Homesteading Skills That Can Save You Money

In a world with constantly rising prices, we’re all looking for ways to save this year. Check out these top homesteading skills that you can learn to save yourself some money.

Homesteading has many benefits, with some of the top being a sense of security as well as a fulfillment in life. But beyond that, there are still heavy questions that lie in the minds of those considering the homesteading lifestyle. One of those such questions is: Can you save money homesteading?

There are numerous homesteading skills that can be easily developed to help you to save money. Because homesteading is centered around the ideas of self-sufficiency from and within one’s home, learning these skills will help you to relieve some of your household costs, while providing healthy, wholesome, and meaningful experiences for your family.

In this article, we’ll dive into some essential homesteading skills to discuss what to learn and how it can save you money this year.

1. Learn to cook from scratch

Cooking from scratch means using basic food ingredients to create a product. This means completely avoiding boxed or packaged foods, and creating everything for a meal or dessert with basic ingredients that have not been premade in any way.

I’m on the moderately conservative side of the “from scratch spectrum”. I like to make what I can, but there are occasional times when I reach for the boxed instant rice too. Often, though, the meals we eat are created with my own two hands with just a handful of ingredients. The main ingredients I use to create our family’s meals are flour, oats, eggs, milk, a meat source, potatoes, and then all of our preserved (or fresh in summer) fruits and vegetables. If I can’t make it or grow it, we generally won’t eat it.

Cooking from scratch does not need to be complicated, and it doesn’t even require a lot of planning once you start to learn the skills. I have a whole post dedicated to helping you learn to cook from scratch without a meal plan here!

By learning the skills to cook from scratch, you’re eliminating a need for an item at the grocery store. Creating your own at home with just a few staple ingredients is going to not only be cheaper, but also healthier for you too. Plus, if you are buying whole food ingredients like oats, flour, and beans, you can often buy those things in bulk for a cheaper price. Learn what your family really loves, then see how you can recreate the recipe using the most basic ingredients that you already have at home.

What’s important to remember is that this is a skill- it will take time to develop it. You’ll have failure along the way. But those experiences are important too because they help you to learn what to do and not to do. You’ll never get there if you don’t try, so keep trying and reap the financial benefits of this homesteading skill!

2. Grow your own food

Most of the time, you can purchase seeds and plants for a very small price. My suggestion to you if you’re just starting out? Start small.

If you’re planting a garden for the first time this year, grow enough food that you’ll be able to enjoy it all summer long. Even if you spend $50 on plants, that’s a whole season’s worth of food that you’ll be able to grow for your family- which is a lot cheaper than a grocery store bill!

As you start to get more comfortable with the process of growing food, think about learning how to preserve it as another homesteading skill. Can you grow enough food now that you could preserve to last you through the winter? In this post here, I go into detail on what to plant to become completely self-sufficient in that food area. You might be surprised to find that you could be self-sufficient with some of your food items!

Planting fruit and nut trees are another great way to grow your own food year after year. One small investment can provide you with a lifetime of fruit and nuts to serve your family- a huge savings in the long run. Don’t be intimidated! The only way to learn is to try it out.

3. Use creativity to replace grocery store items by doing it yourself

As we started to cook more and more from scratch, I started to really challenge myself to see if I could create what we ate at home. One thing we bought often for snacks was granola bars. So I played around with it (a lot) to see if I could create a granola bar recipe at home that our family would like. And after many failed attempts and mediocre granola bars- I created one that we all enjoy! That’s one thing now that we can cross off our list of things to buy and can create at home in our own kitchen.

There are lots of food items that can be easily created at home for very little money instead of purchased at a higher cost. Some of my favorite are:

• Breads
• Tortillas
• Vanilla
• Sweets and Snacks
• Jellies and Jams
• Household cleaners (we often just use vinegar and water!)
• Sourdough items (there are a lot of foods to make with just this fermented flour + water combo!)

As you pull out an item that you use time and time again at home, ask yourself: Is this something I could create at home with my own two hands? If yes, try it out! Then, decide if it’s worth it to you to save a few bucks to make it yourself or if you’d rather purchase to save time. We live in a world that we’re lucky to have the luxury of that choice- but know that learning this homesteading skill can save you money in the long run!

4. Reduce one-time consumable use

There is a lot of money spent each year on items that are used one time and then thrown away. Homesteaders have developed a skill that helps them to “make do or do without”. This type of thinking helps homesteaders to live simply and affordably, with a skillset of recognizing that often we think we “need” more than we actually do.

Think about whether or not you can replace some of these one-time consumables with a more sustainable option. Using some creativity to develop this homestead skill, you’ll be able to recognize new ways to save some cash.

Some items to consider replacing or reducing your use might include:

• Plastic sandwich bags with glass Tupperware
• Dryer sheets (we don’t use them at all!)
• Aluminum foil with containers with lids or towels
• Birthday, Christmas, or Special Occasion Cards
• Plastic water bottles with glass or metal water bottles

Any time you’re reducing your use of something you’re going to save yourself some money. Make a list of one-time consumables you use in your house. Can you reduce or replace them?

5. Learn to sew

This homesteading skill is an old one, but still important! Learning how to sew can mean adding new life to old items, fixing something that otherwise may be thrown away, or creating something new entirely. There are lots of sewing tutorial videos on Youtube to get you started. And don’t think you have to be a master seamstress! Just learning a few basics can really boost your confidence and help you breathe new life into clothes that otherwise may have been discarded.

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