JWR,
I would like to solicit an opinion from you, and maybe get some feedback from other SurvivalBlog readers should you elect to respond. I was recently laid off from my job, and I will be pulling out my retirement savings from their troubled retirement fund. I had already planned to move it into silver to protect it from the inevitable future crash. I am well aware of all the conventional wisdom regarding retirement planning, but I am considering putting this money towards purchasing land that will move my family and me much closer to my goal of off-grid self-sufficiency. This would be a big change and accomplishment since we are big city apartment dwellers right now in the Fort Worth, Texas area. I’m a native Oklahoman, so country living isn’t new to me. It might be a bit of a change for my Florida-born and raised wife, and our two boys who have known nothing but the just-in-time convenience of supermarkets, and all-night Wal-Marts. Any thoughts, concerns, warnings?
Thanks for your awesome blog. Discovering SurvivalBlog in 2008 was my “unplugging from the Matrix” moment.
Regards,- Jeff R. (an Okie behind the lines in Texas)
JWR:
Granted, silver is in an advantageous dip right now (an excellent time to buy) but I’d recommend that rather than putting it all into silver, that you put half of the funds into starting a home-based business. After all, you will still need a retirement income.
See the SurvivalBlog archives for lots of self-employment and home-based business recommendations. (Note that some of the more lengthy articles on that topic were posted between 2005 and 2008. So start reading that archive at the bottom and work your way up.)