going green for retirement

                          with most of people not being able to retire i think going green is the way to go. if we teach people to not consume as much and teach the them about alternative ways to power their items and even if thay can not afford solar panels or a a wind turbine thay can build these item their self and reduce the bill to 0 or close to it it might help people that want to retire and did not plan properly or never had the chance to plan for retirement i think a 5 year to 7 year plan to get people all thay need to greatly reduce their bills and may have more money to put towards their retirement and stuff thay would like to do in the futer other than worry about paying bills. i would like to show them how to grow there own food in a garden or like a aquaponices system i think that would greatly help people to retire or just a good sales pitch to help people to go green 

Old dog new tricks? I don't know about this, I have trouble getting my old hippy mama to shift about her recent ventures into lazy consumption and she's got a pretty open mind.

As an older middle-aged person, I would love to see more ideas about "green retirement."  A low-input, low-energy way of life is the only way I can see I will be able to retire at all. 

I would love to see an example of the 5 - 7 year plan.

You got that right , crafty
  looking to or trying to tire no retire.
frugle is what we called green in sometime past.

Theguy , we cant just start, we have to change as much as we can everday.
Repurpus , thats a new name too same old thing. In a time of believed surplus it hard to change ourselfs an others. I have a rep as being way beond Je- Cheep. But that is how i started with little and have some much.

Hell see if you can get awayone to try to do something for them self?
Im looking to move, so i want to garden ,green house ,auiqa, rase beef, rabbits.
Birds,recycle, Everyone thinks im NUTS.

This is a great place to be, Thanks Paul a place of real knowledge .

The problem as I see it, age 50, is that when you get older, things (same old things) get harder.  It can feel like your not changing but life around you is just getting to be more work and harder work at that.

So the thing becomes to show how natural living can save time/work and energy - this is something older people can embrace.  There is much under the large umbrella of 'Green' - for example, the project of raising worms for winter chicken feed can be a lot of heavy work now & then.  It's green, but maybe not the best thing to add on a retired person's shoulders.  So instead suggesting a perennial feed that one can plant once and mostly forget, allowing the chickens to harvest themselves would be a better suggestion.

My point is not all that comes under permaculture or green-ness lifestyle will be a good fit for the elderly, but I can see things being designed in such a way as to free up seniors to live lighter on the earth and lighter on themselves as well.

Here's to working smarter and NOT harder   

working smarter not harder is good for all ages!!  Doing more for yourself that can save money or repurpose money is key. All the little things add up and it is most important not to feel like you are in deprivation or going without. Sometimes I get down thinking about retirement (doing what you want when you want) it can be over whelming.  Am always looking for ideas to help.

im still working on the 5-7 year plan. but, the first thing is to learn to not buy stuff you dont need and watching your consumtion. So being frugal (cheap) building stuff so you dont have to buy it. if you can cut out a few thing and learn to make stuff that you will use and make money in the process like instead of buying soap make it yourself if you do buy shampoo buy bottles that have a push top so you do not wast it and their are many other ways to save money but the key is going to be when you save your self a little money dont wast it buy somthing eles that will help you save more IE stuff that will save on electrice or even start buying stuff that will make you electrice you can build a aquponics system and save on food or build some rased beds out of recyled material. when looking for stuff you need try and find it used or build it your self out of used material if you can. nobody really needs to buy name brand stuff buy stuff that is on sale we do the copon thing and save alot of money that way but it does take time to but i did not say it was going to be easy and you can get copons for name brand stuff to if you like. you can even cut you own hair or have the wife do it. this is a good start im still coming up with ideas and plan on hitting all the basics first

im going to put alot of time in this and i hope it will help a few people out   

Good ideas Food is so important learning to cook in addition to growing. I think once someone learns to cook the concept of growing ingredients becomes so much easier. I mean real cooking with spices and herbs you know from scratch not a box or can.  Of course to be efficient you have to learn how to use basic tools. I use to use a food processor all the time now I find my knifes are so much faster easier to clean and of course cheaper to run.  Still use the processor with big jobs. Love the crock pot and can't forget my cast iron Dutch oven!  I now have hubby trained to stop and pick up pallets when ever he sees the free sign.  we just add it to our "store" some call it a junk pile. Funny how when the neighbors need something they come over to me first.  Organizational skills a must and also the ability to purge every once in a while. Or you can find yourself eye ball deep. Living simple green and cheap great idea.  I think when you do make a purchase going for longevity & quality is also important. Seems now is is so common to be disposable. A throw away society get more & more stuff Sorry rambling.  hey what do you know about gasification rocket stoves and the like?

