Modern Day Peasants: $60k Single Income Household. “Choosing” Poverty Through Self-Sufficiency.

short background: 45m/38f, childfree. I bought my "starter home" for $77k in 2004, making 26k. Married in 2013. lived "house poor" and paid off 30yr mortgage in 14yrs-9mos. in 2023 we sold suburban starter house, bought 10 acres & built custom house. we are debt free with the exception on our 30-year $75,500 mortgage and 15-year $60k land loan. total combined payment is ~$1300.

I am a tradeworker, wife is a full-time farmer, rancher & housewife.

We raise our own dairy sheep, which we also butcher for meat. we raise meat rabbits & chickens. we try our best to grow as much of our vegetables and fruit as we can.

we build all of our own infrastructure (barns, sheds, pens, irrigation, gardens, orchards, solar power system, etc.). Our vehicles have been paid off for about a decade. I drive a 26 year old truck, wife drives a 15 year old compact. when something breaks, we fix it.

despite our meager lives, we do what we can to save for retirement. we have managed to save & grow $88k in Roth, mostly in VTSAX & VIG with a few others. we are building up our emergency fund, currently at $6k. we manage aboot $100-$150/mo. into Roth and aboot $500/mo. into to savings, until we hit 4 months of expenses. we both have $500k term life insurance and health insurance.

we are married to our homestead. livestock & agriculture are 24/7. we don't take vacations, we don't travel anymore. we were lucky to have saved in advance to budget travel and camp all over the States in prior years.

I have lived in/at some level of "poor" since I moved out at 17. my parents were low-middle-class and had their own finances to deal with. Despite that, I have always had a goal and a plan to try to achieve it. always putting off today's gratification for some version of stability in the future.

that's our path so far. not saying it's the right one, just the one we chose. We both take turns telling each other, and ourselves, that we enjoy it. I'm pretty sure we do.