Made my bed, and now I must sleep in it. - Page 4 - Toyota Yaris Forums

TLyttle · 11-12-2009, 12:03 AM

I lived off the grid for 4 years, used a 12v lead-acid deep-cycle for power, ran into town for propane once every week or two, in my 40+mpg car, played Strauss and Beethoven on my cassette player, and only worked when I was really needed. I spent some time designing and building a wind-powered generator; worked well, and was cheap. That was 25+ years ago, out in the woods.

I'm a bit lazier now, but I do plan to return to that style of living. Now that nearly everything is available on 12v (thanks to the RV industry), it is easier yet. First to go, of course, will be the computer, and its attendant waste of time (who called me a hypocrite!!?). Life is far easier when one's expenses are so limited. It is no joke: just dump the toys, and think for yourself!

Can one do that in the middle of the city? Sure, if one starts with a cheap enough house or lot. The bureaucracy will yell a lot, all one has to do is stay inside the boundaries.

Bob Dog · 11-12-2009, 03:01 AM

I'v been out in the countryhere for about a quarter of a century. It was pleasant and rewarding until a bunch of bullet headed swine decided to turn a piece of property about 700 feet behind my home into a shooting range. They feel they are entitled to make as much noise with their guns and shotguns as they care to for the greater portion of the day light and don't give a flying f--- about who it bothers. Let me qualify this with the fact I'm not a gun hater, but these self indulgent jokers pop of more rounds in an hour than all the deer hunters, turkey hunters, and small game hunters do in a year, and really think that for their little $100 yearly membership they are entitled to turn my yard, and the yards of my neighbors into a war zone. The simple life isn't always simple.

TLyttle · 11-12-2009, 11:51 AM

Ooh, bad news... How does on fight that? My move would be to go to their next general meeting, and demand that they buy your property. They ruined it, they can pay for it. If they refuse, then go to Stage Two, and sue the club; tell them that the legal option is your next option, they will hate that.

I fly model airplanes, and we were always faced with the above scenario: people complaining about the noise, and threatening to sue. We cleaned up our noise issues, and everyone got along. Maybe you can have the same success, but I find gun clubs are far more aggressive than model builders!

Bob Dog · 11-12-2009, 12:57 PM

The farms is not for sale. My suspicion is land grab devaluation thuggery. But we are diverging from this good thread & I suppose we should get back on track.

YarisOwnersDad · 11-12-2009, 02:21 PM

I guess what I would most want to pass along as my advice to the younger folks around here is what I have pretty much already said further up the thread: don't decide what you are going to go in debt for simply by your ability to make the monthly payment. That was my great downfall. Look further down the road than that. Figure out where you are going to be in a few years, and then decide if you really want to commit yourself to that purchase.

As others have said, a house might be worth going in debt for, because under normal conditions, it will increase in value as time goes by, but a car is going to do just the opposite. I could have paid off my house many time over with the money I have lost on the depreciation of the many new vehicles I have bought over the years.

Tom

Shroomster · 11-12-2009, 02:46 PM

we're paying down our debts currently around the $1500 mark and once we do we're probably going to start putting aside for 401k as right now debt pay down and staying above water on the house is more important.

21 when we bought our house and now we're both 25, things are dim at the other end but that means there is still light.

Bob Dog · 11-12-2009, 03:54 PM

The trick can be to buy a house that is what you can afford more than what you really want. I mean a really cheap fixer up first starter house paying hard against the principle. Its amazing the difference in payoff period when the money you are paying in goes mostly toward the principle, rather than the interest. Like TL said get one that you can work on. You do not have to pay others to do the work, and you save 1) the intial cost of hiring some one to do the work 2) the tax on your pay check for the total amount 3) the cumulative interest on the entire amount, which can double or triple the net amount.
Anyone who can work on a car can easily master plumbing and electrical work. I hired tradesmen at firstand watched and asked question. I also took some home building courses at the local community college. Plumbing today is a lot like building models, in that its fitting pieces of plastis together and gluing them.
If you buy cheap you will be paying a much greater percentage of your total payment against principle: you can later sell, or do as I did and rent the unit, and use the rental income to pay against principle on another unit. Depending on where you live a mobile home in need of minor repair can bee had for a song, just be sure to check your local zoning laws as they can be strict on this form of housing. I paid one of in 5 years, paying only a few hundred a mounth.

