hey jc

[mattduncan]

i'd like to hear more about how you are able to live without working a job what provides your income right did you save a bankrool and that is what you live from or do you ahve investments anything you could share i'd like to hear this is one of my favorite boards on this site lots of good info

[Admin]

Ahhhh so nice to hear someone has an interest in going against the grain of society ;D Have a karma

There is so much I have to say about life in general that I'll have to give it in dribbs and drabbs and type a whole bunch of bulldooky leading up to how I got here. Skipping to the facts of the matter won't make as much sense. There's a lot of life story that led me to the decisions I have made.

First off I have to say that you can't expect instant gratification and that's where the majority falls off. We live in a (I want it now society). We were all taught that the RIGHT thing to do is... Be a good student, graduate high school, go to college, get a good job, keep that job to show stability, work Mon thru Fri 52 weeks a year till your 65, retire with hopes that your life of employment will reward you with a bit of easy street and enable you to put your feet up. That is if you haven't beaten your body to death by standing on a factory floor all those years and you have a tidbit if agility left in ya. This may sound like the perfect plan but surrendering that much of my life, my good years to be told I have to be a slave to someone else 5 days of every week for every week of my life just didn't look so perfect to me and I could Identify this clouded path by my 13th birthday. I may ruffle feathers here but in my opinion the common man's highway to heaven is the road to ruin. It's bulls**t.

We all learn from others. If you want cooking advice, take advice from someone who makes good food. If you want carpentry advice, listen to a guy that lives in a custom home. Knowledge through observation.

When I was a kid, my dad worked boocoo hours so that he could provide us with modern necessities. We had what we needed but no extras ad he drove a s**tbox. The second he had time off he'd load us into the car and head for our camp for some R&R in a cabin that had nothing. No power, no phone, no water, no insulation... no nothing. And the road was so bad that half the time we had to pull all our stuff up on a wagon cause he couldn't afford a 4wd. It was great ;D Total adventure and peace in the wilderness . My dad could relax, mom was relaxed, I was in heaven cause I could run around like an idiot throwing sharpened sticks at small animals and fire my red rider till my bb's were no more. Life was good. On Sunday we'd head home to our miserable home with all the necessities and and my dad would return to work so that we could afford to have them.

Even as I young man I could see that this whole plan of action was a** backwards . My dad was surrendering 5 days to afford something he couldn't wait to leave and spend 2 days without . Wouldn't it be better to just cut to the chase and spend 5 days in the fun place and 2 days working? I was just a kid and I could see that it would be a whole lot cheaper to spend more time at the camp and less time in the city. I even asked my dad once why we didn't just live at the camp and he responded with: "it's just not done that way, my job is here"
I did one of these... .

I'll post more later.

[samdog]

Wow, JC . That's so weird. I just had literally the exact same conversation with my parents last weekend, about what i wanted to do with my life. Basically i told them if i found something that i loved doing that required me to go to college than id find a way through college. But that if it wasn't for me that i would do whatever it was that God led me to do. A lot of my train of thought on this stems from my battle with a mental disorder, but that's a whole other topic for another day. My way of thinking just isn't what authority would call normal. I'm glad that you found what ever path it was that you were destined to follow......whatever that was, that led you to live the lifestyle that you currently do. I guess for me, the unknown is an awesome adventure that i can't wait to face, and hopefully i can take away some knowledge from your future posts on this subject. Lynrd Skynrd said it soooooo right:

And be a simple kind of man.
Be something you love and understand.
Be a simple kind of man.
Wont you do this for me son,
If you can?
Forget your lust for the rich mans gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.
Samdog

