Many of us struggle with the desire to move to Wyoming but believe we lack the financial ability to do so. Sometimes, leaving family and friends, or a career, behind enters into the equation. Here is a list of some methods I am using to get this move done. I offer these only as ideas, not as some arrogant proclamation of how these methods work for anyone. That's not the case. If these work for you and help you get to Wyoming, great. If not, no biggie. If you have some other ideas or methods you use, please post them for all to see.
Regarding the effect of family and friends on the decision to leave wherever you are at and move to Wyoming, I can offer only this: If you want to live in freedom, in Wyoming, you must leave. It is difficult. We have obligations to our family, friends, and ourselves that we are hesitant to shirk. But in the end, parents die, friends change, and our careers can be rebuilt or redesigned. If your parents are anything like mine, they would want you to move to maintain freedom and the lifestyle you choose to live. If your friends do not share your thoughts and feelings on freedom enough to move their own families, ask yourself just how close of a friend they are. Making the decision to leave family and friends will be intensely personal. Regardless, it is your choice to make.
As for the financial difficulty of moving...
There are ways to get complicated, traditionally expensive tasks (like moving across the country), done with very little money. If a person is single with no kids, it's relatively easy. A spouse and/or kids obviously complicate and draw out the process (it simply requires more resources to move more people). Here are a few ideas, for anyone contemplating the move but who believe they are lacking enough financial resources to make it work (I will be using all of these strategies, too!).
1. This, IMHO, is the most important thing you can do as it feeds all the other activities you will perform to ready yourself and your family to make the move. Simply stated, RESOLVE AND COMMIT TO MAKE THE MOVE BY A CERTAIN DATE. Until the commitment is irrevocably seared into your mind, "life" will intervene and the move will not happen. Once committed, however, everything you do, every hardship, every challenge, every dollar you earn, and every moment spent with your kids without the TV, video games, or whatever mindless distraction we all use, takes on new importance. Instead of a challenge being seen as a roadblock to your desire to move, it is a learning experience and a cost paid with painful pride that gets you closer to your goal.
2. This one is hugely important as it makes the move possible and easier at the same time. Less stuff to move means less cost and less time spent. Sell everything except your absolute basic needs ie: keep clothes (useful all-purpose clothes, not fancy, limited-use items like suits and formal wear), basic pots and dishes (you do not need a fondue pot or crystal wine glasses or ramekins to live a full and happy life - beverages taste just as good out of a cheap glass purchased from a thrift store), basic weapons kit and gear, ammo (you only NEED enough rifle and handgun ammo to get you through a couple fights - resupply en route if it comes to that), a BASIC vehicle - or even a motor home (which solves another problem at the same time), your tools (be careful here - if you are a professional mechanic, it makes sense to bring a tranny jack, engine hoist, etc. If you're a basic handy-person, sell your basically immobile or difficult to move tools), real food (meat, vegetables, flour, rice, beans, salt, yeast, some spices and herbs - no boxed food as it costs too much and is detrimental to your health to boot), medicines and medical supplies, etc. Be extremely critical of anything you believe you NEED that was not in existence before 1900. The chances are pretty good that you do not actually need it! Notice the lack of specific mention of several items required by society's commonly accepted definition of "need": computer, tv's, cell phone, vice materials (cigarettes and alcohol), commercially bottled water, etc. This one step can free up capital to eliminate debt or provide the means to make the move (food, fuel, a vehicle perhaps). The funny thing is that we all have a ton of crap we do not need. My family is actively pursuing this activity. We have had one garage sale, with at least three more planned. The first garage sale we made a little over $1000 in one day and we were barely prepared for it. We just decided to have one, laid some stuff out on the driveway, and put up some signs around town. The best part - we are better for being without the crap we sold and financially closer to our goal. You must be radical in your efforts to sell stuff. Think about these things and decide if they are needs or wants: a) fishing poles and tackle - to provide food for yourself b) your entire collection of books to serve as references for building your new life in Wyoming c) Slumberjack -20 sleeping bag to keep you warm when you're living in a tent while you build a cabin d) propane/white gas cook stove to cook food and purify water e) gun safe f) the furniture you received from your mother that has been handed down through 3 generations of your family. Here's my viewpoint regarding these items: a) stick, line, and hook - dig your own worms. Sell the $2000 worth of graphite rods and reels you own. b) use libraries and borrow from friends - free up the cash your book collection represents. It sucks, but this is radical capital development, remember? c) Use blankets you already own (they did not use space age fabrics for thousands of years and the human race survived.) d) Use a campfire - that saves you from lugging the stove and acquiring fuel to use it. e) What did you do before you had a gun safe? Sell it, free up the money, save the effort of transporting it across the country. Buy another at some point in the future. You may sell many of your firearms as part of your capital development, too, which lessens the need for a gun safe in the first place. f) Sell it. It will bring a good price and you won't have to move it. Besides, would you rather sit comfortably in furniture that has family history and deep sentimental value while trapped in a city when the balloon goes up, or on a milk crate outside a tent in Wyoming, dirty, broke, and battered, but free and working to build a new life? Like I said - get radical. I have wrestled with the decision to keep or sell each of the things I mentioned above - and much more.
