4 Ways Modern Homesteading Can Reduce Your Monthly Bills

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For the busy suburbanite on a budget, finding ways to lower your monthly bills is crucial.  Today, I’m going to explain how modern homesteading can help you do just that.

1.     Grow expensive herbs

In one of my earlier posts, I explained how growing herbs is a great way to jump into the homesteading game, even on a budget.  This is because you can make back your money—and then some—after only a few harvests.

I loooooove basil.  Back in college, I would make myself fresh pesto almost every week (so yummy! especially on homemade pizza).  The problem was that fresh basil is expensive.  And when you’re living on a college budget, expenses can add up fast.

Basil, along with other herbs, isn’t difficult to grow.  As long as you toss water on the plants once or twice a week, and you keep them from being burned by the sun, they’re usually happy. 

Herbs also benefit from regular harvesting, which means that you’ll have a constant supply of fresh herbs at your disposal.  Pinching or snipping off a few stems at a time encourages the plants to grow bushier and more vigorously, meaning that your harvests are actually helping the plants rather than hurting them.  Despite my notoriously brown thumb, my herb garden actually produced more herbs than I knew what to do with!

If you harvest more than you need—which is likely to happen at some point or another—you can always dry out the extra herbs for future use. 

2.     Meal prep and/or make food from scratch

Okay, I get it.  Meal prepping takes time.  But what do you value more—a few hours of prep work on the weekend, or the extra money you’ll spend on fast food during the week?

Here’s the thing: dedicating a Sunday evening to meal planning and prepping saves a lot of time and energy later in the week.  It takes the guesswork out of dinner and out of the grocery budget.  More than that, meal prepping reduces the temptation to eat out, which can get really expensive really fast.  Even “cheap” fast food adds up, not to mention what it’s costing your health.

Some meal prepping or homemade foods are actually easier to make than you think.  For example, bread—particularly sourdough—is inexpensive and involves more waiting than actual work (check out my post on why even busy people should make time for sourdough). 

Another easy food to prep is salad, especially salad dressing.  Did you know that it’s easy to make your own delicious and inexpensive dressings?  You just combine acid, oil, and seasonings—that’s it!

My personal favorite salad dressing is a blend of lemon juice (1 Tbsp) and olive oil (2 Tbsp).  I add a little salt and pepper, maybe a little Italian seasoning, and a dash of garlic powder.  Yum!

Another way to save money with food prep is to shred blocks of cheese instead of buying it shredded.  Personally, I prefer the convenience of pre-shredded cheese, but one of my cousins bought an electric shredder and swears by it.  For a small upfront investment, you can save a lot of time and money in the long run.

3.     Save energy

One of the biggest lessons I had to learn about homesteading is that it’s not just about homegrown and homemade food—it’s about living more frugally and independently.  In light of that, taking small steps to reduce energy consumption can go a long way. 

For example, my husband and I switched to an energy plan that has a slightly higher daily kilowatt hour rate, but energy use at night is free.  Therefore, we run our high-energy appliances—the dishwasher, the washer and dryer, the stovetop and oven—at night whenever we can.  During the day, when we’re at work and the house is empty, we don’t let the air conditioning drop the temperature as low as we like it.  It’s not always convenient, but this system works for us as we seek to save money, little by little.

Have you taken a look at your energy usage?  When is it highest?  When is it lowest?  What are you being charged per kilowatt hour? Does your current plan include a reduced rate at low-usage hours?  These are questions that you and your household might benefit from asking, just as mine has.

4. Reduce redundant purchases (reduce, reuse, recycle)

Building on the previous point, another step you can take to lower your monthly bills is to reduce, reuse, and recycle. 

For some of us (who may not have city recycling services), this may require some creativity. When I was growing up, my parents set up garbage bins for metal and plastic, which we would haul to the recycling plant every month or so as they filled up.  Cardboard and paper, on the other hand, we burned; we then scattered the ashes in the yard (not something I would recommend, by the way, as cardboard and paper contain traces of toxic elements that may be harmful to plants).  While burning trash may not be the most eco-friendly option, it worked for our family’s time, budget, and lifestyle. 

But more important than recycling or processing waste is actually reducing it.  In my own home, I save plastic containers or glass food jars from groceries I purchase (olive jars, lunch meat packages, etc.).  Though these glass jars may not be canning safe, they can still be used for storage and/or packaging small food gifts.  For example, a small glass jar makes a great container for homemade hot chocolate mixes to give away at Christmas.

Another way to reduce and/or reuse waste is through crafts.  Again, I know—for many of us, this is an issue of time.  But when you do have time, hobby crafting can be fulfilling and provide a sense of accomplishment.  A week ago, I hand-bound a book for the first time, securing the pages to an old piece of thin yet study cardboard.  It was a great way to use the cardboard that would have gone to waste otherwise, and I have a new, handcrafted prize to show for my efforts.

I know points 3 and 4 are a bit generic, but a great book that offers practical advice on how to lower energy consumption and reduce redundant purchases is Go Green, Save Green by Nancy Sleeth; in my post about my homesteading library, I explain why (I believe) it should be on every suburban homesteader’s bookshelf.

Have you implemented any of these four points in your own home?  How has modern homesteading helped you reduce your monthly bills?  Let me know in the comments!