Join us on Now We Consume. Take in the knowledge.
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Why suffer through the existential crisis of
life alone when you can do it with us? And now
we consume. This is not meant to be a conspiracy
episode or podcast, but we make over some topics
that dance that line like a toddler dances on
their mother's last nerve. This podcast is rated
I. for immature audiences only. Welcome to the
Now We Consume podcast, everyone. Tonight, I'm
your host, Pip, and I am flying solo. Gibbles
and Gibbs are dealing with some life issues.
Gibbs is trying to not be a fleshlight to Snowmageddon
2 .0, and Gibbles is just dealing with some general
life shenanigans. So tonight, you've got little
old me, and I'm going to try to not just sit
here and yell into the microphone for the next
hour and try to keep this as enjoyable as I can.
So previously on this show, we have discussed
the housing crisis and the need for being prepared
for disasters of varying scales. And the overall
sense of impending dread that a lot of Americans
feel day in and day out is kind of an overarching
concept that we... kind of play on and talk about
in one form or another in all of our episodes.
But tonight I'm going to touch on some of the
reasons why that is, and I'm sure that some or
most of you even can relate. So right now in
2026, there's about a 2 .8 % cost of living adjustment.
That little bump feels like a participation ribbon.
while groceries and utilities lap it around twice.
The dollar is tanking to four -year lows, imports
are getting pricier than ever, and a lot of people
are not choosing to go off -grid just because
it's a feel -good move. It's wallet survival.
Here in Ohio, and some other rural spots all
around, I'm seeing things like solar panels and
alternative energy sources going up more than
I am subdivisions. But there's a little bit of
a twist on that. The costs that are pushing people
to unplug, they're being curtailed by governments
that are cracking down on the very folks that
are trying to make it work. So once again, you've
got big daddy government saying. We're going
to make it impossible for you to survive, but
also impossible for you to thrive. So everyone's
favorite conundrum. So we've got a little bit
of an economic squeeze, and it's coming down
to necessity, not choice. The Social Security
Administration has a 2 .8 % cost of living adjustment,
like I just mentioned, and it's adding roughly
peanuts, about $56 a month on average. versus
real spikes like food and energy up about six
to 10 % overall housing, about 12 % year over
year in some spots. Now that's more in some less
than others. The dollar is down roughly 9 % from
2025. Well, that was in 2025, excuse me. And
even more already in 2026. And we're only two
months in, uh, inflation. We all know, we've
all felt it. Our grocery bills are up higher
than ever, and we're getting less and less in
our carts. Here in Ohio, we have a slight edge
over some other states. For example, the cost
of living here is roughly 8 % below the national
average. But some of the rural folks are hit
hard on things like fuel and utilities, because
why not? We've got this weird little thing where
it feels like the dollar kind of went on a diet.
So it looks slimmer, but it's kind of hangry
and taking it out on your grocery bill. So now
keeping all this in mind, remember that it's
not luxury minimalism. It's families and homesteaders
kind of ditching the grid dependence because
traditional housing is more and more out of reach
for so many people. And this is starting to echo
the over. overarching national housing crisis.
First time house buyers are at record lows. Homelessness
is starting to see record highs in a lot of areas.
