Retreat or Prep ?

[Mikeg175]

Ok , I have been torn the last few days on which way to go . I think I finally found a decent retreat , but in getting it , I would have to drop a decent chunk of change and that takes away from my prepping . I have about a year supply of food , enough first aid to take care of a platoon , enough ammo and weapons to supply my platoon and Im hoping ( even though Im always adding ) enough of the other incidentals ( tools , camping , water filtrations and others ) .
I don't like debt over my head , so I pay cash for everything and I would probably pay for half upfront and then pay it off in the next year or so , but it will seriously cramp further prep efforts , then I will also be upgrading ( hand pumps, solar power, safes , other goodies ) said retreat which will postpone a lot of 'wants' not 'needs' . It has been dragging me down and I figure bouncing it off you guys will help . Thanks for any opinions .

[Romulus]

Maybe my thinking here is way off, but in a PAW, what will it matter if you have debt?

[2682nscovell]

Ok , I have been torn the last few days on which way to go . I think I finally found a decent retreat , but in getting it , I would have to drop a decent chunk of change and that takes away from my prepping . I have about a year supply of food , enough first aid to take care of a platoon , enough ammo and weapons to supply my platoon and Im hoping ( even though Im always adding ) enough of the other incidentals ( tools , camping , water filtrations and others ) .
I don't like debt over my head , so I pay cash for everything and I would probably pay for half upfront and then pay it off in the next year or so , but it will seriously cramp further prep efforts , then I will also be upgrading ( hand pumps, solar power, safes , other goodies ) said retreat which will postpone a lot of 'wants' not 'needs' . It has been dragging me down and I figure bouncing it off you guys will help . Thanks for any opinions .

Debt won't matter when the bank doesn't exist. Of course someone will eventually try to claim that land. But in a PAW you could just shoot that person.

[610Alpha]

Correct me if I am wrong but basically you would be able to put down 1/2 and pay the balance off in a year or 2? If that is correct then I would do it if I were in your shoes. I would probably put down half then set a goal to pay it off in 2 or 3 so that I could continue to prep and work on the retreat.

[Benn Gleck]

All the preps in the world are of no use if you live in a city where the government, neighbors or zombies are going to take them.

My vote is for the retreat.

[BeckyinTX]

I would have to say the retreat. Sounds like you are in a pretty good position with your preps and the city will be a very dangerous place to be when TSHF.

[Mikeg175]

I was leaning that way , I figured it was also my refuge from day to day B.S. , so when I needed a break , head there for a few days to just chill and work on the place , then head back to the grind .

[1Admin]

All the preps in the world are of no use if you live in a city where the government, neighbors or zombies are going to take them.

My vote is for the retreat.

I don't think their is a single better monetary decision you can make that will further your survival chances more than getting away from the city.

[runtothehills]

I don't think their is a single better monetary decision you can make that will further your survival chances more than getting away from the city.

I coundn't agree more, the city I live in now is a scary place to live, with a murder everday it seems like. This world as we know it going down the toilet. Even the safe counrty-side and hills, are getting more and more drug use. Saw a story last week, that a car crashed in Vinton County, Ohio, out in the the country.........This guy came out of his home to help the crash victim, the guy in the car was on meth and chased him in his home with a hammer, kicked in his door a beat this poor guy with a hammer. The guys wife hit him in the head, and broke a whisky bottle. He looked up at her and just licked his lip...........Crazy %&it! She called 911, before the guy got in the house, and the police got him. Just a little story.......No place is safe any more. Sad but true.

[Urban Survivalist]

The choice is yours on bug out or bug in but whatever you do, If it is a SHTF or PAW situation you will have to fight to leave and fight to hold your ground or you will fight to keep you property and it will not matter who it is, a gangbanger or a father who just wants to feed his kids. It comes down to this, when people lose everything then they LOSE IT (mentally, morally, emotionally and physically).

[Klayton]

I would say retreat. But would NOT put 50% down.

A retreat is I am assuming some form of domicile, meaning you will get an extremely low finance rate, and the finance charges are tax deductible.

Pay a good penny down to keep your payments in check, but then with your other "savings" invest in an underground (separate from dwelling) bunker (think basement with nothing above it) for a SECOND supply of emergency stuff. This will be your reserve cache in case God forbid your house catches fire...

