People want the “Off Grid Life”, and many will get there, but some just don’t want to do what’s necessary to build their off grid dream. It’s not that people are lazy or don’t want to work. Because off gridders are typically hard working folk. No…what I think it is is the fact that they’re actually afraid of the risk and of change. They want the change, but they’re afraid to take that first step to land ownership and building their own cabin, or buying that place so far out there in the middle of nowhere that they’re away from family and friends.
Most likely they have financial responsibilities in the city that keeps them there. Like their J.O.B. or maybe they simply don’t have the money saved to make the move off grid yet, are working hard toward that goal, but they’re still apprehensive to make such a big change.
Moving off grid takes courage and knowledge. I think knowledge is the most important part. Then comes the willingness to do the work it’s going to take to build your off grid homestead. It’s no easy task, and it’s going to require tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket and thousands of hours of hard work over many years to build.
Could you simply just drop everything and buy an prebuild off grid homestead? Sure, if you have money. But most people are working class folks with very little in savings, if any savings at all, and they’re too busy working to pay bills to even consider moving off grid.
They want to make the move, but they are financially unable to move off grid. Land costs money, tools and equipment to build and maintain your off grid cabin/home. Permitting, taxes, moving expenses, finding new schools for your kids, or figuring out homeschooling/online school.
Someone told me once that you can expect to pay 10% of a properties value annual to maintain it. I think that number is high, and I believe there are ways to lower that number…but from what I’ve seen and the research I’ve done, that number is fairly accurate.
This means if you have a $100k property, it’s going to cost you on average $10k per year for mortgage and maintenance. Not to mention the down payment if you’re just moving onto the property. Plus your time while searching for the perfect off grid land. Time is your most valuable asset, and it’s irreplaceable. It’s the most finite and valuable thing you have. Once it’s gone it’s gone. It’s not like money where you can trade hours for dollars. It’s not like money where you can make more of it.
Time is the single biggest factor in moving off grid. Not just money, time will dictate whether you ever achieve your off grid dream.
You can try to wait for the “Right time.” but the right time usually never comes. You have to make it happen. You can’t wait for the right time or when you’re ready because you’ll never be fully ready to move off grid. There will ALWAYS be something you will need to prepare for and you can’t prepare for every single thing. If you spend all your time preparing you’ll never get anything done.
I’m not saying you should drop everything and move off grid now. That would be silly and likely unwise if you have not done your due diligence. What I am saying however if when you have the basics, and you’ve looked at enough properties, and you’ve got a large chunk of cash in your savings for a new property, or you can sell your current property to finance your off grid dream, that’s when you should make the move.
Land is going up in price. In the 15 years since I’ve been writing about off grid living I’ve watched land prices go from $1000/acre to nearly $10k/acre on average. You can still find those $1000/acre properties now, but they’re fewer and farther away now.
Land prices will continue to rise as time goes by. Interest rates will continue to chip away at the value of your savings at the average rate of 3.22% annually. This means if you do the math, in 20 years your savings will only be worth 50% of the dollar value it is today.
Your savings are worth less tomorrow than they are today. Every year the value of your savings drops by an AVERAGE of 3.22%.
(NOTE: That 3.22% is the 100 year annual average; it’s likely a little bit higher right now)
The point to all these numbers is to demonstrate and inform you that the longer you wait, the more expensive land is going to be and the less your savings are going to be worth.
Those two things are working against your plans to move off grid.
This isn’t to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams, but just to make folks aware that the longer you wait the more expensive it’s going to be. The longer you wait, the more it’s going to cost you to buy your land and build your dream.
Financing is a BIG problem for most people. I know probably at least 50% of you would move off grid right now if you had the money. The other half would have to figure out how to juggle their kids’ school situation and make plans with friends and family to stay connected and plan visits etc.
Jobs are probably one of if not the biggest hurdle besides the money you make from your job. You need to work to pay bills, and even though you’ll be living off grid, you’re still going to have bills to pay.
Mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, permitting, maintenance, car payments, phone payments, internet, etc.
You’ll always have expenses to maintain your off grid property, so you’ll have to have a plan to make an income. Where will you work? Could you make a living from your off grid property? Sure! Absolutely. And now it’s even easier now that we have satellite internet and there are more jobs you can work remotely from anywhere in the world.
Some folks will have to quit their current jobs and find something local where their off grid property is. This could be a good or bad decision. It’s a big risk to quit your main job unless you have something bigger and better for the future.
If you’re ready to retire and have a good retirement saved up and a pension or fixed income from disability, SSI, SS, or other income, you’ll probably be ok. You can live off grid with a fixed income if you pay cash for your land and home or build your own small cabin. But if you’re on disability you likely can’t build and will likely have to buy something prebuilt.
There’s a lot to consider. If you’re a truck driver you can pretty much work from anywhere. Your job will likely work with you to transfer you if you work for a large enough company. If you’re an owner-operator that makes it a bit easier…maybe, depending on your situation.
Construction workers, mechanics, electricians, food industry workers, laborers and such can find work just about anywhere, but if you’re in the middle of nowhere it’s going to be harder to find work and the commute to and from your job (if you can find one) might be prohibitive.
This is why most people live and work in the suburbs and the city. There’s simply more work in the city and suburban neighborhoods. People need an income to support their families.
