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Whether you live in an apartment or on a ranch with thousands of acres, saving money is important. We’ve been there, done that, and made lots of mistakes along the way. I’ve learned a great deal from personal experience and also had input from mentors I respect. So, I put together a list. Here are 25 great ways to save money on the homestead.

Garden Care and Preservation

When it comes to homesteading, many think of gardening. Gardens can be a great way to save money for families. Let’s take a look at some suggestions.

#1 Garden To Your Heart’s Content

When it comes to gardening, there are so many different ways to get the job done.
Do what you can afford! Anne of All Trades is a proponent of the lasagna method, utilizing cardboard as a base layer and mulch as a weed preventative and way to retain moisture.
Others love raised garden beds, which can be so beautiful, but also can cost a pretty penny.
Throughout most of the country, you’ll see many gardens directly in the soil, which is my preferred method. If you don’t have a way to work up the soil with a garden tractor, consider bartering a friend for the service, renting one locally, or using a broadfork instead.

Your Garden, Your Way

Whatever you choose to do, just do it! Raising your own vegetables and fruit is something that will bring you joy and can help you trust the safety of what you’re consuming. Choosing methods like lasagna gardening or direct-in-soil planting can significantly reduce the upfront costs associated with starting a garden and lead to long-term savings on your grocery bill.

#2 Preserve Your Harvest

There are some days I hate the idea of heating the house by canning. However, when I pop open that lid on a can of homegrown green beans, or pour bone broth into a soup that I canned myself, I instantly am grateful for the effort I put in earlier. My grocery budget is grateful, also!

#3 Eat Seasonally

Right now, asparagus is in season where we are. Since I don’t have crowns in the ground, I pay attention to the price at the store. I can purchase it for $1.98/lb. At this price, I can pickle a few quarts for later. However, if I were to purchase asparagus in August, the price tends to be closer to $5, or more, per pound.
Of course, seasonal availability and prices vary by location. Eating seasonally not only supports local farmers, but fresh produce is packed with more nutrition than frozen or canned options

#4 Water Storage Decreases Water Bills

Do you have access to free or cheap food-grade barrels? Depending on your local laws, you could collect the rainwater from your structures. Use this moisture to water your plants. You won’t have to pull water from your well or worry as much about that water bill. 

Let’s Talk livestock

Raising animals is another important role on many homesteads. Honestly, animals can bring in revenue or be a money pit. Here are some tips to do with those extra mouths to feed.

#5 Livestock

Don’t go all in at once. You want to homestead? Great! Are you already on your homestead journey? That’s wonderful!

Start Small

Don’t put you your family and in a financial bind. You may think you need all the animals, but focus on one species at a time. Become confident in that area before adding another type of animal into the mix.
This can save you in fencing costs, feed inputs, veterinarian and medical needs, and many headaches. When people decide to leave homesteading after only a few years on the adventure, it is usually because they’re out of money, burned out, or both.

Quality over Quantity

#6 Minerals for the Livestock

Provide your animals with the proper minerals and nutrients. This will help them stay healthier in the long run. While the cost for some materials can be daunting, the Vet bill is usually much worse. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

#7 Free Grazing!

Allow the animals to graze the yard. It may not look super classy, but it serves two purposes. One, you won’t have as much to mow. It also reduces the feed inputs for your animal.
If you don’t have fencing to accommodate this, put the cow, goat, horse, or sheep on a halter. Sit outside as they munch. Do what’s safe for you, your family, and animals, but by rotating the animals through the yard, you could save a bunch of moo-la!

#8 Animal Feed

If I go to the local farm and ranch store, I’m going to spend more money on one ton of feed on a pallet than if I were to buy the feed in bulk from an elevator.
Research mixing your own feeds. Sometimes this can save you a good bit of change.
Another option is to reach out to local farmers to see if you can purchase grain from them for livestock feed.
Some ranchers near us have barley and wheat available. It’s much more affordable purchasing from them than it is buying from Murdoch’s or Tractor Supply.

Hay is Expensive

Hay is another item I’d suggest not buying at the farm store. We recently ran out of hay and didn’t have time to run to the farm to grab a truckload.
So, I went to the local Murdoch’s and forked over $17 for a compressed bale of Grass/Alfalfa Mix. I made it a priority to drive an hour one way to buy hay by the ton. This price came to slightly over $3/bale. What a cost savings!

