Help Me Make "The Dream" a Reality

[Buckslayertx]

So let me start by saying I'm just and average guy with an average job, don't get me wrong I work hard and live like millions of others getting by, but not making enough to buy land "My Dream". I have struggled over the years finding and keeping leases, but to no avail, end up moving on. My dream is to have a nice little place to call my own. To do as I want, when I want and how I want. To have my boys grow up in some woods, to have a pond to fish and a creek and some hills to explore. A place to hunt and play. I'm not in any kind of place at 51 yrs old to be able to relocate or find a new job in a rural area that would support the current family lifestyle we have in town, nor would my wife want that right now. My boys are 6 and 3. Anyway I dream of and find some really nice places, but for now they are but a distant dream..short of winning the lotto (I only play when its huge) or inheritance (None of that coming) I'm at a loss on how it will ever be real. I read another post it's how bad you want it. Things like watching discretionary spending..cokes, beers, tobacco, etc and difference between want and needing. I know those are great things to think about and do but seem to take forever to get to the dream. I will be so old I won't be able to make it what I want to for the boys. So I'm getting impatient and wanting ideas on how to come up with the funds. I know the land and minerals themselves can sometimes produce income like selective logging, grazing, hay, water, even oil/gas. Not real big on that last one. Buying with a fiend or group would be an option but I would prefer the place to myself. I could lease to make a little bit. Coming up with the initial investment funds or down payment is a challenge as well. What are some ways to make it possible is what I'm getting at. I have never had a coach or mentor financially and have never been the one that's caught that lucky break to know the right person or be able to get that job to achieve my dream. I know I'm older but would be forever grateful for that person to guide me and help me understand and plan to get to that point. What are the best ways to have the land pay for itself? What does it cost to explore those opportunities and who do you contact. Can you set all that up in advance of a land purchase so that those returns off the land are available soon enough to make payments? I know in most cases it take money to make money and that's something I don't have. I've even thought of done some planning, no research yet on making the place an outdoor camp year round for kids. All seasons to learn skills and experience the outdoors. I'm a blank slate and starting from scratch but have the drive and determination to take those baby steps and turn them into a sprint to the finish line. Just a sincere guy asking for help. Sorry for the long read, but again I would really appreciate your time and comments.

[Burnadell]

Aint no way I am going to read that long of a post with no paragraphs. Most likely others won’t either. It’s too hard to read. I gave up after the second sentence.

[McClain]

This may not be exactly what you had in mind, but one option that you might want to consider is to work as a land or farm/ranch manager, especially if you are physically fit and have some experience. It seems landowners are always looking for good managers. In many cases the good managers and their families are able to use and enjoy the property also.

[hully1029]

Aint no way I am going to read that long of a post with no paragraphs. Most likely others won’t either. It’s too hard to read. I gave up after the second sentence.

He's 51 with 2 young children. Modest income and looking for guidance on how to best way to land some land for him and his family to enjoy.

[Smart]

I'm going to summarize for everybody and tell me if I have it right for easier reading.....


You have a dream to own your own land.


You are 51 and not in a position to move where you can own land and move your family just yet.


You cannot afford to buy it/ pay for it at the moment so you'd like somebody here to tell you how you can buy a piece of land and without being able to afford it hoping for some some pointers on how you can make it pay for itself....


winning the lottery is an option you are already working on.

And you mentioned oil and gas is not one of your preferred methods for income..


Did I get that right?

[captainsling]

Aint no way I am going to read that long of a post with no paragraphs. Most likely others won’t either. It’s too hard to read. I gave up after the second sentence.

Quiter! Lol!

[MadHatter]

You gotta make it real clear for some of the pretentious snowflakes on here brother. And use all the correct grammar, etc.. your problems are of no concern, we just need to have everything laid out in proper English .
You sound kind of clueless/directionless but at least your asking. Lots of educated people on here who can and will help you, without requiring you to be a literary genius.
For the record I read your entire post without skipping a beat, and never thought a thing about until it was brought to my attention. Some people have nothing better to worry about though.

[Smart]

You gotta make it real clear for some of the pretentious snowflakes on here brother. And use all the correct grammar, etc.. your problems are of no concern, we just need to have everything laid out in proper English .
You sound kind of clueless/directionless but at least your asking. Lots of educated people on here who can and will help you, without requiring you to be a literary genius.
For the record I read your entire post without skipping a beat, and never thought a thing about until it was brought to my attention. Some people have nothing better to worry about though.

For the record I was just summarizing in case your own pretentious post was angled at me..

[brokeno]

It's pretty much impossible for the land to pay for itself unless you have those pumpity pumps on them. Depending on what area you are looking if you'll get any minerals. Seems like the out of state prices are much cheaper. Good luck on your hunt and hope you find something that you can afford and enjoy with your family for years.

[solocam_aggie]

Aint no way I am going to read that long of a post with no paragraphs. Most likely others won’t either. It’s too hard to read. I gave up after the second sentence.

Goodness...

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

[jlp04c]

Are you wanting land and a house to live on full time? or are you wanting a place to go, visit/enjoy?

if it's the latter, with your described financial situation and maybe some unwillingness on your wife's end? Than I would start taking family trips to our VAST amount of public lands out west. Literally a lifetime worth of memories of places to explore that are free access for everyone. Endless streams, endless hikes.. all well well well cheaper than you'd pay for a note on something. Worth looking into.

[RascalArms]

You gotta make it real clear for some of the pretentious snowflakes on here brother. And use all the correct grammar, etc.. your problems are of no concern, we just need to have everything laid out in proper English .
You sound kind of clueless/directionless but at least your asking. Lots of educated people on here who can and will help you, without requiring you to be a literary genius.

You’re

OP I’m a little older than you and can sympathize with your situation. I too have had the dream of owning my own piece of land for years. I’ve worked hard all my life and tried to put back some savings here and there but being the sole income provider of the family and raising 2 kids ain’t cheap.
That being said, we have been fortunate and blessed enough to be able to recently pull it off after finding a small but great 10 acre tract of land. Now our “new” focus and dream is to build a shop and house and eventually move out there permanently. At least that’s the plan...to be able to build our dream home and retire there.
I can’t say I personally have any real advise to offer you other than to suggest that, like with any dream, there has to be sacrifices made to be able to afford it. I’ve been fortunate to make a decent income over the years but we also tried to always live “within our means”. That is to say, we’ve made financial decisions along the way that allowed us to pay off debt early (or at least “earlier”) and never ever borrowed more than we absolutely knew my income could support.

[Charles]

Develop a plan than work your plan.

Without a game plan it will always be a dream.

[SNIPER3388]

We are in the middle of it... sold our house, live in a paid off RV for cheap, and are putting 1000's with an S.. away every month. Gotta start somewhere... how big/hard you so to reach your dream is up to you.

Ill add some more here too. We did the dave ramsey plan, paid off most all our debt too.

[bownut]

Good luck to you. Hope you find what you need and dont listen to the negative people.