[mattduncan]

i'm all ears jc i guess i 'm just not cut out for the so called normal life i bought a house worth a 1/4 of what most of my buddies paid for theirs i drive older vechiles that i fix myself, we burn wood and i salvage anything i can get my hands on to make usefull things at home i make my income from lots of places adc work ,welding and millwrighting and fur trapping and from april to october i go to work in town 2 blocks from my house for a seed and fertilizer company hualing seed and fert and fixing things this is the best job i've ever had for me as after october 1 i'm free and have a job again come spring not the highest paying job i've ever had but it sure beats burning wire in a weld shop for 44 hours a week it's funny to talk to people and they ask how do you get away with not working for 6 monthes with 3 kids and a house to pay for i have to laugh because i'm always working on somthing and they just don't get that i don't need a 400000 house and 2 40 000vechiles to live lol

[Admin]

Ok, Before I go any further here I want to make sure that everyone knows that I am not giving financial advice or telling people how they should run their lives. All I can do is describe the path I had taken and where it has lead me. My lifestyle works for well me because the most important thing in my life IS my life and it has to be lived on my own terms. When I am finished with this lengthy post, you can dissect it and use the parts that work for you. You have to decide for yourself where your boundaries are. For me there is none.

------------ --------------- -------------

Back to the younger years...

Aside from the occasional escapes to the camp, my childhood pretty much sucked. My mother had mental illness issues and that put the whole house in turmoil. My dad was a retired Air Force Major and was very authoritative. I was a out of control wild child that hated authority. It was chaos. All I could witness was my dad worked all the time and went without a lot of the things he dreamed about. The camp was our escape from reality.

The only peace I found in my childhood was in the woods so that is where I visualized my future. I dreamed of living in a cabin in the woods on my own piece of land. I dreamed of being a trapper, a logger, a homesteader, an artist and going to Alaska, the Yukon and places like that. I couldn't see myself living in the city. I wanted out.

My dad never gave me things when I was a child. Everything I owned I had earned. At the time I resented him for this but I learned that I could have anything that I wanted and found ways to afford them. Even as a young boy I worked. I dug worms, picked crawlers, trapped shiners and crawdads for 2 bait companies. I tied flys, mowed lawns, shoveled walks and numerous other jobs. I found a love for money and was already learning how to manage it.

I had already learned that I could get whatever I wanted without depending on my parents to provide me with it.

When I visualized myself owning or doing something I later found myself owning and doing it. The power of visualization. Vision is not the ability of seeing things as they are - It's seeing them as they can be.

When my 16th birthday rolled around I quit school and got an apartment with my buddy Roger. I lied about my age and we both worked on a loading dock at a shoe company. Our rent was 52.00 a week, my half 26.00 . We worked and we trapped and the fur market was hot back then. One good coon brought 45.00, a big rat = 10.00 . A handful of furs paid our rent and food for a month. I quit my job and trapped and made a pile of money. I had already found the means to a better life. After trapping I landed a 3rd shift job as a maintenance man. The pay was good and I could trap during the day. My fur money sat in the bank until I found a piece of land that I could afford and bought 1.86 acres of woods about 2 hours away. I was only 17 and could not get a loan so the owner financed it and I fulfilled my dream of owning land.

Over the next few years Roger and I took weekly excursions to the land and for a couple young kids, some green Hemlock boards and a McCullough chainsaw, we banged out a cabin that wasn't half bad. We scrounged up doors & windows and whatever we could get our hands on and by Jesus there stood my cabin in the woods. ;D My visualization carried me here.

My plan all along was to move to my cabin but my maintenance job was pretty sweet and I couldn't see parting with it. I had good benefits, good pay, paid vacation and wicked easy work. These are the things that keep people from pursuing their dreams. I probably would have stayed working there if they hadn't frowned on me collecting all the copper and aluminum shavings from the machine shop floor and turning them into cash at the scarp yard. They fired my ass and off to the cabin I went . My tie to society had been severed. THANK GOD.

More later.

[patricimo54]

Good stuff JC! Keep it coming.

[penokeemtn5]

We want more! ;D this is great stuff boss.

[samdog]

Wow, absolutely amazing JC ;D Can't wait to here more.

