Greg's tips for staying out of debt.

Greg's tips for staying out of debt. Don't let the bank control the rest of your financial life. Limit debt purchases in your daily life. If you don't have the money, don't buy it. By adopting this conservative behavior, you will soon be able to have things in life by paying for them instead of using a loan to purchase them. Excessive debt is like walking around with a ball and chain around your neck. If you want to keep your farm profitable every year, check out my 3 grazing books that I wrote on our website: greenpasturesfarm.net/books/

[@lesleykissamericafarm9349]

The Bible says a borrower is a slave to the debtor...

[@Cullen_Bohannon]

Dave Ramsey says it best...

[@lesleykissamericafarm9349]

​@@Cullen_BohannonI agree that Dave Ramsey is a good financial guru, but he certainly doesn't say it better than what's in the Bible...

[@nevinkuser9892]

Wow. Even the bible said that? Jeez, this credit enslavement has been going on forever.

[@lesleykissamericafarm9349]

A slave to the lender*

[@hadnick1]

One thing I’ve always done is avoid debt as much as possible my whole life. I bought a 93 Cummins in 2008 at $5k cash and have driven it everyday since with only minor easily fixed issues and regular service. I bought 160 acres for $18k cash in the high desert that was 75% covered in annual grass and a some bare spots. I also bought 4 cows two heifers and a bull to get started. Unfortunately I bought a tractor also, that I thought I was gonna need, but in three years I put less than 15 hours on it so I’m gonna post it for sale towards the end of this month and then buy 10-12 more cows/heifers, enough meat chickens for me to eat chicken every other day next year, more laying hens and some solar panels for running a freezer since I’m completely off grid. I wish I would have bought all that stuff to begin with but I figured I was gonna need the tractor more. At least it’s worth more now than it was when I bought it though…

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Your doing things right. Great job, congratulations on living off grid. Electric bills are going sky high, your insulated from that!

[@georgeheller2281]

Not a rant, that is important advice to follow. Going into debt should not be taken lightly. Fencing, and livestock should be the primary focus of the money when starting out. Shiny things can be distracting, shiny cows make money. Thank you Greg, and have a wonderful day.

[@miraclefarm1927]

Great advice! I'm helping my daughter (grunt work) in her second year of raising cattle. She drives a $100 car. borrows our tractor, has 2 part time jobs, and her first calves are fixing to hit the ground soon. Working her way up to South Poll by breeding her mixed herd with a Hereford. She has invested in posts, wire, and reels and now has the cows trained and some experience under her belt. Starting out is harder than we imagined, but those calves on the horizon will be worth it.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You have got to be very proud of her! Wow she is doing well. to tell her that it takes 10 years of working and improving

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

It takes 10 years of working, making mistakes but she will hit the peak of the mountain on things get much better from there. I think she has a bright future in developing a good grazing farm.

[@marjnussby8305]

Way to go; so exciting!

[@miraclefarm1927]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher your response will be a blessing to her! Thank you

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

From all the sacrifice that she is making today, she will be extremely appreciative for all her success in the future.

[@daigledj]

Almost 40 and seeing the finish line for cleaning up the financial poor (and sadly normal) choices of my teens and 20s. Meanwhile still trying to get family out of lifelong habits that led us there. Our dream is to get to a farming lifestyle but I'm not doing it by going backwards debt wise.

[@davemi00]

Save = Paying yourself First and Best Wishes, you Can do it.

[@kathleensanderson3082]

Was just talking to someone a couple of days ago about the way young people are taught bad financial advice -- promoting credit card debt and student loans to high school and college students, for example. It is so easy to get caught up in that, and a lot of hard work and sacrifice to get out of it.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You got that right.

[@marcus3457]

Young people really need to hear this message. It is critical.

[@markpiersall9815]

8:00 Greg ranched for 23 years without a tractor. I agree on the interest rates going up more. Unemployment is below 4% and oil is not $60. The fed left thing soft for so long to make the small banks weak, so they will be forced to sell to larger banks.

[@kurtlanford1448]

I’m proud of you Greg ! You sir are a great teacher ! Thanks for sharing your story.

[@arg6193]

I love those concrete block. In Florida they sell the 2x2x6’ size for $199 each! You got a deal!

[@coziii.1829]

Looks good I should have done mine like that . I also paid in cash God bless

[@TheOnlySgtRock]

This also applies to young people wanting their first house to be what mom and dad have with all the new appliances and furniture.

[@tommybounds3220]

Success is difficult to hide

[@dmckerrow06]

Thanks for sharing Greg. Great timing for me. Going to put off getting the tractor again.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Very smart decision for your future success in your farm.

