The DownsideTo InvestingIn Precious Metals

Dateline: 16 December 2014

Once upon a time (not all that long ago) American money was made with a precious metal content. Those days are gone, and a thin, worn, 90% silver  Mercury dime is now worth about $1.50.

There are people who invest in precious metals, like gold and silver. By “invest” I mean they purchase with the hope that the price of the metals will rise, and when it rises they will sell, thus making a profit. Some of these investors actually do end up selling and making a profit on their investment.

There is, however, a downside to investing in precious metals, and it is rarely discussed. The downside is that when you go to sell your metals, the US government wants a significant chunk of the profit you make. Precious metals are classified as collectibles and, if held for more than one year, they are subject to a long-term capital gains tax on any profits realized when you sell. The tax is currently 28% (the government can raise it at any time).

If you invest in precious metals and lose your record of purchase (i.e., a receipt), then sell years later, my understanding is that your capital gains tax would be on the entire sale, not just the profit realized from the sale.

Also, if you invest in precious metals and hold them for a long period of time, then sell for a profit, you may not be making nearly as much profit as you think you are. When you figure the loss of dollar purchasing power due to inflation over those years, along with the 28% capital gains tax, you could find there was little actual profit, if any. Read A Basic Lesson in Financial Repression to better understand how yearly inflation destroys investment profits in a basic savings account. The same principle applies to precious metal profits.

And then there is the matter of your investment not generating any income for all the years you held it. Some investments do generate a steady income (e.g., rental fees or a dividend). Precious metals do not.

With all of that in mind, am I suggesting that it is not wise to own precious metals? No, I am not. My point is that it may not be wise to invest in precious metals, with the expectation of making a future profit.

It so happens that there are reasons other than investment and hoped-for profit to own precious metals. Many people buy precious metals as a hedge against inflation. A “hedge” is a financial tactic taken to insure against total loss. As explained in My Hyperinflation Series, precious metals have historically been a dependable hedge in a hyperinflationary crisis.

The value of paper dollars always eventually goes to zero, but the value of precious metals never goes to zero. Even in a deflationary crisis (which it appears the world economy is currently experiencing), precious metals will maintain some real value.

Another reason people own precious metals is as a hedge against a socio-economic meltdown. But in the early stages of such a meltdown, precious metals will probably be of little value. A supply of twenty-dollar bills (cash) may prove to be the best thing to have in the early stages of a crisis.

If the collapse proves to be one of epic proportions (and duration), tools, skills, and land on which to live and supply yourself with the basic needs of life (food, water, shelter) will be much more valuable than any precious metals. See my Agrarian-Style Economic Self Defense Plan for more details.

After the epic collapse, as civilization restructures itself to adapt to post-industrial, neo-agrarian realities, precious metals may be a part of the new economy, in which case, having some precious metals may be beneficial. 

Another reason some people buy precious metals is for privacy.  As “collectibles,” precious metals are not conventional paper assets and therefore are not easily “seen” and tracked by the eyes of government and financial institutions.

However, depending on who you purchase from and how much you spend, your transaction may be reported to the IRS. My understanding is that any purchase over $600 is supposed to be reported to the IRS by precious metals dealers (somebody can correct me if I have that wrong). And, of course, when you sell, there are government reporting guidelines that dealers are required to comply with.

Another plus to having some precious metals is that, unlike conventional, dollar-denominated assets, precious metals can not be so easily stolen or mismanaged by banks, brokerage houses, governments, and so on. Institutional theft (of various kinds) is something that we will surely be seeing more of in the years ahead. The infamous Greek bail-in of 2013 is just one example of this kind of theft. 

Many cultures around the world traditionally accumulate and preserve their life savings by purchasing precious metals instead of paper investments. They are more interested in preserving wealth than investing to generate more wealth. People in Asia, India and the Middle East have a long history of this, and they are major buyers of precious metals today. These cultures have a completely different perspective from that of the average American about what what real wealth is. But there are some Americans who have the same mindset. 

A final reason for having precious metals could be the fun and satisfaction that comes with collecting something as a hobby. Precious metals in the form of coins have been collected by people for generations. Unlike collections of things like stamps, baseball cards or beanie babies (remember them?), precious metals have an intrinsic value and can be sold very easily if the need ever arises.

