This simple life costs how much?!!!!

Nevada,
Don't forget besides the stove, pipe and chimney you'll need a hearth, wood rack, wood splitter, log jack, 2 chain saws with safety equipment gas cans extra chains, truck, trailer and such and on and on. Also the time to work cutting,hauling, splitting and stacking your wood. It is funny in many ways.

Health is what most do it for, definetly not for wealth.

Barns were a work of art and architectural wonders besides being the most important part of a homestead and the biggest investment. Old timers had their priorities in order.Todays barns are the cheapest functional thing.

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Good idea and people could list their location and what common prices are. Location is very important to mention because prices vary tremendously across the country and even within an area. For example, if you buy land in Montpelier, our state capital (Vermont) then you will pay a very high price. But if you buy in the North East Kingdom land prices are extremely low. Between the two the prices are between with many good deals to be had.

That said, I don't find it very expensive to live the good life. I carefully choose where I live to get a good price on land that has timber, water and had some pastures to start with - we've made more. Our annual budget is pretty low, below poverty level and we feel that we live very comfortably. If we had to we could cut our budget to 25% of what we spend and still survive.

Definitely. Understanding the costs is critical. It is also wise to ease one's way into things. We've been farming for 20 years but it took us 15 years to figure out what we were not good at and what we were good at and could make money at. During that time we supported ourselves with other endeavors. Now the farming pays well. But you have to take the time to learn and figure out how to make it happen. It's not a matter of jumping but of baby steps.

As to equipment, be very careful not to get sucked into the big iron mentality. It doesn't take much. Equipment's expensive not just to buy but to use and maintain. Be sure you really need it. Don't just go out buying toys.

$25 to $40 is standard around here for 800 to 1200 lb round bales of high quality hay. You can pay less for junk hay. The price of the good hay is well worth it. I turn one round bale of hay (plus dairy) into a pig in six months which I then sell for $3.50/lb in the city. It works for me. I have other costs too but I don't begrudge the hay farmer what he charges for the hay. Diesel prices are high. Fertilizer costs money. Lime costs money. Equipment costs a lot. It takes a lot of time to hay. He delivers and is pleasant to deal with. At $40 a bale he isn't making much.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Beeman,

I totally agree, and am often saddened to hear that some go deeply into debt to obtain the things they think they need to live simply.

An example would be of some that bought a new $30,000 tractor on credit that won't be used for anything more than a used $1500 Farmall would do.

Of course, its their money to spend as they please.

As well, I am biased. I like being debt free, and I love old Farmalls.

Personally, the 'steading lifestyle should be about starting small and growing over time, making do with less, buying value instead of new, etc. But that is just my opinion.

Clove

That's the way DH and I are. Debt-free is more important to us than instant gratification.

Let's face it, no one is ever really "done" on the farm, anyway. There will always be one more thing to be done. *sigh*

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It can cost as much as you make it cost.
sure you can buy a new tractor for 30,000 or you can pick up one thats already been around and working for 50 years for 1500. You can buy a new baler or find a decent square baler for a tenth the cost.
when My mother bought this farm in 1967 the only tractor we had was a 12 hp sears suburban, we had 2 acres of garden all plowed with it, we mowed 4 acres with it for 25 years, it hauled our firewood and even cut it .
had our fields planted on shares, when we had stock we took our share in the grain its self and ground our feed with an old mill picked up at an auction for $5.
Our pig pens were built out of pallets .
Part of living the simple life is making due with what you have or what you can make work.
If you want to start from scratch and walk into a turn key homestead with all the bells and whistles you better have just won the lotto.
If you dont mind saying well it aint fancy but it works you can get by pretty cheap.

On the other hand Clovis, that $1500 Farmall might be a false savings. I bought an 8n on that basis and it simply isn't enough tractor for the things I want to do and the size of our property. It's not a bad little utility tractor but that is what it is.

I've been holding off getting a larger tactor but eventually I will get something that has the oomph to do what I need. Something in the 35-40hp range would be sufficient but I'm thinking I'd like something a little beefier.

Even if you did get yourself a $1500 farmall, how much have you spent on attachments?

Beemans point still holds.... this "simple life" isn't necessarily inexpensive.

Mike

You are correct, too. You make a good point that is very valid.

Part of this homesteading thing is to find the real value in the things we buy, at least in my opinion.