3. If finances are absolutely limiting, plan to work your way across the country. Day labor, crop picking/weeding, temp agencies, friends and relatives who need odd jobs done-whatever. You are not looking for a career - you're earning fuel and food money. Once you have enough to get you down the road another 250+ miles - go. This is the only idea I am not using. I live close enough to Wyoming that I can make it in one day and have saved the money for fuel. This applies mostly to those who simply do not have the savings and the ability to make the drive on a tank or two of fuel.
4. Move in warm weather so you don't need to use hotels during the trip. Sleep under the stars, in a tent, or in your vehicle. That will save you a ton of $$ and be a lot of fun for your family.
5. Move in warm weather so you can live in a tent, if necessary, when you get to your destination.
6. Worry about finding a place to live (rent or purchase) until you get there. You cannot make a reasonable decision on a land purchase, or even a rental house, from 1000 miles away. This is one of the questions I have been really struggling with - sweating blood, asking myself "where will my family live when we get there - I need to buy some land now, etc." It will be OK. Get there, then find a place to live. This is also an area we as a group can help each other with. Once my family is in place, I plan to offer my land as a temporary "crash pad" for anyone needing a place to hang their hat until they can find a place of their own. If a group of us commit to helping newcomers get settled in such a fashion, it will definitely help get them moved (painfully doing this because I cannot buy land right now and it goes against all rational judgment to buy land without seeing it and walking it).
7. Read Boston's books - then put them away and do not look at them until in Wyoming! (sorry Boston) The reason this is important ( a bit tongue in cheek, but serious at the same time) is due to the effect the books have on our psyche. They have a ton of great information. Unfortunately, as in the case of my most recent re-reading of Boston on Y2K, they make us want to get everything that Boston goes over in the book! Like generators, weapons, ammo, books, solar panels, water pumps, radios, etc. It makes the problem too large for me and causes me to read, and read, and read, trying to find a way to get all these things done. Consequently, I do very little to move me toward my goal. Expose yourself to the material, put the books away, then move, then worry about getting the stuff you need. Then read Boston's books as often as possible! And buy more when he publishes more! (is that better?)
8. Use a draconian budget to live your life. This helps you save a ton of money to be put toward your move. Here are some examples of how I budget for our family: 1. Cancel internet, cable tv, and cell phones (I only have a phone because my employer pays the bill). No phone?! How can you call 911 or talk to family? Run next door to call 911 if necessary, or use a ham radio (call CQ with priority traffic on frequency monitored by your firends - and the radio is multi-purpose gear, a cell phone is not), and use library computers to stay in touch with family and friends. 2. Live on $200/month in groceries for a family of up to 4 people. For each additional person, add $50 per month. If you're single, live on $100 if you can...$150 at the most. I feed my family of 6 on $300 per month and we eat well. It takes time and work to do it, but it's better than the alternative of spending too much on food. 3. Eliminate entertainment (movies, Netflix, dining out, Sunday drives, gambling, alcohol, etc.) 4. Drive as little as possible - walk, bike, or use public transportation. 5. Get rid of debt like its cancer - because it is. Payoff credit cards as soon as possible. Sell cars you do not own free and clear. Sell "toys" like jet-skis, boats, snowmobiles, etc. An argument can be made for keeping ATV's or dirtbikes, but if you owe money on them, get rid of them. Carry only liability insurance on your vehicles. 6. Use as little heat or AC as possible. Dress in layers for warmth, go naked for cooling (and free entertainment)! Bottom line, spend less on fuel for heat and warmth. 7. Use cash, not check cards, checks, and definitely not credit cards. (Dave Ransey has a budget system that is cash-based and works very well...free for the looking online at daveramsey.com). The best thing about using cash is that you live your life and spend your dollars knowing that when the cash disappears, you're broke. It's not a number in an account that gets easily neglected. You can also negotiate discounts at some stores when using cash. It also preserves your anonymity in transactions.
9. Come to terms with the idea of moving to Wyoming. There are precious few guarantees in life, but here are a couple that will apply to this move: a) Wyoming is not a utopia. It has its problems. It has bad weather. It has horrific wind. It can be difficult to find a good job. It is populated by its share of jerks, low-lifes, and crazies. It is not a freehold. b) land and housing are expensive relative to the rest of the country. c) You will never have enough money as long as you define your life's satisfaction by a monetary standard (besides, dollars aren't really money anyway). d) Federal law will reach you in Wyoming. e) It is not easy to live in Wyoming for everyone. f) If your spouse is against the move, your quality of life will suffer. g) If our society crumbles as most of us believe it will, or if "civil war" breaks out, life in Wyoming will be more difficult, not easier. h) understand how difficult it is to be "self-sufficient." It takes a lot of labor to provide for yourself to any significant degree. A patch of veggies will not see you through the winter. You may well trade a basically easy life (even in hard times) for a life of physically demanding and emotionally draining hard work, but it will be your life to live - not the government's.
That's all I have for now...I do need to get some work done! Please post any other ideas you have that may assist someone trying to make the move to Wyoming. It's not an easy process, but it's worth it if you're of the proper mind. I hope this helps some of you.