In the final analysis, there are several reasons for owning precious metals. But purchasing precious metals as in investment may not be such a good idea.

That's the way I see it. As always, I welcome your insights and comments on this subject.

People in India buy precious metals (primary gold) in the form of jewelry.
PHOTO LINK

The Myth OfCompound InterestorA Basic Lesson In Financial Repression

Dateline: 14 December 2014

You’ve probably heard of the miracle of compound interest. It has gotten a lot of attention over the generations. I myself have pondered and marveled at how consistently saving a little, on a regular basis, over a long period of time, coupled with compounded interest, can make a person rich in later years. I’ve even expounded about this fundamental investment advice to my children, hoping they would grasp the wisdom of delayed gratification and disciplined saving.

But I must admit that I’ve always had a niggling feeling about the miracle of compound interest.  Is it truly a valid (or even desirable) approach to attaining wealth? 

Maybe some day I will discuss the desirability (or ethics) of seeking to pursue wealth by usury, but not today. In this little  blog post I’d like to address the validity of the miracle of compound interest. That is to say, does this so-called miracle really have a sound basis in fact? After giving this subject some serious thought,  I submit to you that it does not.

Theoretically speaking, it’s entirely possible to make a lot of money with compound interest. And it may be that there have been periods of time throughout history when the miracle of compound interest actually worked as the experts say it will. But I can assure you it has not been a logical or wise investment strategy for a very long time in this country. 

Furthermore, within the emerging new economic realities that we are all facing, the miracle of compound interest is a complete and total myth. As such, it is one of the worst bits of investment advice that you can follow.

Compound interest can not make anyone wealthy these days, and it has not made anyone rich in the last hundred years or so. This is the case because for the last hundred years we have experienced continual inflation, and inflation destroys the miracle of compound interest. Worse than that, inflation typically results in a negative real interest rate, which amounts to a compounded financial loss. This is known as financial repression.

For example, according to This US Inflation Calculator (as seen in the screen shot below), $20 in 1914 had the equivalent buying power of $474.87 dollars today. And the inflation calculator tells us that is a 2,274.3% rate of inflation.

In order for the miracle of compound interest to bear fruit in that hundred years, the interest earned on saved money would have to be more than the rate of inflation. There may have been periods of time when that was the case, but I don’t think it was the case very often or for very long.

The reality of compounded financial loss can be illustrated very easily by looking at today’s interest and inflation numbers. Let’s say you have $10,000 dollars in your savings account. It is probably earning less than 1% interest. To make this example easy, we’ll be generous and say you’re earning a full 1% on your money.

Now we’ll figure in the current inflation rate. These days our government tells us that the inflation rate is around 2% and that it has been around 2% for several years. But the government lies. As I’m sure you know, our government can’t be trusted to provide us with true financial numbers. By lying and deceiving us about these things, our government cheats and steals and mismanages even more of our money.

In a recent interview, John Williams of ShadowStats, says that the true inflation rate is between 5% and 9%. I heard another independent financial analyst say that he thought the inflation rate was around 6%. Suffice it to say that inflation has has been much more than 2% for many years. Let’s go ahead and assume that 6% is the number....

If the inflation rate is 6% and you are earning 1% on your savings, then you are losing 5% a year. Very few people see or fully understand that they are losing money because their bank account doesn’t show a loss. Here’s what I mean...

If you earn 1% simple interest, compounded annually, on your $10,000 savings, you savings account would show the following gains...

