The unemployment rate for Clark County, NV is 13.9% as of September 2009.

Justin is now among the long list of construction workers out-of-work.

His layoff didn’t come as a total surprise. He’s been at City Center, which is due to open the last sections of its massively ridiculous project soon. We knew he’d be unemployed by mid-December. It coinciding with my birthday was amusing in an Alanis Morissette “it figgers” sorta way. (P.S. Thanks for all the birthday love. I’m still glowing from the warmth!)

He doesn’t know what to expect but thinks he may have a job lined up starting after the New Year. That gives him nearly three weeks if nothing else crops up.

He’s probably a bit too excited to be laid off right now. I think this feels to him as if it’s one step closer to leaving Las Vegas, even if we’re not quite thereyet. You should see him bubbling with new ideas. It’s a bit like watching a child deschool. His personal horizons are broadening and he’s churning with excitement.

He’s talking about learning in a whole new way. He wants to know more about the things he hasn’t had time for before: peak oil, sustainability, organic farming and permaculture, economic and political decline. He’s been getting involved in social media and forums and engaging in ways he’s been too tired to attempt before now. This is exciting! I have a feeling something awesome is going to be coming from him. He’s even talking about starting a blog to chronicle it all!

So even though this unemployment is not quite The Big Ending (hopefully), it feels like the start of something else.

How is that big scary time lapse up there affecting everyone else?

A few days ago it dawned on me quite suddenly that within six months time I would finally be leaving Las Vegas. By that time I will be 28 years old and will have spent nearly all my life (except for a brief stint as a toddler and a handful of vacations) in this city, born and raised and never having escaped. I was so struck by elation at this thought, I was brimming with tears.

To everyone that loves Las Vegas, bless you. I’m so happy that you are where you love to be (or will hopefully be here soon?).

But Las Vegas is not for me. Not the heat, the 4 inches of rain, the lack of community resources, the billboards of half nekked woman, the smoky casinos, the dry, dead surroundings. And the only green thing (an occasional grassy yard) is more of an insult to our drought than a source of comfort.

Oh, the possibilities! The things we will see and experience. The people we will meet! The exploring of communities and landscapes and hopefully, the realization of the perfect place for us. Living in a small space, downsizing, simplifying, letting go of our attachment to “stuff” in the meantime is all exciting, exhilarating, appreciated.

Overall, I am really, truly, overwhelmingly ecstatic to be moving.

Except for this moment right now.

In this moment right now, I’m really, truly, overwhelmed by fear and sadness.

It started when I saw this photo from A Sonoma Garden and I thought to myself how beautiful it was and how great the same grape arbor would look along the side of our house in the backyard. And then I realized we wouldn’t be here long enough to watch it grow.

And that’s when it hit me. I’m not afraid to leave Las Vegas. I’m not afraid to leave behind the family and friends we love.

I’m afraid to leave my home. *My* home. The place we’ve worked so hard on, were still working hard on and have now ceased work on. The garden that is still years away from what we dreamed it would be.

I’m letting go of the dream I had of creating this place into something wonderful – an oasis in the middle of barren suburbia - and although we will have the opportunity to start over, we’ll be starting ALL over. From square one. Not debt-free as we had planned. Not starting where we are now. We’re going backwards. And after selling much of what we own, we’ll be going there with almost nothing. Liberating, yes. But depending on the state of the economy and oil prices, perhaps having so little to our name is not such a good thing.

And then there is the environmental factor. Yes, we’ll be solar powered and running on waste veggie oil which emits 50% less emissions, but we’ll still be driving around the country like tourists, eco or not. We won’t be growing our food or buying in bulk. Will our smaller lifestyle be more or less taxing on the environment than how we live now?

Not to mention this leaves out moving away from our only place of familiarity and a system of support. I have no idea how to start over without the support of family. We will – for the first time in our lives - really and truly be on our own. And have I mentioned that Zeb and I are home-bodies, creatures of habit? We like to follow our routine, we like to retreat to quiet rooms to be alone, we like privacy. How will all of that work out in a 22 foot motorhome?

I want to tap into that excitement again right now. To remember how much we are broadening our horizons, how many more ideas we’ll walk away with and knowledge we’ll accumulate. To remember that we’ve never felt like Las Vegas was our home and this is our chance to find what we feel is missing.

