latoc young people's caucus (introduce yourself 15-25ish)

[DetroitDregs]

Saying Hello to the 25ish and younger and here to introduce myself:

Only just heard about PO from the Documentary "End of Suburbia."  I was looking through NetFlix's collection of "watch instantly" when I found it.  It sounded interesting, and now I am here.  I am fucking scared.  I am 27(close enough to 25ish) and have $120,000.00 in student loan debt I was banking on the economy doing well and my growing earnings.  I make 75,000.00 a year, but I live just outside of NYC as well as work there, so my expenses are high along with my loan repayments. I am a digital retoucher.  I haven't felt the effects of the market collapse yet, but I'm worried I may.  Just last year I started my own business, and employ 8 people.  I share the business with 2 others.  I am watching the market disappear and I don't see any fix in sight.  I've been looking at all the simple math that was never apparent to me before, and I know it will all fall apart rather soon.

Hey Frank, nice to meet you. Sounds like a really tough situation you have. As far as your loans, if you really believe in PO (or just that things are collapsing) I'd focus on preparation over repaying debts. That said, I wouldn't just blow them off because, really, no one has any truly solid idea of when/how it will happen- make sure you have your priorities straight, and follow through with what you decide. We're just making educated guesses. Also, before committing, really look into it -research yourself. It'll be a lot easier to prepare if you don't have any doubts. That said, I wouldn't worry too much about the debt myself, and I doubt many here would.

We plan to move back in with my parents in about a year or two, and I plan to spend my present weekends turning their 18 acres into something that can sustain us.  I want to try to earn as much money from my business as possible and then sell my 1/3rd to my partners.  This may be a bad idea, but I don't know what to do about my student loans.  I was supposed to be on a 30yr plan, but thats seems shot to hell now.  15% of the loans are federal, while the rest are private, what do I do?   ADVICE PLEASE!!!

18 acres is a lot to work with, you'll do just nicely, and more than likely a lot more than you'll be able to work and maintain yourself. There are a ton of resources here, use them. I'm also a fan of Mother Earth News -it will point you in the direction of a lot of useful and necessary skills and ideas. Learn Earth Sheltering Techniques for building homes, Forest Gardening, Animal Husbandry, Food Preservation. If you've never had any experience in simple living, start a garden, split wood, start hunting and learning to forage to get used to it. Of course, the most important things are being Warm/Dry, shelter and Food. As long as you have those, you will be fine. 

Also, buy guns; lots.- and Ammo. Make sure you know how to use them.

[jakam75]

foreverx62308 are u really from crawfordsville?  thats my home town ha

[thirdeye]

Im 25, male, graduating from college. 

[cboswel1]

I am 23 and am in my final year of college. I will be leaving with a BA in Justice Studies with a minor in Poly Sci. I go to a local branch of a major university in NE Ohio. Both of my parents lost their jobs/laid off, so i'm living in my car or with friends. I have a job and a YMCA membership, so things really are not that bad. I have been lurking on these boards for almost three years now and really enjoy the material, now what the fuck am I going to do with my life? I hope you enjoyed my simple sentence laced post 

[HawtFrog]

I'm 24 and I live near Zer0. I'm trying to get through college, my folks have been really supportive (I had some bad instances in school when I was younger) so it's kinda a  slow crawl. As for peak oil, both my parents know about it and we're trying to hold onto the land for as long as possible. I first really learned about Peak oil due to the documentary "End of Suburbia", which was really fascinating.

[islandgirl]

Wow, there's actually more young people here than I thought.  It's good to know that there's a bunch of young people that are aware and informed about the way things are going. 

I can't wait till I get my doomstead and place... that's what I'm waiting on.  Maybe I'll do some work and volunteer at the organic farms when I get a chance to get some experience under my belt.