015. Does Homesteading Save You Money?

On today's espidode, we'll answer the question: Does homesteading save you money?

To learn more about our journey be sure to visit our website at www.thetwoacrehomestead.com

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Questions?  Email me at lisa@thetwoacrehomestead.com

Transcript

Lisa  
Welcome to the two acre homestead podcast. I'm your host, Lisa,

Kevin  
and Kevin.

Lisa  
And on today's episode we're talking about a very important question and that is, does homesteading actually save you money

(Season 1 Intro)

Welcome to The Two Acre Homestead. Come along with us on our journey from a small Suburban Homestead lifestyle, to our new lifestyle homesteading in the rural countryside of southern Arizona. We'll share with you our tips, tricks, successes and failures from both our past suburban lifestyle to our new rural lifestyle, all on The Two Acre Homestead.

(Episode 15)

Lisa
So on today's episode, we're going to be talking about the question, does homesteading actually save you money?

Kevin  
Do you want the quick and dirty answer?

Lisa  
I think we do. Actually.

Kevin  
It depends.

Lisa  
That is very coy. But very true, because it oftentimes depends on how you homestead whether or not you save money. But I have a question for you. What have you been up to?

Kevin  
So I think the best way to describe it right now is we're swimming in chickens. We have about 75 chickens right now we're getting ready to in a few weeks, cull our meat birds. But it'll be a little bit easier after that. But just before that we were setting up a lot of infrastructure for the chickens for the rabbits, new rabbit tree. And I think we're waiting for rabbits to kindle. And between those events, we actually were able to get away for a few days. So that was nice.

Lisa  
Yes, we did last week, we were actually on vacation. Proud to say that we still had an episode for you guys. So but it was a really good vacation, we got a chance to go up in northern Arizona. So we got a chance to see some snow and just relax and it was a good time for us to take a break on the homestead.

Kevin  
So then, I guess the question for you then is what's new in your neck of the woods?

Lisa  
Good question. I have been just crazy busy trying to get just really busy trying to get prepared for the upcoming preservation season, harvest season, and making sure I have all of the tools that I need to preserve all of our food. And I've also just been from sunup to sundown. On somedays I have been in the gardens with kids in tow, trying to get the seeds and seedlings and rose garden rows and garden beds. And I've really been busy on our kitchen garden or a protege garden. I've just been really super busy with gardening and getting ourselves up and ready for this upcoming preserving. You're awesome. Yeah.

And then I've also been working on our magazine. So we have had the luxury of getting our website redesigned. And that is soon to be launched. And also our brand new magazine is getting a bit of a facelift. And we are moving our magazine from a monthly magazine to a quarterly magazine. So that means it's going to be a lot more pages. And so there's a lot of editing. There's a lot of photoshoots just a lot of busy work around our our little magazine there and thank you to everybody who has subscribed to our magazine. And if you would like to learn more about our online magazine, which goes a lot more in depth on things than we do here on our podcast. Head on over to our website, the two acre homestead calm and you'll be able to sign up for our quarterly magazine.

Kevin  
Sounds good so yeah, there's never a dull moment on the homestead. So to kind of continue with this topic. Does homesteading save you money? We said it depends. But when we're planning this podcast out talking it through, we said that how you homestead dictates how much money you spend. So maybe we'll talk a little bit about that.

Lisa  
Well, yeah, because everybody can homestead in different ways. And so it depends if you're in an urban setting, you may not have to worry about as much physical infrastructure as somebody who homesteads on acreage. And there are things that, you know, when you live on acreage that you may not think about when you're homesteading in suburbia. And so it's just it really does depend. I mean, there are questions that you have to ask yourself, you know, like, for example, water, are you want to? Well, you know, because if you're on a well, then you don't really have to pay a water bill, let's say, you know, are you off grid? That's it. That's all? Well, that's a whole different level of homesteading, there, you know, being off grid, but there's infrastructure that you have to pay up front. So it really does depend just on how you want to homestead.

Kevin  
Right, then our next thing that we talked about is, it depends, because, do you have things planned out? So there's kind of three bullet points there that might help when it comes to this topic.

So the first one is (1) having ample supplies. So whether you're in an urban setting, or you're on acreage, like we are, for example, in our property, we didn't have some of this infrastructure for the chickens, for rabbits, and so on. When you're starting a project, you got to think through, what do you need for, let's say, for instance, housing of animals and so on. You know, I guess I was thinking of this illustration, you know, you're gonna have, let's say, a room in your house tiled, they always tell you figure out the square footage, and figure out exactly how much how much tile you need, how much grout and all that, and then maybe add 15% more, because tiles are going to break and whatnot. So kind of that same concept, you're building infrastructure, you're building some little fences for your protege garden, whatever it is, you know, you got to plan things through and then, you know, ramped that up a little bit as far as the amount of supplies. So when those oops, moments happen, and so on, you have it right there, you don't have to go run out again, to the store.