[@jesseholman9687]

Greg, run a treated 2x4 vertical between the posts to tie all 3 of those 2x8's together. I had a similar situation on my pole barn addition. Helped jeep them all together. Also glad to hear you praising financial freedom of being debt free. My wife and I paid all our debt including the house off before we turned 33. Makes life much less stressful. We struggled up front in our life's to enjoy the later years.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Jesse that is great advice on the treated 2x4, I’m definitely going to do that. I might use a 2x6😀. Wow that is fantastic to reach that milestone of being out of debt at 33 years of age. Good job sir!

[@CopperStateCustomAdmin]

Im exactly who your talking about. more of this content Greg. I'm putting in timless on new land now and looking to buy animals. This is what I need to hear.

[@chrish1657]

Greg laying down the facts 👍

[@Wakeywhodat]

More excellent advice, you’re pretty good at that! Keep “preaching”, the younger folks need a good dose of wisdom.

[@gwp1ohio]

not to be the point out the obvious guy but for safety... I would immediately add diagonal permanent angle bracing at minimum each corner bottom to top. also make sure that the front of building with the 4 openings is framed as a portal frame... look at the roof truss engineered drawings, did they install the permanent bottom chord bracing and has the gable end bracing been installed...

[@elizebethparker5412]

I really want an ATV; however, I am getting more ewes and an additional ram.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You made the right choice!

[@TheRainHarvester]

I gave the same idea on an earlier video. I'd dig out that unstable pebbles first to the ground (in that corner), then add riprap. You don't want riprap sliding down the pebbles.

[@Warrior-In-the-Garden]

Thank you for saying this.

[@tangle70]

"If you don't have the money, don't buy it." - Yep We are out of debt and it is a really good feeling. There are things that we really want, but the feeling of freedom from the slavery of debt is better than that new toy. I really wish my parents would have taught me to be debt free. Now to eliminate taxes on your home home, then you can start to live free. Until them, you paid for and maintain the states home. Imagine if people would gather together in an area and remove chains like these and lived free.

[@jor4288]

Preach it, brother!

[@tommybounds3220]

Thank you for the video Knoxville TN.

[@coryv655]

Preach it! Love the Financial advice!

[@redmapleleaf4617]

Good rant and I agree with your rant. I always told my kids to treat debt like a disease. Catch too much of a nasty disease and it might kill you.

[@RedCowsGreenFields]

Excellent video and important message!

[@richardwaechter5426]

Another excellent video Greg

[@dwaynejones1146]

Great advise and great post.

[@slowbaker]

Looks great!

[@triciahill216]

Very insightful and helpful. Thank you.

[@PermaPasturesFarm21]

Excellent points!

[@zachhaygood5523]

Very wise words Greg. The borrow is always slave to the lender.

[@cassityart7001]

So important to conserve your cash flow around an excellent practical business model. Would it surprise you to learn that a group of farmers last century solved this financial enslavement system? Of course not. We are problem solvers. Blessings. 🌞🌱❤️

[@practicalsheepman]

Greg, before you fill around the edge of your building, think about installing some field tile. Fill the trench above the tile with #2 stone with no fines in it. This will keep the barn dryer particularly under the eves. Now is the time to do it before you grade around the building.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Another great idea!! Definitely going to do that to keep the water from creeping in my building. Thank-you for that great idea.

[@chivociso3887]

Really appreciate the wise advise of personal experience Greg. You are a Blessing to us 🙏

[@StubbsMillingCo.]

I build pole buildings. You could have used full dirt/clay then concrete on top of that. Concrete cracks due to several issues. Inconsistent mix being the main reason (too wet, too dry, too many rocks not enough mix). Down here in Columbia area the concrete is pretty bad right now. Mix companies can’t figure out what the problem is. I like the rock filll idea but you could have save so much money and time with full dirt and concrete

[@expatlifestyle2000]

That wall looks awesome. $57 sound pretty discounted compared to other options too. Im sure hauling it and setting it yourself saved you a fortune. Keep up the good work.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I hauled the blocks, Johnny my skid steer operator set up the blocks and leveled them.

[@davemi00]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher nice job too.

[@michaelmayrend313]

Thank you for following up on my previous comment. Each person is at a different point in their journey. Only spend as much as you can afford without going into debt. And you added the master point. Spend the money first on the thing that will give you cash flow in the shortest amount of time.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Thank-you for your earlier comment! Keep-em coming sir!!

[@michaelmayrend313]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher Does Isaac know of anyone doing your style of ranching in the south central part of Michigan yet? I am in the Ypsilanti area.

[@olddirtfarmer1988]

That was a great rant, no need to be sorry!

[@welder78s7]

Thanks for the information and the reminder to not use debt to start a business. Growing at the speed of cash is best and with a lot less stress and liabilities. It took us 2 years to get out of debt it was work but with only a house payment it give a guy a lot more options. Have a good day and God Bless.