It's starting to track out of the major cities
and into the suburbs. Multigenerational houses
are starting to become popular again, but not
out of the old belief systems that used to kind
of encompass all those. It's out of a need for
survival. and more and more people are not just
getting together to be a multi -generational
house. It's friend groups. It's just sets of
people who are able to scrape together and pool
together their resources, buy a couple pieces
of land, and setting up essentially a small homestead
so that they can all just survive and thrive
together and get by as a small group. And that's
becoming more and more popular. all across the
country where it's allowed and that's that's
kind of a really weird concept you would think
here in america allowed is just kind of a given
in most places but that's not the full picture
kind of touching back on that yeah family compounds
like i was just saying the the idea that you
can get a large tract of land and then divide
it among families, or like I said, just friends,
and multiple houses can be built on that, there
are more and more regulations coming down that
are keeping that from happening. So it's getting
harder and harder to make that happen. So you
can have a primary house on attractive land,
but if you don't divvy out the property so that
John has X acres and Betty Sue has X acres, then
you're going to start getting into a lot of really
bad gray areas and red tape, depending on your
state, which kind of tracks into the whole federal
overreach and state rights kind of issues that
we've had for a while. But I think personally,
a lot of that's going to start changing if things
don't get better and you start seeing more and
more stuff like this kind of taking off. So let
me touch on that here in a second. So the surge
of the unplug, um, there's, there's some stats
that I want to kind of touch on off grid searches
have been up roughly 150 % just since 2020. So
of all the searches that go on, on the internet
day in and day out, people are searching for
ways to go off grid more and more for the last
six years. So let that sink in for just a second.
You've got homestead starts that are booming
roughly 60%. And that's tracking with the inflation
that has been occurring since COVID set in. The
2026 tech that has become available is helping.
You've got solar efficiency that has started
to go higher and higher. batteries and all the
tech that's associated with that is getting cheaper
and more reliable. That's helping to cut energy
costs where it can be put in place by up to 70%.
And I say where it can be put into place because,
again, our wonderful regulations and the overlords
that come with it are saying, no, you can't do
that unless you have certain people and pay us
our fees and get your permits and do this the
right way. the people that are in charge of this
stuff are going to regulate survivability out
of existence. If the people don't speak up and
say something. So I, that's why I said, I really
think things are going to change if things don't
get better quickly. So the off grid units and
the supplies, like I said, are becoming more
available and more reliable. And that's an important
thing because People are having to make their
dollars stretch further. We all know that. And
if you're going to dish out the money for a piece
of tech, that's going to help make your life
easier. It's got to last. It's got to be worth
the juice has to be worth the squeeze, you know,
and as much as I hate to say it. The stuff that
we're seeing coming out of China and some of
these other smaller countries, it's getting harder
to compete with American made stuff because cost
versus performance, their quality is getting
better. And I hate saying that, but if it's on
the shelf and it's a good purchase, I mean, you
got to do what you got to do. Some other perks
that are showing up on a state -by -state basis,
rural land is becoming more and more affordable.
In some areas, it's down as low or lower than
$5 ,000 an acre. I know some of my friends have
been kind of poking around in some areas. Out
west, in some states, you can get hundreds of
acres for a few hundred thousand dollars. So
it's not terrible. These pieces of land do exist.
There are homestead exemptions that exist in
many states, but the zoning will vary pretty
wildly by county and by state. There's a bit
of a national contrast. States like Colorado,
Oregon, and Texas, and some others, are seeing
crackdowns on, get this, rainwater collection.
or even tiny homes, especially van life and RV
homelessness. That's being criminalized by as
much as a 60 % jump, more so in the big cities.
They're trying to ban it outright. They're towing
people's essentially homes at that point, trying
to instill heavy fines just for people trying
to live and get by in whatever means they can
afford. Now, Personally, I think that's extremely
fucked up. If you're only able to afford a van
that you can convert into a house, and don't
get me wrong, I have seen some of the ways that
people have done this. They put these things
up on YouTube. Some of them are pretty fucking
incredible. I mean, they have managed to turn
every square inch into livable, usable space.
And honestly, some of these things have a bigger
footprint in them. than some of these apartments
that are available in New York. So that's A,
kind of pathetic, but B, kind of awesome too.
I know there's some people and places that are
taking things like U -Haul trucks and converting
them into essentially mobile houses. It's not
a terrible idea. Old buses, old campers and such,
I mean... Literally anything that can be converted
into a house and made livable is being done.
