Homesteading and both working full time?

[miboje]

I'm sorry if this gets long....
I graduated from college a little over a year ago. Just before starting college, I started an eBay business to support myself while going to college. I ended up enjoying it so much, that I have stuck with it for over 3.5 years, and it works out really well to be working from home. No daycare expenses, and very little spent on gas. Plus, I accumulated a lot of inventory while in college just to make sure I had enough to last til I graduated. I still have a lot to sell, it's just very slow.

That brings me to the present. Things have really slowed down on eBay. I can't really pay the bills on my own. My fiance is helping in that dept., and he should, but the economy has adversely affected his income as well, and now we are really struggling. I'd say our income is down by 40%. The only debt I have is my mortgage, and now student loan payments.

I really wanted to continue to work from home so that I can focus on us being self sufficient. It looks like, if I can, I need to get a job outside the home. Ugh. I did not want to go there. It breaks my heart and almost feels like we need to give up on our dream of working toward self-sufficiency. We have been at it for 3 years and have a long way to go, but we are getting there.

My questions is how much will we have to give up, as far as self-sufficiency goes? Can both partners still work full-time and not kill themselves by trying to be self-sufficient? We have 2 children and only one is old enough to really help with weeding the garden, chopping wood, canning, etc.

I am so disappointed that I have not come up with another way to supplement my income from home. I feel like a failure. On top of that, the job market is terrible here as it is most places, and even with my associates degree in business administration; management and marketing, no one wants to hire you without experience.

[springvalley]

Sorry, but I have no real advice for you as there is sooooo many variables when making this decision. I should know as I've finally made the decision that I have to go back to work, too. How did I determine what I have to let go of? I had to weigh out what makes the most sense. What is more important? Having a garden with good food or buying foods on sale and still canning them? Keep critters and raise our own meats or buy meats on sale? What saves the most money? How much time do your children take/need? Home school or public? Lots of decisions and it all depends on your own circumstances, values and time. Good luck!! - Catherine

[txquilter]

I agree with springvalley. There are tons of variables that need to be weighed in before making these kinds of decisions.

Personally, both my hubby and I work full time outside of the home; however, our youngest child is now 17 and we're just on the road to becoming self-sufficient. We will be planting our first garden this year (in the city) to try our hands at that on a small scale.

Remember work/life balance is just that - it is a balancing act and we need to figure out what works best for each of us.

Good luck!

[farmerbrian]

Wife and I are both working fulltime and we are steadily marching towards our homesteading goals.

In general there are two things you can use to achieve your goals: your time, or your money. I dont know your specific goals, but for us our main money goal right now is paying down debt and that is where a large portion of extra income goes.

If your current 40% reduced income is enough to get you buy on the essentials without going into more debt, then I would say the worst part of this is your money goals will have a longer horizon. If you are not happy with that horizon you can give up some of your time to earn more money.

If you are not able to stay in the black with current income then I would say you dont have much of a choice but to find a way to earn some more money. Spending less is hte same thing as earning more be sure to give an honest look at what expenses you can remove from your life before you dive the 9-5 job.

If you are breaking even now then perhaps you can spend some of you time exploring other business opportunities that will keep you at home where you really want to be. If the job becomes a must then dont forget to calculate all the costs associated with that job like daycare (a big one that is really a bummer to pay for), gas, vehicle maintenance, work clothes etc.

Dont give up any dreams! Just adapt them to the current situation.

[FarmerChick]

I tried to make the farm pay it all. Total farm income. The lifestyle I want and the health insurance costs makes it a NO GO. I tried for over 10 years to make it into a livable wage to cover how I want to live. I couldn't do it.

Tony works 4--12 hr shift job with wonderful benefits. I worked a job til almost 5 years ago when I had my DD. I quit and hit my farm sales very hard and did very well to easily cover my salary.

But the farm couldn't cover Tony's salary.



Sit back and relax and think about the least evasive way to make some cash to support your bills. You can always grade up from there.

I love staying home. When money got tight cause farm sales took a "little" hit, I took a VERY long and hard look at all my bills. And I saved money on them. I did all I could NOT to get a job from the home. I shut down spending.

So for me, staying home with DD was more important than having to find a job to increase money at this point. I cut spending severly and followed the path I wanted. Worth every penny I saved and cut to stay home..lol

[Cascade Failure]

springvalley is right in that there are many variables but, don't forget that just because you want doesn't something means that it will happen right now. Sometimes we need to take steps to get to where we want to be. I would love to finish my degree without working. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. But, I will get there.

