Nita's Note: I asked Byron about retirement plans and if he thinks Social Security is worth counting on having around in the future.

As you know by now, I am really a stickler for paying off all debt and living only on cash. I love the saying, "In God we trust, all others pay cash". It is a long hard road to being debt free, but it is definitely worth it. I do not think Social Security is going to fail like some do. I think the politicians are over a barrel on this one and will do everything possible to make it solvent again. By the way, Social Security pays on the last 3 or the highest 3 quarters of your reported earnings. So if you stop paying now, that is still there for you when you retire. I recommend taking Social Security no later than age 62 or the earliest you can get it.

By getting to the place where you are debt free, you have much more control over your own life, and you can live on so much less than you do now.

Since you are already on the farm and have your land, I would suggest doing everything possible to make the land work for you and produce all the income you can from it.

Also you might be able to find a part time job that could add extra income. I do not recommend this if you can make ends meet in any other way. Although Caroline and I do work 3 days a week at a job we both enjoy. Caroline, being an artist, also paints and sells her paintings at a local furniture company near here. So far she has sold everything she can paint. If you have a hobby or skill in a particular area, you may be able to turn it into a profitable business. The trick is to not let it rule your lives to the point you no longer enjoy life.

Making the initial move to the country is the most expensive. It took us about 3 years to be able to say we could start saving money in any quantity again.

 Some of the things we do are as follows:

(1) Since we live on the farm, we try to eat what we produce. We try our best to grow everything we can to keep from buying in the stores.

(2) Thrift stores are a great place to find some of the clothing you may have to replace over the years. We get shirts and blouses for from .25 to .50 cents. They look almost as good as new and we are the only ones that know they are not.

(3) We have at least one large garage sale per year to get rid of things we do not need. This also helps to pay for any clothing for the next year.

(4) We drive an old vehicle. New cars or trucks, although nice, do not get you from point A to point B any better than their older counterparts. We also pay cash for any vehicle we drive. We did this by first buying one on time, and just as soon as we paid it off, we took the payments we were making and put that in the savings account. When we got enough cash, and if we needed another vehicle, we then purchased one for cash. It is amazing how much you can save on the cost of a vehicle if you have cash in hand. Car dealers, or individuals, are ready to deal if they know you have cash. I prefer to buy from individuals if possible.

(5) Keeping records of all the cash you spend during the month helps you to be more conscious of where your hard earned money is going. If you look at it, money represents hours of your life spent in some endeavor. So in essence you are giving a portion of your precious life to buy things you think you might need so make sure you really do need them. I use a small notebook to mark down everything I spend.

(6) Every time you pay off a debt, no matter how small or how large, do not spend that extra money. Use it to pay off another debt. You could also use it to increase your savings, but if you pay off another debt with it, you are actually earning more interest on your money than if you save it. Savings can come after all debt is paid off.