Year 1:  $10,000.00 x 1% interest = $100.00      
Total savings = $10,100.00

Year 2:   $10,100.00 x 1% interest = $101.00      
Total savings = $10,201.00

Year 3:   $10,201.00 x 1% interest = $102.01     
Total savings = $10,303.01

Year 4:   $10,303.01 x 1% interest = $103.03      
Total savings = $10,406.04

Year 5:   $10,406.04 x 1% interest = $104.06    
Total savings = $10,510.10

Year 6:   $10,510.10 x 1% interest = $105.10      
Total savings = $10,615.20

Year 7:   $10,615.20 x 1% interest = $106.15     
Total savings = $10,721.35

Year 8:   $10,721.35 x 1% interest = $107.21    
Total savings = $10,828.56

Year 9:   $10,828.56 x 1% interest = $108.29    
Total savings = $10,936.85

Year 10:  $10,936.85 x 1% interest = $109.37     
Total savings = $11,046.22

Thus we see that after ten years of 1% interest, an investment of $10,000 will earn $1,046.22 in interest. HOWEVER, the reality of the situation is that, even though the $10,000 has grown by 1% a year, and it shows an increase in money in the account, the purchasing power (the true value) of the $10,000 has actually DECLINED by 5% a year (as I explained above). So let’s look at the same account, showing the true, compounded loss of 5% a year.

Year 1:   $10,000.00 x 5% inflation loss = $500.00
Total purchasing value = $9,500.00

Year 2:    $ 9,500.00 x 5% inflation loss =  $475.00
Total purchasing value = $9,025.00

Year 3:    $ 9,025.00 x 5% inflation loss =  $451.25
Total purchasing value = $8,573.75

Year 4:    $ 8,573.75 x 5% inflation loss =  $428.69
Total purchasing value = $8,145.06

Year 5:    $ 8,145.06 x 5% inflation loss = $407.25
Total purchasing value = $7,737.81

Year 6:    $ 7,737.81 x 5% inflation loss = $386.89
Total purchasing value = $7,350.92

Year 7:    $ 7,350.92 x 5% inflation loss = $367.55
Total purchasing value = $6,983.37

Year 8:    $6,983.37 x 5% inflation loss = $349.17
Total purchasing value = $6,634.20

Year 9:    $ 6,634.20 x 5% inflation loss = $331.71
Total purchasing value = $6,302.49

Year 10:  $ 6,302.49 x 5% inflation loss = $315.12
Total purchasing value = $5,987.37

As you can clearly see, when we look at what is actually happening to the value of the $10,000 savings account over ten years, with a 1% interest rate, and a 6% inflation rate, there is no net gain in value at all.

The owner of the savings account may look at the total of his account and think the value of his $10,000 increased by $1,046.22, but it actually declined in value by $4,012.63.

That is a significant loss. Almost half of the investment has been lost. If that person worked, scrimped, sacrificed and saved $100,000 (instead of the $10,000 example) for their retirement years, their money would have lost $40,126.30 in purchasing power.

This little mathematical exercise reveals the wickedness of inflation. Some people refer to inflation as a ‘hidden tax,” but it is not a tax. It is government sanctioned, premeditated theft. 

Knowing this, the question arises…. What can a person do to preserve the value of his hard-earned savings? That is a difficult question that I think about quite a bit. There are no easy answers that I know of. But I may try to offer some suggestions in the future. If you have any solutions, feel free to share them in the comments below.

We've Bought More Land

Dateline: 12 December 2014

(click picture for an enlarged view)

Well, we’ve gone and done it. Marlene and I have bought more land. It's nice grass land. We found out that the land was for sale, and heard that the price would be going up quite a bit after the first of the year, so we bought eight lots.

They aren’t building lots. They are burial lots. I suppose they are more commonly referred to as “plots.” 

Our final resting places will be side by side in the southwest corner of Kelloggsville Rural Cemetery. It’s a nice little cemetery, on the other side of the field across from our house. Our children will be able to stand by our plots as we are lowered into the ground, and see the little homestead where they grew up.

We once knew many of the people who are already buried in the cemetery. They were our friends and neighbors. Our lives intersected with them in various ways, and memories come to us when we look upon their headstones.  Maybe someday I’ll introduce you to some of them.

I feel very good now that this responsibility has been taken care of. The next thing will be to pick out a grave stone and figure out what to put on it. That will require some thought. There is no hurry, but I do want to have this done too. I am, after all, pushing 57 years old. My time is running out.

I only need one plot, of course, and Marlene only needs one plot. The other six are for our children and their wives, or whoever in the family may need them, when their time comes. I hope and pray that Marlene and I do not live to see any of those other six plots taken. They are for after we are gone.

