How much $ do you save being self-sufficient?

[me&thegals]

Good for you It sounds like we both have hard-working summers going on! It is true that there would be many things I would simply not buy or buy very little of (fruit jam, for example), but I LOVE to eat and I love for my family to eat really well, so there's a tremendous value to me in feeding them really great healthy food. Hard to put a price on that... Doing so much of it ourselves allows us to be able to afford to eat so well.

Same with hunting. This way, we are eating meat that didn't come from a CAFO, get shipped across the country, be butchered in an inhumane manner, be irradiated, etc. So, after license, etc., we've definitely saved money. But, we've also gotten incredibly more value because of how eating venison fits with our values.

 

[miss_thenorth]

I make almost everything from scratch--yogurt, bread, soups, cookies, jams, sauces, croutons,pies, muffins, etc etc etc.

We also raise some of our own food--chickens, rabbits, eggs, so far. We also hunt (not as much as we would like, but).

We also live in a very good area where I can pick my own cherries, strawberries, raspberries,blueberries, beans, peas, apples and peaches. We can also buy corn, tomatoes, peppers, etc at extremely reasonable prices when in season. I ahve taken advantage of all of these, and they have either been canned or put in the freezer.

We RRR whenever possible. My dh is extremely handy, and he does all the work on vehicles, house,land etc.

I couldn't put a dollar amount onany of this, but I know that we save ALOT of money doing what we do.

 

[poppycat]

It's really hard for me to put a dollar amount on it. A lot of the time I've been forced into self sufficiency out of economic necessity.

I'm not sure how much I save by gardening, probably not much. Our biggest savings come from being able to do most plumbing, electrical work, carpentry and other small fixes ourselves. Those things really add up in a hurry if you have to hire them out.

 

[enjoy the ride]

For me self-sufficiency is more a neccessity than a choice. If I can even find someone to come here to repair something, it's going to cost big time. So I really do try to take care of things myself. One of the most irritating things is to chicken out on trying a fix, calling someone in, paying more than I can afford and watching them do something I could have easily done myself.
An appliance repair person charges $100 just to make a call, I have yet to find a person to come and service my pellet stove, the generator repair person charged $310 for what was basically a dead battery when I was pretty sure that was what it was but was too chicken to work on it myself. Even the college kid charged $15 per hour plus the $10 I gave him for gas. (He worked really hard though-so money well spent.)
I did fix a plumbing leak, build a goat shed, and fix my own gutters this year beside other stuff. Everything I do for myself is money saved.

 

[Gravelcreekfarms]

Sometimes I am able to make or lose money. If I have excess produce like this year arround 100 watermelon and cantalope. Plus more fruit than one person could possibly can, then I make a little bit of money on the extra. What I am finding is that people will pay just about anything for free range meat. Especially when they know you and your homesteading practices. The only hinderance is the United States Department of Aggravation(agriculture)
What really means more than the money is being able to go in my cellar on a snowy day and get whatever I want. I don't have to crawl into my truck and go 16 miles into town.
The one place where I lose money is on animals. I love animals ,but on a farm they need to have a use. A horse is just a hay burner if it's not shown or used in other ways. And let me tell you horse's are dear to my heart. I have some chickens that I probably should cull. But they are our pets now and probably will miss the stew pot. We have a dog that doesn't do much but keep us company. He'd lick any trespassers to death, maybe. So, we have "lost" money on our animals. We have gained so much else though. We have a nice quiet life and are enjoying every minute of it!

 

[FarmerChick]

Gravelcreekfarms
you are so right about the animals. they are not pets on a farm. they are income and that is how I treat them (except for my few pets, yup, I know...LOL)
but when I have to take my hard stance on animals, people don't understand. Like I would never call a vet out for my goats, it just ain't happening....my goat herd is for farm income and the money profit line on animals is super low...so I hear ya big time on that.

My horse passed bout 8 mos ago from twisted gut. Horrible. But her, she was my hay burner but she was treated like a queen..LOL..that one hobby I will never give up on the farm..LOL....cause I love horses as my hobby to ride, so when I get another I won't be thinking of money down the drain...LOL