We think that it is a well established fact that history tends to repeat itself. History doesn’t necessarily repeat itself in exact particulars but as a general trend there are things in economics and society that we can assume will resurface again sooner or later. For example, economic fluctuations will always be a part of life, social trends come and go every couple of generations, and kingdoms rise and fall; so let’s try to take advantage of knowing this in advance. Of course we can’t know exactly what the future holds for us, but we can make plans to capitalize on certain things that are easily within our control. Let’s think about three basic things we cannot do without: food, clothing, and shelter. There was a time in the not-too-distant past when a lot of those three things were generated by a family at home. Today, as average Americans, many of us have insufficient knowledge of how to provide for these basic needs; therefore, when we lack self-sufficiency, and there is an economic recession or a job loss, we tend to be at the mercy of what our community’s economy can give us for work. This tends to produce unnecessary fear and mental stress to an individual.
Here at BackwardsProgress, we think it is possible for almost anyone to build for themselves a level of protection against monetary and material need upheavals. We think it is wise for a household to put some thought into safeguarding their needs. This doesn’t have to be a stressful process that is filled with a doomsday mentality. It can actually be a lot of fun. (In the future, we will have a YouTube channel demonstrating this) And this can be done without hiring an investment banker.
Let’s think about this: as qualified as you may be, is there any business out there that OWES you a career? Is it really the obligation of corporation-X to provide you with a means of getting by? Most of us are fortunate enough to find work to pay the bills, but isn’t there this haunting feeling of “what if I lose my job”? Is it really best for us to be placing ourselves in a state of such dependence on outside sources for everything we need? What if we can provide for ourselves most of the above three necessities? Would that give a better sense of security and stability to our lives? An example which Jackie and I have personally experienced a couple years ago is when many thousands of beef cattle were wiped out in the Dakotas due to a snowstorm. Subsequently, for a year or two, the price of beef was radically higher because of limited supply. Our personal grocery bill experienced zero impact from that incident because we raise and process all of our own beef. That’s not to say that we don’t run our own risks of loss, but for the most part, because of our diversified investments of effort we come out on top. If we had to buy all of our groceries we would have had no choice but to pay a larger grocery bill. (I wouldn’t want to go a year without eating beef) Another example of success for us was a number of years ago the price of butter was much higher. For us this had no impact on our diet because we make all of our own butter. In addition to that, several years ago the price of LP gas was through the roof. Once again our investment and return was predictable due to the fact that we only burn wood. So even the recent increased tax on electricity did not effect our heating bills. Two gallons of gasoline for a chainsaw per year is very affordable.
The best part of all of this is not just that our efforts produce mostly predictable results, but that our work in our little barn and in our garden is not taxed. Think about this, when you go to your job, your labor is taxed before you get your hands on your paycheck. That really reduces what one can do to ensure a well stocked cupboard. If you put a bit of time into a backyard garden, that’s a better return on your labor because not only was that carrot that you grew not taxed but you also didn’t have to put miles on your car to go get it. The sunshine and fresh air doesn’t hurt either.
Come hell or high water, as long as the house is warm, the fridge is full, and you’ve got clothes on your back, isn’t that a pretty good start? Those are some of the larger expenses of a home that can be taken care of before other bills even arrive in the mail. We can fill in the rest of our needs with outside work.
The sun always shines and rain usually falls, at least here in the Midwest. These are reliable things that we can count on for planning our personal prosperity.
Join us next week for our thoughts on “Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket”.