere 7 ½ months away.  We are 7 ½ months from freedom.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  (And no, it isn’t a train….)

Kristina Duckett

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Each Alaska resident is eligible to file for their Permanent Fund Dividend, or PFD, each year.   The PFD checks start going out in October.  This year will be our first year that we are eligible.  No one knows exactly how much the PFD amount is until shortly before the checks come out, but speculation this year is pointing toward $2000.  Per person.  Last year the amount was $1654 each. 

Tonight my Hubby and I were talking and he suggested the idea of using our PFDs to become completely debt-free, rather than as a down payment as we had originally planned.  Of course, we have until October to make up our minds.  If we did that, it would push back the date of getting our land.  Yet it would be easier to get the land. 

So, what do you think?  If you had approximately $8000-ish, would you use it to become debt-free, which is an awesome dream, or would you use it to make a down-payment on your own Little Slice of Heaven…assuming you have repaired all of your past credit woes in the meantime?

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Today I’ll take a closer look at our road to Our Little Slice of Heaven.  Where are we?  What do we need to focus on?  Do we even want our slice to be a mountain slice?  Or do we want to look toward the Valley again?

Right now, we are still inching along Square One.  Our main focus at the moment  is living frugally and paying down our debt.  I have no advice for how to do this, there are many others out there who can help with that.  Dave Ramsey is good, and so is Crown Financial.  I have to be honest with you.  We aren’t following any particular plan.  I’d like to, I think, but Hubby has to get on board with that.  Right now, we are just paying a little extra on everything we can, and when we get close enough on any one thing, we make a big push to pay it off.  Then we distribute the payments we were making on that between everything else.  Sort of like the “snowball method”, but not.   We have several items that will be paid off in April, May, and June, and then we’ll really be able to fly through the rest. 

Two weeks ago, we drove out to the Matanuska/Susitna Valley.   This is the agricultural center of Alaska.  We are 45 minutes to an hour away from there right now.  That is originally where we planned on settling.  We wound up living in Anchorage instead of there because there are few Valley jobs.  Most people living there commute to Anchorage.  We weren’t willing to spend that much money on gas, when we need to be focusing on frugality.

Of course, driving out there again made us realize just how much we love it there.  And furthermore, my mother-in-law fell in love with it.  See, she lives with us right now.  She has yet to decide if she will stay forever, but she’s been here since October.  Hubby is an only child, so after my father-in-law passed away last June, my mother-in-law has been alone.  Having her here has been such a blessing.  We value her input on our move, and she prefers the Valley to the mountain.

So, whether we chose the Valley or mountain, the road starts off the same way.  I should get my quarterly bonus from work tomorrow, and I intend to pay off a little loan that I have.  That will make me feel like we are finally making some true progress toward our Slice of Heaven, no matter where it may located!

Kristina Duckett

Posted in Homestead or Bust

My crew and I find ourselves standing at the very beginning of the road to our Little Slice of Heaven.   If you’ve read my personal blog, this all may be a bit familiar to you.  But for those of you who have yet to meet me, let me fill you in a bit.

In 2006, we rented 2 acres in Western Kentucky, but there really weren’t many jobs and things weren’t going well financially.  So we packed up our crew, sold our belongings, and flew to Alaska.  We moved to the heart of downtown Anchorage, as far from a homestead as one can get.  This past November we found a duplex a little closer to what we wanted, at least here we have a yard, but it still isn’t what we dream of.

Our good friends own land up on the nearby mountains.  A couple of weeks ago, they offered to sell us part of their land.  We are ecstatic and hope to be able to take them up on the offer.   But first, we have to start at Step 1.

Before we can get any sort of financing, we have to get some bills paid off and work on our credit scores.  This is why I’ve been working since we moved here a little over a year ago.  We are making progress, but aren’t quite there yet.  So this spring and summer will be spent being as frugal as possible and getting bills paid down.

