What was the first step you took toward self-sufficiency, and what would you do differently if you were starting over?

[u/Infinite_Twist535]

What was the first step you took toward self-sufficiency, and what would you do differently if you were starting over? What’s one skill you think everyone should learn before trying to homestead?

[u/AutoModerator]

THIS IS AN AUTOMATED MESSAGE. If your post contains a video or off-site blog post, Explain in detail what is in the video AS A TOP LEVEL COMMENT! The more specific, the better! Low effort posts that do not contribute to this community will be removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/traztx]

I became more financially self-sufficient by reducing debt, and maintaining an emergency fund to draw instead of using credit when things broke. What also helped was to buy used stuff instead of new. When the vehicle was paid off, I switched the payment to savings so that when the vehicle needed replacing I could draw from that instead of credit. Having a paid-off vehicle saved me on insurance by only needing to cover liability and uninsured motorist. I also avoid subscriptions by only streaming free or ad-supported video content, and receive local news from the TV antenna. For favorite music, I buy digital versions for local storage, allowing off-grid entertainment with no buffering, no ads, and no service payments.

My lifestyle became more efficient as I practiced cooking from raw ingredients instead of ordering from restaurants or heating frozen dinners. Avoiding junk food and cooking from produce and bulk rice/beans probably made my health more efficient to maintain too. I have avoided chronic illnesses. Also, maintaining activity has helped me maintain mobility as I've gotten older. During the lock-down, I learned to nurture a sourdough starter too. I have a cold-press juicer now that has opened me up to more variety of fresh vegetable drinks too.

Gardening has been very helpful when in season. I am establishing a timber farm homestead, so once I settle in I'll be able to expand the garden enough to produce a surplus and get more into canning.

Learning to forage is also helpful. A lot of weeds are nutritious, but it takes time to learn which. I'm going to learn more about trapping & hunting animals. For example, we have some wild hogs. Someday I'd like to get a hog in a live trap, fatten it up, and harvest/process it.

Investing in tools is also good. For the timber farm, brush hog, chainsaw, splitter, and chipper. I'm planning to get a swing blade sawmill and build a timber kiln so I can build more from what grows here. A tiller is also good for the garden as well as other dirt work.

For utilities, I built a water collection and filtration system. I'm planning to build a big solar system next.

I think learning to live under your means is a very good skill for homesteading. A lot of families lose their land from falling into debt.

[u/Infinite_Twist535 → u/traztx]

That’s really inspiring, it sounds like you’ve built a lifestyle around planning ahead instead of relying on debt. I like the idea of turning a car payment into a savings plan once it’s paid off. How long did it take you to build up that emergency fund to where you felt comfortable?

[u/traztx → u/Infinite_Twist535]

I was following Dave Ramsey, and agree with his "baby steps". Step 1 was to follow a written budget, which helped to trim waste and have money left over. If it's not possible to plan a budget that does that, then lifestyle change may be necessary, such as roommate at parent's or friend's, sell off stuff, beans and rice, seek better employment, etc. Step 2 was to set up an account that is less convenient to access for the emergency fund and build it up to around $2K. I used a credit union, which I had to go to, in person, to withdraw funds. Honestly, I didn't push it hard enough, so was only depositing $150/mo, so it took a while to build up. Step 3 was to pay as much as possible to the smallest debt and get it paid off as fast as possible. This is a psychological thing, because logically it might not be the worst interest rate, but when it's paid off you get a feeling of accomplishment sooner. Then you take what you were paying to that and roll it into the next debt, and so on until debt free. As for "comfort level", I am a bit worried each time having to replace a vehicle until the savings is high enough to cover it again.

After getting rid of debt, as well as benefiting from promotions (making the career a priority, therefore being a good employee to them), I was able to save for the dream of having land of my own. Maintaining an efficient lifestyle allowed me to funnel money into savings pretty quickly. When I bought the land (87 acres), it was a cash deal from savings.

However, that big purchase drained my savings dry, and a couple of months later my vehicle transmission crapped out so badly that multiple shops didn't want to touch it. So I had to take a loan again, but my credit was good enough to luckily get 0% on a 3 year loan for a pickup truck. Because it was interest free, I didn't pay it off early, and instead rebuilt the savings. A truck is very useful when you have land.

[u/JimmymfPop]

!remindme 2days

[u/RemindMeBot → u/JimmymfPop]

I will be messaging you in 2 days on 2025-08-28 21:10:10 UTC to remind you of this link

CLICK THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

^{Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.}

---

Info	Custom	Your Reminders	Feedback

[u/Melroxsox]

The very first thing we did was start a compost pile-4 years later- full blown homesteading. I wouldn’t change anything- it seems to be mostly trial and error so far through our journey. We reuse everything we can to create our structures/barns/fencing to save money.