The second thing is (2) know how much you want to spend. So if you think of that, like on a monthly basis, we talked recently in a podcast about budgeting, you know, if you're gonna make a run out into town, if you're you know, if you're in a on an acreage or some and you have to do that, if gas prices are still higher right now, like they are and when we're recording this in April 2022. You know, there's costs for that. So can you go to a few different stores? Do you set a set amount and stick to that because the more you do that, that's going to help in the long run.

Lisa  
And if I can just interject to I think, previous podcasts that we did, we had made a statement like that, you know, have a budget, stick to the budget, no matter what the price is in the store, stick to your budget. And I think that prompted some confusion for some people. And so just to clarify, we actually do mean what we're saying. So like, for example, Kevin use example of lumber, let's say you have budgeted $300, for lumber, for whatever the project is, let's say you want to build a small coop, but your budget is $300. Stick to it. Even if the price of lumber is through the roof, stick to your budget. Because what that's going to do is it's going to create two things for you. It's going to a keep your money in your pocket, because you've already said to that, you know, you've set that goal of $300 that that's what you want to physically spend money on. And if the price of the lumber is more than that, then by sticking to your budget, the second thing is going to happen and that is it's going to create creativity. It's going to make you get creative. Like for example could you go on credit Let's see if somebody is getting rid of crates, you know wooden crates for free. Can you take those crates? Break them down? That's what that's in those, those crates are made of wood. Can you take those crates, break them down and use that wood?

Kevin  
Yeah, and that was something that I did recently, as far as building a secondary coop, we had additional layers that we wanted to add to our flock. And I had some extras on hand. Now you go on the internet, you want to find plants or chicken coops, oh, there's a lot of pretty chicken coops out there. You know, they have nice little windows and doors and you know, fans and all these little things. But this particular coupe was already in an enclosed area. And instead of building it with nice, you know, siding and put, you know, trim around everything, I use what's called OSB or oriented strand board, it costs a heck of a lot less. And the chickens don't care what it looks like, and it serves its purpose.

Lisa  
As long as it's painted for your sanity. They don't care as long as as long as it's painted for our sanity, for cleanup purposes, they don't really care if it's made of OSB and neither does anybody else.

Kevin  
Right. So knowing how much you want to spend is going to help you stay on target. Also, it's such as how much you spend that then knowing when you want to spend that money. So a previous episode we talked about, I think you use the term or the phrase we work in months. And I like that phrase because we knew that we were going to be in a certain month, we were going to have additional meat birds are gonna have additional hens on the property. We needed that infrastructure. So we planned that out, we knew that Okay, so we need to buy the supplies have on hand. And then I needed to think about things like, what is my time look like, you know, working full time, at least right now. You know, it's harder because I have to plan more that stuff on the weekends. So I have to split that up into several weekends maybe. So point is knowing when how much time you have available to work on it, and then do it so you're not stressed out. So it's ready to go when you need it.

Lisa  
And also on that note of when to spend. You also want to think about when is the best time to buy whatever it is that you need. Everything is upside down in the economy these days. But normally there are ebbs and flows to when things go on sale when things are full price, I'm just going to use canning jars as an example. I'm usually canning supplies, you can get them discounted later in the canning year. So you know going into the fall, the very early parts of fall, late summer, those are usually the best time to buy those supplies because most retailers are wanting to get rid of them. Because they know the canning season has come to an end. And they want to turn their attention to the Thanksgiving Christmas holiday season. So those things are going to go on sale. So that's the best time to buy those supplies. So knowing the ebb in the flow of when things go on sale also is a is a good thing, because then you can get things at a discounted price. And that's also saving you money when you're homesteading.

Kevin  
Okay, good. So then. So we've talked about how you homestead dictates how much money you spend. And then having things planned out can definitely help that can be a factor, also creating a budget. We talked about that in a previous episode. What do you want to add as far as that?

Lisa  
So yeah, we I guess this is my talking point here. But um, we loosely follow the Dave Ramsey program when it comes to having a budget. And when it comes to dealing with our debts. We're happy to say we practically have no debt. But when you are trying to get yourself into a position that you are debt free. You we like his program because of the debt snowball situation that you create. So basically it is a situation where you are paying one thing off, let's say you know, whatever it was a small credit card and it was $100 A month that you were paying on that credit card you paid it off, then you take that that extra $100 that you would have spent on that credit card that is now paid off. And you roll that into another credit card, and you just keep paying things down. And that is how you get yourself out of debt. To do that, and to homestead at the same time is probably I would say it's probably more difficult. Because there are expenses, there are true expenses when you're homesteading even in an urban setting. Because if you're homesteading in an urban setting, you may need to buy things like wood seeds, a pressure canner dehydrators you may need those very basic infrastructures, and tools and utensils that you need to get yourself started on a homesteading journey, you need to have a little bit of a budget for that. So you know you you really need to get yourself out of debt first. And then you know, start down your homesteading journey.

