After posting Growing a Jar of Wholegrain Mustard (Part 1) I got a sweet comment from VeryBerryHandmade saying “That sounds like an awful lot of hard work but I am sure it will be worth it…”

Very Berry, your message made me chuckle so hard, as you kinda summed up my whole life!

It also got me thinking about what I do put extra effort into, and whether it is actually worth it.

I choose to work outside of the home just enough to cover my bills. That’s it, and there’s rarely much left over. Household, car and animal costs are kept as low as possible but ultimately, unless I delete one of those expenses, they are pretty much fixed costs (and SassyCat is not getting deleted anytime soon :)

The remaining bill is food and this one is more malleable. When I’m shopping with intent, I can get a weeks shopping for £25.

When writing a shopping list with a small budget, it means having to make things from scratch. £25 won’t buy us much in the way of pre-prepared food, but it will buy me the basic raw ingredients, and if I can bulk that out with food I’ve grown, reared or foraged, it’ll go even further.

Take making bread. Our local bakery sells gorgeous loaves of bread for £1.50, or I can make a loaf here for less than 50p. I know it’s only £1 difference, but imagine how many £1′s that would become over the course of a year, and how many hours I’d have to go out and work, to cover that cost!

(Also, Jonny tells me my bread is the best ;)

Equally, I could go and buy a jar of mustard, but then I’m using my hard earned cash to pay someone else to do the work for me. I’d much rather grow (or buy) the raw ingredients where possible, and put in the time and effort to make it for myself. And if I decide it is more hassle than its worth, then at least I’ll have tried, and I can relish the shop bought mustard even more!

So, to work out if the Frugal Smallholder life is for you, answer this question;

Would you rather be at home or on your land feeding your family, or in a job earning the money to feed your family?

It really is that simple!

And while I know this life isn’t for everyone, for me it is exactly what I’ve been working towards for a very long time, and now I can bask in bonkers projects like making my own mustard and sharing it with all of you!

Very Berry, thank you so much for leaving that comment. You’ve really made me think about what I do and whether I’m happy trading time for money. Thankfully, I AM!!!