Good points Danelle.

You should post that last sentence in it's own thread, as it changes the direction of this discussion   

danelle learning how to cook and make stuff from scrach will save you money all so i remember the first time i tryed to make bread you could eat it but not that you wanted to lol it was preatty bad it took a little bit but i finally got it right and i dont buy bread any more so it was a trail by fire but i finally got it and now i try new things all the time i need to section this stuff up a little and i think the cooking should be in the basics to

their is just so much information that i need to get out is seem overwhelming

their is alot of information to put out about food gardening and how to can food and so much more
 

I know sometimes my brain hurts from it all.  My first pumpernickel bread was like a brick the dog wouldn't even touch it.  I dropped a loaf on my foot and it left a bruise no lie. I got it now.  You know what I find so helpful sometimes is just the very basic basic info.  Good for reference after you become more experienced.  But having the very simple basics sometimes may leave the people wanting more.  Like this permaculture it seems so far over my head and so much to absorb that it can put me off as it's to complicated to give it a try.  And way to time consuming for the learning curve. But then I heard that it basically is working with nature and helping her do her thing, like a puzzle you just put in the pieces. Now maybe I have that all wrong but that is what I heard so I want to listen more.  I really think you have a great idea.  I don't know any one that dose not want to save time money be healthier have more energy all in a very easy or (maybe simple would be a better word) & cheap way. 

As far as the gasification comment I made earlier yeah kinda out there but I was thinking about cheap or free heat / energy source other than solar or wind.  That is or can be a huge part of your bills  hey guess you get another chapter for your book YOU CAN DO IT

did I tell you i am the cheap gal squeek ha  ha

Were all on the same path ,the map is just hard to understand at first.
im det free, wanting to move, i have 6 proprtys left to sell.
looking at solar? what a head ack. wind ? let alone looking for green house ideas and aqua.
just bought out a rabbitry,usp wife not happy. Cant wait to buy chicken, lots of ideas.
but i need to find the new house and land. 
i learned from the old ones, all i could , but now i have to leave the only home ive ever known.  Ha i enjoy trying , even the failures .
Use it up wear it out and rebuild everthing.

Bull well it seem like you dont have to be in that big of a hurry to move if i was you i would by land and build my own house i have been collecting material to build my new house for about 2 year and will buy the land out right and build it to my specs i will have alot of labor in it but not much money and will have the perfect home for me and my family and i have been cheap for a wail and saving all my money to buy this land to build my home so i can be det free and bill free i hope this is my retirement plan and i been saving for a wail and nexted year i will be able to buy my land out right then the true jounrey will start for me 

I wish that was true , the contamination  of heavy metals in the soil has me worried for my girls. i had test america do the work, the aluminum in my yard  is 5600  - anything over 10 has to be reported. lead ,zink, cromimum ,it just goes on from there.
im trying to not be a pack rat but , i have supplys,lumber,plumming, you name it.
equipment , air , forge and anvls. plows, trading is easy for me, I have a good deal problem.
i dont have the time to biuld i need to leave. we filter the water, and dont eat anything local any more.
soon it will hit the news, i hope, its sad what big cement companys can get away with,
money buys regulation changes and a blind eye.

bug eyed from looking on line for houses, and my head herts from new ideas .

i think in the next 2 or 3 months land deals will be prime to buy.

An old woman I knew once told me that her Husband who had died many years earlier had always made her buy the best.  He said,  Mary,  we are poor we have to buy the best.  Rich people can buy something less than the best and replace it.  But we are poor,  so we have to buy the best and make it last.  Another bit of saga advise I got from a Homesteading magizine some years ago.  There was an advise colume written by an older woman who had been homesteading for many years.  One of her comments was,  " Don't go to Town ".  When you go to town you spend money.  When you stay home on the farm you cant spend any money.  Think about that statment for a moment.  What do you have to do,  how much do you need to grow,  to can,  etc to actually stay on the place and never go to town.  It sounds romantic,  but its actually alot of work,  especially for us older guys.  If you can get to the point of being able to stay home,  and have all that you need,  you have made it to a wonderful retirement. 