I realize we’ll find a place we love, a home where we can do all this and more, a community that supports our ideals. I realize we’ll be making so many more friends as we travel and eventually settle back in.

But right now I’m overwhelmed. I didn’t expect to face these things for a few more years. But now it’s finally hitting me and we haven’t even started packing. Will I be able to do this? Or are we crazy to even consider it?

We’re moving!!

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Or rather, I should say, we’ll be on the move.

Meet Benny the Brave:

Here’s the deal: Justin is facing layoff within a month or so. He feels fairly certain he can scrounge up a few more months of work. But construction is grimmer than Vegas has ever seen. And he knows he’ll need to find work elsewhere. And with Benny, we can follow the work while we scope out new places to live.

Apparently, he’s been thinking about and researching going on the road for awhile. He approached me with the idea while at GVC and totally freaked me out. (I think Jeff Sabo’s talk at Good Vibrations on pursuing our own Passions pushed him over the edge.) But after thinking about it and talking it over with Zeb, we all started to feel really good about the idea. As soon as we made the decision together, things clicked into place and we found Benny immediately (although we took several more days to research and compare before coming back to him).
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Here are his specs:

• 1982 Winnebago Brave Series M-22RB – 22′
• Chevy 6.2 L DIESEL engine with only 67k miles
• Ugly as sin VERY retro
• But cheap as DIRT (thank you poor economy)

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Some things he needs:

• New air, oil and fuel filters
• New tires (they’re okay but we’re not taking chances)
• New blackwater tank
• New fuel cap (we’re using a sock right now!)
• A deep clean

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Some things he WANTS:

• Veggie oil conversion (#1 after small maintenance)
• Solar panels
• Complete indoor remodel: new flooring, paint, storage, cushion, curtains (I’m totally inspired by Sara’s recent remodel)
• Some outdoor sparkle…maybe some stenciled “Unschool Bus” or buttloads of bumper stickers

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We’re going to make a conscious effort to sell our home. Home values are down 60% and I’m not yet familiar with short sales. So, we could be looking at a foreclosure when the work stops. Scary, yes. But I’m trusting everything to work out for the best.

We’ll sell everything that we don’t absolutely love, store what we don’t absolutely need and tow the truck (with Justin’s tools) behind the RV. We’re also trying to create a way to accomodate as many of Zeb’s LEGOs as possible. (Eep!)

We’re thinking six more months until we’re on the road. Talk about revamping our Five Year Plan! Anyone interested in buying an urban homestead in the making?

ETA: More photos here.

This discussion came about as we had been looking at our yard and really, really, really wanting to do more – more perennials, more raised beds, water catchment and graywater usage, more investment into a home and garden we weren’t sure we would be able to afford or remain in when/if Justin’s work runs dry. Is it worth the investment? Should we plop more money in this yard, only to give it away come as early as next spring? But what if work holds out and we’re able to keep to the plan? What if we’re putting off the enjoyment of where we are, in case of something that doesn’t even happen? How do we plan for such unknown variables? And how do we live in the meantime?

We’ve sat stuck for several months, idling at this inevitable fork in our minds. I felt myself reaching for a solution; something that would give me permission to move in either direction. I don’t even care which way we travel, just give me a damn course already!!

Our conversation swirled around a few main topics: Is it a waste of time to invest anything else in this place? If, come December, Justin finds himself unemployed what do we want to do? And how? Are we saving enough money? I’ll spare you the details and share with you our conclusions.
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Navigating the Fork:

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Before we looked at anything else, we had to look at where we want to be and how we want to get there. We don’t know where we want to be but we know it’s not here. However, we’re very particular about moving. Neither of us wish to move hastily or go into debt again. So we made the choice that come what may, until we have the savings to support our original “Five Year Plan“, we’re not budging.

If Justin gets laid off we’ll do whatever possible to remain in this home while we work toward our financial goals. If staying in our home becomes impossible, we’ll continue to stay in Vegas where we have career connections and family support. We are not going to move out of Vegas until we can do so debt-free. If things remain at the current pace, this will be in 4-5 years. But we’re going to try to expedite that process (explained below).
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Investing in the Present:

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Once we decided we were going to do whatever possible to stay in our current home, the choice to invest more into our garden and home came easier. We still had to decided what to invest and how. Perennial fruit-bearing, insectary and nitrogen-fixing plants, as well as animals, more raised beds and water catchment/greywater storage and usage encompass our desires.