11-12-2009, 03:01 AM	#56
Bob Dog DARK PHASE OF THE MOON Drives: 07 liftback Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: the Boondocks, NC Posts: 993	I'v been out in the countryhere for about a quarter of a century. It was pleasant and rewarding until a bunch of bullet headed swine decided to turn a piece of property about 700 feet behind my home into a shooting range. They feel they are entitled to make as much noise with their guns and shotguns as they care to for the greater portion of the day light and don't give a flying f--- about who it bothers. Let me qualify this with the fact I'm not a gun hater, but these self indulgent jokers pop of more rounds in an hour than all the deer hunters, turkey hunters, and small game hunters do in a year, and really think that for their little $100 yearly membership they are entitled to turn my yard, and the yards of my neighbors into a war zone. The simple life isn't always simple. Last edited by Bob Dog; 11-12-2009 at 03:22 AM.

11-12-2009, 12:03 AM	#55
TLyttle Drives: 07 Yaris sedan Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Keremeos BC Posts: 986	I lived off the grid for 4 years, used a 12v lead-acid deep-cycle for power, ran into town for propane once every week or two, in my 40+mpg car, played Strauss and Beethoven on my cassette player, and only worked when I was really needed. I spent some time designing and building a wind-powered generator; worked well, and was cheap. That was 25+ years ago, out in the woods. I'm a bit lazier now, but I do plan to return to that style of living. Now that nearly everything is available on 12v (thanks to the RV industry), it is easier yet. First to go, of course, will be the computer, and its attendant waste of time (who called me a hypocrite!!?). Life is far easier when one's expenses are so limited. It is no joke: just dump the toys, and think for yourself! Can one do that in the middle of the city? Sure, if one starts with a cheap enough house or lot. The bureaucracy will yell a lot, all one has to do is stay inside the boundaries.

11-12-2009, 11:51 AM	#57
TLyttle Drives: 07 Yaris sedan Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Keremeos BC Posts: 986	Ooh, bad news... How does on fight that? My move would be to go to their next general meeting, and demand that they buy your property. They ruined it, they can pay for it. If they refuse, then go to Stage Two, and sue the club; tell them that the legal option is your next option, they will hate that. I fly model airplanes, and we were always faced with the above scenario: people complaining about the noise, and threatening to sue. We cleaned up our noise issues, and everyone got along. Maybe you can have the same success, but I find gun clubs are far more aggressive than model builders!

11-12-2009, 12:57 PM	#58
Bob Dog DARK PHASE OF THE MOON Drives: 07 liftback Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: the Boondocks, NC Posts: 993	The farms is not for sale. My suspicion is land grab devaluation thuggery. But we are diverging from this good thread & I suppose we should get back on track.

11-12-2009, 02:21 PM	#59
YarisOwnersDad Is now a Corolla S Owner View User's Garage Drives: 2010 Corolla S Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Western Kentucky Posts: 460	I guess what I would most want to pass along as my advice to the younger folks around here is what I have pretty much already said further up the thread: don't decide what you are going to go in debt for simply by your ability to make the monthly payment. That was my great downfall. Look further down the road than that. Figure out where you are going to be in a few years, and then decide if you really want to commit yourself to that purchase. As others have said, a house might be worth going in debt for, because under normal conditions, it will increase in value as time goes by, but a car is going to do just the opposite. I could have paid off my house many time over with the money I have lost on the depreciation of the many new vehicles I have bought over the years. Tom

11-12-2009, 02:46 PM	#60
Shroomster '07 to '12:2 wipers to 1? View User's Garage Drives: '12 5-door LE & '14 5-door LE Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Orlando Posts: 1,999	we're paying down our debts currently around the $1500 mark and once we do we're probably going to start putting aside for 401k as right now debt pay down and staying above water on the house is more important. 21 when we bought our house and now we're both 25, things are dim at the other end but that means there is still light.

11-12-2009, 03:54 PM	#61
Bob Dog DARK PHASE OF THE MOON Drives: 07 liftback Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: the Boondocks, NC Posts: 993	The trick can be to buy a house that is what you can afford more than what you really want. I mean a really cheap fixer up first starter house paying hard against the principle. Its amazing the difference in payoff period when the money you are paying in goes mostly toward the principle, rather than the interest. Like TL said get one that you can work on. You do not have to pay others to do the work, and you save 1) the intial cost of hiring some one to do the work 2) the tax on your pay check for the total amount 3) the cumulative interest on the entire amount, which can double or triple the net amount. Anyone who can work on a car can easily master plumbing and electrical work. I hired tradesmen at firstand watched and asked question. I also took some home building courses at the local community college. Plumbing today is a lot like building models, in that its fitting pieces of plastis together and gluing them. If you buy cheap you will be paying a much greater percentage of your total payment against principle: you can later sell, or do as I did and rent the unit, and use the rental income to pay against principle on another unit. Depending on where you live a mobile home in need of minor repair can bee had for a song, just be sure to check your local zoning laws as they can be strict on this form of housing. I paid one of in 5 years, paying only a few hundred a mounth.