Bull, I just watched a terrifying documentary on chem-trails and aliminum etc levels in the soil. Good Lord, I was shaking afterwards. Things can't grow properly in that kind of dirt. Well, unless they are genetically modified to do so but that is another paranoid conspiracy thread all it's own.

Friendly guy, I'm not afraid of hard work but that sounds really, really lonely to me. Kids thrive when they are around other kids and I feel pretty happy around a group of adults too. It doesn't have to be an expensive party but it does have to be fairly regular. I know my parents being musicians would just go bonkers if they were stuck at home all the time doing nothing but farming. How do you deal with that? I mean, I can see it if you have a big family all living together and everyone gets along pretty well and there are neighbours you like not too far away but... being self sufficient at the cost of your entire social life seems like not such a great trade off for me.

I think I'm meant for community living myself.

Some people are just more social than others.  Folks in the country used to walk or ride over to the neighbors a mile or so away and visit over coffee every now and then, and of course for large tasks like harvesting all the families would get together to do the work as a group.  This was the case before mechanized agriculture.  In my area a lot of the German settlers were literary or musical and they would walk to each others cabins to talk Latin and play music.  The Comanches would hang out and listen.

just north of town there is a settlment sight of vegatarians from the 1860 or before.
they layed out the comunity in a pie shape ,cut pie then the homes were all in the middle
each had a wedge i thought that was cool. and hid there grave yard.

im IN Chanute Ks. the lead is higher than Picher Ok. OOPs. where picher was.
Its hard to watch people die and not be able to get some help to stop the contamination.
Half the kids in middle school are on inhailer.
And dont look at the cement plant in oragon, 15 mile dead circle.(burnning computers)
asprin has powdered aluminum  thats what hold them together,did you know they burn old asprins to get rid of them?

Its hope ,we have to have hope, that we can make thing better, i just want to watch my garden grow,my kids grow up ,and have some fun doing it. Nothing fancy and as easy as possable.

I personally am thinking about this myself.  I think while your still working and have a good income shift everything you can into investments in your own retirement.  Make investments in your homestead and your future security by investing in your home, food, water, equipment, tools, and other necessities that you can draw on and even use to earn a living if you need to.  At this point money put into Social Security will either be gone or what it pays won't offset outrageous inflation so what it pays will not cover much if anything at all.  Money put into IRA's, 401k's, and other retirement plans will be nationalized and taken by a bankrupt govt looking for any source of cash they can.  So now is the time to shift your investments into the things you need for self sufficient living.  Call it green, eco, frugal, whatever you want but now is the time make those choices.

We are already starting to see a societal shift where families are being forced to stay together due to jobs and poor economy.  The rebuilding of the family nucleus may help our elderly as there are more family members around to help with the work that needs to be done around homesteads. 

While I agree we need to be frugal we have to keep in perspective that if there are things you need to buy to make self sufficient living possible then now is the time to do it and start making the transition today one thing at a time.  Waiting until later to buy things you need might be a mistake when the dollars we have saved are worth nothing.  So when we buy things now we should be focused on long term investments in ourselves instead of the other "consumer" type spending typical of our society. 

I turn 60 this June and husband is on SSD for his head injury and physical disablities..so we are there now..

and yes....plan ahead if you are still in "working condition".

we planned ahead but then lost a lot with our housefire in 2002, so also plan on what to do if there are major disasters in your area and your plans are destroyed..we had good house insurance so it paid all of our bills to get back on our feet "EXCEPT" for our replanting..which we have been doing as we can afford over the past 9 years.

good idea to plan for those planting disasters as well..if you can.

I did dig up and store in a garden as many PLANTS as I was able to..but there was a lot of damage done by the equipment as well..so unfortunately we lost all but a couple of our fruit trees and a lot of our other plants..

now that I'm reaching OLD age..I'm really thinking seriously about more and more permanent and perennial food crops..you can see by my blog how many I have put in..address below..but also would love to put in things like solar and wind..just have no $ to do so..