[Mikeg175]

I had all ready figured a 'bunker' type dwelling into the mix , this was more for securing and hiding the important items when I wasn't there and to be a fall back area as needed when I make it a full time home . I have narrowed it down to two listings at this time and I'm getting closer to pulling the trigger . It may sound funny , but I am against owning homes . They are not good investments as most people say they are . If you are buying a house cash and flipping it ( back when it was profitable ) then it was a good investment . I have always felt that renting was a better investment then owning a home and now I am going against everything I believe lol .
The math is pretty easy to figure out . I like even numbers makes it easier . Say you bought said house for 100k , by the time you pay it off you have paid 200k . The house value goes up to 150k , so you still invested 50k more then the house is worth . So in essence you lost 50k in 30 yrs , now I know you get some tax breaks , but if your doing your money the right way , taxes shouldn't be an issue anyways . When you rent , you usually are paying less then a mortgage and no worries about fixing anything when it breaks . You can also just pack up and move when your lease is up , if you decide you don't like an area or your work requires it . Now the only way that renting is a better investing is if you take the 100-200-300 whatever the difference is between renting and a mortgage and invest it . If you invest that money every month , in 20-30 years ( most mortgages ) you would have closer to a million dollars then you expect . The problem is most of us don't put that extra money away , so you haven't made any investment at that point .
I built my first house for a little bit of money , then sold it during the high market time for about 5x what I had in it . It was built as an investment and I flipped it when the time was right , I have been renting ever since , I wasn't going to pay the exorbitant prices out there ( not like I got for mine lol ) . Now all this is just my opinion and I would have to guess I am wrong about it , but I can only find a few people who made money off their houses , if you plan on living in it , it is a home , your castle not an investment .

[Klayton]

@Mikeg175: you are using too simple of an equation in your above post.

Yes you paid 50K more total than the current value. But what you left out is A LOT!! Those 15 years (I try to avoid the 30 year loan), the payments are interest heavy (or interest upfront) style of payments, that is a HUGE HUGE HUGE tax deduction = less of your income is taxable = you pay less in taxes overall.

Next, you should ALWAYS get a fixed rate mortgage PERIOD!! This (minus the fluctuation of your state and local yearly taxes) locks you in for a set payment every month. You will NEVER and I mean NEVER EVER EVER find an apartment that doesnt raise it rent over a 15 year period, heck you are in Maryland, so I am guessing the average is every lease renewal they hit you for a raise?!?!

See where I am going here. The ONLY benefit of renting is the get out of dodge capability. You can literally just say screw it, and move out tomorrow if you had to, ya you might take a credit hit, possibly a civil suit (especially in democrat Maryland), but the point is you can up and move immediately if need be. The same can't be said without HUGE repercussions to homeowners. The family that is hit with hardtimes and tries to hold onto a house, is much less successful than the family that can downgrade apartment size immediately. :) :)

[Mikeg175]

I have rented now for 7 years , since I sold my last investment ( house ) and I have not had my rent raised once . Matter of fact I worked a reduction on my rent , when I told the owner I had a bigger place with lower rent lined up . I pay about 800$ less to rent then what I would pay to own in the area Im in . He has fixed the washer , the AC , and had the well redone in the last 2 years . Most people do not pay off their loan in 15 years , they get a little ahead then go ' oh little Johny needs to go to college , lets re-fi , now baby girl needs to also , lets re-fi ' so in 15 years most consumers are back at square one or even further back . Even with the market the way it is , buying in this area is ridiculous , that is why I'm buying 2 hours west in the mountains hehe . It's amazing 2 hours and a 300k difference for housing .
As far as taxes I run my money through a Delaware Corporation where I am the sole owner ( S-Corp ) , so I don't pay Md taxes . I pay myself a pittance of a salary and any money I use from the company is a loan , which I never repay . There are a lot of ways to hide your income . I paid way too much for too many years . I never understood why a single person should pay more in taxes then a house full of kids . But once again this is my Jaded view of taxing and calling a home an investment .

[Lowdown3]

Or you could build a little at a time with cash. I "heard" that's a good way to go ;)

We did that in 97-99 and never had a mortgage. Started living in the house in late 99. We are doing that same thing now with an addition we just started.

It might take us 3-4 years to build and finish it, but I'd rather 3-4 years than 30 years. It's worked out well for us in the past. The first couple years here we starved (financially not food wise), we wouldn't have made it if we had even a small mortgage.

Ideally you want your retreat completely debt free. Even a raggedy broken down bus to live in that's OWNED and free and clear, is better than a huge mortgage.