Are you retired and homesteading? Do you long for that perfect lifestyle, with a little extra income? As newly retired and now full time homesteaders we are revisiting how to supplement our retirement income from the homestead, while still enjoying this new chapter of life. I say it’s new, although we have been homesteaders for 30+ years, and we spent a few years in the last decade when we left the rat-race and decided to jump head first into farming, dairying and self-sufficiency. That was undoubtedly the most rewarding time of our life! That was sort of like a “trial run” for us and we have known that as soon as retirement age hit we wanted to go back to homesteading full time. Now that we are here, we know that the extra money we need can come from our homestead and this irreplacable life style. We also learned some invaluable lessons from that “trial run” we did several years ago. Now it’s time to implement what we know, adjust what needs to be adjusted, and treasure this new time in our life together. We are excited about this time and we hope you will continue to come along on our homesteading journey!
Here are some of the things we have learned and are using – our 11 Ways to Retire on the Homestead-
Be Intentional. You’re living off a new level and income, and off your homestead now. It’s time to get serious and really think about where you want to go from here. Do you want to raise sheep? Or maybe goats? How about starting a dairy (hey- we did it during our full time homesteading journey last decade!)? Will you sell what you are raising and growing, make homemade goods to sell, or just live for the joy of self sufficiency? Take the time to really think about where your passion lies, pray on it for guidance and discernment, then make a plan and focus in on your goal. This doesn’t mean you need to be overly cautious about trying something knew, but if you are on a limited income you won’t have the ability to dump a bunch of money into fleeting ideas. If you already know a lot about a particular aspect of homesteading then that may be the place to start. Whatever you decide to do it’s best if you have some sort of long term game plan for the results you intend to achieve. Even though you’ve gotten away from business, you need at least a simple income/expense/profit based business plan if you intend to make money from your homestead!
Accept that your plans will probably change…they just will. That’s how life works, and for some people this is a hard pill to swallow. I know that saying plans change sounds odd to read right after my rant about being intentional, but just because you make a plan it doesn’t mean the journey won’t have diversions. There will be bumps and forks in the road, or you may just decide that pig farming isn’t for you and that you like cows better. Whatever the case, just accept it and listen to your gut and God! Change is not a bad thing- it generally means that something much better is on the way- so embrace the change and move forward without looking back! Just embrace it quickly and make a new plan and move forward with speed. We’re on the other end of life now, so time’s a wastin’! Remember, this entirely new lifestyle is all about change and making a better and more fulfilling life.
Get Rid Of The Animals That Don’t Make You Money. I know, that may be a bit harsh. But, this has become more of a “business” now…you can’t be spending money to feed animals that do nothing for you. That cute rabbit with floppy ears may not be the best to keep. Maybe you should generously offer it to a young person just getting started with animals? Your giving spirit will be rewarded! If you still want rabbits, why not try meat rabbits so you can grow your own food? And just a tip- make sure to think about how much an animal needs to be fed in the winter. A goat that can live on fresh grass all summer will need hay and grain all winter, and that adds to your expenses and can affect your plan. Now this isn’t to say that some of that cuteness you have on the homestead shouldn’t stay around just to make you happy and fill your homestead with joy, but just be careful and intentional about your four-legged population.
Grow your Own Vegetables and Fruit. This one really is a basic if you are going to live off your homestead. Your garden is more important than ever- you will want to make sure you are growing it in well fertilized soil (your animal manure helps out here!), and grow only things you know your family will eat. Over our years of gardening we have learned what grows best in our soil, what produces the most, and what takes up space for things we really won’t eat (or can purchase cheaper). For example crooked neck squash- we just don’t like them. They take up space that could be used for more straight neck or zuchhini squash that we eat a lot of!
This past summer we grew a big garden- way more than the two of us could eat and that was intentional. We knew we could always give away the excess or feed our goats and chickens with it. But this past summer we also set up a FarmStand Table and put each day’s excess in baskets with a self-serve payment can. All the veggies and fruits were 50 cents each and we sold all of our extra (other than the crooked neck squash- seems no one else wants them either!). That money we made fully paid for our own seeds and plants, and gave us some extra to go toward other needs. So other than our labor (and we enjoy gardening) our garden fed us for free! We ate something fresh from the garden every day during the summer and early fall months. If you want to read more about homestead gardening there is a great book called Country Garden Wisdom and Know-How that we have had as a resource for years! It is easy to use and has loads of great information.