Kevin  
Yeah, I agree. And when it comes to knowing what those expenses are going to be, as far as your homesteading and your homesteading journey, it's a good idea to know a breakdown of what you need to spend. So an example. So we've talked about raising animals, how much does it animal food cost? A lot of people you know, you rely and I think what we've talked about since the 50s, you know, people rely a lot on the feed. How do you say the feed bags that you buy? Whether it's a feed store or whatnot, right? We talked in a previous episode of maybe some other creative ways, like, can you grow animal food, that might be able to help reduce those costs. So there's, you know, food, then there's animal supplies, and without going into too much detail. I mean, they need to drink water, right. And I know, I'm kind of flabbergasted at the prices of some of the devices that they have for watering or for providing them water to drink. So I've looked at ways Hey, can I kind of build my own, so to speak, they provide these little, you know, chicken nipples, you can put them on a $5 bucket, you know, things like that. But those things, um, you need those things on hand. And then, you know, for infrastructure, there's things like tools, there's wood, there's screws, and all that kind of stuff that you know, you might need to do. You know, so those things are things that will help you as far as knowing a breakdown of what those costs might be on a monthly basis, or even on a seasonal basis as well. So when we looked at our budget, we're spending about $400 a month on those types of things. So having that knowledge is going to help you to stay the course and make things easier to manage once a month.

Lisa  
And if I can just interject to for our listeners. We probably sounds like a lot when you're thinking $400 a month. Oh my goodness, but but those of you who are new around here may or may not know, as of the recording of this, this is April 2022. We just moved on to this homestead in October of 2021. So when we bought this property, and we did this eyes wide open, when we bought this property, there were no outbuildings Well, no, there was one outbuilding, and that is your shop. But that's it. There were there were no animal anything. So there was no infrastructure for animals, there was no infrastructure for gardens, there was nothing It was a basically a blank slate

Kevin  
Right, which which brings to mind something to you know, we're talking a bit about the monthly expenses and these from time to time these things that may come up but you know, there's one time purchases, there's one time things that you have to spend on so when we move to the property, like you were talking about, and this was new for us to be on acreage, we needed fencing. That was a huge thing. And if any of you have experienced having to hire workout like that, you know it's more expensive. It involves more time to get that done because you get to wait. I think our waiting list was about two months just to get that put in place, and that was something I knew for the amount of fencing, I wasn't going to do myself. So it was a time saver. But we have dogs, but then we also have kids, and we needed to protect them.

Lisa  
And there's also coyotes. There's also mountain lions, and there's also raccoon and deer and have javelina. And did I name all of the wildlife that we've been able to see?

Kevin  
I think. So that was important. And then of course, thinking about gates accessibility and so on. Yes, so that was something that was more of a, you know, one time thing. But it was important for us, you know, and then there's other things too, like, do you know when you're planning for your animals, when you're planning for your gardens? Do you need to add irrigation? Do you need to add electricity, you know, there may be an outbuilding already. But do you need to add electricity to make it more convenient, so you're not, you know, having maybe to walk so far or whatnot or for storage, and those things can add up. So those are one time things that you might need to plan for.

Lisa  
Yeah, and there are other things that you need to plan for when you're homesteading. And especially for those of you who are just starting on this journey, there are supplies that you know, their one time, one time purchases that you're going to need. But things like food preservation and you can you can see what I've been dealing with all all month is food preservation. But you know, a canner. Anybody who does any, any sort of food preservation in your in your household, buying a canner, what type of camera do you need, they are not cheap. You know, um, if you go the route of let's say an All American canner, which is coined the Cadillac of all Cahners you know, that particular canner pressure canner is like 200 things like 240 Last time I saw $240. So, you know, it's not cheap. And if you're working within a budget, that's something that you're going to have to save up for. So and there's, you know, dehydrators and, and, you know, for, you know, fermentation supplies and bread baking supplies. And, you know, I remember when I started my bread baking journey, one of the first things I had to get was, I didn't have to get it. I actually didn't have it for quite some time. But I got it eventually. And that was a Stan Assam mixer, KitchenAid stand mixer, because I was making it so often that my hands were beginning to hurt, trying to do all of the kneading. And, you know, having kids and all of this other kind of stuff, it just, I finally had to break down and get that. But that was a one time purchase. I'm not going to be buying it all the time.