Crafty,  I agree that we are social animals,  I have 2 retired friends that I visit alot up here on the hill.  I guess my point is that to live cheaply not going where you will spend money is a good start.  I went to a Bargan store with one of my friends last week just for something to do.  I didn't need anything,  but I came home with $28 worth of junk anyway.  I can use some of the stuff,  and some might make my life easier,  but to be frank,  I was living OK with out the junk I bought.  If push comes to shove and you really need to conserve your funds to survive it can be done.  We all make choices,  if you have the funds spend it on things that make you happy or on things that you really need.  A businessman friend of mine would ask himself 2 questions befor he wrote a check for anything.  1] Is it neccisary  2]  Is it Fun.  If it wasn't a neccesity and it wasn't fun then why was he signing the check. 

Going green, but how, most of the time i cant find info or supplys for what im looking for.
I get lost  in solar. Wind work if , you have the right place. Greenhouses wow do i start small ,i dont want to step in to 20,000 of det. whats big enuff? Aquia ?
  its just 1 think at a time, the best we can but all day every day.
I bought out a small rabbitry ,couldnt resist it was to cheep, good stock, knowing i will have to move them when i move. 1 step at a time.
          Be positive ,

   My 'retirement plan' is a bit more crazy.  Here it goes....  
 
My husband and I have a ten year plan.  He a dozen of years older then me so is wanting to retire sooner rather then later.  Are plan most definitely has 'green' involved that's why we moved here a few years ago.   So right now he's working his butt off to pay for the establishment of our little place both resource wise and with the house itself.   It was a fire sale fixer upper type deal that we got for a steal in terms of cash. ( I didn't have potable water for two years. )It should be hopefully paid off mortgage wise next year.  In fact through some hard work and frugal living and planning we should be completely debt free by next spring.     Great, wonderful, so what are we planning to do, get into some more debt.... in this case down south, way down south, way way down south.  I'll be taking a trip next year to check out a few of countries.   I already have a change jar going to pay for the trip.  

  There's a number of  reasons we're considering this.    There's a big  differences in  general cost of living.  He does have a small pension from a stint in the military a dozen years ago which do to these countries wanting retirees to go there it makes it really easy.  Meet the threshold, which for most isn't high, 1000 or less in most and your in.   I can just tag along for the ride even though I'm far from retirement age and it's more then enough to easily live on.   Here living on it is a struggle.  Can be done but it's hard and it's only going to get more hard as years go on.  

I  also dislike winter more and more each year.  I thrive in a more moderate, warm and even tropical climate.   Every time I have traveled to somewhere like that I have felt more at home. More free and more healthy.    I hate wearing big shoes and boots and lots of clothes.   I like the idea of being able to grow something and harvest something year round.   It may sound silly but I really, really love tropical fruit, not the fruit you get here that's been picked unripened, shipped and then ripened.  Bleh.    A trip to Florida to visit my grandparents ruined me forever.  There, for a week I ate tree ripened mangos and starfruit  and there is just no comparison.  I want bananas that haven't been shipped green.   I barely touch any of that stuff now because it doesn't taste as good and it's not local.  I want to be able to have these things as viable local food sources.    Yes I know.  So selfish.    

Another thing is that more and more each year communities are being set up in these countries similar to intentional communities in Canada and NA and all based on green and or permaculture principles.  I've looked into a lot of these options closer to home but have written them off, financially they don't work and in the case of the US it would be difficult to immigrate and then there is the issue of cost of living once you get there.  There's a couple of places in Canada that look cool and we could probably do but that wouldn't address the "I don't like winter much" issue.  
Also looking towards the future where aging becomes a factor this type of living is quite appealing.  I like the idea of sharing a farm and getting the benefits from a farm without being solely responsible for every single little thing.    In the case of other countries it also helps mitigate issues around security.    I also like how this style of living helps with the being stuck factor of farming.  This is the one drawback that I don't like.   Going away for even a few days means a whole lot of organizing to make sure everything gets taken care of.  

