How We Manage: Running A Farmhouse On One Solid Income

When we purchased our farmhouse, it was done so with two full time incomes. I was still a full time career mom, who had been in retail store management for over 11 years and had worked my way up to a nice cushy salary. During my pregnancy with Baby Farmer, there were some complications that made the long hours and constant standing of a retail job no longer an option. Within three months of closing and moving into our dream home, I was medically pulled from work. I was only 5 months pregnant at the time. 

Our home had been a foreclosure and had sat empty for almost two years. Getting it back into repair, replacing appliances, and getting the fences and pens into working order really drained our savings, especially with me no longer earning a paycheck. Running a 3,000 square foot home on 11 acres with 60 plus animals was no cheap feat, either. Between feed costs, farrier bills, and livestock supplies, we were already strapped. To make things even more complicated, this is Florida, and cooling a 3,000 square foot, two story home was costing us approximately $400 a month. And that was just the electric bill. 

By this time, we had decided that it was best that I no longer work the crazy hours of retail management and focus on raising the children, even after the pregnancy was over. We knew losing my salary would be a massive hit, but we felt it was the best thing to do for the kids, as I had missed a lot of events in their lives already due to work and now adding a third child was going to make life even more complicated. I did start working, but no longer in retail or outside of the home. I have been working for the past year as a freelance transcriptionist and writer - which compared to my previous salary is for mere pennies. Of course, being that it is freelance, the work load varies as well. 

So, how do we do it? Well, if you ask my husband he will say, "It's because you married a German." All kidding aside, the drive and work ethic contained in that man far outshine that in any other man I have previously dated. He is fantastic! Daddy Farmer is an insurance inspector. He leaves at 7:30-8:00 in the morning and comes home between 6:00-7:00 at night. He then proceeds to spend his evening inputting all of the work he has done over the day into his computer. He does this 5-6 days a week, depending on his work load. 

We are very careful with our spending on unnecessary items. This includes bills - mainly the electric bill. We have explained to our children that our electric bill runs as much as some people's rent payments and they are starting to be a bit more cautious with leaving lights on. Whenever we see a light left on, we yell, "Electric Bill" and they immediately run to that room and shut it off. They're getting good at reminding each other, as well. 

Daddy Farmer installed a timer on our water heater, so it only turns on for two hours a day. He has also changed all of our light bulbs to energy savers. I have quit using the dishwasher. The dishwasher would run for 70 minutes, using half of our hot water, and I can wash the dishes by hand and spare the electricity and the excessive amount of hot water. I also hang the majority of our clothes to dry and "zap" them in the dryer for a few minutes to soften them up, instead of using the full drying cycle. 

We are lucky enough to have a great amount of windows, allowing us to shut off the AC during the fall and rely solely on the breeze for cooling. And this winter will be nice, as we have a large fireplace and will not need to use the heating system, which will also help with our electric bill. Daddy Farmer is also very careful about our grocery spending - everything is preplanned out and we use sales flyers and deals when shopping. Work done around the farm - new animal pens and such - is done with materials found on-farm - using left overs from a broken down pole barn that is no longer of any use. This year, in order to create more sustainability, we will be starting to homestead, so keep an eye out for posts pertaining to that transformation of the property. 

It's definitely been an adjustment, going from having two salaries and a small rental house to dropping down to one salary and doubling the size of the home and expenses. But, we've made it work. We have made sure that the kids have the best possible life, while still managing our expenses in the best way possible. Sometimes it's hard - I'm extremely used to being able to shop to my little heart's content... but it's just not in the cards right now. And you know what? I would rather live on my little farm and spend more time with my kids than buy that new pair of shoes, anyway.