#9 Have a Purpose for Each Homestead Aspect

Cute animals in the pasture are pleasing to the eye and can make many swoon. This suggestion is just my opinion, and many will roll their eyes at it, but for Pete’s sake, don’t have an animal on the homestead just for looks. Each aspect of your homestead needs to have a purpose. Just feeding something because it’s a pasture pet does not justify its usefulness. Don’t drop money in a bucket because it looks cool.

The Homestead Kitchen

Cooking, baking, preserving, it’s all apart of the homestead movement. Here’s how to turn your kitchen into a money-saving powerhouse:

#10 Buy in Bulk

I know we touched on this when it comes to animal feed, but the same principle can be applied to food for the house, as well.
Toilet Paper is so much more affordable when purchased in bulk compared to the 4-pack at the dollar store. One of my favorite bulk purchases, other than TP, is salt (if using this link, use “handmilked” at checkout to save 15% off your order)! I didn’t realize how the small containers of salt added up in cost, especially when I use so much salt for preserving foods, curing meats, and at the table.

#11 Become Your Own Bakery

Instead of spending a small fortune at the store for bread products, make it at home.
Pizza dough, muffins, sandwich bread, and specialty loaves are all delicious made at home, and don’t get me started on homemade bagels and English muffins!
While cost-effective, baking from scratch does require time. However, the taste and the nutritional aspect greatly outweigh the time issue.

#12 Cook from Scratch

This may sound like a silly suggestion, and many homesteaders already cook from scratch, but let me share a personal story with you.
Since we have our milk cow and milk is flowing out of our ears, every once in a while, my husband would purchase instant pudding from the store for the kids as a special treat.
My kids enjoy this splurge, and I just avoid looking at the ingredients on the back of the box. However, instead of purchasing those boxes that add up, I can make the mix from scratch for a fraction of the price.
Do this for some of your favorite convenience foods.
Dirty Rice
Pudding
Hamburger Helpers
Mac and Cheese
Crackers
Salad Dressings
These are all just a few ideas where you can have the dry mix prepared ahead of time.

#13 Process at Home

When it comes to raising livestock, butchering is one of the larger expenses. Skip taking your animals to the processor and do the work at home.
This has saved us thousands throughout the last 10 years. Whether it’s poultry, swine, goats, sheep, or beef, learn how to do it and provide for your family. If you’re a hunter, process the wild game yourself.
A little nervous about butchering? You can take classes in person, watch videos online, or even ask someone in your area if you can observe their process
Don’t be ashamed to be a newbie. I’d rather be inexperienced and willing to learn than to shut the door on the opportunity.

Potential Income Option

Who knows, maybe this could develop as a business service to provide for others in your area, like Beth and her family have done from Intentional Homesteading.
Keep in mind, some states require licensing for this process, especially if providing the service for others or selling meat to customers.

#14 Freezer Meals

One of my downfalls is meal planning. I try to keep ingredients in the house, but come supper time, if I don’t have a game plan, then I am tempted to look into ordering pizza.
Prep your freezers. Put some frozen meals on standby. Buy those frozen pizzas for your sanity. If you’re making 1 lasagna, go ahead and make 2 and stow one away. When making tacos, make a double batch of the meat and store it in the freezer for a busy day. As your homestead production increases, your freezer will become an even greater asset for quick meals.

Cost Savings for the Home and Barn

What are some more great ways to save money on the homestead? Let’s take a look in the home and outside!

#15 Energy Bills Stink

#16 Forget Aesthetics

This isn’t a common philosophy. The modern homesteading movement is all about pretty white cabinets and glorious front porches. While that scene is beautiful, a true homestead should focus more on functionality and less on the Instagram farmhouse look.
Instead of expensive shiplap, focus on ensuring walls are well-insulated. Instead of ornate porch railings, build sturdy, functional ones. Chasing that perfect farmhouse look can be incredibly expensive. By prioritizing functionality, you’ll save significantly on costly renovations, high-end materials, and purely decorative items.

#17 Heating Alternatives

Our Experience Over the Last Decade

Through the years, we’ve come to diversify in our heating approach.
Yes, years later, we still use electric heat at times. We also have a propane heat source and have added indoor wood heat to the mix.
By having multiple ways to heat our home, we decrease our energy and gas consumption, but can also utilize them when we’re sick or away from home.
As a side note, once the woodburner was put into use, we went from a $400+ heat bill to about $80 a month. Talk about a money-saving step!