Plus the big reason, is my yearning for adventure. I have always loved living in different places and dreamed of moving and living completely somewhere else.  I've always wanted to learn spanish or another language.  I dig different cultures.  Best times of my life have been traveling with a pack and discovering new places.    I'm only going to live once.  Might as well stop just being wishful.  

 So the general plan is to not just jump right in and go.  I'm not able to do that quite yet for a few reasons.  Plus I may end up not liking it and don't want to cut all ties and be stuck.   So I'm planning it in stages.  First are visits to a number of these places to get a feel of what they're like in reality.  Then if I find a good place purchasing a piece and using work here to pay for there and during that time period spending time building what I'm doing here there during the winter months which is the main growing season there.     Whether long term I'll eventually sell everything off here and move completely will depend.  I'm a bit leery of jumping in a doing that right away because I do have aging parents to consider.  Right now their health is fine but it's just a fact of life that they're at an age where anything can happen.   If we do end up going more full time in 5 years time then we may just rent this place out for a few years.  

 The overall plan though is to have everything in place within ten years so that we could feasibly just go and live quite comfortably on the pension that already exists but we're not going to cut off all options here either.    It's also a bit of safety plan for me because  if God forbid something happens to my husband I will at least have his pension.  I don't have one myself and failed to invest properly when younger (corrected that now) and don't have any prospects on the horizon of a career that would lead to some security.  


 I think it's all well a good to consider retirement under the idea that we're both going to be around and both be in good enough health to keep doing what we are doing now to a point.  Who really wants to think otherwise?  Of course I'm going to be on my feet and in my garden until the day I keel over.  I'm working hard to keep my and my husbands health in good order so this will happen.   However realistically I think it's smart to not only plan for that and have nothing else to fall back on.  


So there you go...  my crazy green retirement plan.  

It's not anywhere near a crazy plan.  Many thousands of 'expats' live in central and south America.  I, myself, plan to be one someday.  Keep in mind that there are only two countries (outside of the carribean islands) that speak english: Belieze and Guyana.  Brazil speaks portuguese and the rest speak spanish, altho French Guyana speaks french and Surinam speaks dutch.

If you watch HGTV, you will notice a lot of people buying houses at prices that rival nicer homes in the US and Canada.  These people tend to be rather spoiled and want that millionaire lifestyle, which can be had, at a price.  If you set your sight a little more frugally, you can find lots of reasonable properties that you can fix up over time.

I agree, growing fruits and veggies year-round is a priority for me, too, and to do it in an ecologically friendly manner is even more important. 

Many adventures await you, some wonderful and some scary, such as insects you have never encountered before.  Make local connections, and find out how they handle some of the issues.

Be prepared for two seasons, wet and dry.  You might want to explore a bit in each of these seasons, so you know what to expect. 

Here is an online magazine that you might enjoy:  http://www.escapefromamerica.com/

PaulB wrote:
It's not anywhere near a crazy plan.  Many thousands of 'expats' live in central and south America.  I, myself, plan to be one someday.  Keep in mind that there are only two countries (outside of the carribean islands) that speak english: Belieze and Guyana.  Brazil speaks portuguese and the rest speak spanish, altho French Guyana speaks french and Surinam speaks dutch.

If you watch HGTV, you will notice a lot of people buying houses at prices that rival nicer homes in the US and Canada.  These people tend to be rather spoiled and want that millionaire lifestyle, which can be had, at a price.  If you set your sight a little more frugally, you can find lots of reasonable properties that you can fix up over time.

I agree, growing fruits and veggies year-round is a priority for me, too, and to do it in an ecologically friendly manner is even more important. 

Many adventures await you, some wonderful and some scary, such as insects you have never encountered before.  Make local connections, and find out how they handle some of the issues.

Be prepared for two seasons, wet and dry.  You might want to explore a bit in each of these seasons, so you know what to expect. 

