Count the Cost – The Realities of Homesteading

lettersbyreesianal
Sep 26
5 min read

Shalom family,

Let’s talk about something real. Everybody loves the idea of homesteading. Fresh eggs in the morning. A garden full of food. Peace and quiet away from the chaos of the city. It sounds amazing. And don’t get me wrong, it can be amazing. But here’s the truth: if you want to make it, you’ve got to count the cost.

The Dream vs. the Reality

Most people see the highlights: somebody collecting eggs with a basket, walking through their garden barefoot, smiling in the sunshine. They don’t see the other side. The side where you’re out in the rain fixing a fence, or chasing a predator that just killed half your flock. They don’t see the hours of sweat cutting grass, weed eating, or hauling feed.

Homesteading is not all pretty Instagram moments. It’s hard work. It’s early mornings, late nights, and sometimes heartbreak. Animals get sick. Gardens fail. Hurricanes come through and flood everything. And if you’re not ready for that reality, you’ll quit before you ever see the reward.

The Realities of Homesteading

Homesteading is rewarding, but it comes with hidden costs, long hours, and tough lessons. Counting the cost first helps you build a lifestyle that lasts. Let's talk about the realities of homesteading.

What Does “Count the Cost” Mean?

There’s a verse in Scripture that says: “Which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?” (Luke 14:28). That’s wisdom.

Too many people jump in headfirst. They buy 10 acres, order a bunch of animals, and invest thousands in equipment. A year later they’re burnt out and selling it all. Why? Because they didn’t count the cost.

Counting the cost means asking some hard questions:

Do I really have the time for this?
Do I have the money to get started and keep going?
Am I willing to learn through mistakes?
Am I ready to do the hard, unglamorous work every single day?

If you can’t say yes, you’re not ready yet. And that’s okay. Better to be honest up front than to get in over your head.

Time Is a Cost Too

One thing people forget: your time is one of the biggest costs in this lifestyle.

If you’re working a full-time job and trying to homestead on the side, you’ll hit a wall. For years, I tried to juggle both. I’d give my best hours to the job, then come home tired and try to give whatever energy I had left to the land. That doesn’t work long-term. Something will suffer — either your homestead or your family.

At some point, you’ve got to decide. Am I going to go full-time into my career, or am I going to go full-time into building self-sufficiency? That’s part of counting the cost too.

Money Matters

Let’s be honest, starting costs money. Coops, fencing, feed, tools, and seeds add up. And if you don’t plan, those costs will sneak up on you.

The good news is you don’t have to do it all at once. Start small. Build as you go. Don’t take on debt trying to have the perfect setup on day one. Buy a few chickens before you buy a cow. Plant a small garden before you try to plow acres.

The key is sustainability. Not just in the land, but in your finances.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Talks About

Here are some costs that surprised me when I started:

Predator control – fencing, traps, repairs after attacks.
Medical supplies – animals get sick, and vets aren’t always nearby.
Weather damage – floods, storms, hurricanes… they all leave bills behind.
Maintenance – tools break, coops rot, equipment wears out.

Nobody posts about that on YouTube, but it’s real. If you don’t prepare for it, it’ll knock you off balance.

The Reward Is Worth It

Now, I don’t say all this to scare you away. I say it to prepare you. Because here’s the other side: the reward is worth it.

There’s nothing like walking outside and collecting eggs from your own hens. Nothing like eating a meal that came 100% from your land. Nothing like looking at your pantry full of jars you canned yourself.

That peace, knowing your family can eat no matter what, is priceless. But you only get there if you’re willing to pay the cost.

How to Count the Cost in Real Life

So what does this look like practically? Here are some steps:

Start with your why. Why do you want to do this? Freedom? Health? Faith? Write it down. You’ll need it on the hard days.
Make a plan. Don’t just buy land and wing it. Research what works in your area. Learn about soil, animals, and weather patterns.
Start small. A garden bed. A few hens. A rain barrel. Master that before moving on.
Build skills. Read books. Watch videos. Take classes. Knowledge is cheap compared to losing animals or crops.
Be ready for failure. You’re going to lose crops. You’re going to lose animals. Don’t quit — learn.
Budget wisely. Expect hidden costs. Save for emergencies.

If you do these things, you’ll not only survive the grind, you’ll thrive in it.

Final Word

Homesteading is not for the faint of heart. It takes faith. It takes work. It takes wisdom. But if you count the cost and prepare yourself, you can build something that lasts.

Don’t jump in blind. Don’t let the dream blind you to the grind. Sit down, count the cost, make a plan, and then move forward with confidence.

Because when you finish what you started, when you look around and see your family fed by your own hands, when you realize you built something sustainable, that’s a reward no job, no store, no system can give you.

You don’t have to do it alone. Join the Set Apart Tribe, a community designed to help you start small, build skills, and grow into your own definition of self-sufficiency with support and accountability.

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