In regards to plants, we’ve decided to invest in nitrogen-building and insectary plants first. These will support our annuals and general landscape over the next year, thus saving us time and money. Come winter, we’ll be able to judge when or if to add fruit-bearing perennials (who’s benefit would be farther off) based on the local economy. Raised beds will be done using only free and salvaged materials, although the soil will likely be purchased. Animals for eggs or manure and rain and greywater catchment will save us money soon after their initial investment making it a worthwhile endeavor now.
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Investing in the Future:

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Then came the real financial discussion. Are we saving enough and what can we do to save more? What options do we have if Justin is laid off and what are our options now?

Two decisions were made. The first: I’m going back to work. As an independent massage therapist, I can make good money seeing only one or two clients a week. I love my work and if I’m careful about who I see (no more deep tissue work) I will be able to work without injury to my back. I saw my first client yesterday and it went very well. This decision brings up a lot of other thoughts; perhaps I’ll blog more about it later.

The second decision is to reconsider a new online venture. It’s been something I’ve been mulling over for quite some time, and although it is a small initial investment, it will require much more of my time and energy to get off the ground. But its potential of passive income (even if to the smallest degree) once it’s established is great and will be a huge asset to our goals. I’m not going to go into details just yet but if all goes according to plan, I will be getting started within the next week.

So there you have it! I have a definitive course and plan of action, as well as feel so much more secure knowing we will be staying here as long as we possibly can. Not all of it is ideal but it feels good and stable, not to mention wise. And I love that I no longer have to feel so torn about pouring my heart and soul into my garden!

How is everyone else weathering the current economy? Anyone else deciding on new courses or making new plans?

I’m ready for More. Either more right where I am or more somewhere else. But I don’t know how long I’ll be where I am or when we might be somewhere else. And the anticipation feels like  a bear wrestling within my bones, ready to bust out and tear me to shreds in the process. I want to do so much to this home and this garden, but it doesn’t feel right. I feel my intuition telling me to save my pennies for a sunnier day. And yet, waiting, hoping, wishing I knew what that day was, when it will arrive. I want to explode from all this conflict within me.

I want a plan; to know what to expect; to work toward something. But instead I feel stuck. Stagnant. Purposeless. For what is the purpose of sinking more money or energy into a house we could be out of in as little as six months. But what is the purpose of living here, uninspired and unhappy and not work toward making our arrangements as ideal as possible.

I flux between loving and hating this house.

There are days where it is my home and my heart breaks at the mere possibility of an unstable economy pushing us out. I hunker down and revel in its comfort. I enjoy it and I want to remain in it. I can’t imagine leaving the community we’ve built, the family we love, the friends we cherish.

Then there are days like today. Days when it feels like a trap. An unrelenting burden keeping us pinned down; like a beast sitting on my chest as I fight, powerlessly to get up. To breathe, even. It’s one thing to peacefully sit down. Quite another to be pushed to your knees. And as anyone forced to comply, I’m left in a fighting mood.

And here I’ve swung for several weeks, back and forth between determination to make this happen, making the best of it, growing where I’m currently planted; and feeling unsettled, out of control, anxious, uncertain and even depressed.

Justin said it best. “I’m ready to move.”

And yet, here I still sit, holding back emotion. Acquiescing to my circumstances. Trying to remain focused on what I can do, what brings me joy, what lifts this mood. Succeeding for a day or two. Failing for another. Back and forth between two places I don’t want to be.

This is harder than I imagined.

Thanks for all the feedback on my last post. The consensus seems to be there is no harm in preparation. And forgive me for saying I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling a doomsday scenario coming on. Okay, maybe not doomsday, but I still have all these horrible images in my mind depicted by Dmitry Orlov who is likening the USA to Russia right before its collapse and had plenty to depict what that might (will?) look like for us and what could be done about it. You can read all his comparisons and predictions here. Can we say yikes?!

