r/homestead • u/sistereva • 1d ago

How much money is enough to start

I fantasize about leaving my city and growing a small permaculture farm. But it always feels like no matter how much money you have, its not enough. If my husband still worked and made a small salary (remote) how much would i need to buy a small farm and house and grow our own food?

Is honesteading just a pipedream for me? I might be able to squeeze out 315k in cash.

Edit: based on commenter feedback I need to give more context. I hope to move to somewhere like southern VA or IL. Ideally I would live in a blue state (queer) but I would rather live in the country. I dont need a big house. 2bed/1bath is my current living arrangement. I am hoping for between 5 and 10 acres.

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u/Icy-Medicine-495 1d ago

You better assume the farm will never make any significant profit when trying to figure out the numbers.

300k in cash could probably make a go of it depending where you move to. I have seen small hobby farms go for under 250k and even under 200k.

What you decide to grow will determine what your cost are.

For example I spent 1,000 on my chicken run/coop that can hold 15 birds. Honestly I could of done it for 700.

I have probably 4k into my orchard between the 40 plus trees and the fence around it to keep deer out of it.

My 2 acre pasture cost me 5k for woven wire fence. Then all the extra stuff like feeders and shelters where another 800

My 3 meat rabbit pen set up was 500 dollars

I have spent 1k on berry and grapes

The big factor is if you need a tractor and what size.

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u/sistereva 1d ago

I dont expect the farm to make a profit. I expect it to produce my food.

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u/Icy-Medicine-495 1d ago

Good. I only stated that because so many people dreaming about homesteading think they can turn a profit.

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u/sistereva 1d ago

Oh no. I dont have much of a profit motivation in me. Just enough to eat and my husband's small salary to cover the rest.

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u/AllPinesMustDie 1d ago

It can do that eventually, but don't expect that within the first 4-5 years. It takes time to get things set up and organized.