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In It For The Long Haul, by Java-Powered
I first got serious about prepping in 2006, when I realized the U.S. Dollar was on its way down. I had a young son at home, and I wanted to make sure he would be safe if civil unrest occurred. I built a home on some acreage in the country in 2007 and started getting setup to be self-sufficient. I believed 2008 was going to be a bad year, and I wanted to be ready. I installed a wood stove in my home and purchased a hand pump for my well. When I moved my chickens out to the new home, I felt we were right on target to survive the coming turmoil. In this article I am going to share some of the things I have learned.
As the years have passed, I have continued to perfect my small piece of heaven into a full scale food-producing compound. I have leveraged tax advantage from my sale of all natural meat, poultry, and eggs. I have learned many things about sustainable food production. And meanwhile, my son grew up and joined the military. He is thousands of miles away, and here I am still maintaining the refuge I had envisioned would be for him. I have had some trying emotional times learning to deal with a situation where I am no longer needed by the child I was trying to protect. And then it occurred to me that there are many young people who are barely able to put food on their table, let alone make preparations for an uncertain future. So I continue to live the lifestyle of a prepper and believe I may be sharing my knowledge and my stuff with people who didn’t have the time and resources to be ready.
The Tax Man Cometh
I have been able to use many of the expenses for developing my little farm on my income taxes. Fences, buildings, irrigation installation, vehicle expenses, equipment, etc. Because my goal is to make a profit by selling the food I raise, the costs associated with its production are tax deductible. The deduction has been very useful in keeping more of my hard-earned cash so I can invest it in the development of a farm. Each time I need to make a big purchase, I strategize how it is associated with the farming production, so I can properly account for it in my income tax return.
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
When I first moved onto my acreage, there were no fences. My German Shepherds would wander off to the neighbors at times. The neighbors’ dogs would help themselves to my chickens. The coyotes and foxes had my place on the top of their list of great places to score a meal. And then one day, I heard a chicken in distress and ran with my dog to find the chicken in the tall weeds. My dog got there first. The scoundrel attacking the chicken was a small dog belonging to a neighbor.
Source: http://www.survivalblog.com/2013/12/in-it-for-the-long-haul-by-java-powered.html