Here is an online magazine that you might enjoy:  http://www.escapefromamerica.com/

Thanks Paul.  Cool that you're thinking about it too.     I think I have read most everything in that particular link already.  LOL  I've been scouring the internet for info for about a year now and corresponding with a few expats on various blogs who are in different countries.    It's been quite the education process.    I don't have any interest in a millionaire lifestyle and have the expectation that I'll basically be transferring how I live here to there with the difference being  more wiggle room with how far the finances that can be depended on will go.   Gated communities with uber nice houses with a maid and gardener are not for me.   More then likely we will end up building it from the ground up and it will likely be half the size of what we're living in now.  I know many people who retiree to the south like to take advantage of the difference in costs and upsize into something they could not afford here. House of your dreams sort of thing.  The house of my dreams is quite different then that.     In the right locale I'd be happy enough in a one room shack.

Have you considered which country you might go to yet?   Right now I've narrowed down my gosee list to Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and Ecuador based on various factors.    There's also an eco-village in Jamaica I'm considering looking into.    I haven't really looked at Guyana or Surinam though.    I'm not too concerned with the language thing or at least it's not a limiting factor that would rule some out.   In my past travels I've found that after spending time immersed in other languages for a bit I pick them up. They make sense in context.     I stink at studying them from books or in classes though.  

we have had our eyes to old age now for a long time with my husband's disabililty..and we have been debt free for over 10 years..

This year I'm tearing off a damaged deck and replacing it with a wrap around one level deck with a ramp for handicappers..right now I don't require it neither does my husband but we could in the future and many of our friends are in wheelchairs, also it makes getting things into and out of the house easier to have a ramp.

also I have been using the hugel method to build up some of my  beds in the gardens to raised beds that require less bending

had hip replacement 8 years ago and when I did I added grab bars in our bathrooms and made some other adjustments in the house to make it easier to get around, we also have a walk in shower ..as climbing into and out of tubs is not possible for me.

I have a home gym that requires no electricity so that I can keep active in the wintertime here in Michigan and as of now am still working out 2 hours a day and in walking weather I walk several miles..to keep strong and healthy.

Most of my gardens are now perennial and they are becoming more and more perennial, as I have been studying more about perennial vegetables and adding them as I am able to..I also have a small greenhyouse which supplies salad greens all winter long so I can keep fresh healthy green plants in my diet which is now very low carb.

I have to repair fences this year cause of a windstorm from last fall, so I'll have new fresh fenceposts that should last the rest of my life..will be good to ahve that done..and hope to put in cement walks to our house and to the handicap ramp yet this year as well, If I can swing that.

have put in a generater that runs on propane and we have a wood furnace that heats both our house and our son's house next door, which means he can keep the fires going once we are too old to do it on our own.

also with him living next door we can share transportation and insruance costs for cars and trucks, and tractor and we share some of our other tools and things with us and our neighbors to save on costs.

like the idea above to not go to town and you won't spend, that is absolutely true, and often we really dont need those things we buy, hubby and I buy so much less than we used to but still could eliminate half of the things we pay for now monthly and still be doing well.

we also use permaculture ideas of not allowing organic material to leave the property as much as possible, or bring in more when possible, thus putting all the energy into the soil..thus when we are old our plants will be s trong and healthy and self fertilizing, and mostly perennial.

as you get older you also have a different way of thinking about THINGS..you tend to need and even want fewer things around..less clothes, less shoes, no makeup, not so fancy ..and we seldome ever eat out or go away from home for entertainment..we love our property and our home and it entertains us pretty good..

I used to also buy a lot of books, but now I have taken advantange of our local library and am borrowing them rather than buying them..wish I had thought of that when I spent all the $ on all the huge library of books I have here at the house..would have saved a lot of $ then.

Brenda, you are not too far from me, we are in Windsor at the moment and have a family cottage in Colchester village, about half hour south of here. Love it on that lake in summer, what a gorgeous area we are blessed with.

Just wanted to tell you that books have great resale value if you feel like trying to recoup some of that money. That's what I do with mine, sell them online or offer them to second hand book stores that buy from the permies. Space is an issue for me or I could easily fill up our entire home with books and crafting supplies! By the time I am of retirement age I'd need a massive library/craft room. I have to seriously limit myself in this area, it's my one collecting weakness as I am generally stuff-phobic about everything else .

