Ways to Make Money While Living Off-Grid

As is true for many people, one of the homesteader’s primary worries is that they will have enough money to afford the things they need. Just because people living off-grid do not have the same types of bills as people living on the grid, does not mean they will not need to pay for things from time to time. Take, for example, maintaining their crops. While people living on the grid have tractors with many moveable parts, most homesteaders do not. However, they do have tools that will wear out over time. This means they will require a replacement for that part. It is true, they could make a new one, but not everyone is capable of forging the parts we may need. To pay for such things, a homesteader needs to have money. That being said, I, Matthew Davies, am going to provide you with a list of things you can do to make money on your homestead to help make ends meet.

I feel this list will be particularly of interest to people who have only recently decided to live off the grid. As time goes on, you will become less dependent on material possessions and even find new and exciting ways to provide yourself with temporary replacements. Until such time, take a look at the list below for ideas you can use to make a few extra bucks.

Selling Produce

It takes time to learn how much food your garden will provide and seeds planted at the same time yield a harvest at the same time as well. As a result, when starting out, you will likely produce more food than you can consume. While you can save some of the food from going bad through several means of food preservation (including canning, drying, feeding it to your livestock), you will not be able to keep it all. I suggest finding a farmer’s market and taking your leftovers there. Many people are willing to pay decent money for your food. People love locally grown food. A simple trip to the farmer’s market could net you enough money to pay to repair your tiller.

Cabin Rental

Renting out cabins may be an option for you, depending on the amount of land you have. If you only have a small bit of land, you will likely not want vacationers walking around. One of the main reasons you go off-grid is to get away from large numbers of people. The proof of this is that you don’t see too many off-gridders in large cities. The majority of us live in heavily wooded areas, far away from our nearest neighbor.

If you do happen to have a lot of extra land that you are not using, however, consider building some cabins. During the “off-season” you can get between $25 and $50 per night. The peak season can see profits in the neighborhood of $250 a night. It just depends on how invested you want to get in renting cabins and how large you want to make them. In either case, it should be enough to fix or repair any problems you have on your land. You could even roll the money over into building more and more cabins.

Educational Workshops

Living off-grid teaches many new skills, which others could benefit from learning. There is no limit to the types of courses that you could teach. For example:

• How to Grow Organic Food
• Primitive Survival Guides
• Off-Grid Lifestyle
• Building Workshops
• Caring for Livestock

You could even teach a class on how to start homesteading. Teaching these skills to another person can get between $10 and $25 per hour, or you can offer flat rates of up to $500 depending on the class.

Event Hosting

As a general rule, homesteaders live in some of the most picturesque locations in the world. They look long and hard for the most beautiful views. This makes your land ripe for people who want to have a beautiful backdrop for their events including weddings, reunions, or parties. To get started, place ads in the local paper and see what happens. I think you will be amazed at the number of people that want to use your land to entertain family, friends, and coworkers. You could double down on this venture by having cabins for them to sleep in, as described above.

Woodworking

One of my favorite pastimes is working on benches, tables, armoires, and hope chests. I take these products and sell them locally. When you are starting, you will make a lot of mistakes. However, even the most obscure piece you make may appeal to a buyer. People are always looking for unique gifts. Try going to your local library and checking out a few books on the subject. You should learn enough to get started. Then, as they say, practice makes perfect. Experiment with different things, and you may find a particular item that you enjoy making. Once you have a few things to sell, go to a farmer’s market or put them up on the internet. Handmade wood items can often sell for a good deal of money.

Conclusion

I, Matthew Davies, don’t have much need for money these days, but I have done enough things to make sure I have it whenever I need it. There are many other ways that you can make money while homesteading. These are just a few of my favorite ideas. At any point during the year, I will be doing at least two of the items I have listed above to make some extra money. I hope that you find one or two on this list that you can use.