Our goal is to be able to get financing and to have a decent down payment saved by October of this year.  We hope to get a big enough loan that we can both buy the land and build our cabin.  Once we get the financing, we’ll have 1 year to get the cabin built.  In the coming months, I’ll share with you our journey, and let you know each step along the way.

So come along and join us on our road to Our Little Slice of Heaven.

Kristina Duckett

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Once we made the decision to leave city life and move to rural homesteading life, I've never looked back.  But that's not to say that there haven't been roller coaster moments and stretches that have humbled me.  What a mild understatement.  I've learned all too quickly that I don't have the market cornered on all things homesteady.

• I never imagined myself spending the better part of an afternoon chasing a chicken or an entire flock of chickens trying to get them where they needed to be - when all along if I had just left them alone......they would have gone there all on their own........duh!
• I never thought I would get into a week long battle with a snake who wanted to steal my eggs - not to mention eat my chicks......I learned the hard way why there are so many different kinds of fencing and livestock pen making mesh and more!  Yes indeed.
• I learned that no matter how clean and organized one's home can be, field mice love your home as much as you do and regardless of the better mousetrap - there will always be that one mouse the mousetrap doesn't quite "zap" and will drag that trap around in the attic (...at midnight...) for nights and nights and nights.
• Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever dreamed I would sweat (...err, make that perspire - [very long Scarlett "I"].....) during a summer's heatwave in order to build a chicken house and live with three smashed fingers until the project's end.
• And the following winter when a rain and high wind storm was ravaging the very chicken house that we perspired, toiled and smashed fingers over to complete - would I have ever imagined hanging onto its roof to save our chickens and their home?  Never.

These are but a few, a mere handful, of the humbling experiences we've had during our first three years here at Jacobs Farm.  Trust me - we have many more to come.......we'll be adding honey bees to our mix here come March!

What are some of your most humbling experiences having made the move to life in the country.  Please take time to share your trials - good, bad and the funny, too!  I often believe it is the humbling joys in life that make this chosen life of simplicity so worth while.

Have a great week!

Harriette

~Waving from the "still" soggy South~

South of the Gnat Line

Beekeeper Dreams

Jacobs Academy: A Dirt Road Education

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Town or Country

 Some people love to live in the city. Some love the country. There are others who live in the city but who long to move to the country. They think that this will be a better life for their children. That may be so, but God has promised, if we are obedient to His commandments, to bless us whether we live in the town or the country.

 If you hanker to live in the country, and yet there is no way for you to do this, stop pestering your husband and be content. To be content where you live is more important than where you live. The requirement for God's blessing upon you and your family is not where you live but whether you are being obedient to God's Word.

We now live in the country. I love it. I prefer it to the city. But through all the years of raising our children we lived in the city. They were wonderful years and God blessed us. I remember when we moved from New Zealand to Australia, not just to a new country, but to the playground of Australia--Surfer's Paradise. Our home looked out on the casino! Help! How do you raise teenagers in this environment? Because this is where God sent us to serve Him, He blessed us and our children. Instead of being on the defensive, they were on the offensive for God. All the children, teens and younger, preached every weekend in the open air mall in Surfer's Paradise. They helped us grow the church. They are all loving and serving the Lord today.

When we moved to America, we lived in an apartment complex. By this time, only Pearl and Serene were home, the others were all married. We squashed ourselves and the Above Rubies office into this apartment. We opened our doors in hospitality and filled it with people gathering around our table for meals. Once again we were blessed! We had wonderful times and great fellowship with many people in this dingy apartment.

 I have found that the secret of enjoying life is to accept where I live and make it my life, rather than pining for what I have had in the past or what I would like to have in the future.

 By the way, here is a secret for getting a bigger home. Fill the one you have. Fill it with children. Fill it with people as you reach out in hospitality. When God sees you filling up the home you have, He will open doors for you to get a bigger one!

Some folks think that it is too difficult to have children in the city. However, the next words God speaks after telling us He will bless us in the town and in the country is that He will bless us with the fruit of the womb. This blessing is for those who live in the city and for those who live in the country. God will help us and provide for us in whichever place we live.