Raise Your Own Meat. Believe it or not chicken tenders do not come from the grocery store stock room (this was eye-opening to way too many kids when we used to do farm tours!). A farmer actually raises the chickens, so why not you? When you raise your own there is no doubt about what they have been fed and what you are eating. If you aren’t so sure about butchering, start reading one of the many books that are available through sites like Amazon. It’s not a difficult thing to do once you learn. I particularly like The Ethical Meat Handbook as a guide for butchering. There are lots of resources out there including books, blogs and videos. It’s also great to partner with someone in your community to get hands on experience if you can. The first time we butchered our own chickens we participated in a friends “chicken” day- that’s where a group of several homestead families get together and we all help butcher everyones chickens. Everyone was involved and had a job, including the youngest children. After the butchering we gathered around for an easy meal and talked about our great success! We have been a part of those chicken days many times and those days have blessed us with not only a full freezer but also a great comaraderie with fellow homesteaders.
Learn to Preserve Food. Once you get the hang of growing what you are going to eat, you will be faced with preserving it for future use. These are skills that can be passed down through generations (and the older I get the more I have a great sense of responsibility to teach the younger folks what I have learned). I learned to can from my grandmother when I was a teen, and even though I didn’t use or need that skill for over 20 years, it is something I use regularly now! YouTube offers endless lessons on how to preserve food. Or if you prefer you can pick up a book or two for reference. You just have to dive in and learn it. Books that have really helped us are the Country Living Encyclopedia books and Country Wisdom. But there are so many more! I also freeze a lot of our summer vegetables. This past year I learned that I could just throw whole small tomatoes in the freezer and take them out as needed. They don’t have the same crispness as a fresh tomato, but they work beautifully to chop up and use in my cooking. And the flavor is still fantastic!
Purge. If you really think about being self-sufficient, there is a lot more in your house then you really need. You probably don’t use a lot of things, and when you are self sufficient most everything needs to be usable. With that being said, purging isn’t just about getting rid of your “things”. This becomes a way of simplifying your life and reducing stress. Purging can also include other things such as cable TV, fancy phones or that Netflix subscription (sorry, guys). You really don’t need that $100 per month cable plan just so you can watch a few shows, do you? It may hurt at first, but cut off your unnecessary expenses. Think about alternatives.
For example, we ditched our cable TV subscription years ago and installed a $25 Roku Express on our TV (you can check that out here). Now we can watch all of our favorite homesteaders on YouTube (we are slowly starting our channel- check it out here!), as well as loads of free movies through the Roku channels. You can also check out your local library for free movie rentals! As for that expensive cell phone plan you have? You need to go shop around!! There are definitely options out there- we have had StraightTalk in the past (this ran about $60 a month but had limitations), but we have recently switched to Visible. Visible is owned by Verizon, but right now an unlimited plan costs you only $40 a month! For us this includes using our phones as hotspots which increases our available internet service. If you join a “party” on Visible you can reduce your monthly costs below that $40. (note- we aren’t in any way affiliated with Visible, we just think they are a great option based on our experience).
Now as for all that “stuff” that you really don’t use, or maybe don’t even like. You can always donate it- that’s a blessing to you and others. Or you can try to sell it. There are so many outlets for selling- Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, Craigs List and many more. Now that you have the time as a retiree why not list a few items and see what happens? A little effort can produce a little extra income, and that’s a good thing, right?!