Justin and I are still discussing it all. We’ve been talking about ways to earn extra money or save money. We are leaning strongly towards getting a piece of land asap, regardless of whether we move there this year or not. At least we’d have it if we needed it. There has been a new twist, thanks in part to Denise and Lisa. Justin has family both in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Family with farms and cows. Family with a long history in the area. Family that are apparently part Hothian (thanks Zeb for the Star Wars reference). Talk about a climate shock. How does a scrawny desert rat survive the bitter cold winter up north? I barely survive it here!

But I digress. It’s still just talk (with occasional meanderings through land sale sites) at this point. We have bigger fish to fry at the moment. Like the money thing. I love to brainstorm, mostly because it leads to more list making. And if you couldn’t tell by looking to your right, I really enjoy my lists. I could create page after page of lists; anything from famous last words (“They couldn’t hit an elephant from this distance.” ~ John B Sedgwick), to how you know you’re from Vegas. I especially love lists that allow me to cross things off, which brings me back to this list and all the things we can probably (and most definitely) nix at the gate. So here goes; our brainstorming session on all the ways we could make money (some tongue-in-cheek, I swear).

We (he or I or both together) could:

• Work on motorcycles or bicycles
• Offer handyman services
• Take any overtime possible (he’s got some tomorrow! yay!)
• Install irrigation and raised beds for others
• Donate sperm (all Justin there)
• Donate other bodily stuffs
• Green people’s homes
• Garden maintenance
• Clean houses (BLEH)
• Sell seedlings and seeds
• Gigolo or call girl
• Photographer
• Rent a room
• Rent out storage space in our home
• Sell extra produce
• Male stripper
• Loctician
• Selling crap vintage finds online
• Selling handmade goods on Etsy
• Mystery Shopper
• Errand Runner
• Professional hitman Who put that in there???
• On-location car washer
• Work at Wal-Mart Who put THAT in there???
• Petcare or pooper scooper
• Childcare (or pooper wiper)
• Medical guinea pig
• Advertising on the blog
• Write a book (my husband has such faith in me!)
• Certified massage and bodyworker (my former life)

So many thoughts on that list, no desire to bore you with them.

Ways to save money are a bit harder. We’re pretty darn frugal as it is. There are few “extras” we have and little we don’t take advantage of: we only shop second-hand; we don’t use credit cards; we meal plan and grocery shop with a list; we use a budget; we take advantage of our library; we drive slow; I’m just incredibly cheap. But we did come up with some ideas on how to save money:

• Cut the (basic) cable
• Cancel the (basic) home phone
• Skip that whole “eating” thing
• Or at least simplify our meals
• Give up beer Nevermind. Not well received.
• Stop eating out completely (or order appetizers and water if we do)
• Become (even more?) fanatical about energy usage
• Become a coupon cutter (eep!)
• Mooch Have dinner with family. Mom?
• Barter garden produce
• Barter other things
• Reevaluate our insurance plans/needs
• Doing yoga at home If he keeps his homebrew…
• Sell the second vehicle
• Refinance the house
• Downsize our living arrangements, if selling is at all possible

There must be things we’re missing in either category. Throw it at me! The more ridiculous, the better!

I’ve been debating posting this. It’s a somewhat dark view of the future and most of it is just our thinking out loud. But I figure if Justin is right on, I’ll want proof my husband is psychic. And if he’s wrong, all the better! (He was dead-on by the way.)

Ten months. That’s what Justin is giving it until the SHTF in Las Vegas. Ten months until construction work is obsolete, until we’re stuck in a house we can’t pay for, until we get the hell outta dodge. Ten months until the unemployment rate in Vegas jumps, until casinos make more layoffs, until said casinos aren’t making enough to pay enough in taxes to keep our economy afloat. Ten months until the beginning of a completely new atmosphere out here.

He’s basing this on a few things. 1. There are no jobs (no mid-size to big projects – only piddly stuff) starting up right now. He’s at City Center along with thousands of other construction workers. According to him, a decent sized jobsite would need to break ground within the next couple of months for there to be work for him (or thousands of others) after this current job finishes in December and so far *nothing* is even in the planning stages. 2. Too many construction sites are stopping construction due to finances nd too many casinos are going bankrupt meaning less or no remodels, less taxes and less employees. 3. The out-of-work list is already thousands deep.