So, if a new Deere fits the bill, go for it. New tractors can do alot more than the old ones. If you find real value in a monster 530 horsepower JD 9030, then go for it. Your money and your farm.

If you have hundreds of post holes to drill, maybe a newer tractor with a rear mount auger is best for you. A new tractor maybe of great value if you have lots of acres to bale, live in hill country, etc.

I was just trying to give a different perspective.

Clove

I've been at this homesteading thing, off and on, for a good long while. I can't say I've done and seen it all, but I've seen a lot. No matter how you slice it, living the simple life isn't simple. I'll use my neighbor Paul as an example.

After a long day, building a barn, he invited me in for supper. He fixed a big steak, some potatoes and some Swiss chard. I had a big glass of cold milk. Everything he raised. Ah, the simple life. But wait, how'd we get to that plate?
For the milk, he had to have fenced pasture, haying equipment, a place to store the hay, raise the cow, make sure the cow is bred, insure a safe delivery and then spend the time every day for milking.

For the potatoes, he had to have a spot tilled up, mix in many loads of sheep manure, buy the right amount of seed poatoes, keep the weeds cultivated out, keep the potato bugs out of them, keep the plants watered in the dry times,dig them and store in a cool dry place.

For the Swiss Chard, he had to till up the garden, add manure, weed and water and harvest. Then he got the canner out and packed his harvest into jars and made enough to get him thru the year.

For the steak, that requires the most work, from pasture to grain planting and harvesting, to the labor intensive butchering.
And that is just one meal. Breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast and hash browns is a whole new set of chores.
Paul has been able to seperate his needs from his wants and to see what is important. His tractors are over 50 years old. The paint is worn off, but the tires are like new. A can of paint doesn't put the beans in the cupboard.

There are things that you can do to save money and things that you should pay for the quality product. Sometimes there aren't any shortcuts. Sometimes I roll my eyes when I read some of the questions on this site, " I didn't put up any dry wood, how can I get green wood dry in 3 weeks?" or "I just bought 3 pigs. How do I keep them contained. I can't afford fencing." or "I just bought a one day old holstein bull, but he is pooping yellow, what can I do without having to call a Vet?"

Often we try to do it all. A few chickens, a couple rabbits, a milk goat, a beef cow and a pair of horses. Then add a big vegetable garden, honey bees, cheese, soap and wine making and an off farm job. You'll be old by the time you collect everything you need for each variety of animal on the farm.
That twenty dollar fitting on your tractor's hyd. line isn't so expensive when you look at a jug of hyd oil at $54. Why wait until you have to buy both? Keeping it simple also means doing what needs to be done when it is time to do it.

I just got my tractor back from the shop. While they were fixing one thing, they noticed another. Replaced a shaft that was just scored a bit in one end and charged me $700 for that shaft. Bill came to $1600. Then I bought a pair of calves for $1400 and they ducked under the electric fence and were gone for a couple weeks. At the end of hay season, I bought a square baler and a couple more hay wagons. The wagons needed tires all the way around. It never ends.

It ain't cheap living the simple life, but it sure is worth it.

Living simple and cost really depends on what kind of a person you are, where you are in your life, and what bothers you and what doesn't. When I first bought my property I lived in a crummy shack built out of pallets and sheet metal. Used nails, used sheet metal, used windows and doors. The only thing I spent money on was caulk and some expanding foam sealant. Had a fire ring to cook over, a couple of free chairs, cot, and some cheapo kerosene lamps. I got laid off and had to make it on 162 bucks a week. It was pretty easy since I had no bills besides a cell phone, car insurance, and a 88 dollar a month mortgage. But it wasn't all a bowl of cherries, the roof leaked, mice found their way into the place, sneaky snakes found their way into my cot on more than one occasion, and the place was hot during the day and cold at night. There were some memorable moments living in the shack. There was an owl that used to hang out right outside my window. Kept away the mice and the snakes till he found somewhere else to hang out. Used to hear deer and night munching away on the grass next to the shack. When you have no money you learn to keep your expectations low be inventive. You also keep an eye out for deals. I bought my first chainsaw for 5 bucks at a garage sale, it is heavy and loud but it still works to this day. My kerosene heater was given to me as was my wood stove and wood furnace. I bought my tractor for 600 bucks. It was an old Massey Harris 33, used it for a few years till it spun a bearing and I sold it for 300 bucks. I changed oil on it once and that was pretty much it. Since I didn't have money for a brush hog I made a drag out of wood and used a couple of small boulders for weight. It may not cut anything but it flattens down brush and grass to the point of where it doesn't come up again for a good while. I made fence post out of split logs and used barb wire that I found balled up in my parents woods.