Don’t Overwhelm Yourself. Okay, easier said than done when you start thinking of living a self sufficient life. What I mean here is simple…..don’t take on more than is feasible for the size of your “work force”. When we did full time homesteading last decade there were more of us around here and we took on every animal, task, homemade good, and farmers market we could find. It was great to work together, but the days were long and tough and all we did was work. The ideas of things to do are endless and as you watch and read homesteading videos and blogs (which you need and want to do!) you may feel like you can never do enough. Just know that there are more ideas than there is time in your day! It’s okay to have a mind filled with things you want to do, but be aware that they aren’t all right for you. Remember that step up above about being intentional? This is a reminder- make sure what you choose to do is right for you and your homestead. If you start feeling like you are overwhelmed, burned out, or inadequate then that’s not rewarding and eventually can make you throw in the towel and give up. Here at One Ash we have had to figure out how to balance things so our hobby and love for this lifestyle doesn’t feel like it’s all just never ending work.
Have Some Fun. Take it from us on this one- burnout on the homestead is real. And is you don’t make time for some fun you will experience burnout fairly quickly- we did and now we know how to prevent it from happening again.
Making time for “fun” is so hard when you are working together with your spouse or family at home. And especially when you are already doing what you love to do. At first it feels like you have hit the jackpot and every single moment is like being in a blissful dream. WHOA! That’s great for a while but here’s reality- Living this homesteading life together means that someone is always coming up with a new idea, a new chore, a new focus to think about. There is always something to be done on the homestead. It is imperative that you set aside time each day for everyone to have some quiet time, alone time, me time, whatever you want to call it. When you don’t have any other deadlines to mark your time (like you did when you were in the rat race) it is so important to come up with your boundaries and make sure there is a balance in your life. Otherwise this dream you are living will turn into just another rat race job. Setting these boundaries is something you need to talk about together. It may look different for both of you so this is something you need to work out intentionally so neither of you gets frustrated.
Living this homesteading lifestyle is a choice we have made because we love it. But too much of a good thing is never good. We always make sure to set aside times each week when we can take short road trips or do something just for fun- almost like mini-vacation days and a chance to just see something different for a few hours. For us, we have always loved to go to antique stores. It’s something we still do together and just an hour long trip to a local shop can change the pace of the daily routine. From our past experience we know that keeping this balance of work and fun is the only way to maintain this incredibly rewarding homesteading life.
Persevere. This can be the most difficult of all. Not everyone is blessed with a temperment of perseverance and this can often take a lot of prayer and faith! There are definitely days that you are going to want to throw in the towel- those days when you feel like you can’t do enough or that what you are doing isn’t working. Homesteading is inherently a challenge in itself, but homesteading as a means for extra income hits you with additional burdens and stresses. How do you cope? Follow our steps above for starters, and then just listen to your gut, pray a lot, and lean on your community for support!
For me I am constantly reminded of the great responsibility that has been placed on me as a steward of the land, the animals and legacy of our homestead. The thought of this responsiblity is humbling and is the guiding light for my perseverance. My heart is full from this lifestyle we have chosen. I also remember that this is just chapter in life- it most likely won’t last forever but for now it’s where we are. I would say to you- remember you are here through God’s will- it’s where He wants you to do great things! So do your best to cherish and savor each and every moment.
Create a Community. This is so important! You need other people in your life who are doing the same thing. All of you can share experiences, learn from each other, lean on each other, cry together and laugh together. Seek out folks in your nearby area that you can meet up with in person or use the internet and social media– a lot! When you have your down time, connect with Facebook groups and blogs (like this one!) that will help support and educate you. And if you can’t find one, create your own group on Facebook like we did with One Ash Farm and Dairy. It’s a great way to get to know people and share your homesteading life!
~So where are we on our journey? For a few years now it’s been just One Ash hubby and myself on the homestead (yep, your kids will grow up and get out on their own!), and now we are officially retired from that rat-race. So we are truly back to step #2- accepting that our plans are changing. There is just no way the two of us can do everything we used to do. Partly because of age and changes in our physical abilities, and even more due to changing desires! We want to make sure we are spending our energy only on things that are important to us. So we are revisiting our basic philosophy and goals for the homestead.
Would we think of leaving the homesteading life? NO! Our homestead is not going away- we love this lifestyle too much for that- and the basics will stay the same, they just need some adjustment! For us it’s time to focus on the things we enjoy the most, use our talents and skills to bless others with the knowledge we have gained over the years, and intentionally bring in some extra income. And those cute little rabbits we used to have…..well, a young man at church sure was happy to receive those floppy ears to love and care for!
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