Kevin  
And there was also what do you say an accessory that we added to it to allow you to grind wheat berries, right. And that helps because, you know, cost of foods going up. And so we were able to buy wheat berries have those on hand and they store longer. So now you can do that as well.

Lisa  
So when you have these one time purchases, it's not to make you feel like well, goodness, this is going to be just the most expensive thing to do is to homestead. Eventually, when it comes to homesteading, initially, it can be expensive. And that's really what we're trying to say is that it can be expensive. Up front, but just like anything in life, homesteading is an investment. And if you look at it as an investment, then what you'll see is as the years go on, things that you initially money that you initially put up front, now it's starting to become free. For example, I'm just going to use a set of canning jars. So you know, you go to your local Walmart and let's say you get a package of pint sized jars, okay. That is going to cost you probably US dollars around 12 $12 for a box of canning jars. However, as you're gardening and as you're growing through the years, your first year, that jar cost you $12 The next year, presuming that you're saving your seeds properly, now you're growing free food in your garden. And guess what? Now, the cost of that canning jar is the are those kidding? Jars is not $12. But now it's $6. And the following year, it becomes free. So your, as time goes on, it becomes less and less and less expensive, because you're not putting in as much money as you need to in the infrastructure of things on your homestead.

Kevin  
And going along with that I was thinking of this. Because I know people I've worked with have asked, well, isn't it just cheaper to buy this at the store? It's a matter of perspective. So I heard somebody talk about, let's say, raising chickens, how much does it cost? How much does your dozen eggs that you get? end up costing you? And you do the chicken math, right? You add up all the costs of the feed, I guess if you want you could out the water and all these things. You could forego looking at the initial costs on some of this stuff and whatnot. What if you arrive at this conclusion that well, for this particular thing that I'm thinking of? Yes, it costs more than it would if I go buy it at the store. But it comes to this? What is your why? I know that's another thing we've talked about in the past? You know, it could be that, you know, okay, so maybe these eggs, for example, cost a little bit more. But am I in control of how those chickens are being fed in raised? And, you know, you can do research on some of these commercial, egg producers and so on. And you can understand, you know, maybe why those costs are less why it costs less to buy that stuff. But is it going to provide you a healthier food source for you and your family? So it's not necessarily just about costs. You could go down that road if you want to. But sometimes it's not about that. And then another thing to just when we talk about budgeting, you know, I guess you could say we talked about what it costs us $400 A month we're figuring for what we're doing homesteading. But what if you've eliminated a car payment? And what if that car payment was $400? So it's a matter of perspective. And I think that's something to think about, too. When you try to answer that question, is it more expensive,

Lisa  
And to your thought, it also comes? Well, I guess you could say your why is really broken down to what you value. Because I know for us, our we value having a very short supply chain, our supply chain is literally from our back door to our backyard. I mean, you know, that's our supply chain. And that's our goal. Our goal is to grow all of our own vegetables, and to hopefully one day produce all of our own meat. We're just about there. We're getting closer, we have some, some animal projects coming up next year that will actually correct all of that. So we're super excited about that. But you know, having all of our vegetables, all of our own meat, and then one day having all of our own dairy, those are shortened supply chains. Do they cost more? Maybe, but they are more valuable to us because, like you said, we're in control. We know where that animal has been. We know where those vegetables have been. You know, a lot of times people say well, just by Can't you just buy organic food while organic is not organic anymore. Um, you know, there's a lot of things that are marked organic, but maybe they were picked at, you know, a time where they're not right, like I think I've heard it said a tomato is not really a tomato, because when you go to the store and you buy even an organic tomato, that tomato has been picked, when it was green, chemically ripened and marketed, you know, chemically ripened in a foreign country marketed to the US as, oh, this is USDA organic, and you're eating something that is not really healthy and beneficial for you. So It really comes down to what do you value?

Kevin  
I think that's good. So if we were to just sum up some of the points that we've talked about answering that question, does homesteading save you money? We started out by saying, Well, it depends. But how you homestead really dictates how much money you spend. It helps if you can plan things out. It helps to create a budget. And then looking at a breakdown of how much you know, do you really need to spend on your homestead, gardening animals, other things, and those things will really help you out in when it comes to budgeting. You know, again, we talked about there sometimes these initial one time things that you have to do. Those are things that you need to plan as well. And then knowing when to spend on those items as well as their times of the year maybe you can save money. So those things can all really help you to answer that question. Does homesteading, save money. So we're really glad that you were able to spend some time with us on this episode of the two acre homestead. Again, we're your hosts, Kevin and Lisa, and until next time,

Lisa  
be safe out there.