How To Cover the Startup Cost of Homesteading

Homesteading is a great way of life… but in the beginning it can be VERY EXPENSIVE to get started. 

Imagine you get two pigs. To get those 2 pigs your first year you need to buy

• a barn or shed for pigs
• fencing
• water trough
• feeder
• feed

A brand new homesteader with NOTHING could easily spend thousands on those two pigs.

When you spend that much money on just two pigs it can seem like your actually losing money, not saving any!

So how do you cover the startup cost of homesteading?

Amortize the cost.

Amortize is a fancy word that basically means breakdown the total startup cost into the amount of years you expect it to last, and add that much smaller figure to each animal you raise through out those years.

If you spend $5000 building a barn (random number just for the sake of math) and prepping for pigs, and the setup you put together lasts 10 years, then each year you need to cover $500. If every year you raise 2 pigs for the next 10 years, then each pig has a burden of $250 from that amortized startup cost. Raise more pigs, and that number goes down!

Add your amortized startup cost to each animal you raise during the lifespan of the homestead. If you sell your products, tack that amortized startup cost to your total cost, and then have your customers cover that cost for you.

NOT PLANNING ON SELLING GOODS? You still want to factor that startup cost into your enterprises and see if you can raise your products, INCLUDING the startup cost, cheaper than you can buy them at the farmers market.

The interview snippet featured in todays video came from our Pioneer’s Live from the Barn Show. Soon there will be a full length podcast episode on this topic, subscribe to the podcast to get that, or become a Pioneer and watch the entire interview now!