  Oh dear.  Books!  I'm a certifiable bookie.  Over the years I've cut down on most every thing but books.  The hardest part about the move I made here was dealing with all my books.  I managed to get rid of several hundred but that was hardly a dent.     My problem is that most of the books I get are reference type books and things I refer back to year after year.  Sometimes I won't look at a subject area for a few years and then blam I'll be pouring over the shelf.  I don't buy fiction at all.  Those I'll get at the library.  I use the library a lot for other books but the unfortunately the system does not tend to carry the ones I really want to read.  I put in buying requests all the time though.  
  I know one of the biggest issue I'll have to deal with if my moving south plans go ahead is dealing with and most likely giving up a lot of my library.  It's gonna be tough.  I don't even like thinking about it.     

I'm looking at either Guyana or Brazil.  I speak a little spanish, and portuguese is not all that much different.  I want to live somewhere that they don't know what a snowshovel is. 

This moving to foreign lands is out of my league.  I have to figure out how to bloom where I'm planted. 

Maybe this is why I have resisted putting down roots where I live? I too would like to live where they have never heard of a snow shovel.

With no money for anything much, how does one go green for retirement on the cheap?

It does not take alot of money to go green you can build alot of the stuff if you do the research and learn what you are doing im building solar panels now and have built a wind turbine it has been running for about 3years now but I had some hick ups I just keep asking question writing people sending emails tell I think I have found the best and cheap way to do what I want to do their is a learning curve and I have mess up a few things but in the end don't stop tell im happy

Unfortunately I'm not very mechanically inclined, though I'm reasonably handy, I'm easily flummoxed by electrics.    I'm trying to learn how to do my own plumbing work presently.  And one still has to be able to afford some components and materials. 

Here is a link to an interesting DIY windmill.
http://www.applied-sciences.net/library/zoetrope.php

Regardless of your age, today would be a good time to start thinking about retirement.  (Yesterday would have been better.)  It is a changing world, and peak oil is going to accelerate that change.  Real estate prices are beginning to rise in some areas, but remain flat throughout most of the US.  Prices are only rising in areas with vibrant economies,  If you want to relocate now, and still need to work for income, you need to find a vibrant economy, as that is where the jobs are.  I am currently 'semi-retired', which means I do not want/need to find a job.  The poorer the county, the further my Social Security check will go, the more comfortably I can live.

My first few years "there" will be hard work, and a lot of capital investment to get it set up so I can "coast" for the remaining years of my life.  I plan on installing orchard/vineyard & brambles, plus many perennial crops.  I will have fresh eggs every day, and a freezer full of pork & chicken.  I will have ample rainfall for everything...except the growing season...will need to build ponds/cisterns for storage, as the roofs and seasonal springs will supply enough to get me through the drought months.  It won't be quick and easy (that's why I call myself  'semi-retired').  I'll still be putting in 40+ hour weeks, but instead of making money for somebody else, I will be working for myself and my children.

Nice RustyDog,
Thats where i am,selling off propertys and looking hard for a new home .
Its just finding that spot ,learning every day ,something i want to try out.
I find deals on everything ,people want out of det, being open minded helps.

I stoped to look at rabbit cages, ended up with 5 and much more equipment,
2 new water barrels, new cement blocks, 4 cattle panels.

I dont want to stay here ,my home of more than 40 years ,the contamination is just to bad.
had my soil tested EPA wouldnt  do it . cant leave fast enuff.

Crafty and Od

I don't really think most of my books are "resaleable" as I'm a big underliner, noter and highlighter..in my own books.

some people don't even like to borrow my books to read them..as I write entire books in them of ideas..

i have pared down by giving away hundereds but still have hundreds..I hate to think what my kid is going to do with all my stuff when we are gone !! sheesh..big fire??

I do also think about that..I'm putting all this work into this house to make us self sufficient, but what is going to happen to all of it when I'm gone..he has his own home next door to ours and he has no one, no wife or child..and he really doesn't care about my food forest gardens, etc..doubt if he would even pick the perennial fruit and berries for himself..

oh well..not to worry, once i'm gone he'll do as he pleases with it

Well, that's depressing Brenda. Can you will your land to a permaculturist that will carry on what you're doing? Seems a damn shame for it to end with you. I hope my kids carry on, I'm trying to instill these values in them anyhow...

Im sorry I have not been keeping up and adding more information but im kinda busy doing my duty for my country I will pick this back up as soon as I have the time sorry