We Overspent Again! My Off-Grid Budget as a First-Time Homesteader



Hi there friends! Being the short month of February, I was beyond hopeful we wouldn't break our budget again. Well.... as the title suggests, we overspent this month, thanks to the emergency purchase of a new bed for our trailer and the inevitable building permit fees for our new home build.

Unforeseen expenses seem to be our weakness, but we have a decent emergency fund so the expenses aren't causing too much of a burden. More of an inconvenience I guess.

If you've been following the Off Grid Budget, you may recall my list of fixed expenses, which stay the same for us, no matter the weather or usage:

Cell Phone: $130
Car Payments: $1140
Trailer: $1000 *Paid off next month!!
Insurance (i.e., car, medical, etc.): $350
Waste Management: $47
Internet: $120
Subscriptions (i.e., streaming services, etc.): $52 

Total: $2839

Our variable expenses are more volatile, based on weather and use. Following is my list of expected variable expenses for February:

Laundromat: $50
Fuel (gasoline, kerosene, diesel): $450
Groceries: $800
Home Improvements: $2000
Propane: $100
Dining out/entertainment: $250
Pets: $100
Online orders: $200

Total: $3950

Following is what we actually spent for February:

Laundry: $20
Fuel (gasoline, kerosene, diesel): $285
Groceries: $724
Home Improvements: $2803
Propane: $67
Dining out/entertainment: $126
Pet: $129
Online purchases: $231

Total: $4385

Here's the comparison:

Laundry: +30$
Fuel (gasoline, kerosene, diesel): +165$
Groceries: +76$
Home Improvements: -803$
Propane: +33$
Dining out/entertainment: +124$
Pet: -31$
Online purchases: -29$

Total: -$435

I am beyond shocked at our dining out/entertainment budget! I can't believe we stayed under $250 this month, especially with Valentine's Day. We have been planning our outings around happy hours and lunch deals a bit more. Guess it pays off to eat early!

Will has done an amazing job keeping his home improvement budget low. However, permit fees for our house build are going to be pretty high these next few months, especially the electrical inspections which are separate from the required county permits. 

We sadly are strongly considering attaching to the grid, primarily for our septic system. Due to our heavy clay soil, we installed a mound septic system which pumps effluent in controlled, timed intervals to allow time for the clay soil to absorb the water. It needs constant power to run efficiently and is a heavy draw on our gas generator. Additionally, we had a break in one of the pipes from freezing temperatures this last month. It was an easy fix and covered by the warranty, but it was a valuable lesson learned. 

Let's Keep it Going!

With spring just around the corner, I've been actively planning my garden. I finally found my box of garden seeds and started broccoli and cauliflower this month. 

I also found a shop online that sells organic, non-GMO seed potatoes! I'm going to try my luck with Russian Banana Fingerlings and Adirondack Red. I have a savings challenge already earmarked for gardening and hope to have it done soon to place my order!

I'm always looking to diversify my garden seeds and have tried a variety of different brands, but haven't found a favorite yet. If you have a brand of seed you love using, please leave it in the comments below!

This blog is for entertainment and educational purposes only. I am not a finance professional, and this is not financial or legal advice.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Planning for January 2026: Zero-Based Budget as a First-Time Homesteader

Image
Well friends, I finally sat down and got my planning budget done!  I decided to go with a zero-based budget format because I liked the idea of putting each dollar to work. Two Expense Categories Living off-grid means different types of expenses. I split my budget plan into two categories: Fixed expenses and Variable expenses. My fixed expenses are costs that stay the same, no matter the weather or usage. This includes things like car payments and utilities. Following is my list of fixed expenses: Cell Phone: $130 Car Payments: $1140 Trailer: $1000 Insurance: $285 Medical: $65 Waste Management: $47 Internet: $120 Subscriptions (i.e., streaming services, etc.): $58 Total: $2845 My variable expenses include the expenses that do change based on weather and use. Following is my list of variable expenses: Fuel (gasoline, kerosene, diesel): $490 Laundry: $120 Groceries: $800 Home Improvements: $2000 Propane: $100 Dining out/entertainment: $345 Total: $3855 Whoa. Those variable expenses ...
Read more

3 Free Websites For Creative Money Saving Coloring Pages

Image
Have you ever considered coloring as a budgeting tool? Imagine creating beautiful works of art while building your emergency fund.  But coloring books can be expensive. So I went to the internet to find some free sites that offer coloring pages at no cost.  In my research, I found three free websites with downloadable coloring pages. With a little ingenuity, any of these can become your next savings challenge. (I am not an affiliate for any of these websites and will not receive any compensation.) 1. Color by Number: Crayola.com Crayola.com has free Color by Number pintables. Use each color number as the dollar amount and watch your savings grow as the picture comes to life. Crayola's site has about 16 Color by Number pages available, and new ones are posted all the time. Some are very simple, others are extremely intricate.  Don't see any images you like? You can create your own Color by Number by adding your own numbers to the over 1,000 coloring sheets Crayola offers ...
Read more

Freebie Friday the 13th: It's Raining Savings!

Image
  Alright friends!  I am so excited to post my FREEBIE FRIDAY the 13th savings challenge available at my Ko-fi shop:  @offgridbudgetwithkay ! This was one of the first challenges I made using my photography. It was taken during a pause in a rainstorm we were having on our property, hence the raindrops with dollar amounts. It was a fun project to remember our first winter rainstorm on the homestead. What did one raindrop say to the other? Two's company, three's a cloud! Catch those raindrops and save $65 with this mini savings challenge, available as a FREE PDF DOWNLOAD at my Ko-fi shop:  https://ko-fi.com/offgridbudgetwithkay I recently started a handful of saving challenges this month with money earned from completing online surveys. This specific challenge is for our bulk store membership renewal, which is due at the end of the year (plenty of time to complete!).  Hope you enjoy this Freebie Friday savings challenge! This post and savings challenge are for en...
Read more