How much money can 1 person live on an few acres (homesteading)?

[yellowsnow]

I know one person who actually does this with her husband. They rely on solar for power and wood for heat. They do have most of the modern conveniences but they have to know when they can use them and stagger the use of high amperage appliances. They track sunlight and have to know if they have enough battery to make it through the night. They do have a generator that can make up the difference. They try to make sure all they are running at night is the fridge and lights in the house.

They live in the middle of nowhere and nothing is convenient. They raise chickens, goats, pigs, and they have a large garden. There are also some fruit trees. They are in the mountains and sometimes winter and big rain storms make it hard to get to a real paved road. They have been stuck before where they could not leave for several days.

They have found that someone still has to work or bring in some cash money. Sooner or later someone will need new shoes and there is always taxes and fuel for the generator/vehicles. Her husband is very handy and works the land/does most of the farming/animal care. She has a job as a corporate trainer and travels all over. When she is not teaching a class, she can work from home. They have satellite for internet and a dish for TV. When she has to physically go to work, she needs to be able to drive to the airport.

Their plan is to quit outside work as soon as they qualify for Social Security/her pension. I wonder if they will still be able to do all the hard work that comes with running their place? They may do fine. Or not! They are very isolated. There is one neighbor who is much younger and lives about a mile away. They do help each other and check on each other regularly. If there was an accident or something happened where they needed emergency help they would be SOL. They just accept that fact and move on. It's a very different lifestyle.

[BumbleBeeHunter]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

I know one person who actually does this with her husband. They rely on solar for power and wood for heat. They do have most of the modern conveniences but they have to know when they can use them and stagger the use of high amperage appliances. They track sunlight and have to know if they have enough battery to make it through the night. They do have a generator that can make up the difference. They try to make sure all they are running at night is the fridge and lights in the house.

They live in the middle of nowhere and nothing is convenient. They raise chickens, goats, pigs, and they have a large garden. There are also some fruit trees. They are in the mountains and sometimes winter and big rain storms make it hard to get to a real paved road. They have been stuck before where they could not leave for several days.

They have found that someone still has to work or bring in some cash money. Sooner or later someone will need new shoes and there is always taxes and fuel for the generator/vehicles. Her husband is very handy and works the land/does most of the farming/animal care. She has a job as a corporate trainer and travels all over. When she is not teaching a class, she can work from home. They have satellite for internet and a dish for TV. When she has to physically go to work, she needs to be able to drive to the airport.

Their plan is to quit outside work as soon as they qualify for Social Security/her pension. I wonder if they will still be able to do all the hard work that comes with running their place? They may do fine. Or not! They are very isolated. There is one neighbor who is much younger and lives about a mile away. They do help each other and check on each other regularly. If there was an accident or something happened where they needed emergency help they would be SOL. They just accept that fact and move on. It's a very different lifestyle.

Wow sounds like they live a heavenly life!!!! I understand your concerns though, hopefullly they will factor in their old age, and running a mini farm, generators, etc.. cannot last forever. It's hard work to live out in BFE

[Themanwithnoname]

Originally Posted by BumbleBeeHunter

Wow sounds like they live a heavenly life!!!! I understand your concerns though, hopefullly they will factor in their old age, and running a mini farm, generators, etc.. cannot last forever. It's hard work to live out in BFE

Yes\no\kinda.

There's people "out here" who heat their house with electricity and delivered propane, don't garden etc.... Not much of a different lifestyle than city life except your neighbor isn't spitting distance away.

Went to a callout (I'm a First responder) last week to a brick house like that.
88 year old lady fell in the kitchen and needed help up.


My garden is in raised beds, so I could work them from a wheelchair.
Most of my fruit and but trees are along the driveway and my " figure 8" driveway. I joke not joke that I could pick them from a scooter \ motorized wheelchair.

With such in mind (I've had 4 surgeries) I had French doors out in from the garage to the house.
The master bedroom is on the ground floor not on the second like I intended originally.
I have an extra wide door going into my downstairs bedroom. (Wheelchair again)
And both a run and a shower, which has a low lip, 2 showerhead (one on a flexible extention) and enough room to put in a chair.

There's a door to the outside right by the wood stove.

I don't but a nearly 70 year old friend heats his house with a hearty stove. (Outside)
He cuts down a dead tree, cuts it up and scoops the wood up with his front end loader. Drives it over to and dumps it in front the stove.


sure at some point your going to stop it with the livestock and such, but it doesn't mean you have to leave.

My grandmother is.... 93 or 94 and has a whole house Geny (in her subdivision) it automatically comes on if the power goes out and runs 1x\month. Not seeing how that's a "problem"