How to Save Money Living Rural

Intro

One of the main aspects of this lifestyle is living in a rural area. For me, being roughly 3 hours from town means going to town for anything is a dreaded day. When you travel to town, it’s a long day. Wake up early and go; you always seem to forget something or not have enough time for every stop you want to make. Saving money can get tricky when you never venture to the big city; it’s too easy to splurge on things you see. This post is all about how to save money and meet your budget.

What You Need VS What You Want

The first thing is knowing the difference between what you need and want. I know this should be easy, right? I noticed that we (my husband and I) would always tell ourselves or each other we needed something, but if we were honest with ourselves, we didn’t truly need it. Why? Because we just really wanted it, telling ourselves that we “needed it” somehow justified spending on it. Don’t get me wrong, we do need a lot of things, but we don’t need to “keep up with the Jones” to be happy and comfortable. Make a list that fits your life; that’s a criteria each questionable purchase has to meet.

Some ideas, for example:

• Is this in the budget?
• Does it solve/fix a problem?
• Is there another way to fix/solve problems cheaply?
• Will it make life easier or better?
• Do you both agree on it? (If married or in a relationship)
• If you’re being honest, could you live without it?

Budgeting

Having a budget is kind of an obvious one. If you don’t know your budget and don’t follow that budget, then things get out of hand really fast. Making a budget is very hard, especially with prices increasing nowadays. If you’re like most, groceries are the biggest expense for your family each month, not counting set payments (car or mortgage). With everything costing more and more, buying the must-haves first is a top priority. Here’s my priority list for my budget every month:

1. Bills
2. Set amount in savings
3. Must haves, for example: groceries, household products like toilet paper, animal feed, and vehicle maintenance. You get the idea.
4. Treats: If you have the money left over, get something that’s a “treat yourself” item, but you don’t have to. Saving what’s left to be an extra cushion next month is smart.

That’s just a basic way to prioritize; everybody’s situation differs. Some like the help of budgeting apps. I don’t use one, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be helpful to you.

Buying in Bulk

Bulk buying is another money-saving tactic most of the time. Make sure to do your math. I have found that some things aren’t really saving money when you do the math. You have to buy some stuff in bulk when you go to town as little as possible. I don’t feel the need to explain buying in bulk; just make sure you do your math on it. Also, most places like Sam’s Club and Costco will ship to you, which is another plus.

When Going to Town

Okay, as stated in the intro, town is a dreaded thing (for us). So, the less we have to go, the better. One way to cut down on going to town is shopping online!

Shopping online is the main way I cut down on spending.

First, you’re not getting anything you don’t need because you don’t walk through the store seeing everything; it’s easier to stick to that list. Second, everything you order comes to you, and that means saving you gas money and the valuable time going to town takes. The other great thing is you get exactly what you want (most of the time). I don’t know how often I go to get something at the store, and they don’t have it, which adds another stop to make, or I will end up going home and ordering online anyway.

Sometimes, ordering online has its downsides, such as not getting good quality or the right clothing size.

You just don’t order some things online, such as produce and cold/frozen products. For dry goods and other household products, order away.

Now let’s talk about when you must load up and make that trip to town. Make a shopping list and stick to it! Oh, and don’t forget your list. (I’m horrible about this.) In my house, we have a dry-erase board on the fridge, and when we see something we are out of or need, we write it down and then copy that list down the night before going to town and go over it (it’s just what works for us). However works best for you, make that list!

Adding to the list will likely happen either on the way to town or at the store. Try not to add to the list in the store because usually (not always) that buy is because you saw it not need it. One way to stick to the list is using the pick up option, now this is a great new thing that really helps you not get away from your list. Using the pickup option helps a lot by saving me time at said store because the kids stay in the car, haha.

But if you’re like me, I like to pick out my own produce. You won’t be getting something you want to pick out in person with the curbside. You would be surprised by the list of stores that aren’t grocery stores that offer curbside.

Other things to take note of:

• The price of the same product at different stores.
• If you have to go hours away, take your cooler, and do your shopping with cold items last.
• Don’t go to the grocery store hungry; this almost always makes you add to the food list (haha).

Planning

Planning is a huge thing; get organized. Making less trips to town means less impulsive buying, and saving money on gas, specially if your hours from town, just the miles you keep off your vehicle the better. As mentioned above, make a list, make multiple lists. I have my shopping list, meal list (so you know what to buy), and a to-do list. Plan out your month; I try to go to town only once a month, so this might be different for you.

Now we already touched base on the shopping list. So let’s talk about the meal list. Meal planning is a great way to know exactly what to put on your shopping list without forgetting anything. Now I make everything I can from scratch, doing this is not only healthier and more delicious, but it really cuts down on that number of things I actually have to buy. If I make bread, for example, I only have 7 ingredients on hand, most of which I bulk buy because we need them anyway. But we always have fresh bread, no bread getting moldy, and less food waste. It saves you money.

Plus, meal planning helps clear the stress of what to make daily.

Last but not least, make a list of to-dos. This includes all the stops you need to make while you are in town or any other errands you need to do (so you don’t forget a stop). Also try to make any appointments of any kind on the same day, these will usually tell me what day is going to be my town day. To-do lists aren’t only good for town trips but also everyday life. Making a to-do list helps keep you productive and ensures you finish everything on time. Daily checking something on a to-do list enables you to feel good about your day.

Grow/Raise Anything You Can

Get your homesteading hat on and get to work. Growing a garden and preserving everything you produce will save you from buying it. Yes, a garden costs money, but it’s less at the end of the year. Now, your garden doesn’t have to be like all the fancy ones you see on Facebook and Instagram. Just find an area till the ground, and plant those seeds. Obviously, there is a little more to it than that, but you get my point.

The main thing about gardening, especially when starting out, is don’t go overboard. I don’t know how many times I have tried to do too much and been unable to handle it. If you start small, you can slowly make that dream garden. Also, if you’re learning to can your own food, starting with less will be less overwhelming.

Raising your own food is another big help, and chickens are a great place to start. They make eggs and eggs are basically essential to cooking. Again, something else you don’t have to buy, and you could even sell them to make money. If your going to have chickens you might as well have some extra chickens for butchering, again don’t have to buy it at the store. Yes… you will need to buy feed, but you can do free range or ferment the feed to make it go farther, and even do certain scraps from your kitchen or garden. Again, you don’t have to have a picture-perfect coop. There are also ways to get your chickens to lay year-round.

Milk cows are great for making all kinds of food, but they are a huge commitment. (I’m not currently permitted to have one on this ranch; it’s a wish list thing since I grew up with one.) If you get to have one, do your research and make sure you’re up for it. Goats might fit you better if a cow is not for you.

If you want to buy milk, that’s fine. It can freeze in your deep freezer, and if you let it thaw in the fridge, it will taste the same. Doing so will save it from going bad before your next trip to town. Don’t forget to pour some out so it has room to expand.

Conclusion

Living so far from town can really work to your advantage when saving money if you know how to make the most of it. The main thing is getting organized and sticking to your lists and plans. Make or grow everything you can. Do you live in the boonies and want to save money on those town trips?

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