yemelade

*Attempting SEMI self sufficiency*

Hi Everyone

Basically just looking for some guidance.

Hypothetically speaking, if my family and I bought a home outright in NS (therefore no mortgage payments), hooked our home up to solar energy/go off grid (therefore no electricity payments) and have a well drilled (no water payments although I imagine there is still some sort of sewage payment), as well as raised and butchered our own meat, and some fruit and veg, and even harvested our own wood, how much money would be needed for gas/petrol, fishing/hunting/wood licencses etc and obviously spare cash too would be a good amount to have coming in each month/per year?

I'd love it if anyone who has done this could share their experiences. Would $20,000CAD be a safe amount?

I'm looking into doing this, but would like to read some examples/case studies first.

Thanks very much

yemelade

Ps, I know there is many variables, but just for added information:

- Living semi rurally - 20 minutes drive to stores, 1.5 hours to Halifax
- 2 Adults, 3 kids
- Treating ourselves occassionally

For any other information, just ask, would really love to hear of personal stories though. Thanks !

woodworm

a lot of factors.... depending on where your house is located, and what the value of it is, you will have to factor in for house-related costs:
property taxes (we pay $2000/year for a rural home in NS, but it can be much less than that)
home insurance (ours> $750/year for a rebuilding value of $360K)

we are on a well and have a functioning septic field, so haven't had too many expenses related to that in the past 10 years (septic pumping...$300 every 2-3 years)
we have our own wood, so no cost there, we pay around $70/month for electricity, but that's a fully "electrified" house with all the amenities like hot water heater, 2 freezers, stove and so on... We were thinking of going off the grid, but the investment is too high to make it worthwhile at the moment.
You will have to spend money on upkeep of your house, unless you can do it all yourself... plumbing is a big one for us... pipes freeze, hot water heaters break...water filters, UV light bulbs etc..

(sorry have to cut this short as I have to leave, will think about other costs later)

dbd33

Is it intended that the children are allowed to go feral, like barn cats?

If not then some additional costs are:

- two cars, petrol, insurance, etc
- snow removal equipment so as to get the cars to the road, probably some sort of tractor with a blower, so diesel for that
- portable telephones, computers and sporting equipment for the children

You also likely want propane delivered, living without a gas stove and with no backup for the woodstove is getting pretty survivalist.

Oh, and garbage disposal. This morning we're off to the dump, because no one comes for the bins in the country, it's half an hour each way and then there's a fee. YMMV but it is a cost.

DandNHill

We lived in the middle of nowhere in NS and they still collected our garbage...
Also hardly any gas to worry about in NS. People heat either electric or wood...
I would agree though about 2 cars. Wouldn't like to have been living where we did without having a car to use for myself..just in case

OP, we have a lovely house for sale in south west NS if you want to be isolated...it's on a lake with 8 acres...

yemelade

Thanks for all the advice so far

So just so I've got this written down somewhere, we're potentially looking at annual costs of something like:

$2,000 property taxes
$750 home insurance
$150 septic upkeep
$600 electric (just incase/additional electric on top of solar)
$3,000 car insurance for x2 cars (this is just an average based on what I've read online)
$1,500 money for gas (again, an average)
$2,000 entertainment package (tv, internet, phone)
$5,000 for extra groceries/treats/clubs for kids/trips out
$200 upkeep of licenses for fishing/hunting/wood harvesting

Can we think of anything else? I just need to make sure we will 100% be ok! Thanks

woodworm

I think you are being too optimistic with $1500 for gas for 2 cars..
We have 2 cars, are 20-30 minutes away from supermarkets and 1.5 hours away from Halifax and we spend an average of $3500 per year on gas. (that's with 2 non-gas-guzzling cars)
We have no children, if you factor in that you will have to drive your children to hockey, soccer, whatever they do when they don't go to school, you'll be higher than that.

Pulaski

My guess would be $1,000/yr, long term average, indexed for inflation, for structural repairs and maintenance to the house. Some years it might be paint, but eventually it'll be window, chimney repairs, or a new roof. You'll probably want to budget $500/yr for laundry and kitchen appliances too, ..... expecting a modern fridge and freezer to last beyond 5 yrs or the cooker and laundry appliances to last beyond 10yrs is a gamble.

R I C H

Any contingency for medical costs, life insurance, pension etc?

Silverdragon102

Home insurance will depend on the size of the house. I have a large house and home insurance is over $2000 a year.

We have 2 vehicles but predominately use my car the most and gas prices do vary week to week, sometimes a little sometimes a bit and costs me approx $70-80 every 2 weeks traveling back and forth from work (just over 30km one way each trip)and I work a shift pattern. Would be more if I had to work daily mon-fri.

Different TV providers for NS but main ones Bell, Eastlink and you could check their prices for the various packages as that varies depending on what you want.

Fishing and hunting only certain times of the year

Veg growing is a short season and I see many grow their own and some lately where I live have been making a small business out of selling on the curbside.

Garbage is collected weekly alternating with recycle stuff

We too have looked at solar electricity but would cost $$$$ to set up and no guarantee to get money back. Also looked at geothermal heating because I hate wood and again $$$$

DandNHill

Unless it's staring me in the face and I'm going blind, you haven't allowed for heating?

dishwashing

Great thread, yemelade, good luck with the plans and keep us updated on the real life bearings of this one !

Simon Legree

Maybe they are relocating to Nova Scotia's fabled North Shore ! Probably won't need heat there !

yemelade

Or perhaps we're attempting to be self sufficient, harvesting our own wood, enough for several cords of wood to use throughout the year each and every year which should be plenty in a fuel efficient wood burner?

In terms of gas, I don't think we're going to need a huge amount. Neither of us will be commuting to work, and schools in the area have an efficient bus service for children. Journeys would be to shops once a week, and on small breaks away etc. You're probably right though, perhaps I should double the budget for gas anyway as $1500 does seem rather low...

And in terms of hunting/fishing/produce only being for certain times of the year, as my partner is a butcher amongst other things, he will be butchering the animals we raise and catch and we will be freezing the meat portions, along with vegetables. I'm sure we will be able to cope eating frozen vegetables for part of the year and yes I am also aware that egg production from chickens slow in the winter months...

After more research and planning, hopefully we will achieve our plan, and I will be happy to keep you updated @dishwashing!

yemelade

RICH: Great points. I'll have to look into life insurance and health plans available in NS to get a rough estimate for annual figures. Thanks for that, see this is why I'm here!