A lot of the appeal of a homestead/van/tiny-home life is learning that you can live with less. We don't need the fancy car, the restaurants, the grocery stores,

A lot of the appeal of a homestead/van/tiny-home life is learning that you can live with less. We don't need the fancy car, the restaurants, the grocery stores, the movie theaters, the bars, or the modern traps. When I watch a homesteader I'm filled with a bit of relaxation "They can do it so I could too!" "I don't NEED this job!" "If it all falls apart I'll still survive." But in the end, you are giving up a LOT! We may not NEED it, but we sure WANT it. The hard part is letting go of those attachments. But in the end we need to be realistic with ourselves. Did we give them up because we want to be free? Or are we just chaining ourselves to a new thing that we don't love. Homesteading is inefficient, dirty, painful, unhealthy, and stressful. Most fail horribly. Even among those in history who were do or die, a lot starved or froze to death trying it. The common factor among those who succeed is planning and MONEY. Most successful farms and homesteads start with huge quantities of money that they bleed profusely in the first couple years before becoming profitable. To succeed without money means hustling for every dollar and working 16 hour days 7 days a week.