How does this relate to homesteading? Goals. Pick yours. The chances of you obtaining ALL of your goals in life are slim. Met your goals? Either you set the bar too low or you are much luckier than most of us. Prioritize. What do you need to get there? Is not working your goal? Does he have the same goal for you?

I can meet more of my goals by working short term, outside of the homestead, than I can if I stay here. By working away from home now, I will realize more of my goals later.

Best of luck, and I truly hope that you and yours will find what you are looking for in life.

[mpillow]

Since you already have kids to take care of what about babysitting...sure it may not net a whole lot of money but after you pay childcare, clothing, convenience things...how much are you really making working outside the home?

While you are "babysitting" you could still do ebay, plant a garden and have a few animals..homeschool or whatever...

[Michael Kawalek]

Well, Miboje, we took the both working full time route. The truth is, I'm the one in our relationship most focused on being self-sufficient, and also the one that has to pay the mortgage on our homestead land. I'm the one that does the pressure canning, I'm the one that plants the fruit trees, I'm the one doing construction, and I'm the working full time besides the wife. I can't really give any sympathy to anyone who wants someone else to work for them so you can follow your dream. Get a job.

[TheMartianChick]

First of all...Congratulations on finishing your degree.There are many types of jobs that may meet your both your self-sufficiency goals and monetary needs. First, you have to figure out how much money you actually need. It is possible that a part time job will meet your needs and not take you away from your family or farm chores so much.

When my children were young, my husband and I worked opposite shifts so that we didn't have to pay much for child care. He worked from 7am-3:30 and I worked from 1:30pm until 10pm. This allowed us both to have time with the kids and only pay a relative a small amount of money to keep them for a couple of hours each day.

Believe me when I say that I understand the Ebay situation. I was an Ebay powerseller for about a year and a half. 9/11 put an awful damper on my sales and I was forced to go get a job. Luckily for me, a local nonprofit organization was setting up an office a half a block from my home. Though I didn't enjoy the work that I was doing, the job location and hours couldn't have been any more convenient.

Now, back to your degree... I know that the job market is really tough right now. However, an Associates Degree in Business can be a great steppingstone. The market is such that a lot of people with Bachelors Degrees are taking jobs that people with brand new Associates Degrees used to get. Take a step backwards and look for a job that has high turnover. Shopping malls, dollar stores and fast food restaurants are all such places. Chances are, you will end up being the Assistant Manager within 6-12 months. You will also have the experience that you need for your resume. Once you decide that you no longer need to work outside of the home, you can always go back to full time homesteading. Just keep in mind that you always should have some sort of up-to-date information/job experience on your resume, even if you aren't working.

You can gain the up-to-date resume items by volunteering with a non-profit organization, at a school or a hospital. Volunteering will also help to keep your job skills relevant in case you ever have to seek employment again. In the case of non-profit organizations, volunteering often leads to an offer for paid employment and they are usually far more flexible than other employers when it comes to working hours and childcare.

[miboje]

Originally Posted by Michael Kawalek

Well, Miboje, we took the both working full time route. The truth is, I'm the one in our relationship most focused on being self-sufficient, and also the one that has to pay the mortgage on our homestead land. I'm the one that does the pressure canning, I'm the one that plants the fruit trees, I'm the one doing construction, and I'm the working full time besides the wife. I can't really give any sympathy to anyone who wants someone else to work for them so you can follow your dream. Get a job.

Michael - I didn't ask for your sympathy! I am asking about other's experiences! Would you mind pointing out where I said that I wanted someone else to go to work for me? Why are you being rude? Here I am feeling like a failure because I want to work from home (read that, make an income in addition to the one I make now!! OR, try to find a job outside the home, pay daycare and gas, etc., IF I can even find one in my rural job market.

My questions was how feasible is it. My question was not is it ok to ask a man to take care of me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't think I asked that!

Conversely, Thank you to the others who are genuinely trying to help!

[FarmerChick]

miboje

MK's response was personal to their situation. Don't for one second think that there isn't a problem with his home life. Obvisouly there is or the "I'M the one in our relationship most focused on being self sufficient AND HAS TO pay the mortgage....etc

this is a knee jerk response about MK's personal business



So take it all with a grain of salt..LOL

[Cascade Failure]

Originally Posted by FarmerChick

miboje

MK's response was personal to their situation. Don't for one second think that there isn't a problem with his home life. Obvisouly there is or the "I'M the one in our relationship most focused on being self sufficient AND HAS TO pay the mortgage....etc

this is a knee jerk response about MK's personal business



So take it all with a grain of salt..LOL

Another knee jerk, grain of salt response...

Sounds like different goals in life.

