Cchicken on the fence in sunset

6 Ways To Get A Homestead

Sample Choices

When the desire for having one’s own homestead becomes strong enough to cause action, a plan for making it happen is necessary. Some of the options for creating this plan include:

  • Get out of debt and accumulate enough cash to purchase your dream homestead.
  • Convert your existing home into a homestead.
  • Use your credit to purchase a place that you can afford.
  • Devise a business that requires a homestead as the means to conduct the business and borrow the business capital to purchase the needed infrastructure.
  • Get together with like-minded people to combine your resources and together purchase and operate a homestead.
  • Find someone with a homestead who is looking for help and arrange to become their homestead help.

Debt Free

The get out of debt and accumulate cash is the choice we have made for our future homestead. For our Missouri homestead we chose to use a mortgage to purchase the property and some credit to make needed improvements. More about that later. Because we are old enough to retire some may think that we should not consider starting a demanding enterprise like a homestead but we have good health and the ability to earn the required cash. This is not an option that everyone can take on but it works for us. Despite our exposure to Dave Ramsey several years ago we have not succeeded in eliminating our debt. We have been on the right track a few times and failed to follow through for a variety of reasons. Life happens when making plans. Learning to say no, especially to ourselves is a key to staying on track with our debt snowball. Once the snowball is finished we will use the money momentum to accumulate the cash for purchasing a homestead. For anyone with the ability to use this method it may be a “best” choice.

Grow Now

Do you own home, with or without a current mortgage? Even if you have only a small space you can homestead. Growing one plant that provides food is considered homesteading. This may not satisfy your dream but until you start to grow something where you are you are not ready to pursue your homestead dream. When you start growing your own food you will awake a sleeping giant of imagination that will begin to discover how you can expand your homesteading efforts. Who knows where you giant will lead you once you wake it up.

Purchase What You Can

Disclaimer: This suggestion requires that you have a plan and the ability to make it work. Using your credit to purchase an affordable homestead will get you on the land and positioned to grow your own food while enjoying living your dream. Even more than the other choices for getting your homestead, this choice requires a thorough plan that includes pacing yourself to limit your projects to stay within your money and time budget. This is a crucial point. Overextending yourself in the mortgage amount, project costs, or time commitment will doom your dream. Many people have succeeded with this choice and you can too if you pace yourself.

Homesteading As A Business

Aggressive homesteaders have a business plan that will create a homestead based business with income capabilities sufficient to produce revenues that will support the homestead and their family.  If this choice describes what you are interested in then you need to make certain that your business plan is viable. I am not going to address all the business processes and tricks that you need to follow but I will strongly encourage you to work with some type of business mentor. This choice is not for the timid or tentative because your financial and time commitment will be enormous but the rewards can be everything you have envisioned.

Group Homesteading

Do you know like minded people who are also searching for a way to get on a homestead? The fact that setting up and operating a homestead is demanding with many tasks requiring the talents and muscle of more than one or even two people makes this choice attractive. Another attractive feature of this choice is that by pooling resources a more productive homestead can be purchased. But, spend time to ensure everyone involved is on the same page. You will need to establish ground rules so that everyone has a voice in all decisions and that everyone has a way out if their personal circumstances change.

Find A Homesteader Who Wants Help

Many homesteaders have realized that their homestead requires more time, energy, and resources than they have. Success is often just beyond their grasp but a little help would make the difference. Don’t be shy about asking everyone who know and know about who may be in this situation if they are interested in getting some help. Ground rules for this type of relationship are necessary as are ongoing discussions to keep expectations in line with each other. This choice could be a fitting solution for both the current homesteaders and the new co-homesteaders.

Pursue Your Dream!

These are samplings of possible choices to get started as a homesteader. Wishing to be a homesteader can be a joyful dream. Setting a goal to become a homesteader means to choose how you will realistically begin homesteading and when. Friends and family may discourage you from pursuing your homesteading dreams and your own thoughts may discourage you as well. If you really desire to be a homesteader you can find a way to do it and you can succeed. Start right, work hard and smart, persist, and enjoy living your dream.