Have you procured your own final resting place? It’s something to think about.

=====

Today's blog post reminds me of an excellent (agrarian) short story by Leo Tolstoy titled, How Much Land Does a Man Need? If you have never read any Tolstoy, this story is a good place to start. It is much shorter, and less complicated than War and Peace.

It's Okay To BeAn Introvert

Dateline: 9 December 2014

I’ve always been an introvert, and a fairly serious one. But only recently have I given it much thought. It started when I read Ten Ways Introverts Interact Differently With The World. Then I watched This Ted Talk with Susan Cain, author of the book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

It is estimated that 1/4 to 1/3 of the population is introverted to some degree. Maybe you are an introvert. If so, you may have had a difficult time growing up. That's because we live in a society where the qualities of an extrovert ( the “extrovert ideal”) are seen as better or more desirable than the qualities of an introvert. 

There are a lot of misconceptions about introverts and 10 Myths About Introverts is well worth reading if you would like to understand people like me (or maybe yourself) better. Myth #7 is so particularly me that I am compelled to share it here...

Myth #7—Introverts are weird.    Introverts are often individualists. They don't follow the crowd. They'd prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don't make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

In reading about the qualities of introverts I came upon the statement that introverts tend to be more deliberate than extroverts. Well, no wonder I latched onto the The Deliberate Agrarian as the ideal title for my blog. 

Like I said, I'm a fairly serious introvert. Another example of this is my lifelong dream to have a home-based mail order business. It's the perfect business for an introvert. And I don't have a business phone (introverts don't like to talk on the phone). 

I encourage you to watch the TED talk. See if  you can relate to what Susan Cain says. And check out her Quiet Web Site for more information. Also, you may find Susan's Manifesto For Introverts of interest.

I have ordered the audio version of Quiet to listen to. I'm very anxious to hear this book. I’m sure I’ll have more to say on this subject in the future.

The quote is from Emerson. I don't believe that being yourself is "the greatest accomplishment," but I do think it is a worthy goal. And it is also  a noteworthy accomplishment to live contra mundum (against the world system), which is pretty much what living a deliberate agrarian lifestyle is all about.

Driving School Bus

Dateline: 8 December 2014

My middle son, Robert, the one who recently got a job as a mechanic at the local school district bus garage, is now going to drive school bus. It so happens that there is a shortage of bus drivers, and the two mechanics are needed to fill in. 

The ironic thing about my son driving a government school bus is that he never went a single day to government school in his life. He was home schooled.

The reason there is a shortage of bus drivers is that few people want the job. Though it pays relatively well, it’s a part time job (to start). And then there is the matter of the kids.

Driving a government-school bus can be stressful because kids these days are so incredibly disrespectful. Most every school bus driver can tell you some amazing stories of just how bad kids are on their school bus.

Part of the problem is that bus drivers these days have virtually no recourse in dealing with problem kids. It isn’t like when Mr. Gray drove the school bus when I was a kid.

I’ll never forget the day  (it was probably 1975) when Mr. Gray pulled the school bus over on a country road, shut the motor off, walked back to a high school kid who was being a problem, told him to stand up, and then gave him a good (loud) slap in the face, and a stern talking to. 

The bus was real quiet after that. The problem kid was never a problem again. And neither was anyone else, when Mr. Gray was driving the bus.

One of the busses in our school district transports kids to a Christian school in a nearby city. This particular bus driving job is known as the “gravy run,” meaning it’s easy and enjoyable because the kids are never disrespectful, loud, or out of control. 

And then there is the Amish bus run. The school bus transports local Amish children to the local Amish school. As you can imagine,  those kids are well behaved too.

I’m wondering..... Do you have any interesting personal stories about riding on the school bus?

Coming Soon…Deliberate AgrarianLite

Dateline: 5 December 2014

Classic American clothespins.

My plan was to return to blogging here December 1st (last Monday). But Monday was the day I put this year's production run of Classic American clothespins up for sale, and the response blew me away. I've never had so many orders roll in so fast. I took the order buttons down seven hours later and have been intensely focused ever since, trying to get all the orders filled.