I don't see the point in trying to live simple and racking up a bunch of debt to finance the simple life. For me the whole reason to live the simple life is to escape the debt slavery that has a hold on so many people.

What is wrong with the homesteaders of today... How is this stuff costing so much for you guys. Are we building city barns with siding and double insulated, double hung windows? I build my small barn 48' by 20' on the main structure, including posts, framing, siding, trusses and metal roof (red metal at that) for $2200.00 2 full horse stalls, a tractor parking area (for tools and such too) and the indoor chicken coop. I went and bought all my materials at the local sawmill... $100 for a full bundle of Rough Cut oak, 1 1/4" thick. I built my coop out of rough cut lumber and some stuff borrowed from houses being torn down nearby. My barn is as pretty as it it functional... I buy my feed locally, I buy entire fields of hay before they are cut, every year same field. $1.25 a bail on 70-80 pound square bails. and so on and so on.

Here is a quiz:

Like new 2005 Chevy truck $24,595 1/2 ton, ext. cab A/C with bed liner and hitch.

1979 Chevy 3/4 ton runs, good, new clutch and other parts.... Needs some body work $500

Which one is the best buy for a homestead?

Actually, the reasons to not go with the 8" vent wood stove go beyond the cost of the 8" chimney. The stove is way too big for my cabin.

It seems logical that a wood stove can have a turn-down to about as far as the operator wants to go, simply by building smaller fires. However, that's not wise with a wood stove. The reason is that if there is only a very small fire in the stove the oversized chimney never gets hot enough to burn itself clean, so creosote collects in the chimney. That creates chimney fire danger. I'll have a lot more comfort and safety with a smaller wood stove, and the project won't cost any more since the 6" chimney is so much less expensive.

In the meantime I'm looking to trade the wood stove for things I can use in the cabin. The wood stove and 8" chimney parts are good trading stock for around here. No doubt, someone will want it to heat a large home, barn, or work shop.

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I see your point, but at the same time, driving junk is what makes one a mechanic.

I agree with wv. Too often people simply don't think through the actual numbers. They buy a good pickup because they might need it for off-place work, too. And proceed to beat up this nice pickup when they do on place work.

But when you crunch the numbers, you can get a nicer pickup for off-place (trailering, etc) and an older one for on. Even with the extra insurance, tax/lisc. and so on, you're still coming out ahead than getting something new that does it all.

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the Back Gate Country Quilt Shop

Part of the simple life is developing the skills needed to do it yourself .
its not hard to turn a wrench or strike a weld you just have to figure it out .
the advantage of the older equipment and vehicles is that they were designed so the farmer could work on them .
Get the shop manual they give step by step instructions.
when I was a kid I hated my dad because if something broke down he'd toss me manual and say go fix it . I fully admit breaking a head bolt loose isnt an easy task for a ten year old but following the lever rule I managed. Neither mom or dad would accept "I cant" as an answer . No home steader should accept it either . A person can do so much more than they think they can , making excuses only makes it harder .
I dont toss a manual at my daughters and tell them to fix it but I do take them out and show them how to do it .

Let me guess they have some big green lush lawn even in the dead of the summer thanks to the water and fertilizer ? Not to mention the big garden tractor to mow it every week .... geez

I am a homesteader, not a farmer, I own a piece of property big enough to feed my family year round and get a couple of critters (a donkey, a couple laying hens and some meat bird, and some goat for brush control and my two pigs and the pork).

I am always amaze when the local folks around here with a couple goat or sheep buy tractors and so one to make their hay. Boy a good scythe, a good hay rake a fork a some times and I make my one without any gas. Yes it is labor intensive, I need to cut and store around 3 acre of hay to feed my critters during the long winters (1 day of work to cut an acre, 3 hours to turn it a couple of time and 1 day to bale it and store it) Yes it is a lot of work but also some good time outdoors too.

In the meantime, I am always wondering why people buy pellet to feed their meat rabbit, their is a lot of grass in the ditch along the roads every where in this country, nobody use it, get a scythe, choose a good dead end road near you and go get that grass to feed the bunny !!!

