Everybody has a different idea of what it means to live a simple basic lifestyle. Everybody has a different idea as to what is the minimal they need to live. When hubby and I started our self-sufficient adventure, we made list and budgets. We carefully listed exactly what we spent during the year, every penny. That way we not only learned where our spending occurred, but could determine how much we could save if we eliminated certain activities..,...for instance, get rid of the TV and movies, ditch the store bought meat, stop buying new clothing and switch to used, ditch cellphone plans and go to pay-as-you-go (and stop using that dang phone so much!) The trick to save money for us was to stop spending it in the first place.
You'll need to make a projected budget -- what do you expect to spend, especially what may be different in your new location. When we moved we knew that the costs of purchased stuff would all be higher, but property taxes would be significantly lower. Automobile costs higher, but zero for heat and air conditioning. We needed to know roughly what we needed to budget for.
Identify your major expenses. For us it was insurances. We had to decide what sort of insurance and at what levels we were willing to maintain and which we weren't.
As for your house
project, how fancy do you call basic? Will it need to be permitted? Septic system? A well? Will living in a half finished, roughly built home be fine? Or does it need to be pretty and "normal"? Plus are you able to do the construction, plumbing, wiring yourself or will you need to hire someone? All things to consider. How rough are you happy to live? My mother considers roughing it to mean living in a two bedroom rancher. We consider roughing it to mean a tarp tent and
bucket toilet.
Income.....is your home business already flourishing? When you move will you still be selling to your same customers? Don't expect them to follow you, because with most businesses, customers demand convenience. I saw a store fail because it moved two blocks down the street. Lost its customer base over that short distance! Is your business already generating a livable income? Will it continue?
When we moved, hubby kept working to assure that we would have income until the homestead was not only self supporting, but also generating a livable income. Good thing he kept working, because we found that the livable income real difficult to accomplish even for our basic lifestyle. The farm is now self supporting, but we still need to accomplish that additional income issue.
In my area of rural, poor Hawaii I see people living ok on $12,000 per year income. But that assumes no debts, already own their land and whatever it is that they call their home, have no insurances other than the minimum required for a car, buy used stuff (clothes, car, items), get food stamps, and more often than not, do without things. They seldom see doctors and use the rural clinics, and take advantage of every free health service ever given, even if it means waiting all morning to be seen at a location that wasn't convenient. They generate income by working "under the table" doing odd jobs, making and selling stuff (
art, crafts, useful items), growing food for sale, raising livestock for sale, or a combination of these. Usually it's a combination because they are always
scrounging for money.
If you don't already have the habits for minimalistic living, you may wish to start practicing before you make your move. Hubby and I did just that for a year, but it was still a shock when we started living the real McCoy. Luckily the shock was buffered because we had already switched many of our costly habits. Living "poor" by choice was far easier for us to accept than living poor because we HAD to. Thus "living poor" did not carry negative feelings. We choose the lifestyle. A big psychological difference for us.
Best wishes for the next chapter in your life. May it be grand!
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