As of this evening, I am caught up, and tomorrow morning at 7:30 am eastern time I will put the order buttons back up. I have around 500 finished clothespins left to sell and a few dozen assemble-them-yourself kits. 

After this 2014 clothespin experience is behind me, I will return to blogging here. My approach will be to do what I've always done…. discuss things that I'm doing and subjects that interest me. However, I will be making a conscious effort to keep my posts short. I have less time to write than ever before, and I'll bet you have less time to read. So this should work out pretty well.

And I plan to publish a blog post 3 or 4 days a week.

Stay tuned for Deliberate Agrarian Lite.

RuminationsFor October 2014(and a change in this blog)

Dateline: 30 October 2014

Kennebecks on the top and Yukon Gold on the bottom

I'm relieved to report that my 2014 crop of potatoes is now dug and in the basement. I got a decent yield from about 240 feet of rows. The best and biggest spuds are now in the basement, and we were able to share some of the harvest with three other families. Now I can cross that off "the list" and move on to other pressing tasks, like getting this year's firewood split and stacked…

Futureman at work

My two-year-old grandson (a.k.a., Futureman) "helped" me dig the potatoes this year. He now knows where potatoes come from, how to pick and place (not throw) them into a container, and that they get stored down in the basement.

Now the eating of potatoes at the dinner table takes on new meaning. It involves shared memories of harvesting and putting the crop away. Next spring, I'll have Futureman help me plant the crop. And by then, maybe he will be able to say "potato." 

Futureman can repeat the syllables. "Po"… "ta"… "toe". But he can't put them together yet. 

Mostly, he calls them "toes."

The child's wooden wheelbarrow in the two pictures above (click pictures to see enlarged views) is an antique that I recently bought. It's a good size for a two-year-old. I bought it as much for the inspiration as for my grandson.

I hope this winter to find time to develop plans for a similarly-sized child's wheelbarrow. I will offer the plans as an inexpensive PDF file. Every rural child should have a first wheelbarrow. In time, I also hope to come up with plans for an adult version.

chopped peppers on a tray to be frozen

In retrospect, this year's garden was probably the best I've ever had. Marlene takes care of growing the peppers. She also has a few blueberry bushes. I take care of everything else. And she cooks what I grow. The pepper pieces pictured above were frozen on the tray, then put into bags. I took that picture to use as my screensaver image (click for an enlarged view).

Speaking of gardening, I listened to the Survival Gardening Secrets audio-book (pictured above) this past month.

Most of the audio presentation is done by David Good, of the Florida Survival Gardening blog, and David has done a remarkably good job with this product. He has a great audio persona.

Presentation aside, the audio book really is packed with truly useful information for anyone who wants to learn how to garden. 

Personally, I know how to garden pretty well but I'm open to learning new things. For an experienced gardener, this audio book is the equivalent of comparing notes with another experienced gardener, which is something that I always enjoy doing.

In addition to David's discussion, there is an excellent, informative introduction to seed saving by Lucinda Bailey of Texas Ready. Another presentation by Paul Wheaton of Permies.com (on the subject of permaculture) is good, but marred somewhat by a few profanities.

In the final analysis, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to David Good's "Survival Gardening Secrets."

The above-pictured book is just-published and should be of interest to anyone who is yearning to break away from the rat race of wage slavery by making a living at home, on their land. It is exactly the kind of book I would have bought when I was a teenager. 

Fact is, I did buy several books along the same lines back in the 1970's. One, in particular, that I remember (and probably still have somewhere) was How To Make a Living in The Country (Without Farming), by William Osgood. 

How to Make Money Homesteading includes "18 inspirational real-life profiles," one of which is my story, which is to say the story of my Planet Whizbang homestead business. You will, of course, want to get a copy just to read my profile. :-)

I confess… I haven't had time to read How to Make Money Homesteadingyet, but Anna Hess, over at The Walden Effect has, and she wrote a review At This Link.

Marlene and I were recently at a Mennonite grocery store and gravitated to the book department. We bought a copy of To Train Up a Child, by Michael and Debi Pearl and started reading it. Though we haven't finished reading, our impression is that this is a profoundly good book on child training.