But you've got these cities saying, no, we don't
want that here because it makes the city look
bad. Okay, what makes the city look worse? And
this is a question that I'd love some feedback
on. A bunch of empty, run -down houses sitting
everywhere, or maybe some lots that are filled
with people's cars, trucks, vans, buses. that
are taking care of everything and just getting
by because they can afford that. But they can't
afford these million dollar houses that are the
size of an egg carton. So I don't know. Y 'all
tell me. You know, I had some jokes in here,
but they just don't hit right. But let me let
me ask you this. Do you guys feel that if you're
in the right position is unplugging more of an
empowerment move or a symptom of inequality?
Because when the system is kind of rigged and
I'm talking like taxes favoring higher orders
or low income pay, you know, going off grid is
more about survival and less about rebellion.
But there are some people who feel like. Going
off grid and just unplugging from the primary
grid and whatever is a form of sticking the finger
to the government and just saying, you know,
fuck you, I'm going to do this on my own. So
I'd love some feedback on that. But as I had
said, there's some government crackdown that's
coming in the form of outright punishment of
what amounts to just basic survival. And there's
a bit of irony in that. While costs are forcing
people to unplug, the regulations are starting
to tighten on just simple living. You've got
zoning ordinances that are keeping people from
being able to do the things that they want to
do, like putting up solar panels in their yard,
rainwater collection systems, farm animals on
their property, chickens, ducks, whatever. All
these things that will help make their lives
easier, they're trying to ordinance their way
out of them or allowing them to have happen.
They're criminalizing RV and van dwellings, like
I said. There are over 140 cities that ban vehicle
sleeping currently. States are expanding this
into overnight bans so you can live there through
the day. You just can't sleep there during the
night. So what good does that do? Tiny homes
on wheels are being restricted, so it must be
a permanent dwelling in many spots, and you have
to have utility hookups, so they want you on
that grid teat. So there goes the whole green
energy thing that they push for left and right.
Rainwater rules. Septic and compost toilet fights.
Camping bans on your own land in places like
Colorado. It's your land. You're supposed to
be able to do whatever the fuck you want. So
why can't you camp on it? A lot of places, people
will buy a piece of land, set up a camper, and
build a house on it. They'll live in the camper
while the house is being built. That's no longer
allowed in many places. So where's the justification
for that? In Colorado, there are county battles
over off -grid homesteads. That's something to
keep an eye on because I think when those play
out in court, it's going to kind of set the precedent
for a lot of other places. Some specifics that
I was able to pull here for Ohio, we have some
zoning that varies county to county. There are
some counties in the southern part of the state,
just because they're a little more economically
depressed, they're a little bit more relaxed.
But building codes demand at least 950 square
foot. For permanent homes, tiny homes are often
wheeled only. So you can have a tiny home, but
it has to be mobile in some manner. So what some
people are doing is they're putting them on trailers
and just kind of making the trailers stationary
-ish. So you can just have the wheels on them,
but the trailers are secured to the ground. So
they're getting around that somehow. Let's see.
Permits for solar and electrical as well as septic
are pretty common, but there's no statewide ban
here. But local law enforcement can enforce grid
ties. So they're saying you can basically own
a gun, but they collection bigger than the house.
But try the composting toilet. without paperwork
but you yeah you can own a gun collection bigger
than my house but a composting toilet you better
have your paperwork so yeah sorry i i had that
one written in there and i want to make sure
i said it but it was split so yet again i i dropped
the ball on that uh so are these actually safety
regulations or Do you guys feel like they're
just kind of targeting the desperate people?
So when folks really can't afford grid life,
I personally feel like they're punishing the
off -grid setups and they're widening the gap
because it's starting to be privileged for those
who actually can comply versus fines and jail
time for those who can't. So there's an old book.
