Last year we decided to stop living in the rat-race of the corporate world and work towards making money online instead! Now we make over $8,000 a month online from our 8 acre homestead!
Everything changed one day in January when my husband came home to tell me that his company was downsizing and he was caught in the crossfire... so we had a choice to make.
Do we live in the city where we "own" a home and he would have to go back to working for someone else? Or do we take the plunge into self-sufficiency and a life where we could all be together everyday?
You can probably guess which one we chose!
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We sold our home and moved to 8 acres of family land in the country, 30 minutes from the nearest town, and set to figuring out how to survive! The first few months were rough, but as He always does, God knew what He was doing...
So let me share a little bit with you about how we are making this work and living our dream of homesteading while still making a good living for our family. These are the steps we took to make sure that we were making money and able to live within whatever means we had from our self-employment efforts!
Want to skip straight to the money making section? Click here!
Reduce your Need for Money
The concept of reducing your need to make your income bigger is not uncommon to most people who grew up on a farm or homestead... But when you live in the city and have parents who work 9-5 jobs, it can be quite the mindset shift!
While we have always lived a very frugal life, we knew we needed to cut costs to the very bone if we were going to have a chance at changing our lives and the lives of our children.
Step One: Downsize
We were already living in a modest 1600 square foot house in a mid-level subdivision, but we sold that house in favor of an 800 square foot (one bedroom) house on land.
Not only did that move get us out from under a huge mortgage, but it also gives us the opportunity to grow our own food and eventually have animals.
Step Two: Get Rid of Everything You Can
Because we were cutting our living space in half, we knew that we needed to get rid of quite a bit.
I'm not going to lie, this was tough at first. And the temptation to just get a storage unit until we had a bigger house again was real.
But in the end, the whole point of us moving and downsizing was to save money... so adding a storage unit bill of $200-300 a month just didn't make sense!
We also had to contend with the fact that our new home didn't have a garage, but just a 5x8 back room in which to store anything extra.
Bonus: All the stuff we got rid of via garage sales and Craigslist helped keep us afloat while our income streams were growing during those first few months!
Step Three: Cut Everything You can
Seriously, cut everything you can. All the bills and extra everything that isn't necessary for survival, cut it!
Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Wear a sweater instead of turning up the heat in order to same on electricity.
2. Eat picnic style (no oven or stove needed) meals during the summer to cut down on cooling costs.
3. Slash your food budget to the bone (ours is only $188 a month for an all organic diet!)
4. Sell a car if it has a balance still.
5. Cut cable and subscribe to Netflix or Hulu.
6. Reduce the data on your cell phone plan (be sure to turn off cellular data on your phone so you don't go over!).
7. Stop buying anything that isn't food, bills, or kids items (diapers, wipes, etc.)
8. Try a few of these extreme ideas for saving money!
Making Money Online on a Homestead
So, now that you know a little bit more about how we cut our costs, let's get down to the nitty-gritty of how we make real money!
All of our income is 100% passive. That means that we regularly receive money that requires minimal to no effort on our parts in order to receive it!
Talk about a dream come true right?
I'm not going to lie, our lives very closely resemble a dream right now! We go to sleep when we want, we get up when we want... we keep our own hours and we are together all day, every day!
In order to do that we have one main source of income for our homestead. This doesn't require us to sell animals, or vegetables at the local market. It's not dependent on our location, the weather, crop yields, or anything like that at all!
Instead, all of our income comes from online sources. Namely, this blog!
I started blogging 3 years ago to share recipes with friends and family... I had no idea what I was doing or how this little site was going to change the course of our lives.
But when my husband found out he was losing his job, and we made the decision to buckle down and do what we needed to do to have a different life, I dove in head first and started making a full time income within 6 months of starting to really work my site like a business!
I had always heard that blogs aren't profitable until they hit 100,000 page views a month... well let me tell you, I started making real money well before I hit 100K!
Making the decision that I needed to focus on this blog as a business meant that I needed to make a few changes. I switched away from the hosting service I'd used for 12 years to an amazingly reliable hosting service for the same cost that helped me build my income very quickly.
I also started pursuing any and all sources of blogging income that I could find!
Can You Do This Too?
Yes! 100% yes!