[@midwayfarms]

Good advice good video

[@rickayers3150]

Nice job in deed

[@marvinbaier3627]

Thanks for the info! It’s great you keep us up to date on your projects. I think people need to know more what it takes to surviving farming/ranching. I worked on a very successful farm when I was a kid. The biggest thing I learn from them is smart hard work. You can work hard but if it’s not the right work you wasting work.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

That is very true Marvin, thanks for sharing those wise words with us.

[@heinrichlorenzen8671]

CASH IS KING

[@michaelbelle4702]

Good advice. I'm still looking for 40 acres in north carolina.

[@alterityregenerativeranchi7947]

Can we get an episode of your thoughts on how our country is doing? Thank y’all for all you do

[@markhowes126]

As I looked at shop and wall and stone I was thinking about your stage of farming. And then you said its exactly my thought. I'm at that stage myself love crushed stone and hate mud. Just thought of old saying. Beef cattle will make a poor man rich and a rich man poor!

[@Mammothbaron]

Do you have any updates on the shop? I think the pier idea from Johnny is a good one. I’d also consider putting those concrete blocks 2 rows tall along the back of the building then backfill and infill inside at the same time. I would set the first one 12” below the current soil level and keep it about 24” away from the back wall. That way you will have good support. Place drain piping also before backfilling. That way it stays nice and dry also.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Check out my video for this Saturday morning! Shop update !!!

[@oldnorthstateoutdoors2002]

Good advice Greg. The borrower is slave to the lender.

[@bonsukan]

That’s some good roof area to collect rainwater. Just an idea.

[@Teshuva_Tony]

Thanks Gregg. Can you share the percentage of cattle you sell to sale barn va private sale vs sell as prepackaged beef?

[@zekeshow3769]

Great advice Greg! But there’s no way that Dodge pulled all that weight. I think you meant to say Duramax! 😉😜

[@bitemenow609]

Great Seed stock is the Best money you will ever spend.

[@rharrell1]

Since most of the profit in animal meat production is made in processing. Just wondering if the mobile meat processing plant like they have in the bay area of northern California is going to be copied in other parts of the country. I think it cost the co-op ranchers about 1.2 million but now they no longer have to share their revenue with a commercial slaughterhouse.

[@Teshuva_Tony]

There’s a guy in north Texas who has a mobile butchering trailer. Not sure how many he can do in a day. It’s not cheap but comes out close to what the price is at the grocery store for packaged beef I think

[@leelindsay5618]

This inflation isn't caused by printing too much money when these egg companies and oil companies and other companies are reporting record profits every quarter and the companies are "complaining" that no one wants to work for minimum wage. We have monopoly corporations stealing worker wages and reporting it as profit, then jacking up prices and blaming it on "the pandemic" or "birdflu" while the CEOs have the largest raises in the last 2 years. Buying directly from CSAs that produce local meat, milk, eggs, etc I didn't see the same jacked up prices until I went to the grocery store for other stuff. Still the increase finally reached the CSA, but it was more like a 50 cent increase because grass didn't go up in price.

[@thefarmingbanker]

Not trying to be argumentative, but yes it is. People have always been greedy, so greed has no part in this. We created trillions of new dollars out of thin air. Not a coincidence

[@samuelahrens1936]

Great points!! Would you mind sharing percentages of what makes up your gross income? Like what percentage is sheep sales, breeding cow sales, beef sales, schools/speaking/consulting income, mushrooms, ect? Obviously you have income streams that someone just starting is not able to have. Also, 20yrs ago ratios were hugely different. Gas has increased 153%, land rent 118% since 2003. Cattle prices have only increased 64% and avg salary 19%. I'm not saying it's not possible, with lots of sweat anything is. But numbers don't lie and it is not the same playing field today as it was 20yrs ago. This inflation thing is going to be interesting.

[@charleswalters5284]

i really wish the bottom course of blocks sat at or below grade and the gravel under under them was below grade. Sorry, i keep seeing the gravel rolling downhill out from under them over years and storms till the wall tilts. Maybe get some topsoil over the gravel at the downhill side of the wall get some roots through it hold it still. The blocks are brilliant, though. Cheapest, fastest, strongest, as permanent as it gets.

[@coziii.1829]

Hay Can you talk about branding and which is better Or does no one do that anymore. I’m in Oklahoma and hope to get south poll soon (next year) but we still have a lot of cattle rustling. So how do you prevent that etc.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

You better brand you animals if you have cattle rustling going on around you. We move our animals twice per day, so they are never in the same spot for more than 12 hours.

[@loriegroth2472]

Wise advice, Greg. Thank you. We are going to rearrange some small buildings this summer to make a turn-around spot. (Right now we have a long driveway that requires the truck to back up). What size would you recommend as a minimum for a pickup and gooseneck cattle trailer? Thx.

[@abigail01441]

A 72 foot diameter circle will accommodate just about any semi trailer truck. The delivery drivers will love you.