[Admin]

Before I moved to my cabin I had 5 different apartments behind me with monthly rents ranging from 225 to 550 per month. In the 5 years of living on my own in the city that I hated I spent 25,020.00 in rent alone. Twenty Five on a rented living space so that I could be near my job

Now free from the ties that bound me I focused on my dreams and started hashing out a life of necessity. The first job I landed was with a large campground that was expanding with 90 new camp sites. I cut timber and ran heavy equipment all day long and each night brought home a truckload of firewood. I was fulfilling the logging dream and learning to drive dump trucks and heavy equipment and they were actually paying me for it . I worked till just before trapping season and quit. My new rent free life allowed me to bank my money and that carried me through the season. After that I found another maintenance man job till the fall and quit, then another maintenance job at a college where I learned a million other task and got paid to learn them. Then fell into a carpentry job where I got paid excellent money to learn the best trade out there. Same deal there. Work like a beaver till the fall... then trap the beaver.

My mortgage on the land was 100.00 a month.
my propane usage was approx 100.00 per year.
no light or phone bill.
taxes 96.00 per year.
and then the usual food, beer, auto expenses and supplies.
Life was pretty simple. Work till hunting season and quit. I had gained enough experience that finding work wasn't a problem.

My quiet surroundings allowed me to focus on my art and I got a few stationery designs printed and on the market. Then some limited edition prints. I'd attend shows and find myself busy doing portraits of people's pets. Money was coming in from my drawings, from trapping, from carpentry and no place to spend it. I'd go to Alaska to fish and do crazy things like that and since I was an artist I could write the trip off on my taxes since I was photographing wildlife while I was there. This opened up a whole new world for me.

I quit my carpentry job and went self employed and seesawed between being an artist and a builder. Going self employed was a HUGE eye opener for me and I learned some valuable lessons on how to become insulated from the tax man.

Since I was subcontracting from another builder, I was basically sub contracted labor so I had very little business expenses.

When I did portraits my only investment was some time and a sheet of paper and my printed products had a high profit margin.

These two businesses were showing a profit and profit is TAXABLE INCOME. I got slammed with tax due but smartened up quick.

The following year I made sure that I bought myself all kinds of tools, art supplies, a new camera & lenses and my first brand new Toyota truck. I had a home office so now a portion of all my living expenses were tax deductions.

The government taxes a share of your earnings. This isn't part of your total earnings but your profit - your taxable income. So if I continued to drive my s**tbox and not spend on the tools that I wanted, I'd have to hand over this money in tax. By buying the stuff that I wanted it bit the hell out of the taxable income so there was nothing left to pay. The business showed a loss.

It all boiled down to either hand it over or buy myself stuff. What would you do? I bought stuff.

I sold The cabin after my 5th year there and drove to Alaska.

By now I had realized that I could achieve absolutely anything that I wanted to do. All I had to do was visualize it and stay clear of the things that dragged me down, rent, taxes and a full time job.

now we're getting into the good stuff.

[patricimo54]

GOOD sensible stuff, JC. I can wait for your next installment. Keep it coming.

[mattduncan]

great stuff jc i'm still all ears

[samdog]

Love it JC ;D Keep it coming

[payne]

Loving it JC!!! You can really tell a story, I just hate suspense but I kinda hate reading to until it comes this kinda stuff!

[penokeemtn5]

This is great stuff.First hand knowledge is always the best,to hear it from someone who has been living it for a long time is the best.

[patricimo54]

BB has enjoyed reading your saga as much as I have. She has made the statement, "Man this guy is so much like you down to a military dad!" Some of the major differences are life choices. I too started my journey at 16 but foolishly got married to definitely the wrong person. I had a heart and a desire to pursue similar avenues as yourself, but was dragging a very heavy weight, enough of that. You're right about the visualization perspective. I don't know how you define it, but how I define the difference between visualization and daydreaming is daydreaming is wishing in one hand and crapping in the other. Visualization is being focused on a goal and putting legs to it. What are the legs? Directing or devoting monies toward realizing whatever the target is. Solid wisdom. Again I would like to quote Teddy Roosevelt "With discipline all things are possible; without it even the simplest task becomes an impossible goal". Keep it rolling - we are loving reading your posts!

