We were overwhelmed by the amount of work and the discipline that comes with being frugal, but were willing to change both ourselves and our property to gain financial independence.
I’m sure you can relate.
Frugal living has becomeour lifestyle, and I use these secrets on my homestead every day. Not only willthey save you money, but they’ll also empower you into a more self-sufficient, fulfilling lifestyle.
Imagine being able to shape your own tools, and not run to the grocery every time you want pizza(which is every day here). Life is just simplerwhen you’re frugal.
Incorporate even a few of these frugal tips into your homestead,and you’ll soon see the benefits.
A lot of these are apartment-friendly for the urban homestead. If you’re a family trying to adjust to the frugal nature of aone income life, these tips are for you!
1. Pallets, pallets, pallets
Pallets are beyond useful on the homestead for a variety of projects from chicken coops to flooring to sheds. We practically built all our horse stalls from pallet wood.
We also made sub flooring for our mud room from pallets.
It’s sturdy and does the job, and it was free.
Not sure where to get palletsor how to use them?Read about our various pallet projects!
Before you use themthough, make sure your pallets aresafe to use in your projects!
2. Seed saving
This year, one of my homestead goals is to save more seeds. It’s easy and frugal, and you’ll be assured the following year’s crop will get off to a great start.
Pick the best produce from this year’s garden and save those seeds.If you’re not sure what to plant, here’scold crop suggestions.
3. Shop sales for items you can’t produce yourself.
The day I came home with nearly 50lbs of sugar, I thought my husband’s eyes would roll out of his head. And when I find an amazing deal on flour, I’m not shy.
Here’s the deal:
Although you might feel ridiculous at first, you’ll soon see the benefit of this frugal habit.
Bulk buy when the item is on sale and you won’t spend more when you really need it!
4. Breed for sustainability.
Last fall, I placed orders for chicks to be delivered in March – seemed like a frugal idea for the homestead because we could then sell the eggs.
Over the winter, I’ve been hatching chicken eggs from a pair of hens bought last June.
I realized today that we now total over 30 chickens on the homestead, with more on the way.
The only cost has been torun the incubator, which isn’t very much.This isn’t for everyone, but if you keep hens and a friendly rooster, building and sustaining your homestead flock will make a big, frugal, impact.
I’ve since canceled my chick orders, saving a few hundred dollars – and we still get a ton of eggs for our homestead.
Not sure which breeds to buy?Here’s 5 great chickenbreeds to start your backyard flock.
[Since writing this article, we’ve been fortunate enough to go all out and bring along a breeding pair of pigs on the homestead as well as goats – we now have a frugal, sustainable supply of meat, milk, and cheese!]
5. Keep tools in good repair and fix instead of buying.
I can’t tell you how many handles my husband has busted with the various homestead DIY projects we have going on.
This frugal activity is huge on the homestead, and not as difficult to learn as it seems.
Our handheld tools are older hand-me-downs or auction finds. Instead of buying a new tool, he just reshapes and attaches a new handle (remember that pallet wood?).
It’s a frugal and important skill for any homestead.
6. Butcher and preserve meatyourself.
Whilenot everyone can produce their own meat, but ifyou have an apartment homestead on a rental property, this one’s still for you.
You can save a TON buying meat in bulk. Next time you’re at the store, examine the prices of pork shoulder or loin sold in bulk cuts.
If I buy chicken, I only buy the whole chicken and butcher it myself. It’s a lot easier than it seems, andis an unbelievable money saver (think chicken breasts for $0.95).
Looking for an amazing video about butchering? Check out this one by the Portland Meat Collective.
You’ll see how frugal homestead butcheringcan be (and you might be inspired to start preserving meat by brining, drying, or canning!).
7. Make your own cheese, yogurt, and bone broth.
Cheese, yogurt, and bone brothare all super easy and frugal to make, with a little practice. (Have you gotten my freecheese making book yet?)
If you have a raw milk source, you’re in business, but even if you have to use store-bought milk, you can still make your own cheese and yogurt on your homestead.
It’s easy, and it’s frugal for any homestead.
From one gallon of milk you can make several types of cheese and yogurt. You can even make your own cheese press like this one!
Bone broth is one of the easiest and most nutritious pantry staples you can make. Once you start, you’ll keep making it because it takes little effort, but yields big results.
8. DIYyour cleaning supplies.
Aside from the frugalaspect, making your own laundry detergent is a great idea.
You’ll avoid dangerous chemicals on your homestead, and you can use your favorite scents using essential oils.
Use my tutorial to craft youown laundry detergent.
9. Save ongrainwith sprouted seed.
The first time I saw a fodder system in use on a homestead, you could see the explosion in my head a mile away.
It revolutionized my feed program.
When you sprout seeds for your livestock, you’re taking advantage of a natural process that at least triples (some say up to 600%) the nutritional value of your feed.
It’s asimple and frugal idea for anyhomestead.
For the full explanation and space saving tips, check out my guide to growing fodder at home.
10. Don’t be afraid to barter.
You’d be surprised at what might transpire – and anything frugal for your homestead is a great idea.
When we soldour old tractor, a neighbor asked if we would accept an ATV instead of cash.
After blue booking the value of the atv, we found out it was worth 3 times the value of the tractor, enough that when we sold our truck, we could trade the ATV for a new truck or as partial payment.
We turned a $700 tractor into a truck worth several thousand dollars – pretty frugal.
You can barter eggs for meat, vegetables for services, you name it. You never know, and the money you save goes right in your pocket.
Finally, know the value of your goods or services, and don’t be afraid to ask for an even trade.
11. DIY repairs.
YouTube is a wonderful (and frugal) resource where you can find the answer to pretty much every repair question you have.
When we repurposed the abandoned barns on our property, YouTube became our go-to resource. We’ve been able to turn our shed into a great new horse barn, and anold pier and beam barn into an updated car shop.
(We’re lucky because we don’t need to ask county permission to do our own repairs on our homestead.)
If you have a plumbing issue, before you spend money, see if it’s an easy repair you can do yourself. It pays to be frugal, and you might learn a new skill for your homestead!
These are 11 easy ways to save money, but incorporating them all into your life at the same time can be overwhelming. The most important way to incorporate these tips into your life is to start slowly, and to start with the tips that make the most sense for you and your family.
I’d love to hear from you!
What’s your best money saving tip? Email me, or comment below!
Maat van Uitert
Maat van Uitert is a backyard chicken and sustainable living expert. She is also the author ofChickens: Naturally Raising A Sustainable Flock, which was a best seller in it’s Amazon category. Maat has been featured on NBC, CBS, AOL Finance,Community Chickens, the Huffington Post, Chickens magazine,Backyard Poultry, andCountryside Magazine. She lives on her farm in Southeast Missouri with her husband, two children, and about a million chickens and ducks. You can follow Maat onFacebook hereandInstagram here.
