On the homestead...

I started Living on the Cheep! nearly ten years ago.  Then, as they say, stuff happens.  We are now living on a five acre property in the Missouri Ozarks, and other than missing my family, I am loving it here. 

We get asked often why we chose Missouri.  I like to say Missouri chose us.  Both of us in our mid-sixties, my husband with some health problems, we knew if we wanted to own our own home with property, the only way we could afford to stay in Colorado is if one or both of us kept working.  So we did some internet searches and found some affordable fixer-uppers in southern Missouri.  My husband took a few days off and we jumped in the car, intent on finding our dream property.  But wait a minute, not so fast.....

We met with a realtor and looked at five properties.  OMG!  They looked so good in the pictures.  One was missing part of its roof (stolen) one had no pipes or furnace (also stolen)  One smelled so bad that my eyes were watering when we opened the door.  We did find a beautiful affordable farmhouse on 18 acres that we loved.  It did not have any central heat or air.  The three bedrooms were upstairs and the only bathroom was downstairs.  Did I mention we are in our 60's?  I think we would have jumped on this had we been in our thirties or even forties.  And although we do not mind some sweat equity, this would have been a bit much.

As we got back to the hotel that night, we were really frustrated.  My husband showed me another property about an hour away.  It looked nice but so did the others.  But since it was on our way home, we contacted the listing realtor and asked to see it.  We met with her the following day. 

The house is small.  It sits on five acres.  There is a full basement, a detached garage and so many trees.  My husband was hesitant.  I was in love.  Was it the home of my dreams?  No.  But it was well kept, great condition, and a beautiful setting.  We made an offer.  That was March of 2019.  We finally closed the end of June.  To say moving after 25 years of accumulating stuff was hard would be an understatement.  It was one of the toughest things I have ever had to do. 

We just loved the green lushness of the property!  So different from the mountains of Colorado and the deserts of Arizona.  We both had grown up in the midwest but had spent most of our adult life in the West, so its easy to forget.  

Fast forward through our first year on this little hobby farm/homestead.  We moved our chickens and added to it.  We planted a huge garden with little success.  We painted the outside of the house ourselves and worked at a remodel of the bathroom, all while juggling doctor appointments, intensive care for a tick bite, and a total knee replacement.  

We are living our dream on a tiny little budget.  I love sharing what we learn (usually by our own, sometimes painful, mistakes) and what we do to enrich our lives and home without spending a ton of money.  Hope you stay tuned!