Is it worth it?

So, the ultimate question that I have been facing is:  "Is this worth it?"  The question is multi-fold and complicated, as is the answer. The complicating factors and muddy conclusions have left me thinking about this subject for a long time.

First and foremost I must say that the number one criteria for deciding if this is worth it, is financially.  Like many others across the country my pocketbook is the one thing that seems to be perpetually hungry.  I do not spend lavishly, but I do enjoy some of the finer things in life.  Fitness is paramount to me, and the $40.00 monthly investment is an investment in years after retirement, and is thereby justifiable. Likewise, I enjoy wine and beer, but because micro brew beer is not as readily available as it was where I used to live I have given that up in trade for my $7.00 bottle of wine that last about a week and a half.

I have debt that I am trying to pay off, and a job that hardly pays enough to cover the basic expenses. But, the tradeoff is that I live in a beautiful home with a wonderful person, I have access to the land that I love, and I have the people and things in my life that bring happiness.  So, with all of that being said, I am very open to financial trade offs when it comes to deciding if this endeavor is 'worth it'.

Both Dutch Boy and I enjoy good food, but we also enjoy simple food.  Like this weekend Chef brought over some excess from a haul of mussels she harvested earlier in the day.  At the bottom of the pot I dumped in the butter, sauteed two onions, a handful of mushrooms, a cup of wine, tossed in the mussels for some steaming, and topped with fresh cut tomatoes. Served it up with slices of warmed french bread and we ate it right out of the pot.  Now one plate of this in a restuarant would cost us between 15-20 bucks. For us it cost about $4. (onions 35cents a piece roughly x2, tomatoes 50cents a pieces x2, mushrooms 50cents, mussels free, bread 1/2 a loaf $1.50, and roughly 3/4 of a cup of wine from a $7.00 bottle).

Now, like every other would be homesteader out there I have gone through the various financial calculations to see if the above incident (or others like it) would make financial sense. The standard is to take the cost of the meal ingredients/end meal costs and compare those.

*restaurant: $15-20 per person - 30-40 for one meal    Home: $4.00 per meal, with left overs 5 meals.

Then factor in time.  This is the kicker, restaurants and large scale farms are more efficient than I am, or could be, at all of the various tasks of the job. All of the perceived savings are quickly swallowed up by my labor costs if I use the standard calculation of what is an hour of my time worth.

Like many other homesteaders/self growers/gardener wannabees, we realize that this is not mathematically correct.  We are not adding work hours to the work day, or taking away hours from a work day, so making the equation to work wages is not accurate.  What else would I be doing with that time.... watching Spongebob and petting a cat? So, truthfully I am 'working' for free because I am getting enjoyment out of the act.

Additionally, I am seeing an added benefit out of this that is hard to quantify financially. Last night after finishing up with a group of girls from my team, one of my team mates handed me a bottle of freshly made Mead, and Power Puppy gave me a bag of nuts from her recent trip to Texas. So, right there I have an example of how financially this is may or may not be a wash, but the quality of life is greatly improved. How many people that are financially struggling, eat like kings and queens? Twice a week so far I have been able to make a super healthy salad for Dutch Boys pre-soccer meal with mostly garden grown ingredients.  I have added fresh herbs to a few of our meals, and the canned farmed goods from last year is still a few meals waiting patiently.

Next up: How to benefit personally and emotionally from all of this