Trust His promises.

 NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"Lord, I thank you for where you have placed us as a family. I
rejoice in your provision and I am content. Help us to fulfill your
purposes for us in this place at this time of our lives. Amen."

AFFIRMATION:

I am content where God has placed me!


If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank Email to subscribers-on@aboverubies.org

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Homestead or Bust!

Hey homesteaders here at Homestead Blogger!  Share your thoughts and “after the fact perspectives” now that you all have made your move to your own homestead heaven.

It’s said that “hind sight is 20/20”.  Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if you were just beginning the process of researching to make a move to life in the country?

Let’s all share our experiences as well as “having been there” expertises including what you would definitely NOT do the next time around as well as what worked well in your search, selling of existing property, making the move and any other tips, tools and resources you think might help someone who is just beginning the homestead journey.

Leave a comment here or blog about your thoughts and suggestions and leave a link to your post here in the comments section.

Have a great week!

Harriette

Harriette Jacobs is wife to Alan and homeschooling “Mom” to their two sons, ages 14 and 12+++ (he’ll be 13 on Saturday!).  The Jacobs family moved in December 2003 to East Central Georgia. They raise heritage breed chickens and live with their four dogs and a herd of farm cats!

Visit Harriette at:

South of the Gnat Line

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/southofthegnatline

Or at:

Jacobs Academy: A Dirt Road Education

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jacobsacademy

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Here are a few more things you’ll need to keep in mind when preparing to move or once you move – especially if you’ve never lived rurally:

Gas Stations

How far is the nearest town?

Nearest grocery

Nearest medical

Nearest Rx

Nearest airport

Nearest mechanic and tow truck

Post Office

Library System

Having said this, depending on how far out you live from these types of needs, you will have to plan ahead and put into practice good time management skills.  Additionally, if you have children – whether you homeschool or they attend traditional school – you will have to plan well in advance for school plans, events and any extra-curricular activities.

EXAMPLE:  Our sons play baseball on a local homeschool baseball team.  Well “local” for us is defined by 50 miles one way to the practice field.  So on days that the boys have practice at 5 p.m., we must be driving out of the driveway by 3:45 p.m. in order to arrive in an on time and timely manner – barring any extreme traffic conditions.  In order for us to be ready to leave by 3:45, the boys must begin getting ready at 2:45: load their gear, get dressed in practice attire, we must pack water and sports drinks, check all animals’ statuses and so forth, have a quick snack which is almost like a second lunch as it has to tie them over until they get home from practice.  So our day of homeschooling or anything else that arises that day must be concluded by 2:30 p.m. (Insert note: Me, Myself & I must have remembered to have practice wear/uniforms laundered and ready prior to….you get the picture.  Hence more time management ~)  Their practices usually last two hours which puts them back home between 8 and 8:30 p.m.  I have to think a day ahead about making sure I have gas – otherwise we have to leave any extra 20 minutes early to allow for stopping to get gas……..see the ripple affect here?

So just how far out do you want to live?

Keep in mind where the closest gas station is.  You may need to buy additional gas containers to have extra gasoline on hand for your vehicles – especially for emergencies.  Just how far do you want to drive for a gallon of milk and a loaf of bread if you need to?

Another thing to think about: how far away is the nearest bank or ATM?  Believe it or not, in our little town, EVERYTHING closes at noon on Wednesday’s.  Everything!  Some businesses are closed on Monday’s, too, because they are open on Saturday’s.

While you are still searching for your homestead heaven – think about your everyday life now – what can you live without and what must have easy access to?  How will your future homestead plans affect your access to what you must have in your everyday routines today?

For those Homestead Bloggers who have already made their move to rural life, what were these type areas that you were not prepared for or had to make adjustments to compensate for?  Blog about your experiences and leave a link to your post here in the comments section.

