beginning finances

Our project is clearly not a money-making venture, and I expect we will live in the sort of comfortable frugality that is only possible when many people work together. However, starting a community deep in debt could create a number of problems, not least of which would be the possibility of bankruptcy and foreclosure on our homes. In my opinion, the best way to start this community would be to buy property very gradually only when we are able to pay cash for it. This might mean that everyone would live in one house initially (as even today in this country, many immigrant families are living) and then we could add extra houses as we saved money. Presumably, a few families living a frugal lifestyle under one roof could save up enough for a second house VERY quickly--even within two years. We might even consider building our own houses--just as the Duggar family did. A family of 19, they also lived through a difficult period in cramped conditions, but were able to save up and build a large house for their large family.

(Another place to look for inspiration is the Colonial House "reality show" made by PBS that places a diverse group of people in a realistic colonial situation where they must work together in very close quarters. They experience problems that we would not, such as difficulty maintaining a mandatory Sunday chapel period, but their experience is entertaining and even educational.)

Returning to my point about how we might precede with purchasing property: I think that if we were able to pool enough money for one moderately large farm house in a rural area (perhaps 100k for the house and a barn and a little land for expansion), we could then begin to work very hard together saving up for a second building. With only four incomes coming from the adult male members of the community, we might earn a total of 100k a year--though this could be more or less depending on our location and whether there was suitable employment. For example, I think I would probably start at 40-50k if I had a professorship, but if there are no openings in the classics around, I might have to settle for less money doing something else. So 100k is a conservative estimate--but even at that amount, with ten people in our community, I think we could easily save 50k a year. Without rent or debt payments, Monica and I can live comfortably for less than $700 a month, and this factors in phone bills and car insurance and an occasional resaurant visit. Certianly, one person can live on $5,000 a year if he doesn't have to pay rent and a car payment, and in a large group where economies of scale would prevail (in large meals, etc.), the expenses could be far less. In other words, $50,000 a year for ten people would be at the extreme high end of what we need to support ourselves.

So, as I was saying, we could add an extra house every couple years, and before long we would all have our own homes--completely paid for. At this point, we could turn our extra money towards building a school, a rec building, and our own church. Suddenly we would have a village.

The difficulty of this model is that it would require great sacrifice at first. But undoubtedly this would bring the group together and in the long run would help build the strongest possible community--both holy and prosperous.