But it turns out the book is very controversial. When I see the media animosity directed towards Michael Pearl for what he has written in the book, I'm kind of shocked.

I always thought that parents were supposed to train their children to listen and obey. This can be, and should be, done without anger or abuse. The Pearl's book outlines how to train a child without anger or abuse. It's a sensible book. I think the parents of America should be embracing the wisdom in this book!

I can relate to what the book teaches because it is, essentially, the way Marlene and I trained our children to behave and listen to us. Our children never misbehaved in public when they didn't get their way. And it didn't happen at home either. Neither Marlene nor I were the kind of parents that yelled at our kids (or each other). Our children grew up in a peaceful, loving, Christian home. 

I don't think my sons fully appreciated the blessings of their home life when they were growing up, but they have come to realize how rare our home was as they've gotten older. I just hope they are able to raise their children in the same kind of home atmosphere.

Anyway, back to the Pearl family…. If you have young children, or grandchildren, I encourage you to watch The Fruit of Child Training Webinar on YouTube. What a pleasure it is to watch the Pearl family and listen to them discuss how they were raised. It is obvious that this is not only a Christian family, but a Christian agrarian family. And a deliberate Christian agrarian family at that.

One of the comments to the YouTube video is worth posting here…

"I heard the things the media were saying about your book, and about you. My 1st reaction was horror. I bought your book and read it myself, and now I know that the media lied about you. I wish your book had been available when my children were young. May God Bless you and your family."

A "new" energy drink.

As yet another example that "agrarian" is trendy, there is now  bottled switchel. The Vermont Switchel Company boldly declares on their web site: "Our Agrarian Heritage in a Bottle."

The Vermont Switchel Company's switchel is made with apple cider vinegar, maple syrup, ginger, lemon and molasses. 

Then there is Up Mountain Switchel, which plays on it's Vermont connection, but is made in Brooklyn, New York. Up Mountain Switchel is just vinegar, maple syrup and ginger.

I've had switchel a few times in my life. I liked the novelty of it. I liked the traditional-historical aspect. I liked the healthful qualities. But I didn't much like the taste. However, if I'm ever someplace where Vermont Switchel or Up Mountain Switchel is for sale, I'm going to give it a try.

I've blogged here a couple times in the recent past about ebola and colloidal silver, wondering if ebola is truly a threat and if colloidal silver may be an effective treatment or preventative. 

Something doesn't "add up" with ebola in the US. I can't quite put my finger on it but this whole thing, as it is unfolding, doesn't make sense to me at the moment. So I'll put my ebola comments on hold.

But I'm convinced that properly made colloidal silver is an effective treatment for any kind of bio-infection. And, after thinking about it for several years, I decided to buy a "silver generator" that is more advanced than my 9-volt battery generator (that I haven't used in a very long time). 

I got the Silver Lungs "system."  Delivery time is four weeks out. I think a lot of people are buying these things.

One of the 2014 Classic American Clothespins

For those who missed my most recent Planet Whizbang e-mail newsletter, this year's production run of Classic American Clothespins is scheduled to go on sale the morning of December 1st. I am pleased with how these clothespins turned out and will have approximately 10,000 clothespins to sell. First come, first served. 

The Toe-Tapper Faucet Switch

Some of you may recall the Toe-Tapper Faucet Switch I made and Sold Here Back In June. I've gotten feedback on the switch from a few people but not many. 

If you purchased one of the Toe-Tappers and used it, please e-mail me or leave a feedback comment below. A Farmshow magazine editor has expressed some interest in the Toe Tapper. I can forward all honest feedback on the prototypes to him.

I have no plans to make and sell these Toe-Tappers in the future. I will, however, put the specifications together in pdf format and make them available for a couple of dollars. That is a this-winter project.

One person has contacted me about producing Toe-Tappers to go with an outdoor fish-cleaning table he makes. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who wants to make Toe-Tapper faucet switches and sell them can go right ahead and do so. I don't want anything from it. All I would ask is that you give credit where credit is due and let people know I developed the idea. That way I get a little marketing exposure (PlanetWhizbang.com) from it. Thank you.

