I just discovered your channel, and I have to say, not only you both super parents, but your commitment and determination to staying the course is inspiring! Not in the "If you wish upon a star" kind of way, but in the practical and reasonable way, setting long-term goals, making sacrifices (not your values), and a ton of hard work! Such a great message, and tons of great info in all your videos.
Thank you! It can definitely be intimidating getting a budget set up initially, and it took us a couple years to really jive with it. But once you have one you wonder how you ever lived without it!
I and my husband do not homestead, but we live on a detailed budget as well. Every dollar has a name. We are going 5 years of marriage and never had a money fight. We never lose sleep over how we are going to pay bills. We don't have a credit. We our own property. Everyone can do it. They just choose not to. Everyone has to learn to say NO at times. I still do starbucks because that is one thing that I like. and I may so no to something else. We save up and go on two week vacations. You just need to prioritize what is important to you and your Family.
As retired missionaries, we understand being frugal. The journey is the best part. 😊 Since retirement, I've been very blessed to volunteer at a weekly food pantry the past three years. We serve around 700 families once a week. Whatever is left that can't be saved, the volunteers can take the extra home. I've canned and dehydrated hundreds of pounds of leftover food this past year. It's shocking to shop at an Aldi or Walmart these days. We also barter our honey with friends to help save even more. Thanks for your great information. 🥰
Wise words. People need to live within their means and be content with what they are blessed with. Being rich is not about lots of money. Its about being happy and money can't buy happiness.
A budget and envelope system is great. One of the hardest challenges is having both partners in the same page. It’s impossible to do if you aren’t. My current struggle 😢
Sorry you are going through that. Praying you can come together on it. Totally agree, bother partners being on the same page is huge. Thanks for watching!
Hello new to the channel homesteading in the city for now while looking for land.. I love love the stove and looked into getting it however that was a $24,000 stove. How do you save or buy that on a $30,000 income?
We do not now. We had one for the first many years of our marriage but made it a priority to save aggressively, pay off our mortgage as we were able, and work toward being debt free. Even when we had one though, we still had a sub $30k budget. That was a little while ago now, and our budget looked a bit different than it does today, but it was still doable with a small mortgage on a modest starter home. At that point our health insurance was 100% covered by our employer which helped. Essentially now we've swapped what our mortgage payment was for our monthly healthcare sharing amount. Thanks so much for watching!
That’s a really great question. Our views have definitely shifted on college over the years. I think if someone has very specific goals in life and a college degree is the best way to get there then that investment can certainly make sense. But taking a one size fits all approach to college like was pushed on us when career goals are not clear can actually hinder your development. Joelle knew she was passionate about nutrition but in the end didn’t pursue becoming an RD and later studied to become a certified nutritional therapy practitioner that contradicted much of what she learned from her 4 year degree and costed way way less. I used my degree for a few years after college, which was super helpful at the time, but later realized the job and career just wasn’t a good fit for me. Looking back, I’d be so much further along in my career and personal development if I had apprenticed in a trade out of high school and learned valuable life and business skills along the way. It was an incredibly expensive gamble to send me off to college and hope that I’d figure out something that I liked along the way. All that to say, God did use our college years and experiences in huge ways in both our lives, and we have no regrets there. We would just view it differently with our children that college is not the only path. If they have clear goals and college can take them there, then by all means make that investment. But we’ve probably learned way more in the past year starting our own business than in both of our college degrees combined. And I think there’s only increasing opportunities for the next generation of young minds to carve out meaningful and viable work that doesn’t need a college education. Sorry if that’s more than you bargained for, but it’s an area we often think about. Thanks for asking and for watching!! 😊
@@FromScratchFarmstead thank you for your response. College has become so expensive & I have talked to many graduates who either didn’t use their degree or have changed their interest. College is pushed on our youth today because everyone does it, but I agree about learning a trade which will always be valuable, & less costly.
It’s not our plan to continue to live on such a low budget forever, but to meet some personal goals we’ve had, we tried to simplify as much as possible and it’s worked for us! Thanks for watching!
I just discovered your channel, and I have to say, not only you both super parents, but your commitment and determination to staying the course is inspiring! Not in the "If you wish upon a star" kind of way, but in the practical and reasonable way, setting long-term goals, making sacrifices (not your values), and a ton of hard work! Such a great message, and tons of great info in all your videos.
Thanks so much! This is such a kind and encouraging comment!
Great video. Without a plan, money just disappears.
Thank you! It can definitely be intimidating getting a budget set up initially, and it took us a couple years to really jive with it. But once you have one you wonder how you ever lived without it!
Resource-sharing (or sometimes renting equipment) is very underrated! My friend and I do this as much as possible with each other’s tools.
Yes! Love that!!
We are Homesteading/farmers. We have mostly lived on 1 income throughout our 36 yrs. of marriage. We have raised 1/2 doz. blessings in WI.
Thanks for sharing!! It is very possible with some intentionality. All the best to you! Thanks for watching :)
Yes. I grew up in a one income Family as well. There was ten in my Family.
Love to see young couples working towards a goal and budgeting very well.
It’s made such a difference! ☺️
I and my husband do not homestead, but we live on a detailed budget as well. Every dollar has a name. We are going 5 years of marriage and never had a money fight. We never lose sleep over how we are going to pay bills. We don't have a credit. We our own property. Everyone can do it. They just choose not to. Everyone has to learn to say NO at times. I still do starbucks because that is one thing that I like. and I may so no to something else. We save up and go on two week vacations. You just need to prioritize what is important to you and your Family.