[willow_girl]

You HAVE experience ... you've been running an online business! Don't sell yourself short.

[Danaus29]

What about a part time job?

When things got tight for us I took a job where I work between 3 and 10 days a month. It's not much but it does pay my livestock feed bill and leaves enough for some gardening supplies. During tax season I work more, but can't do much gardening until April anyway.

[Curtis B]

Both DW and I work full time. We live in the country, raise animals, and have a garden. Alot of what you are asking depends on what you want, and what you consider self sufficiant. There is nothing I want more than to make a living off my land, but when you figure everything in, someone has to (in our case we both) work a job outside the home. I wonder every day how some of the people on this forum do it, but some sacrifices have to be made one way or the other, and only you can decide what you are willing to do. Working full time and "homesteading" is and can be rough, there have been many days when I have feed the anmals with a flashlight in hand, but again it depends on how hard you are willing to work. I don't count on my wife to do much of anything around the property, and as much as DD(3 yrs) wants to help there is only so much she can help me with right now, so I suck it up and work until I can barely walk some days. But to me it's worth it. BTW it seems to me that alot of folks around here make a living by writing, I couldn't do it, but it might be an option for you.

[Terri]

miboje, I feel for you. I do. I look at my 6.5 acres and I can do very little about it because of my health problems.

This is what DOES work for me.

Instead of canning veggies, I freeze them in zip lock baggies. I really prefer canning, but, baggies work also. Get as much air out of the bag as you can before you seal it to prevent freezer burn.

I use weed barrier. It is a rediculously expensive thing to do while my tiller gathers dust, but, it really is easier. I only have to weed a few minutes a week, now. With the weed barrier down I pretty much plant, water, and pick. All done. I had a huge number of squash and pumpkins this year from my garden: next year I might have to look into root cellering in my garage. I no longer raise the little plants like lettuce and such. Though I am going to try that next year in a raised bed.

I got mostly pears from the trees this year: next year I will likely have a lot of apples. It works that way. I filled the fridge drawers with pears and then I gave the rest away. I just no longer have the energy to can

Laying hens are great. 5 minutes of work a day and fresh eggs. I stop by the feed store once a month.

So, I ended up with tree fruit for a couple of months, squash and pumpkins for several months, and fresh vegetables for a few months with some excess frozen into baggies. I got eggs for most of the year. And, I gardened perhaps 5 minutes a day, and another 5 minutes with the hens.

It is not what I dreamed of, but life happens and that is what nI got done.

[FarmerChick]

Originally Posted by Cascade Failure

Another knee jerk, grain of salt response...

Sounds like different goals in life.

I don't think so in a way----read the response from that person.

ALL ABOUT their life focused in a negative way. Until the last 2 lines are applied to the OP.---no sympathy and get a job.

[sammyd]

wife works majority time (32 hours) and I work 12s which gives me 7 days off every 2 weeks. I work nights which gives me the days to get stuff accomplished even if I have to work. We have a big garden, lots of chickens, rabbits and goats, a few cows, made all our own hay last year
It can be done.
My folks moved from the city to a 40 cow dairy farm and both worked full time the first 2 years but mom was a teacher so she had the summer to help out.
All depends on your drive and ambition and what you want as far as self sufficiency.

[Danaus29]

My grandfather worked full time and ran a relatively (by Ohio standards) large farm. But he couldn't have done what he did if my stay-at-home grandmother didn't keep up the other end. She cooked and fetched parts, she kept the books and ordered chicks, she did the banking and set the budget. When Grandpa did take a vacation he spent it harvesting crops or planting crops. They both worked the garden and canned vegetables. The both butchered cows and pigs and wrapped the meat. Grandma raised 8 kids, 5 of her own and the 3 of us. When Grandpa finally got to retire he farmed for a few more years then rented out the farm land and sold the cows. Grandma got rid of the chickens. But they still put out a garden and canned most of their fruits and veggies. Grandpa continued to garden through a few strokes, the loss of vision in one eye, and the loss of his right leg just below the knee. It wasn't a matter of self sustenance at that point, but something he just had to do. He didn't quit gardening or planting until the angels carried him home.

Sorry for digressing. I guess my point is that if you want to garden, you find a way. If you don't, you find an excuse. Nothing wrong with either system, it's just the way it is. Nothing wrong with buying at a farmer's market and putting that produce up.

When you are in a partnership with someone, life can be miserable if you're not both on the same page. If one doesn't want to garden or keep livestock they can make it unbearable for the one who wants to garden or keep livestock. I've dealt with it myself. I won't go into details there. You have to make the hard choices for yourself.