level of debt

LEVEL OF DEBT

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www.bisonpress.com/dailylink031011.html

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Creekmore really was foolish to send me his book, giving me multiply article ideas. I mean, I’m not proud, I’ll misappropriate articles from any source. But it is sort of silly to encourage my drivel. I’m not trash talking his book. As you just read, I liked and recommend it. So this isn’t a criticism of his ideas as much as a continuation of the discussion. He didn’t have the room, and I have nothing but. Stated was the idea that you shouldn’t be in debt for land. I stress this continuously myself. A fool and his money are soon parted, and a fool that trusts the money masters will soon be parted with his money and his land and his AR-15. Unless an unlikely, although not impossible, event such as asteroid impact, Yellowstone volcano or a major New Madrid quake happen, the bankers will have the time to repo your home after they’ve forced your employer into bankruptcy. And not the good kind of bankruptcy where you get to walk away from your debts ( this is where the bank forgives you some of your loan, the money for which they created out of thin air, and continues to collect a slightly reduced amount of interest which you have to create out of actual work ) and still stay in business after you lay off half your workers ( layoffs are rewarded with bonuses to the CEO, but the fact that there were “surplus” workers never registers negatively with the old one ) but the bad kind of bankruptcy where everyone gets laid off and then I have one less place to buy crap besides Wal-Mart. Personally, I think that ANYONE, and I mean anyone from Obammy to the drone behind the fast food counter ( seriously, you think you can’t be replaced by a touch screen and an automated cash port? ) should be counting on unemployment as a very real possibility. And not the old kind of unemployment where you get to take out a third mortgage and become a consultant on granite countertop sales but the bad kind of unemployment where you huddle behind bulletproof shutters as drive-by’s continue unabated in downtown Podunk Montana and count down to 99 weeks where you won’t get any money at all and your body organs are counted as saleable assets so you don’t qualify for Food Stamps.

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Having a paid for piece of land close by ( or better yet, under your feet ) is the nicest feeling in the world. It is the ultimate in security during quasi-normal times ( only surpassed by a warm barrel of a SMLE while you sit atop buckets of wheat and snipe at your ex-wife during the collapse ). You can’t take your buckets of wheat with you to the highway underpass. I know, I know. You can’t eat the dirt on your junk land, either. Junk land or any other kind of paid for land is part of preparedness. It is like the age old conundrum of whether you should get a gun or food first. You need to eat, but you need to protect your food. The only real answer there is that you buy both. But don’t let me wander. You don’t actually need land first. Food and firearms first. But don’t dally either with a banker-proof domicile. Since an economic collapse usually precedes a societal collapse, you must deal with the scum sucking whore mongering bankers that get bailed out by the taxpayers and then evict them. You aren’t done once you get preps. You must have a secure place to live. For those planning on a National Forest, good luck finding a spot amongst the other millions of former city Yuppies looking for a squat. So, yes, paid for land is critical. However, we can’t all get that land immediately. While I don’t advocate taking on a fifteen to thirty year mortgage, you might need to consider a two to five year payment plan on land as a “better-than-nothing” strategy.

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Yes, it would be best if you pulled two grand out of your butt and bought land. But as a practical idea this can be a hard sell to the spouse. I can’t tell you that all debt is bad. 99% of debt is bad. But a small amount of debt for junk land ( close by- the days of a piece of junk land two thousand miles away might be over soon if the price of oil stays up ) while not a great idea isn’t THAT bad of an idea. If you only owe one to three grand on your land conceivably, even as things get worse, you can still pay it off. It isn’t the ideal solution. Neither is bolt action surplus rifles or buckets of wheat ( I’d take bolts over an AR and wheat over MRE’s but obviously they have there limitations ). It just gets the job done if that is all you can afford. I don’t fault Creekmore for dismissing debt out of hand for a dirt cheap survival retreat. You can’t survive in your new area with minimal employment if you have that payment hanging over your head. But if you can’t escape from your urban hell without assuming three grand of debt, far better to try to make debt work for you. I’m not saying get into debt and move to an area that has 30% unemployment. I’m just saying you might have to consider another area. Not your number one choice but the best choice you can afford to make. Obviously not moving is best, then you keep your job you have now. But you know you can’t stay in an area with unaffordable land. Like our Canadian reader who wants to live in a reasonable climate. Sorry, the border and coastal real estate is too high. The only choice is a colder spot. Hey, look at the bright side. You’ll have plenty of trees to burn to stay warm ( I know I’m talking out of my butt, having no knowledge of Canada- my point is you can’t always get what you want- but you might get what you need ).

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Debt sucks. Staying in a future hell hole sucks more. With debt as with anything- moderation. A manageable level of debt carries some risk, but not as much as roving urban zombie bikers.

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My e-mail is jimd303@netzero.com
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