Yes, yes, yes!!! 👏👏👏👏
I'm about two years late, but this is a great topic thanks for sharing
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful!
As retired missionaries, we understand being frugal. The journey is the best part. 😊 Since retirement, I've been very blessed to volunteer at a weekly food pantry the past three years. We serve around 700 families once a week. Whatever is left that can't be saved, the volunteers can take the extra home. I've canned and dehydrated hundreds of pounds of leftover food this past year. It's shocking to shop at an Aldi or Walmart these days. We also barter our honey with friends to help save even more. Thanks for your great information. 🥰
Wow, I love that! Thanks for sharing and keep it up!! 👏👏
Governments need to adopt this mindset!
👍 100%! Thanks for watching!
Wise words. People need to live within their means and be content with what they are blessed with. Being rich is not about lots of money. Its about being happy and money can't buy happiness.
Amen to that. Thanks for watching!
A budget and envelope system is great. One of the hardest challenges is having both partners in the same page. It’s impossible to do if you aren’t. My current struggle 😢
Sorry you are going through that. Praying you can come together on it. Totally agree, bother partners being on the same page is huge. Thanks for watching!
Thank you dear ones. Love that so many younger couples are learning how to disconnect from materialism.
I wish I had seen this 30 years ago...great information. Thank you for your wonderful ideas.
Thanks so much for watching and all the best to you on your journey!
Your advice is really smart, it's enabled you to live your dream and make life worthwhile, so wonderful!
Thank you!
Very Solid thinking & philosophy ! Congratulations ! May God Bless you and your family ! Well Done !
Thank you!! ❤️
Living in Northern Canada we have abundant wildlife so part of our budget is taking advantage of the various hunting seasons.
Love this! We are big fans of using what you have... or in this case, what nature has. Thanks for watching!
i love their frugal homestead family 🙏
Thanks for your encouragement! :)
Absolutely love how relatable y'all are!!!
Watching from North Texas 💝
Thanks so much! 😊
You two are inspiring!
I will follow your channel for sure!
Thanks so much!! ❤️
Great advice with good ideas. Ty for sharing.
You're welcome!
Great tips!
Glad it was helpful!
Hello new to the channel homesteading in the city for now while looking for land.. I love love the stove and looked into getting it however that was a $24,000 stove. How do you save or buy that on a $30,000 income?
Hi! We got ours used for very little. The lady we bought it from just wanted it out of her house. It was the find of a lifetime!
@@FromScratchFarmstead Yes it wa
Do you have a mortgage? Is that included in your budget? Thank you for the great videos!
We do not now. We had one for the first many years of our marriage but made it a priority to save aggressively, pay off our mortgage as we were able, and work toward being debt free. Even when we had one though, we still had a sub $30k budget. That was a little while ago now, and our budget looked a bit different than it does today, but it was still doable with a small mortgage on a modest starter home. At that point our health insurance was 100% covered by our employer which helped. Essentially now we've swapped what our mortgage payment was for our monthly healthcare sharing amount. Thanks so much for watching!
Best not to give those dollars to Target anyway.
True that! Thanks for watching!
Would you recommend college? Did either of you use the College education? Thanks! ❤️
That’s a really great question. Our views have definitely shifted on college over the years. I think if someone has very specific goals in life and a college degree is the best way to get there then that investment can certainly make sense. But taking a one size fits all approach to college like was pushed on us when career goals are not clear can actually hinder your development. Joelle knew she was passionate about nutrition but in the end didn’t pursue becoming an RD and later studied to become a certified nutritional therapy practitioner that contradicted much of what she learned from her 4 year degree and costed way way less. I used my degree for a few years after college, which was super helpful at the time, but later realized the job and career just wasn’t a good fit for me. Looking back, I’d be so much further along in my career and personal development if I had apprenticed in a trade out of high school and learned valuable life and business skills along the way. It was an incredibly expensive gamble to send me off to college and hope that I’d figure out something that I liked along the way. All that to say, God did use our college years and experiences in huge ways in both our lives, and we have no regrets there. We would just view it differently with our children that college is not the only path. If they have clear goals and college can take them there, then by all means make that investment. But we’ve probably learned way more in the past year starting our own business than in both of our college degrees combined. And I think there’s only increasing opportunities for the next generation of young minds to carve out meaningful and viable work that doesn’t need a college education. Sorry if that’s more than you bargained for, but it’s an area we often think about. Thanks for asking and for watching!! 😊
@@FromScratchFarmstead thank you for your response. College has become so expensive & I have talked to many graduates who either didn’t use their degree or have changed their interest. College is pushed on our youth today because everyone does it, but I agree about learning a trade which will always be valuable, & less costly.
Have you shared what state you live in?
We are in Illinois not too far from WI!
@@FromScratchFarmstead We live in WI, not too far from Illinois. 😉
Im not sure it is legal in Michigan to barter milk? Hmm. I'll have to check.
I don't think I've ever heard of bartering being illegal but would be curious what you learn!
People barter with breast milk, chicken eggs, etc. all the time. Perfectly legal.
Why do you keep cutting that man off when he's talking... lol
Thanks for the feedback! This was an early video of ours so something I've been working on :)
How did you plan on having three children on 30k per year without taking $1 government assistance ??
It’s not our plan to continue to live on such a low budget forever, but to meet some personal goals we’ve had, we tried to simplify as much as possible and it’s worked for us! Thanks for watching!
I can assure you, it's possible.