[@alterityregenerativeranchi7947]

Judy Stonehenge

[@josephg.3370]

👍

[@jakeschuster9991]

Moderation in all things including moderation don’t go into debt on depreciating assets but debt on land isn’t a horrible thing as long as it isn’t too much I paid 282k for a farm last year fixed it up and sold it for 90k more that wouldn’t have been possible at 33 without debt but mortgages are the only debt I have so the risk is tolerable

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Good job!

[@goatsdoingstuff]

Those who fully understand leverage/debt loathe to use it and those who don't have no business touching it. I read something like that long time ago. Not a SINGLE DAY goes by on this little debt free goat/goose/chicken farm where I don't think about, and use, principles from the video/print content you have created over the years. Love the channel and content Greg & Jan. 🙏

[@french-canadianfarmer5049]

Very good points about debt. How were the blocs stacked? With forks or grapple?

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

With a log chain. The blocks have a thick metal hook imbedded in the center of the block to pick it up.

[@andreasherzog2222]

Greg, you should repeat this important financial advice every 4-5 videos! However, as a studied economist I have to object just a little bit ;) A loan can make sense. You just have to *make sure* you will have an ROI = return on investment that is higher than the interest. Hope is not enough. You must be sure. If your investment (say tractor) saves you a lot of work, it's not enough. That's just convenience. It must save (or earn) money. Example: If you have set up pasture, fences and water for say 20 steers, but with your remaining money you can only buy 5 steers, then it can make sense to take a loan and buy 15 steers (or just ten to stay on the safe side). In this case that loan would give you a jump start.

[@scotthambrick2293]

No. You make no account for risk. If you don’t borrow, you can’t go broke. Economists and fuh-nance types rarely have anything useful to say about risk.

[@charleswalters5284]

Seems cows multiply faster than interest.

[@danielpoe1325]

Greg, what would you say about leasing land and then getting a loan to purchase the animals? Is that wise?

[@davemi00]

Savvy advice, Pay yourself first, Save.

[@bryanblackburn7074]

Hey Greg Missouri Legislature is in the works with a bill SB100 that reclaims gold & silver to be used as money once again like the U.S. Constitution states. It has passed through the senate 98-0. They are also going to have a depository as well and they purchased 9 million in gold & silver. There is more benefits also listed in the bill it's definitely going to help the citizens of Missouri. I believe there is 20 more states are doing the same thing? Here's a list for your viewers of states that are involved with this type of legislature: Montana, Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Iowa, Wyoming, Mississippi, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Minnesota, Vermont, Alaska, South Carolina, Idaho, Arkansas, Maine, New Jersey, and Texas. Some of these have already passed and are active. I do believe those who have purchased precious metals will have an opportunity in the future to be able to buy land and start their own livestock operations or possibly build their dream homestead.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Let’s hope the Feds don’t come and say, “You can’t do that!!!”

[@bryanblackburn7074]

​@@gregjudyregenerativerancher This is state's law. I believe the Fed can't do anything about it? For those out there the Fed is not federal, it is a private bank it's members are made up of CEO's of Central Banks around the world. KZbin channel Ron's Basement is where I stumbled onto this information he is working with another individual who is a volunteer with a group that are involved with getting this legislature passed his name is Pat Holland. Pat is trying to get other states involved he was turned down by California and Illinois.

[@salvatorelivreri]

Why would they not level the floor before making the building?

[@chrish1657]

It's a post building. Floor isnt part of the structure

[@mightyminifarm]

Greg, would you mind sharing your dimensions for that building? That looks very similar to a building I am looking to build.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

48 feet wide by 32 feet deep

[@mightyminifarm]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher thankyou!

[@karlbogrand1239]

Printed too much money. Sums it up. Don't be guilty yourself of doing it via debt.

[@parkermichael620]

but business debt is tax deductible. the larger your operation the smaller percentage of your investments will be for infrastructure because you need basic things weather you have 50 cows or 5 cows so its extremely hard to start out unless you have alot of money. but i agree excessive debt is not the answer but i do believe debt has a place in business not your personal or consumer debt.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

If I have to go into debt to have a tax deduction, I believe I will keep paying my taxes on my yearly earnings and just stay out of debt.

[@andreavalentine4609]

We are free range humans on a tax farm.

[@Ryan-dr5cr]

Greg I emailed you with no reply

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

I get hundreds of emails, what was your question? Or resend the email.

[@Ryan-dr5cr]

@@gregjudyregenerativerancher about the cattle in Texas. I’ll email again

[@Cullen_Bohannon]

Greg,I loved ya till you told me you were a Dodge man. Lord help us all.....In GM we trust.

[@gregjudyregenerativerancher]

Dodge trucks rock!!!

[@muhammad-gl9jz]

That's why it's forbidden for Muslims to deal with interest