[Admin]

Before I run this any further I just want to clear the air here as some may be misunderstanding my scribblings and taking offense to what I am saying. I am not knocking anybody for the choices they have made or for working full time jobs. Some people thrive on the 40hr week, large families and school loans and that is fine. I would never criticize anyone for their choices and I'm not criticizing now. This thread started because I was asked "How do I get by without working?" and there is no one line answer for that. What got me here was a million little things compiled together. In a previous thread I commented on how little things add up and that is what this thread is all about. the importance of the little things. I will end my journey at the Alaska border and focus on the facts of the matter. Writing my life story is not my intention here but a small view behind the scenes is necessary to portray an accurate understanding of the dream chase and the power of visualization. I'm hoping that my following scenario will give you an understanding of what I meant about the pitfalls of the full time job. Here goes...

Lets start with me as a child. I was taken to the camp on weekends and in those woods I found peace of mind. Peace with my family and everything was grand in natures grandeur. I loved the woods and wanted to live in them when I grew up.

But lets say that after high school I got a job in a plant that manufactured Humpty Dumpty. The pay was good and so were the benefits but my boss was a dick. I worked there for 5 years until I couldn't stand my boss anymore and started looking for a new job. My experience so far was with machines that manufactured Humpty Dumpty.

I got hired at another Humpty plant because of my experience and now I was learning how to make Ken & Barbies as well. The pay and benefits were great but it was further from home. I worked there for 10 years cause it was sound, stable employment.

During these 15 years I try to escape to my camp as often as possible and fit some hunting in on the weekends but the fall is the busy season as we are slapping out Humpty dumpties for the holiday rush. But I do manage to get a few days of hunting in and check traps in the dark before and after work. The missus doesn't want to use her vacation time in November so we either take separate vacations, or we fight, or I take it in July. Either way I'm trying to scramble to indulge in at least a tiny piece of my dream.

After 15 years in the plastics field I hear about a factory deep in the city that has an unbeatable offering. I apply, I get the job because of my 15 years experience. They want a guy that can spit out Humpty Dumpties and Ken & Barbies like no tomorrow with a few Ninja Turtles on the side. I'm the man .

I move deep into the city so I can make the big bucks. I move to a more expensive house and now I can afford a more expensive car. I'm living large. The money and benefits are great but I don't like my hours. The fumes and noise are hard to deal with and after 15 years there I think about looking for different work but Humpty dumpties is all I know and I can't swallow the idea of starting at an entry level position in a new field. I'd love to have a hundred acres in the country but there's no Humpty dumpties out in the boonies. So I stay. Now I find myself at 55 years old and I am layed off cause all the Humpty dumpties are being manufactured overseas. My lungs and ears are shot cause of too many years in the trade and life pissed by without me.

This scenario is not unrealistic. It is very common. It probably would have been me if I hadn't been bucking the system in real life. A good job with good benefits is awful hard to walk away from and I'll gladly accept one if I can live my life and pursue my dreams in the process. But I will not trade my wants and wishes for the need of employment. Luckily - my wants and wishes are simple and don't cost a lot of money to enjoy.

I am not a religious man, but if there is indeed life after death, I don't want to reflect on my life with regrets that I missed the chance of doing all the things that were important to me because I was too busy working.

My dad had open heart surgery not long after battling chemo. He suffered a heck of a battle leading to his death. One evening when we were alone, he grabbed my arm and looked deep into my eyes and said. "You are doing all the things that I always wanted to do, YOU are living my dream. I lived the way I lived for so long that I was like a train on a track and couldn't break from it. Never stop doing what you're doing". That moment struck something deep inside of me that words can't describe. I have no words for it. From that day forward I pursued MY LIFE with a vengeance and retired 4 years later.