I think I know these people. They typically invest in a Lincoln Mark LT pick-up truck to transport potted plants, but they still consider it truck abuse.

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All excellent posts! When my husband and I moved into the country we had lots of ideas... lots more than we had money or time for. So we chose to do the things right away that meant most to us... a large garden and chickens.

Our neighbors are life-long residents of this area and most are either active farmers, retired farmers or sons/daughters of farmers. While they were a bit reserved towards us at first, they have been very welcoming of us "city folk".

Large garden: I have gardened for years (in very small spaces in the city) and our first garden in the country was the size of our whole LOT in the city. We had more food coming out of it than we could handle and gladly gave much of it to our new neighbors. In turn, our neighbors plow our driveway for us in the winter (although we do give them $$ for gas), so we don't have the expense of a plow for our truck.

Chickens: We did A LOT of reading about caring for chickens before we got our first chicks. One of our retired farmer neighbors gave us an old coop he had on his property. It needed a lot of work which my husband and I finished just in time for the chickens to move in. We get more eggs than we need, which we share with our neighbors. The neighbor who gave us the coop gets eggs from us for free always and in turn it gives us egg cartons he rescues from the recycling center (he works at the town dump/recycling center). He also gave us a large bag of potatoes from his garden this fall, yum!

Since my husband and I both work in IT, we get lots of questions from our neighbors when they have computer problems. In turn our neighbors have lent their equipment to assist us with projects around our "mini homestead".

I don't think of this life as the "simple life". Its a very different life than we had in the city and one we were glad to embrace, with all of its challenges. We work harder physically and we create more of the food we eat. This fall I made applesauce and apple butter (and canned it) for the first time. Very exciting. We have one apple tree that produces quite well. We made some tomato sauce, but didn't plant as many tomato plants as we should (we'll do more next year).

We've decided to do broiler chickens next year, too. Our one neighbor raises his own broilers and I offered to help him butcher his birds so I can learn how to do ours.

I don't think "living simply" has to be terribly expensive, unless you insist on having everything new, high-tech and top of the line. Like anything else, its what you make of it.

If you're looking for a good deal on a farm vehicle look at used cargo vans. We got a 3/4 ton Econoline extended body cargo van in excellent condition for $1,375. It is a cargo van so that means few windows so families and groups don't like buying them. Ours has two side windows on the side doors, two windows on the back doors and the front windows. It's enough for us but the lack of windows and large size of the vehicle depresses the price. Brand new this vehicle was $35,000. Based on my past experiences with vans I'll put about $500 per year maintenance into it and get about 10 to 15 years of use out of it. That means I'll spend $6,375 over the life of the vehicle plus gas which is typical for large vehicles.

We added a seat, a bench from one of our other vans so that we have seating for six people, a chest freezer for six pigs worth of meat and a cargo area for, among other things, transporting six pigs at a time to the butcher (ten in a pinch).


Added bonuses:

1) Nobody wants to steal it! It's definitely not sexy and would make a horrible get-away vehicle.

2) It's big, it's brown and other cars, even pickups and SUVs, think twice about cutting in front of my wife (she drives most of the time).

3) We almost exactly get the same mpg full loaded or empty. We're almost always hauling a load so that's great.

4) It can haul a big trailer. I haven't yet but its nice to know I can if necessary.


Disadvantages:

1) It does take a little while, but not too long, to learn to drive such a large vehicle.

2) Gas mileage is 16 mpg. Since we don't drive much and we always combine trips and do many things this isn't really a big deal. But, this is not a commuting vehicle. We always need the space so it works for us. Our only other vehicle is our tractor, which we bought new, paid $40K for and it has paid for itself many times over. One of the best buys I've made. Great for moving mountains.

3) It's rear wheel drive. Get studded tires, an all four wheels, if you live in the north country like us.

Cheers

-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
in the mountains of Vermont
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/blog/
http://HollyGraphicArt.com/
http://NoNAIS.org

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For SOME people, maybe!

I drove almost every day for a year and a half before I drove well enough to get my license. I was 25. And, while I TRIED to learn to drive a stick, I never could. I am really NOT! good with machinery!

I need something reliable to run my kids around when the weather is bad. So, I bought a used chevy WITHOUT the bells and whistles, for $15,000. And, I PAY to have it maintained!