A Change In This Blog

The US Postal Service found me this last month. I got a call from a regional representative. He wanted to stop by and meet me and maybe help me save some money with shipping. The fellow stopped by for a half hour or so. He was was downright nice and genuinely helpful… not what I expected from a government employee.

I spent over $53,000 in postage last year, shipping over 4,000 packages. I think it will be even more this year. Planet Whizbang continues to grow, and I am continually boggled by it.

Back in December of 2007, when the business was much smaller (and it was named, Whizbang Books), I posted a blog titled, For Sale: Whizbang Books (The Business). Some people wrote expressing an interest in buying the business. The blog post was up only a couple of hours before I quickly removed it. I changed my mind. 

Here is part of what I wrote at that time…

Years ago (the 1970s), there was a business similar to what I believe Whizbang could be. It was called Garden Way. The business published how-to books, sold cider press kits, rototillers, garden carts, and a whole lot of other products for the homesteading crowd. Garden Way tapped into a growing trend for getting back to basics. Garden Way became a multimillion dollar business.

Whizbang Books could easily be another Garden Way. There are so many possibilities for building on the Whizbang foundation that I have established. But I’m not sure I’m the person to make this business much bigger. I work a regular full-timejob to provide for my family and it leaves little time for Whizbang expansion. My mind is not geared for marketing and big mail-order business. I don’t even have a computerized list of my customers. I don’t do bookkeeping very well. I don’t like to talk on the phone. I am reluctant to spend the money it takes to expand. For that matter, I don’t even have the money to spend to expand. I do not “think big enough.” That is what I’ve been told, and it is probably true.

I’m more of an idea person. I like to create things. As much as I would like to do it (and to a small degree am doing it) developing a big, profitable, mail order business is not necessarily something that suits me. That’s just the way I am. 

This last year saw enough growth at Whizbang Books that I am wondering if I can continue to handle the demands if the business grows much more. There is only so much that one man, with a little help from his family, can do in a part time capacity. So, today, as I was working in my shop, it occurred to me that I should offer the business for sale.

It's kind of funny for me to read what I wrote seven years ago, and how I felt about my business. It's funny because the business has grown, I'm still the same guy, and I'm still overwhelmed.

At this point, I'm not looking for a buyer, but I am looking to get more organized and efficient in the small space I have to operate out of. I'm also intent on getting ahead on much of my product inventory (this things that require manufacture or assembly on my part) through the slower business months of winter.

That is one reason I am deciding to cut way back on my blogging. I need to focus on doing more productive work and running my business more efficiently. If I can do this, I will have more time next summer for doing the other things of life, like, for example, keeping my lawn mowed, doing some long-overdue home repairs, and spending more one-on-one time with Futureman. As much as I love it, working at the business 12 to 14 hours a day, all summer, is getting to be too much.

The other reason I need to cut back on blogging is that my eyes are beginning to really bother me. I spend way too much time staring into a computer screen answering customer e-mails and processing orders. My vision is getting worse, and I'm getting concerned about it.

So, as it stands now, I will be blogging only once a month, on the last day, like I have done today. This new blogging format will be similar to the Monthly Blogazines I posted here from April 2009 to March 2013. But the Blogazines tended to be longer productions with more thoughtful ruminations. My  new format will, of necessity, reflect less depth of thought and be more brief.

My thanks to all of you who read this blog, and who often comment. I have learned from you and been blessed by your insights. I hope you will continue to meet me back here, Lord willing, on the last day of every month.

Herrick Kimball

10/31 Update...

David Good has suggested to me that a better approach to my blogging dilemma might be to write several short blogs at one time, then post them through the month. He says, for example, that this end-of-month blog post could easily have been broken into five separate posts. 

That makes sense to me. Shorter posts are probably better than longer ones because most people are not inclined to read a long post. I know this is true when it comes to newspaper editorials. If an editorial is only a few sentences long, more people read it as compared to the long-column editorials. 

So I'm rethinking my approach here. I'm going to take the month of November off so I can focus on getting  my clothespins finished for the December 1st deadline, then I think I'll implement David's suggestion.

Short, sweet, and frequent blog posts. That's what David does at Florida Survival Gardening and it is also what Mark and Anna Hess do at Walden Effect. Thanks, David!