# Did you prepare your homestead for retirement?



## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

Did any of you prepare your homestead AHEAD OF TIME for retirement? I am hoping to retire in 4-5 years and am planning now and revamping things to make it easier on myself physically as I retire and get older. I figure that I may not have as much money to spend on things as I do now (esp. with inflation!) while working and I would not like to have to WORRY about fixing or changing things later on. I have been downsizing and streamlining things for the last couple years. It takes alot longer than you think when you've lived in a place 40 years!!!


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Not to sure if'n what I did with this place before I retired would count towards "preparing the homestead" for when I retired........
Although I did have a plan for when I got (rapidly getting :awh older. In fact I still think about the future - even more so as I've aged - and what changes big and small will need to be made not only to the homestead but my lifestyle itself. 
I would have to say that no matter how much you plan though things will always evolve and plans will need to be changed..... such is life I guess. 
Anyway, I'll get off the :soap: now.

One word of caution - do not think that whatever you do, replace, buy, change, build, etc will last "forever", not be what you "need" in 5 years, nor not break at the worst opportune time... Experience speaks! :cowboy:


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## Big Dave (Feb 5, 2006)

Nope. Never knew I would live this long.Do what you can to make it easy as possible to do your chores. Check out the wood chips for gardens. The old boy that does it is in your neck of the woods.


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## Travis in Louisiana (May 14, 2002)

Though I have at least 12 to 15 years before I retire, I am getting my woodworking shop and rock shop set up. I hope to stay busy by making crafts to sell. I am trying to also keep my health up by eating right and losing weight. Everything with a note should be paid off by retirement. Somewhere in the till will be some fishing also!!


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

I've lived on my place for just about 40 years so it has seen MANY changes but as I get even older and more experienced in living  I realize that I won't be able to care for everything I've had or done here in the past when I was younger. So, I've been making as many raised garden beds as possible, streamlining the different areas as far as making them easier to take care of. I used to try and keep my garden weed and grass free...now I just MOW the paths! I've been thinking of finances too and have worked toward being completely debt free by retirement and I will have met my goal by THIS fall so can work on the goal of having plenty of food storage and extra needed things. The time certainly goes by fast and I want to be able to ENJOY my retirement - not to worry about it!!!


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

When I replace stuff/things these days, I always ask can I buy something that will outlive me. I used metal to roof the house and all the barns/outbuildings. When I repainted everything, I used a lifetime paint from Sherwin Williams (not sure how long it will hold up but it is doing well so far). I don't mind maintenace generally, but I don't want all my time spent doing it.

Best wishes on your retirement work/planning.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

Of corse if I knew then what I knew now   . But l paid off the farm and truck those of you that already lived on a farmstead have a big jump up .I tried to read and practice by gardening and talking to small farmers bought a big troy biult tiller took the early retirement offer and dove in head first id been getting my equipment ready for some time canners ect. Were already in the cabin now with a bad tomato n corn harvest its nice to have a rootceller filled with good stuff .and if it snows or rains I can be happy at home lucky I was in a union that built up my penchen for me


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

Did we prepare ahead of time to have a retirement homestead? No, not really. DH and I both foolishly thought we'd be working a job until the day we keeled over dead. The reality is that you just keel over, and you don't actually die. You have to go sit down and hope that you've got enough resources in place to help take over some of the day to day living needs you now have. You do that because you don't want to be a burden on the people you love nor do you want to be a burden on the system. It sucks bigtime, but you find a way to deal with it both mentally and physically.

DH and I both are 62 and early retired on our state retirement and SS through the disability programs of each. Up until I retired our house was not an ideal retirement home. We didn't spend money on this house other than absolute necessary upgrades as needed in the past 30 or so years. 

The house had to change and fast, because I couldn't take care of me. All of the house was redone from the floors up to better accomodate my personal needs for healthcare and mobility. DH moved me into the local hotel during the worst of the new construction. We couldn't have done without the help of dear friends who provided the labor in a timely manner. 

It's never too soon to plan your homestead for retirement, but you'll most likely need to stay open to new options not planned for. Life has a way of smacking you in the face when you least expect it. Plan for the worst and be happy if it doesn't happen.

We now have a small house that has all wood floors, ceramic tile, new wiring and fixtures, some new appliances, new bath with disablity options, open floor plan allowing for wheelchair use, new heat/ac system with generator backup, new woodstove, no heavy furniture and only essential items as needed for living. There's a metal roof, new windows and doors, and a host of other small changes that have enhanced my ability to stay home and remain somewhat self-sufficient. 

Our goal is to live here in an environment that's easy to keep clean and that supports our healthcare needs. So far, that's working out for us, but again, we accept it with much gratitude knowing that it could be so much worse.


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## COSunflower (Dec 4, 2006)

I often think about mobility problems also as one time, in my 40s, I slipped and fell on the ice at work and broke my ankle and leg and after surgery and a blood clot to my lung I was in a wheel chair for awhile and the door frames of our 1973 mobile home were NOT wide enough to accomodate a wheel chair NOR were the bathrooms large enough to accomodate a walker. It really was dangerous and I did fall one time trying to manuever a walker into the small bathroom. I have steps outside that at dangerous for a person with mobility problems also. Since I've had so many leg, knee, ankle and foot injuries over the years I have to be REALLY careful. It would be nice to be able to replace my mobile with something better but it is paid for and I sure don't want to have any kind of mortgage payment when I retire!!!


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## Dollarstretcher (Jan 25, 2010)

One of the most important things to do is replace your bathtub with a shower It really helps if you develop mobility problems.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I did do what I thought was important but I missed a few things. Sometimes it's good not to do too many thing too far in advance as I find myself replacing some things that aged out when I thought they'd last til the end. 
I did have extra wide doors put in for wheelchair access. And I have wood floors too. I put in lever door knobs for easy gripping. And a walk in shower with built in seat.
I built the hay shed to be up on level with the bed of the truck so I could just pull over bales without having to lift them. I also put in rubber mats for walkways around the goat's and horse's pen so I'd have a smoother path. And I have lots of small gates to make short cuts to various places. 
I also have raised veggie beds. 
Of course I made some mistakes- like recessed lighting in a cathedral ceiling (very hard to change bulbs) and one of the stupid fire alarms is at a ridiculous height to have to climb to change the battery. Oh well............


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