I can't remember the name of it, but they essentially
first make a criminal and then punish them for
being a criminal. So, and something that I had
kind of put in here, this was just kind of a
hypothetical. What if Ohio's rural counties or
even other states similar to Ohio became more
or less unplugged havens? freedom versus isolation
you've got a lot of states that are bigger than
ohio that have the room to offer people the ability
to do this more so out west but if these states
kind of open up their regulatory requirements
they can more or less set the definition and
the tone for all of this The unplugged mentality
and kind of allow people to just start coming
in, help set the framework, help set the baselines
and help people decide what needs to happen,
what should happen and what could happen. So
it's kind of a, you know, if you build it, they
will come kind of mentality. They're showing
my age there. Quote that movie. So practical
reality check that needs to happen as well as
a little bit of hope. And I know that we've talked
about some of this stuff on the show before,
mostly in some of our episodes dealing with like
general preparedness and disaster planning. The
messed up thing is. That when you're planning
for a disaster, that can actually get you further
ahead in life. If you need to pivot your lifestyle,
like in an overarching sense as well. So here
are a few tips. If you want to kind of dive into
that mentality or anything else to kind of set
yourself up a little bit, you can start small.
Like we've said before, there are some solar
kits out there. Now, it sounds pricey, but the
overall kind of baseline, it's not. It is, but
it isn't. They range between $2 ,000 and $5 ,000,
but if you spread that cost out a little bit,
there are various options. It's well worth it,
especially when you need it. I mean, in an extended
blackout emergency, you will be so glad that
you spent that money when you did. I, for one,
I have a three kilowatt solar system that I bought
to run my wood shop because rewiring my garage
was going to run, I think they quoted me 17 .5.
And the solar generator that I got is the battery
unit and two solar panels. And it's on wheels,
the battery kit. This thing runs everything I
need. It runs all my wood processing tools. I
can take it with me anywhere I need. I can run
appliances in the house if I need to. I can take
it camping. I can take it, put it in the car,
go anywhere I need. This thing is awesome. And
for what I paid for, I was able to get it on
sale at Lowe's and it's a, it's a Jackery kit.
The list price is well over three grand, but
it goes on sale routinely for half that. So I
got it when it was on sale. The kit I have has
an RV hookup. So I haven't tested anything like
220 because none of my stuff is set up for it.
But I think the next step up will run the 220
or you can do two of these units that I have
and get 220 that way. But there are other options
for that as well. Um, but this thing has a lot
of power reserve. It's like I said, it's three
kilowatt system. So, so that's one. And, and
that's just a Jackery one. There are anchors,
a good brand. Um, there's a lot of stuff out
there and that's just solar kits, wind. Uh, you,
you can tie in other things to get, uh, wind
and whatnot. Water is becoming more and more,
uh, accessible again. The tech is out there and
it's starting to proliferate even more. Uh, rural
grants are becoming more and more available.
There's a lot of exemptions that are being made
available to the public as well. So poke around.
If you're interested in this stuff, see what's
available in your area and reach out to other
people that are doing this stuff. There are prepper
communities left and right that have an ungodly
amount of information on this stuff. milk them,
you know, they will share the information because
it's good for a lot more people to have this
stuff than for them to just kind of hoard it.
Uh, one other thing I highly suggest this, um,
research the mental toll of isolation because
going down that path and trying to prepare for,
uh, Surviving alone. That's not for everybody.
Trying to go at it and just survive the zombie
apocalypse, you know, by yourself. Not a game
you want to play. Chickens, they're great eggs,
but they're terrible roommates. They will steal
your food and judge your life choices. Anybody
who's raised chickens can tell you that. Long
-term sustainability. You can kind of use the
off -grid stuff as a hedge against economic chaos,
but the needs of community pushback, you have
to find people that you can group together with
and prevent overreach. So what can you take away
from all this? Unplugging is not so much a trend.
As it's more and more becoming kind of a necessity.
It really depends on where you live. It depends
on your personal situation, your family situation,
and the needs of your environment. Costs, cost
of living and everything, cost of survival are
starting to crush buying power. The dollar is
worth less and less every single day, and we
all feel it. Governments started to crack down
on survival setups. And honestly, that's not
protection. It's punishment for people that are
trying to adapt. All across the country, the
real fix might be finding ways to ease the regulations
so that folks can thrive instead of just survive
in fear. Now, there are some grassroots movements
that are starting to win in the off -grid communities.