My whole intentions here is to shed light on the importance of pursuing your dreams. I don't think God gave us life and nature and all it's splendor with the intentions for us to not indulge in it.

My next installment will be focused on facts and figures and then I will close. I was asked on how I got here and am answering it. Nothing more. I'm not criticizing anyone.

[patricimo54]

Like I said JC, you ought to write a book. You've already got the title for it, "Living my Fathers Dreams"

[txtrapper]

I don't feel you're critizing anyone. Keep it up. Great post.

[determinator]

Hi all,

It's great to be back after a couple weeks! My confuser(computer) was out for a couple weeks, and I suffered from internet withdrawal.

Tonight, I was finally allowed access to the forum after numerous unsuccessful attempts. Internet Script Error was the supposed problem. Thankfully, I got through some-how finally by miracle.

JC pretty much lays down his life story. Thanks for telling your life experiences, JC, I love to hear every post from this forum.

I managed to save $11 on this months electricity/heating bill thanks to your advice, compared to last year.

Later,

Kerry

[keeper172]

Keep it coming JC!

[Admin]

Here's some more financial jibber jabber

Ok. So I was asked how I can live without working. Well the only real answer to that is to to be debt free. Of course money has to come in from somewhere and as long as you're making more than your spending and you have a safety net set aside for surprises, you are in the clear.

Living this kind of lifestyle takes some adjustment. Anytime I have quit working a panic attack sets in because I no longer have regularly scheduled paychecks. My first reaction is to start looking for work. I've seen it in myself and in others that have all of a sudden got laid off, fired, or retired. We were born and bred into the society of the 9 to 5. It's in our blood.

The largest contributor to our societies demise is the paying of interest. Interest can be your worst enemy or your best friend and that all depends which side of the table your on. I now LOVE interest and frown every time I hear the interest rates are dropping .

Credit was created to enable us to buy things we cannot afford and we do. Our we want it now attitude turbo charges the urge to take advantage of this credit line and most of us abuse it.
Credit is a confusing and controversial topic that takes some time to figure out how to understand and take full advantage of it. Credit cards are the leading factor that dominates your credit score. Be late on your mortgage, your doctor bill, your car payment and it doesn't damage you too much but default on a credit card bill and . Not only does your credit score take a beating, you get slammed with a 39.00 late charge.

Doesn't sound like much of a fine but right now as I type this Hannafords has whole chickens on sale for .69lb . Your late fee could have bought 56lbs of chicken. .69x56lbs = 38.64

Remember... I put all my savings and earning into food. For this post I will use chicken as an example.

The worst thing you can do for yourself is bury yourself in installment plans. Lose the I want it now attitude and only use it for things to NEED now.

For me, my childhood dreams were the most important thing for me and I learned i could make what I visualize - materialize by the simple fact of pursuing them. If your dreams put you in a woodland cabin with a hundred acres, don't buy a 1/4 acre lot in town. Chances are that 1/4 acre lot will cost half as much as your dream.

If your job is in the city and you long for the woods, find a job in the country Yes most But NOT ALL of the country jobs
pay less, but it's a proven fact that it cost less to live in the country and in most cases not only does it even out, you end up further ahead. If not only in finances but with peace of mind . Is this not important? How have so many people forgotten about LIFE and DREAMS?

If you're a country boy at heart - leave the city to the city folks.

I know SOOOOO many people that have the same thoughts, interest and desires as myself but they live in a cookie cutter house in a neighborhood with city water and city noise. They aren't even aloud to have a clothesline, a chicken coop or a wood fire. Not only are they restricted on their own property BUT IT COST A FORTUNE TO LIVE THERE .

If I can't drink a beer by an outside fire, shoot my gun off the front porch and cut my firewood off my own land than you'll find me in the bathtub with my wrist slit

Ok back to business, I got on a tangent there for a minute .

