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Financial Survival In Today's
Modern World Part 1 in a 8 part series
Analysis of
Today's Financial Outlook Where is the money? These days it's safe to say it's scarce. No matter where you look money is hard to find. Money is as hard to find as jobs. What we do find is is a society plagued by greed. Prices are going up, salaries are being cut, there are no more raises in pay, and jobs are non-existent. The 'global market' atmosphere has changed every industry on earth and the world of commerce is no longer the same one that most of us are familiar with. The cost of goods is constantly increasing, dramatically. Each change of season brings with it new concerns about the state of the economy. Not only the cost of 'luxury' items but the cost of what most families deem necessities are quickly becoming out of reach. Power, food and fuels are becoming harder to afford. Most of us who read this website are wannabes. We want to be more self sufficient, more self reliant, and more independent. We are living in a time when many laws, governing bodies and restrictions are being imposed upon us by society and limiting the choices we can make to 'become' more independent and less dependent on the commercial establishments. If we do not maintain a certain level of living, the child protective services or the welfare department can take our children away. If we grow a garden, have small livestock or live in a manner that is in contradiction to the 'covenant' of the neighborhood we live in they can force the sale of our property without our permission. How do you become more independent and deal with the changes affecting your decision to live a more independent and self reliant lifestyle when faced with such obstacles? In our household, we not only 'farm' but we work 'real world' jobs. We are forced to do this to survive. With 2 of us working and paying bills we are 'surviving'. We have nothing to speak of in savings and very little in the way of a cash reserve like most American families. What we do have is land and credit. Are we prepared for a crisis? Financially? No. Are most Americans? I don't think so. So how do we go about preparing ourselves for the loss of a job, or a major increase in our cost of living and still stay within the confines of the laws that govern how we live? We prepared for this situation years ago and it is thanks to good planning that we do not find this economic recession as devastating as some families will. We own 20 acres, grow most of our food and we are prepared to live without electricity should it come down to the choice between the mortgage payment and lights. We have planted and cultivated a garden that will feed us most of the year, and this year we've planted enough grain to feed the animals till time to butcher. We have wood for heat and hot water and should be able to weather most any storm that life throws at us. There will always be the worries of the mortgage payment and taxes but somehow we'll deal with that as the time comes. We don't and won't have any extra dollars, but we will be fine. I will admit most families are not this fortunate. So what can you do to survive this crisis? My first reaction to that question is get out of debt. Formulate a plan to pay of any existing creditors and do so quickly. Credit debt is the largest debt that most families carry This includes that mortgage and credit accounts that most of us owe. Regardless of how much you owe, you CAN do this. There are ways to reduce and restructure where your money goes. We'll get to that part later in this series of articles. Assume for a moment, the loss of your job. Ok. Do you expect someone to come in and hand you a non-existent job? Do you assume too that you will easily find employment somewhere? How long till you lose your home? Your car? Your hope of obtaining a job? and your children? If you can't pay your light bill you are neglecting your children and this gives the state the right to come in and 'protect' them from your 'neglect'. Ok I didn't make the rules I just know what they are...... You should know too what you're up against. There are not enough 'helpful' organizations to pay everyone's light bill and most won't even help you if you own your home. The time to act on this is now. BEFORE something even more negative or drastic happens to our economy and before it affects you to the point of not being able to survive. Understand that there are no easy answers to getting out of debt. It is not going to be comfortable and it's not going to be easy. You will have to give up some of those things you think you can't live without. Your children will hate you and most likely cutting back will cause a lot of stress and strife in your household. On the other hand. There are many good things to come to those who think ahead and act in preparation. You will accomplish a lot
just by getting out of debt. You will To accomplish our goals of getting financially free not only must you get out of debt but you must have a plan to STAY out of debt To learn some basics on getting and staying out of debt, along with some realistic things you can set in motion to achieve as much of a truly independent lifestyle as you can and to see how our family is doing just this click here.
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