#18 Clothing

There are all sorts of pretty homestead clothing on the market. However, dropping $100 on a dress is simply not realistic for our family.

Learn to sew your own clothes. You can watch YouTube videos for inspiration and guidance, take classes locally, or find a mentor to help teach you.
Buy clothes and fabrics from the thrift store. You can repurpose them for wonderful one-of-a-kind clothing pieces. In fact, the thrift store is a great place to find used sewing machines and sewing notions for very affordable prices!

#19 Shop Second Hand

Need a 5 gallon bucket or mineral tub? Forget buying them at the local farm store. You can easily pick these up for a fraction of the cost just by searching Marketplace, Craiglist, or local auctions. We even have corkboards at the local grocery store, service station, and feed dealer where people post items and animals for sale or others post ISO items.
Just be sure to inspect items for safety and functionality before purchasing.

#20 Use What You Have

My husband loves cheese. It’s one of the main food groups, in his opinion. Our milk cow produces more milk than we can consume each day. Through the years, I’ve learned to use the milk that we have and to preserve it the best way I know, cheese!
Perhaps you have an abundance in garden produce? Can and freeze what you can’t consume quickly. Maybe you have lots of lawn clippings? Those make great mulch around plants. Have weeds in the garden? We use them as mulch in the pathways or around the fruit trees. Have time? Invest the time you have into learning or improving a skill.
Use what you have to enjoy down the road. This can benefit your budget astronomically!

Everyday Budget Solutions

What are some practical tools to help on your homestead money-saving journey? I’m glad you asked. Here’s a list of 5 practical applications that help you save money!

#21 Make a Budget (And Stick To It!)

Find a budget and stick to it! Whether you use a pencil and paper or an app like Every Dollar or YNAB, budgeting will show your dollar where to go and help you stay on track!

#22 Set Goals

Proverbs 21:5, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

If your homestead is one of your top priorities, you need to be setting goals to accomplish what you want on the property.
Without setting goals to strive for, you can get discouraged and lack the growth that is part of your farm’s potential. By setting clear financial goals for infrastructure projects, livestock purchases, and other homestead investments, you can avoid impulsive spending and ensure your resources are used wisely.

#23 Plan Ahead

Remember how I mentioned the hay fiasco earlier? I ended up paying $34 for 2 fifty pound bales of hay. Plus, I had additional wear and tear on my truck, because I made a special trip into town.
If I would have planned ahead, prioritized my time, I could have purchased hay for less than $10 for 2 similar bales.
Learn from my mistakes, friend. Each year, month, week, and day, write a list of things that HAVE to get accomplished. Whether it’s canning produce before it spoils, making a trip to get livestock feed, or preparing a budget, it is important and you need to plan ahead to get it completed efficiently!

#24 Barter Your Way to Savings

Do you have more eggs or garden produce than you know what to do with? Perhaps your neighbor or a friend is a great baker, carpenter, etc. Ask if they’d be willing to trade their goods or service for something you can provide. Bartering typically benefits both parties and is a worthwhile option to consider.

#25 Pray Over Your Decisions

Honestly, there are many times that I could do better about this. It’s so easy to see something we “need” at the store, whip out the debit card and make a purchase.
However, I’m learning, slowly, that if this homestead, if my actions and my ambitions, are to honor my Lord, than I really should be taking these decisions to Him before I try to force it to happen myself.
Through prayer, He’s guided us away from choices that could have been detrimental to our family and our finances. He has also opened doors beyond our wildest dreams.
Before you go and spend money on infastructure, livestock, equipment, etc, be sure it aligns with His purpose for you. Seek wisdom through prayer and use discernment to help navigate the decisions.

Multiple Ways to Save Money

As you can see, there are multiple cost-saving ideas available. I’ve provided a list of 25 great ways to save money on the homestead and I truly hope you try to implement some of them!

What ideas or suggestions do you have? What has worked best for you? I’d love to hear about it. Drop yours in the comments below! Want more helpful ideas and recipes delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up to join the Handmilked Community to receive our newsletter for homesteading tips and recipes!