J

Harriette

Posted in Homestead or Bust

When we were finally preparing to move, I could have easily convinced anyone and everyone that we had found and were moving to Mayberry.  Our quaint neighboring small town (population 2,000) had all the makings complete with its typical southern main street, one restaurant, one drug store and one beauty shop surrounding the ever prestigious court house in the middle of its town square.  Even our sheriff had a framed photo of Barney Fife on the wall in his office.  How could it be anything less?

That’s what a good pair of rose colored glasses will do for you.

However, the long reality and truth of the matter is there is no Mayberry – not even in my beloved South!  I had forgotten all of the why’s and how’s of our move.  Not only did I want to believe that the Mayberry concept existed, I was at a point in my life where I needed to believe it existed.  While we were pursuing our homestead dream and following God’s lead for our lives, we were leaving our native home – a city that no longer felt like home.  We were moving away from our family that had mixed emotions about our move, our many friends, and leaving lots of good neighbors with this move.  Also during the months of building, we lost my mother ‘n law to her long and suffering battle with leukemia and the emotional roller coaster had taken its toll on all of us.  She would never see our new home, this land and the life we wanted to build and live.

I needed a Mayberry.

During the first year of our move to the Dirt Road, while we settled into our new home, we still had to commute back and forth to metro-Atlanta monthly until our old house finally sold.  Also during this first year, it became obvious all too quickly that we were and forever would be outsiders.  Through a myriad of events that unfolded and lessons of reality for this nostalgic optimist, it became clear that I had long forgotten why we wanted to move, how our move was made possible and that we moved for our family, our homesteading dream that only God made possible and we did not move for the town of 2,000 that I believed would be just like me.

I say all this to those who are still planning and preparing to move:

• Remain steadfast in prayer for God’s plan for your family and your move.
• Return to your initial goals time and again to keep them fresh in your mind.
• Remember that only second to His plan, your family is the focus of your move and the life you build.
• Have few, if any, expectations of the community or neighboring towns you will live near.
• Moving, getting settled and meeting new neighbors and potential friends takes time – often longer than we think.  My experiences as well as others, most likely, will not be another’s experience and vice versa.
• The World exists even in the smallest of towns.
• While packing to move, consider throwing away all your rose colored glasses - or at least forget where you put them!

 HomesteadBloggers ~ share your moving experiences.  Blog about your move - any trials but especially your successes.  Leave a link to your blog post here in the comments section.

Have a great week!

Harriette

Harriette Jacobs is wife to Alan and homeschooling “Mom” to their two sons, ages 14 and 12.  The Jacobs family moved in December 2003 to East Central Georgia – NOT Mayberry. They raise heritage breed chickens and live with their four dogs and a herd of farm cats!

Visit Harriette at:

South of the Gnat Line

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/southofthegnatline

Or at:

Jacobs Academy: A Dirt Road Education

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jacobsacademy

Posted in Homestead or Bust

Here are some additional online resources to check out for those searching for their slice of Homestead Heaven.  As always - be vigilant about doing your homework to ensure properties are being represented truthfully and above all legally.

Field Guide to Buy Agricultural/Farm Land

http://www.realtor.org/libweb.nsf/pages/fg814#topica

Buy A Farm.com

http://www.buyafarm.com/

Agriseek

http://www.agriseek.com/buy-sell/e/Property/Farm/

Dairy Realty.com (I'm still giggling over this one - who'd a thought?)

http://www.dairyrealty.com/

Also, believe it or not properties are even listed on Ebay!

If properties you find listed through these or other online sites are in your state or not too far for a day trip, call or email for directions and drive out to preview properties in person.  Don't assume that photos posted online are all there is to see.  Be creative in your research and you may be surprised how easily you find properties to consider.

HomesteadBloggers ~ share your moving experiences and how to's!  Post about your move to the simpler life and leave a link here in the comments section.

Have a great week!

Harriette

The Jacobs live in East Central Georgia on their family farm where they raise heirloom chickens, garden and continue to learn the homesteadin' life.

Visit Harriette at:

South of the Gnat Line

http://www.homesteadblogger.com/southofthegnatline

Jacobs Academy: A Dirt Road Education

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/jacobsacademy