I've shown many bloggers how to make this kind of money, so it's not unique to me at all! This is information for every blogger, regardless of your niche or size.
In fact, I started a second blog a few months ago and implemented these techniques from the beginning. That blog brought in $300 in it's second month! Wow!
Maybe you're thinking "Yeah, that's great for you... but my blog is too small." or maybe "I don't have a blog, and I have no idea where to start."
Let me save you some time!
I've written up everything you need to know to make money blogging no matter how big or small your blog is. This information has helped bloggers increase their income by up to 450% OVERNIGHT!
Check out how you can make money blogging at any level now!
Want to Start a Blog and Make ALL THE MONEY?
If you don't have a blog, but making money on the side wherever you are sounds great... or maybe you're not even worried about money and you just want to have fun, I've laid out the steps you need to take to get started! (p.s. it's super easy!)
D says
Hi! I accidentally stumbled upon your page while looking at cheap ideas on decorating with rustic & farmhouse look…which I so love.
I also have racked my brain trying to come up with ways to make a lot of money honestly to keep us from losing everything we worked so hard to have. Like you..we have downsized from big house, little land to small house more land & have cattle. But, things are not going great…to put it honestly..we may lose everything before long. My husband works like a dog to keep us afloat…I am waiting to start a job in a matter of days.Stress is killing us…I have had “Cancer” twice..so many surgeries..one last fall to correct cancer surgery in o7 before we moved here..now that has to be corrected with another surgery soon. I’M MENTALLY & PHYSICALLY TIRED!!! Please give me ways to help my husband & for us to make more money quick & honestly. God & prayer has also been our supporters too!!!
Victoria says
Hi D! I’m so sorry to hear about your struggles! I know how hard it is to be in that situation, though we have been fortunate not to have cancer added to the situation :-(
If you’d like to start a blog, this post will help you do it in the most efficient way possible to get up and going and making money! Send me an email if you have questions Victoria(at)amodernhomestead(dot)com
Felicia Taylor says
Hello! I stumbled across your blog on Pinterest! I feel like my husband and I will be in a position to leave our jobs in about 3-5 years but my main concern is health insurance. How do you go about this without paying $1000+ a month?! Thank you!
Victoria says
Hi Felicia! We use a Christian Share Ministry for ours, but you can use an Insurance Share group that is non-religious if you prefer. The cost for the whole family is about $460 a month!
Marg Rowland says
I bought a bag of fresh pecans when we were in Yuma I brought them back home and when I unpacked they look like they have a blue colored dust on them. If I cleaned them would they still be alright to eat?? I’ve never have fresh ones before.?.
Victoria says
I’ve never seen that, but I wouldn’t eat them. I have no idea what that would be or if it would be safe to eat… so I would stay away from it for me and mine.
Sorry I don’t have a better answer for you!
Madison says
Hi Victoria, I found your blog attempting to find guidance on how to create a blog of my own. I will be a new mom first time mom to a baby girl here in September. I am so so excited, but with the way things are going in today’s world my biggest dream would be to stay home with her and teach her the things we didn’t get to learn as a children. I graduated with a 2 year degree and decided to take a break from school to work and save, however, I make next to nothing at my current job and absolutely HATE working the 9-5p. I need a change, big time! Is there any other advice you have once I receive your book? Thanks!
Victoria says
Hi Madison!! First, CONGRATULATIONS!! There’s nothing like being a mom in my opinion and I hope you love it!
Now, on to blog talk! I totally understand what you mean, the 9-5 grind is AWFUL! I just sent you an updated copy of my book (I just made some big additions today), so hopefully that answers a lot of your questions! Everything you need to get started and create a successful blog is right in the book!
But if you’d like a more visual walkthrough (instead of text based), check out my video course on how to launch (or relaunch) a blog for success here (there’s a discount code for the course in the book too!): https://the-blogging-mentors.teachable.com/p/launch-your-blog
Mary Ann says
Hello,
I would like to know if I need the host you mentioned if I already have a WP account.
I was a little confused about using both.
Or are you saying use the host site for your blog, and implement WP.
Thank you for your time :)
Victoria says
Hi Mary Ann!
Great question! So the host is where your blog and WP live. You can have your blog/WP on any host, Siteground is who I recommend though as they are very reliable and have a great monthly rate!
Hope that helps!