It's small and it's few and it's spread all around,
but a win is a win. Take what we can get. So,
if any of you guys are making any movements to
unplug, or if you have faced any of the regulation
bullshit, collecting rainwater and you've been
hit with a fine or any of that stuff, I'd love
to hear about it because that's the kind of shit
that needs to be shared. The government should
not be able to tell you that you cannot collect
the water that falls from the sky on your own
land. Period. Like, I run a well. I would literally
have to collect the rainwater if anything like
that happened, if anything happened to my well.
You know, hit us up on the socials and tell us
what you've run into or even like what's the
dumbest regulation you've encountered. Do you
guys have any plans to adapt your life to try
and future -proof things a little bit? Or maybe
even add some backup power supplies and food
stores? Or if you already have, what kind of
stuff have you found that works? What have you
found that doesn't work? Like we're still kind
of in the winter up here in Ohio and my pellet
heater that I have, it's been great. I want a
second one for my downstairs because my furnace
kind of sucks ass. It's undersized, but replacing
it is just too goddamn expensive. So I bought
my pellet heater to kind of offset that. I've
been looking at those little compact diesel heaters
so that I can have heat out in that. wood shop
of mine that's actually in the garage because
my garage is not a fun place to be when it's
17 degrees outside in the garage so um and and
again if if you guys have any input on any stuff
that i've talked about tonight we we would love
to hear any of your feedback if you're seeing
any of the stuff like uh Solar projects here
again in Ohio, we just had a fairly sizable back
and forth between some of the communities and
some solar projects that are trying to go in.
They're trying to keep solar from going in on
farmland. Now, I'm kind of on the fence about
stuff like that, and I would love to hear back
from you guys on this because solar on farmland.
is both beneficial and kind of a bad thing, right?
They have solar panels that will allow light
to pass through them and still generate usable
power, like good usable power. Also, they're
finding that some of the fields that they put
the solar panels in, some crops are growing better
with higher yields because of the condensation,
the moisture levels are rising. Because the panels
are there. More shade. Some of the crops are
doing better. Now, obviously, more research and
whatnot needs to go into it. But a little bit
of work will go a long way. So there are conversations
that need to be had. As far as the homestead
stuff, the van life, the conversion stuff, I
mean... I'm sure you guys have seen that stuff
too. But if you've run into any of those issues
or seen any like just amazing renovations or
conversion projects, share them. Those things
are always good to share and pass along and everything
else. But again, I just want to kind of emphasize
before I wrap up the show because I didn't want
to go into an hour plus rant on this thing. Um,
like I said earlier, this is not something that
people are doing because they want to people
are coming together because the cost of life
is just getting out of hand. Um, trying to work
together, trying to find ways to cohesively live
as a group unit. It's, it's tough. I mean, life
is tough period. But when you're trying to bring
in multiple households into the same, uh, close
proximity, it's, uh, it's, it's tough. And you've
got to find ways to work on your, um, uh, I want
to say politics, but just trying to find ways
to communicate and problem solve together. Um,
When you bring that many people in that are from
different households and different upbringings
together, you're essentially forming your own
little community and you've got to have ways
to solve your problems, work out issues and work
together no matter what, especially if things
get worse. If we're into those disaster scenarios
that we've talked about before, problem solving
is a skill. I wish to hell they taught it in
school, but. The younger generations can't problem
solve for shit. I think we've all seen that.
Some of them can't problem solve how to tie their
shoes, but I mean, it's, it's up to us to kind
of keep this stuff going. So, um, that's pretty
much all I had for tonight. So if you guys want
to share any of your stories, uh, we welcome
them. And I think we're going to go ahead and
call the episode there. So thank you all for
listening. I hope you all enjoyed the show. And
next week we should be back with a full episode
with both of my co -hosts. Other than that, I
love you all. Thanks for hanging out. And we'll
see you all next time.