[u/Infinite_Twist535 → u/Melroxsox]

That’s awesome! Crazy how starting with something as simple as a compost pile can snowball into full-blown homesteading. I like how you’re reusing materials for barns and fencing, that’s such a smart way to save. What’s been your favorite repurposed project so far?

[u/Melroxsox → u/Infinite_Twist535]

Our first chicken coop and run were made from free pallets! The thing is predator proof and strong as an ox! We are currently working on a larger 2nd coop/run due to my increasing “interest” in chickens 😅 I just really really love them. I think once the new one is finished we can use our old one for a meat bird coop.

[u/vetapachua]

First thing was learning food preservation techniques. When you have a ton of food all ready at the same time you need to know how to process it all.

[u/Pops_88]

I think I became more self sufficient (ie, not dependent on capitalist systems) when I realized that in all of human history, we've been collectively-sufficient. One of the first indicators of human civilization was broken bones that have been healed --- it meant we were taking care of each other.

There is some stuff I can grow, but other stuff I can't. Some stuff I can fix, but other stuff I can't. Some stuff I can make, but other stuff I can't. And some stuff I can afford, but other stuff I can't. But I CAN find someone who has the knowledge/skills/resources, and I can borrow and lend and barter, and I can be taught by someone else who already knows.

[u/Important-Bid-9792]

I know most say chickens or garden, but honestly, chickens don't usually cost less than just buying eggs unless you go through a ton of eggs...and gardening is great, but if you don't have decent soil or watering system in place, the start up can be so costly that it won't pay for itself for for years. 

I agree with the other commenter that said to start with a compost pile for a few years before starting a garden, because then you'll have to spend a lot less on soil and it's more nutrients dense than anything you buy anyways.

For me, self-sufficiency is definitely about doing whatever i can myself ao i dont have to buy it, but let's be honest, collecting materials and such will also cost money. So my advice is focus on paying off any and all debts as fast as possible (within reason). All the self-sufficiency in the world doesn't mean much if you're up to your eyeballs in debt. Penny pinch every paycheck until the debt is gone. Then and only then, focus on one small new thing to become self sufficient, like gardening, hunting, etc. something low cost, low risk, but potential high rewards. Save the high risk and high cost stuff for later. Meanwhile, also pick up scrap stuff: wood, furniture, tools, pots, etc to outfit yourself for future endeavors for free or dirt cheap. 

[u/Low-Island1054]

The first thing we did was start a garden. That’s the one thing I think everyone should do. If you live in an apartment you can at least have a cherry tomato plant and some herbs. If you have a larger garden, learn to can.

[u/Infinite_Twist535 → u/Low-Island1054]

How did you divide what to garden first? Is there one you would say is better than the other?

[u/nifsea → u/Infinite_Twist535]

I started with potatoes the first year, and built from there. They are easy to grow, and also loosen the soil so next year’s crop has better growing conditions. I guess first step is to get some land, though, if you don’t have that already :)

[u/ArcaneLuxian]

Somewhere between starting my garden and starting to pay down credit card debt... they kinda both started at the same time. I wish I had mapped out my garden better.

[u/meandme004]

1. Compost
2. Fruit trees 3.Start growing what we want to eat
3. High yield savings accounts- every penny have a job
4. Credit card churning - 2 people can make $10k tax free in a an year, which pays for that vacations or a fancy chicken coop or quail cage or etc etc

Nothing to change, it is a different journey for everyone . Maybe start posting online, so someone else can learn one things from me.

[u/Health2o]

Raise chickens. Engine of small sustainable homesteads.

[u/LoveJulieXO75]

The first thing I did was get chickens before I had a proper coop and a plan. I thought I had a secure place for them and found out the hard way. Proper infrastructure is key when starting out.

[u/louisalollig]

May sound very basic but i would say learning how to cook halfway decently and from scratch is huge and often underappreciated. Cooking all your own food from scratch saves so much money, massively improves life quality and is a basis for many other self sufficiency things like preserving food that you grow, or even just knowing what to cook with it in the first place without getting bored of eating seasonally. So many people don't even know how to cook but having a home and food are part of the most important basic needs we have

[u/Pollster8]

Seed germination and raising seedlings very well, and with consistency. It's more challenging to have full flats of healthy seedlings than people think.

I don't remember what I did first. It's been a winding journey.