If I was asked to give advice on the 4 most dominating factors in finding success, They would be: Don't waste your money on rent - pay credit interest only long enough to build a respectable credit score - have a home business and invest in real estate

Remember my 5 years in my apartments from 16 to 21? Now back then my rents ranged from 225 to 550 a month and in 5 years I spent over 25 grand for a place to live and that's in rent alone. When I moved I got none of that back. It was gone forever and spent on living in a place I couldn't wait to get out of and so that I could be near my jobs that enabled me to afford to live there. An out of control downward spiral.

When I sold my cabin after 5 1/2 years of living a dream, I sold it for 5 times what I had invested (cabin included). So not only did it cost me nothing to live in a place I wanted to live, I made around 32,000.00 above my investment which was TAX FREE MONEY because it was my primary residence. The law allows you to sell your primary home every 2 years with NO CAPITOL GAINS TAX.
Now keep in mind that I was 17 years old when I took on that mortgage at 100.00 per month. I paid it off at 25 and sold it at 27. I had a ball with the land and the cabin and all that fun earned me 32 grand. Quite a contrast to the 5 years I spent 25 grand on living where I hated isn't it?

When my present home is complete I am putting it on the market for 299,000.00 and am targeting the wealthy that wants a unique Adirondack getaway. Those people are out there and I have no doubt that I could find a buyer.
Real estate is the only place where you can bank 300 grand in tax free money. Real estate is the only REAL sound investment.

The missus and I have several home businesses and this allows us to duck the capitol gains of our real estate sales. Having a home business enables you to take a portion of most of your home and life expenses and claim them on your taxes. Remember... it's not about how much money you make - it's how much you can keep. If you make 50 grand a year but most of it goes to the government, what the hell good is it?

I'd rather make 20 grand and keep 20 grand than make 40 and keep 20 and without deductions that's what you end up with. Home business enables you to do this.

Now don't go investing in a humpty dumpty machine for your avenue of self employment. Turn something you've always wanted into a business. For example:

When I was younger I would see the ads in The magazines for portable sawmills and would drool . I wanted one so bad but couldn't justify the expense. When I was carpenter I decided to buy one under the name of my business. Desclos Construction just had a 7600.00 expense. I milled some timbers for the homes I was building and sold some decorative timbers to the public. The sawmill was now a legitimate business expense.

I never made any (profit) with the mill and didn't intend to. That avenue of my business was a loss ;D This loss took a bite out of my profit from the other end which was perfect ;D Because once again your profit is taxable income and that is what you pay tax on. The less taxable income = less tax. I don't know about you but I would rather have a sawmill that I always dreamed about than a barn full of humpty dumpties. If I hadn't bought the sawmill I probably would have handed over the 7600 to the government. This isn't illegal or shady... it's business.

We presently own a supply business, and Art business, my trapline is claimed as a business, and my wife owns a salon and a natural soap and lotion business. We make such little money that we weren't even eligible for the economic stimulus refund. Perfect ;D ;D ;D

If you are scratching your head over that one ... remember everything is based on taxable income . This is the same reason why places like Walmart & Cabelas keep building stores. It's not cause they need the money, it's cause they need the expenses. Think about it.

I'll cover more later.

[snydboshawn]

Wow. Your line of thinking closely resembles that of a book I am currently reading called "the secret". It basically describes the power of positive thought (and unfortunately, negative thoughts as well) and how it resonates throughout the universe. Good stuff and I believe it. I'll send it your way JC when I am done if you would like.

[patricimo54]

GOOD common sense stuff JC. Keep it coming.

[Greg]

JC i LOVE your posts i plan to live like this as soon as possible! keep it coming ;D ;D

[yankee]

I am in a very different, but similar business and lifestyle situation. My question for you is, how do you go about finacing land without the proof of significant income in w2 forms or weekly/monthly pay stubs?

Is your corporation buying the land? Did you go owner finace on the larger tracks in NY you purchased?

If this is to personal, I apologize, but your life story is excellent and your personal finaces are supurb.