His thoughts? Work diligently for the next few weeks to sell my truck. If it doesn’t sell by the next payment, let it go. Ruin our credit, but save us an embarrassing amount of money each month (fyi: this was my work vehicle when I had my business but between his truck and his motorcycle, we could do without it now). After that do all we can to make extra money and drastically cut expenses even more to save all we can between now and “then”, whenever then might end up being. He’s even tossed out the idea of letting the house go and renting a tiny apartment or house. Oof. He wants to start looking now into places to move, buying our land this year and living out of a pop-up trailer or RV if necessary. So much for five years, huh?

Now, I will admit my husband is a “black or white”, “all-or-nothing” kinda guy. He has a tendency to jump to extremes when problem solving. But never, ever has he worried about work or jumped to extremes when it came to work or such big decisions. Never has he felt the need to. In fact it’s so rare for him to be considering things like this that despite the fact we’ll probably not need to start jumping to such extremes, I’m very inclined to trust his judgement on the seriousness of the matter.

The difficult part is that we won’t know if he’s right until it’s too late – either too late to make major changes or too late to undo any changes we make (like ruining our credit for nothing). Going into extreme mode when it comes to saving and earning money is simple to do now without major ramifications. But letting the truck go? Letting the house go??? I have serious ethical problems with both those options. I mean, if we couldn’t make payments then we gotta do what’s necessary. But we made an agreement to make payments and while we can I feel we should, ya know?

Right now we’re brainstorming ways to make money or cut expenses even further. We’ve come up with plenty of ideas; maybe I’ll share them later.

What do you all think? How is the economy affecting you and your decisions right now? Anyone else contemplating major (and fast) moves like this? Are we crazy to jump to such conclusions? Or would we be crazy not to?

ThirtyFiveByNinety posted this blog post about their grocery shopping goals and how theie goal is to spend no more than $25 per week on food. So far this month, their total grocery bill has been under $42! They’ve been accomplishing this by shopping sales, bulk, farmer’s markets, gardening, bartering etc.

Since we’re trying to cut our expenses back in order to save more for our Five Year Plan, this is really intriguing. I thought I was doing good with shopping every two weeks and meal planning with our bill averaging under $100 a week. Granted, I don’t have the local resources they do – like a nearby dairy farm. But there must be ways I can do better. And now that I know someone else has it figured out, I’m more inspired to do the same!

Some ideas I’ve been throwing around include: more vegetarian and vegan meals each week (we’ve really slacked in this area), buying in bulk from Azure Standard, finding more cupboard space to “put by” more sales, actually shopping those sales. (Yes, I should already be shopping sales. But until recently the only grocery stores nearby were never cheaper than Trader Joe’s, so it was never worth it. Now that we have a Fresh ‘N Easy and a Sunflower Market nearby, I need to shop around more.)

And of course, when we have our garden growing that will supply alot.

I also found this blog, 5DollarDinners.com but at $5 a meal, the post above is still way ahead. (Still it may help me, except where their meal ideas are not up to our dietary standards. Health is one area in which to not scrimp for us.)

So, now I’m curious what others have been doing to save on their grocery bill? Please share! I need all the ideas I can get!

During our time off last month, we had a chance to focus and discuss our goals for the future. Namely, what we want and where we want to be in five years. I can’t say I’ve ever known where I wanted to be in five years before now. Now we have a plan. A well-organized and thought-out plan. A plan that gets us so excited it’s difficult not to jump the gun and skip the needed steps to implement this plan well. What’s the plan?

The plan is to get the hell out of Dodge. Just not quickly. Quickly would require debt, a reliance on others (other economies, other banks, other bosses, etc) and a huge variation from the purpose of the plan. The purpose of the plan is to opt out of the System. To be debt-free and self-sufficient. To live off-grid (except for satelite internet ). An Earthship is a good possibility and something Justin wants to learn, but there are other possibilities, too.

We want a self-sustaining home -  one with solar and wind energy, water catchments and possibly, a well – outsie a sustainable community. We want a small organic “hobby farm” – something that will supply us with nearly all we need for sustenance , as well as a small income, possibly from an orchard. Justin wants a woodworking shop to build furniture or whatever else his heart desires. I want a wood-burning stove and a real fireplace and lots of nature surrounding me. Zeb wants goats and chickens and ducks, and a cow. He also wants a treehouse and lots of wild open spaces to run.

