According to dictionary.com, self-sufficiency can be described two ways.
First, self-sufficiency is being able to supply one’s own needs without
external assistance. Or, it could also mean, having extreme confidence in
one’s own resources. So as you can tell, this could look differently for
everyone. It could be someone who lives on a large homestead and grows all
of their own food. But it could also be someone who lives in the suburbs
and does their best to prep for worst case scenarios which leave them
feeling confident that they’ve done all that they can to survive whatever
comes their way, right where they are. As you can tell, self-sufficiency
is a broad lifestyle that can look very different and be common ground for
a wide variety of people.
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Being self-sufficient goes hand in hand with being frugal. You can’t hope for self-sufficiency while still owing everyone and their brother money. So if you want to be self-sufficient start by living within your means. Look for every way possible to save money. You’ll be glad you did. I know I am!
When you decide to embrace a self-sufficient lifestyle, you have to let go of a lot of modern thinking. One of the modern ways of thinking is housing. You live in one house for a while, then you sell it for a bigger house. Most people do this quite a few times over their life. Well, it’s time to break that thinking pattern. You’ll need to look at where you are at and decide if this will work for you long-term. If not, then you need to start working towards your long-term home.
Self-sufficiency also could mean that you get away from the grocery store as much as possible. This means that you grow food as much as you can throughout the year, or at least eat in season so you can buy locally from those that can grow year round.
The last tip I have for becoming more self-sufficient is to ditch your debt. You need to work really hard to get out of debt as fast as you can. Debt drags people down, and as long as you owe others money, you’ll never embrace true freedom. So I know it is not an overnight thing to get out of debt, but it should always be something that you try to avoid. And if you have to go into debt, you should always think of ways to pay that debt off faster than agreed upon just to relieve yourself of that struggle.
Living simply is probably one of the most important keys to becoming self-sufficient. The reason is because if you are living simply, then you aren’t going to waste your money on buying all of the latest gadgets. You won’t be eating out all of the time, nor will you be spending big bucks on tons of clothing. Simplicity will save you a lot of money in the long run. So embrace a simple lifestyle. The less you need, the less you spend.