Thank you for sharring and if I am asking for to much or to personal information, please let me know.
Brandy/Yankee

[Admin]

Not a problem Ask all the questions you like as I'm happy to help anyone that cares to listen.

As far as my NY land is concerend, I searched for good deals where I didn't need financing. My first parcel was 28 acres with an abandodned home and barn. I snagged it for 18,000 and paid cash. the second parcel was 78 acres and I bought that with a home equity loan on my home in NH when I was living there but then paid it off when I sold my NH property. The third parcel of 11 acres I paid cash and then sold it 3 months later for 2 1/2 times what I paid for it, which gave me ample funds to buy another 23 acres mortgage free. I sold 2 small parcels off these 2 chunks of acreage which enabled me to buy another 53 acres mortgage free and then sold a 10 acre piece I didn't want for more than half of what I paid for the 53. I hold a mortgage for the buyer and he pays me an additional 7% interest which is sweet. I'm in the process now of buying 70 more acres and I'll be selling 40.

To my knowledge, no banks will loan money for vacant land unless there's a construction loan tied in with it. Vacant land would have to be purchased with a home quity loan or a land contract held by the seller. Up here in NY, land contracts are a big thing and work out nicely for both parties. My very first piece of property was purchased when I was 17 and that was owner financed. Land is a wonderful thing and smart purchases can make someone wealthy in a hurry. Bank CD's and all that are good but they'll never give you the return that propety will.

Most people don't buy acreage because they look at it TOTALLY as an expense. Like, "I couldn't justify spending 40 grand just to own a piece of hunting land" so they keep the money in the bank where it is safe and just dream about owning land. This is fine and safe management of funds especially for a guy with a family. But investing the money in real estate isn't necessarly SPENDING IT, it's just MOVING IT. Real estate (SMART BUYS) anyway, are money in the bank. Because I bought my own hunting land I qualify as a farm. Because of that I'm (farm tax exempt) and pay no sales tax, which saves me money. I get free doe permits under the landowner (over 50 acres) rule, I get a lifetime of firewood, vegetables, wild game, private hunting, timber, cedar fence post, rocks for my projects, etc etc etc and then I can sell parts of it or all of it at a very good profit when I choose to do so. There's no bank offereing that can give me the return or the enjoyment that a piece of land can.

Acreage is awesome ;D

[yankee]

You can do raw land loans, but 40% down, 10% interest usualy flat and 5 year baloon. Not bad, but interest just drives me crazy. I only buy autos at 0% and whatnot.

Thanks for the info. One more thing, for you to claim farm land, do you have to reside on the property and buy all products in state?

[Admin]

Yankee, I'm not sure exactly what the stipulations are regarding (farm tax exempt) and it's most likely different from state to state. My (farm) is on a different parcel than my home. I own 6 different parcels actually but I claim them ALL under the farm because I say that I sell cord wood and fence post and stuff. The tax exempt thing would be for the state you live in. Owning acreage has many benefits and it doesn't take long for it to pay for itself. Up here large parcels sell between 400 to 1000 and acre, and some even as low as 200 an acre. Small parcels sell for 5 to 15 thousand an acre. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that a guy can buy a large tract of land for 400 and acre, then sell a few small lots at 10,000 and acre and have it all paid off in no time. Buying a tractor or saw mill or some other cool s**t (under the name of the farm) will enable you to duck the capitol gains tax on your land sale profit and you'll have tax free earnings to laugh about. ;D If I didn't own all this land, I would have to buy my firewood, buy all my lumber, buy my fence post, look for a place to hunt, pay sales tax, etc. It just doesn't make any sence for me to not own land.

[yankee]

All great info!
Thanks for sharring ;D
and I will try out some of this karma stuff as well for your open flow of experience and knowledge

[stomper]

Wow @200 an acre. Here in Iowa you would be paying $4000 to $5000 an acre for timber ground and have heard of farms selling for $7500 an acre. Here in northeast Iowa these prices are becoming the normal rate.