When you move off the grid all that changes. Besides time, income is probably the single biggest factor in whether folks make the move off grid or not.
While you’re saving your money is losing value, you’re having to pay bills and keep your current property or apartment and there’s very little if anything left over to save.
So how do you make the move off grid?
This is what I mean when I say people don’t want to do what’s necessary to move off grid.
Change. Change the way you live. You can’t expect to live the same lifestyle off grid as you do on grid living in the city or suburbs. That’s not how off grid works. There will be sacrifices and major changes will have to be made to achieve your dreams.
I heard a quote that has stuck with me ever since. Not sure where it came from, but it’s true nonetheless.
“To have what you’ve never had you have to do what you’ve never done”
To me this means change. If means if I want to achieve my dreams I can’t do the same things I’ve always done and expect to reach my goals. That’s not how it works. If you’ve never had the things you want you have to do things you’ve never done before. Doing things differently is hard. Making big changes is hard. Moving off the grid is not easy.
Living off the grid is hard work. It takes a lot of time and money to make the move off grid and you have to be willing to make sacrifices and change your lifestyle to meet your family’s needs.
You could try selling everything you own, buy a parcel of land 3-10 acres and live in a travel trailer while you build your off grid cabin.
Downsize first. Sell everything that’s not tied down. Sell everything you don’t immediately need. All those things sitting in the attic and garage that you haven’t touched in years…you’ll likely never use them. Let go of those things and build your new life.
People don’t want to let go of their current lifestyle because it’s scary. They become comfortable and they become familiar with their current lifestyle and that makes it harder to change.
If you had to move off grid tomorrow could you do it? Sure if the SHTF, you’d have to. But if that weren’t the case and you had to make that move to provide for your family, could you do it? What if you had a little more time? How about next week? Next month? Next year?
Yeah…I think you see where I’m going with this.
The further out you push back that goal deadline the less real it is. The more time you think you have to get ready. The more time you think you have to prepare and think about it. You end up telling yourself that you’re just getting ready and you’ll be ready soon. But soon never comes and you’re never ready. You’re only a little more ready every day you plan, but in the long run, you’re never going to be fully ready to make the move.
So why not do it now? Why not set a date? Next month, 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?
Set a goal to move off grid in 1 year. Make this a hard deadline. Give yourself a consequence to motivate you to not change that date. That date must be set in stone (as realistically as you can without putting your family in a bad situation). A year gives you time to get ready, or at least be ready enough.
Some folks will be able to do it faster. Some folks will take a little longer. But if you change your lifestyle NOW, you can save enough in a year to make the move off grid.
Change NOW, before you make the move off grid. Don’t wait until you move off grid to change.
Cut back on all your expenses. Cancel any and all unnecessary bills. Sell anything and everything you have of value that you’re willing to part with. It’s only STUFF. Material things can be replaced. Keep the sentimental stuff but don’t go overboard with it. Minimize. Minimize. Then minimize some more.
Save 3 times what you think it’s going to cost. Start a side hustle. Start a business. Sell stuff at flea markets and tradeshow. Sell stuff on eBay and Etsy and OfferUp and Facebook Marketplace. Buy stuff wholesale and resell it on all the platforms online.
Setting a hard deadline of 1 year means you have to make that move. It forces you to think differently. It forces you to change the way you think and that will allow you to see things and think of new ideas that will help you reach your goals.
It’s going to be scary, but 1 year is probably a realistic timeframe. We’re not talking about retirement here. We’re talking about moving from one place to another. Minimizing your bills and cutting your expenses down to the bare bones necessities.
Put every single penny you have into your savings, if you’re brave you can try investing in an Index Fund that produces an average return of 8% to 10%. Index funds are a relatively low risk investment vehicles that diversifies your investment over many individual stocks and if it’s run by a reputable investment firm and the fund is old enough and has a good history, it’s a fairly reliable way to not only offset interest devaluation of you money just sitting in a savings account, it can produce a decent recent on your investment. I will say though, don’t do it if you’re not comfortable and only invest what you can afford to lose. Not that you will lose it, but the possibility exists that you could.
The fastest return on your investment is to buy and sell stuff. You can try flipping stuff off Facebook Marketplace. If you can negotiate a good deal with the seller of the item you may be able to flip it for a nice profit. Doing this a few times a month can add hundreds or thousands of dollars to your income/savings each month.
There are all kinds of side hustles you can do to generate income. The point is you need CASH to move off grid. Lots of it. 3X what you think.
The most important part is your time. Setting the 1 year goal allows you to plan and move ahead rather than remaining still and becoming stagnant. A 1 year goal forces you to view things from a different perspective. It forces you to make decisions that get you closer to your off grid goals.
You can do it. It’s possible. You don’t have to wait 10 years or 20 years to do it. I’m not saying you should be irresponsible or make foolish decisions. You should absolutely plan and do your due diligence in everything. Be responsible, but don’t procrastinate. Don’t wait.
You either do it or you don’t. That’s my philosophy on life, love and everything else. I’m not perfect, but I know the value of goals and I know what makes me work toward those goals.
When you have a hard deadline you know you have to get it done. That’s when change starts to happen. That’s when you can make the changes you need to make to achieve your off grid dreams.
That’s when you make your off grid dreams a reality!
