Four years and three months now, I’ve been living on my farm… Hard to believe. Time flies!
I bought this place in January of 2012 and what have I done since then? Well, that’s what I found myself pondering the other day. Mostly, what I haven’t yet done…
I absolutely fear and loathe debt. So growing and developing the farm has progressed slow (according to some). I only bought what I felt was necessary the first 2-3 years on the farm. A very old tractor, a riding mower, a chain saw, a weed wacker and miscellaneous other things – feed buckets, some fencing, fruit trees, 25 baby chicks to get a flock started, some ducks, a goat, a pig and some garden plants. That’s about it really.
I refuse to carry any debt, other than a mortgage, so I pay as I go – or just go without. Simple, yet very, very boring.
I would love some hay bailing equipment and a better tractor. And a larger barn. And most of all a big 100×200 outdoor riding arena! A nice lean-to out in the pasture would be very useful. And perimeter fencing…. I could go run right out and finance it all tomorrow. But I haven’t. I won’t. And that’s okay. Oh and did I mention I could really use a new kitchen floor, and some furniture for the living room? The list goes on.
I’ve seen too many friends buy farms and fall into this trap, believing they will pay it off over the long term, but end up overwhelmed and over their heads in debt. They stop referring to their farms as their retreats and places of happiness and instead start referring to them as “money pits.” Or something similar. And then sadly, they end up selling or losing their beloved homesteads. It happens with those fancy new houses in the developments too, where everyone is trying to keep up the “appearances.” In fact, it might even be worse there.
I’m happy to plod along as tight cheap frugally as I can for now. I do hope the big outdoor arena will happen someday soon. But the kitchen floor certainly needs to happen first. Priorities you know…
I’m still not sure what I’ll be adding or getting rid of, or doing this year on the farm. For sure I would like to sell a few horses… And I’m pretty sure I’ll add more fruit trees, and hopefully someday they’ll produce something to sell. But anything can happen. The goal for now is to just keep moving forward, little by little, and in a good way. But I am always open to suggestions and ideas! Feel free to send me your thoughts! ~A