Of course, to do all this debt-free means saving up a truckload of money. We’re starting with a goal of $100,000. Enough to buy several acres and begin building our home. We have some ideas of how to save this. Our small Christmas last year was a good start. Selling what was once my business vehicle will save us thousands a year (it’s due to be pain off in less than two years anyway). Add to that fewer vacations, saving tax returns, reduced spending, skipping out on things, any overtime he might get…it’ll be tough – real tough – but manageable and the end result will be worth it. I’m also going to look into making money with my photography, my blog and maybe with the garden eventually.

Their are also a few things that we plan to do before our homesteading venture makes them more difficult to accomplish: medical and dental work before the insurance is lost is crucial, among other more personal matters.

So, there you have it. The synopsis to our Five-Year Plan. I love it! I love the action and the mental organizing. I love SMART Goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timebound). It’s a rough idea and one I’m sure we’ll be adding to and/or amending as time goes on and as we learn more and get closer to our goal. I’m sure I’ll also keep ya’ll updated on specific changes via a blog post too.

And as always, I’m open to ideas – things we should check out (locations, technologies, techniques, etc), things we should consider, or just your own thoughts and ideas or your own goals! And we’re hoping to have some great, like-minded neighbors, if you care to join us.

Here’s the plan:

We currently live in a suburb of Las Vegas, a city who’s real estate bubble burst leaving us with an upside-down home. Because Justin’s field of expertise (commercial construction; mostly casinos) relies heavily on a booming economy, we know continuing to live in Las Vegas long-term will bring challenges in the coming years.  Our current guesstimations to do this debt-free put us at a financial goal of $100,000 at the end of five years, an average of $20,000 a year. This will be the biggest challenge.

We’re applying SMART techniques to this goal; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound. For this reason we’ve begun an outline for accomplishment that we will update along the way.

2009, Year 1:

• Research local, stable banks and open a new savings account
• Sell our second vehicle to decrease debt and increase savings: Detail truck, affix sign on window, list online and in paper, pray for a miracle
• Finish yard and garden conversion and start producing own food: Erect raised beds, plant fruit trees, finish irrigation, sow all seeds, plant more perennial nitrogen-fixers and insectaries
• Research and implement homesteading skills from a homemaker’s perspective: baking, preserving, sewing, knitting, etc
• Research and if possible, implement a graywater system
• Research rabbits and egg-laying chickens and their shelters
• Find more ways to save (and/or earn) money

2010, Year 2:

• Continue expanding edible landscaping in front and backyard
• Adopt animals for eggs or manure
• Research desired land features- Elevation desired, Average Precipitation needed, Local and State laws, Taxes, Building Codes, Climate Change Models, Localized Communities and their sustainability and resources
• Research areas that fits our desired land features
• Continue finding ways to add to decrease spending and increase savings

2011, Year 3:

• Continue expanding edible landscaping in front and backyard
• Begin heavy research on sustainable homebuilding, temporary living structures, barn, workshops,  solar and wind technologies, composting toilets, etc
• Continue finding ways to decrease spending and increase savings

2012, Year 4:

• Continue Victory Gardening and Urban Homesteading from previous years
• Continue research on sustainable homebuilding and communities, etc from previous year
• Consider programs such as WWOOF, EarthShip internships and Permaculture certification
• Purchase land that fits our requirements
• List Las Vegas home for sale
• Continue finding ways to decrease spending and add to savings

2013, Year 5:

• Continue Victory Gardening and Urban Homesteading from previous years
• Sell home and find interim living arrangements if needed

PLAN B:

Because the job market in Vegas has taken a sudden turn for the worst and Justin may be unemployed at any moment, we’ve established our Plan B. It’s a bit more fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants since we don’t know what to expect in the coming months or years. We’ll make changes as necessary.

• Continue doing everything we can to save and earn money
• Continue growing everything we can
• Only invest money or time into the house or garden that will pay for itself
• Continue doing all we can to stay in our home, while still saving money
• If moving out of our home is necessary, we’ll stay in Las Vegas and continue to work towards moving debt-free