I keep getting questions, nosy, detail requesting questions.
The “seriously, how did you actually do this” kind of questions.
Money questions.
Here is the thing. I am not going to open up our bank accounts and let you peruse our income and expenses.
Sorry, but nope. Not gonna happen.
What I will do, is share a bit about the average costs you can assume to have when doing what we did ( I will use SaltSpring as an example) and give you a breakdown of the hard realities of living a life outside of the city!
You can make your own assumptions of how much you need to make, what you would need to give up and if it is for you!
Sound fair?
Housing:
We didn’t purchase a house when we moved, we chose to rent for a little while until we were sure; very, very, very sure we wanted to be here, and also so we had some time to rebuild our businesses and establish an income line. Yes, we did move here with our income line at ZERO! Scary! But motivating! But, we had some money in the bank. Enough to buy us time!
Rent for a home on SaltSpring runs about $1000 a month, on average. You can find acceptable places for a little less, or awesome places for $200-$800 more per month.
Cost of living: Food is about the same cost as the city, but with no big box stores that make shopping for a big family more affordable, it does take a little planning. We cook more than ever as there are no fast food options (easy outs when you forget to plan dinner) The good news, with none of those big stores, our extra purchases are really reduced. Next time you hit costco or SuperStore, check and see how many non-necessary items are in your basket!
We are feeding a family of 5, and on average that is about $800, if you don’t fill up on pre-made stuff (and the really good cheese) and actually cook (which we do) We also don`t buy a lot of treats, we make them.
our wine bill is about the same as the food bill! 🙂
Daily bills: We use a fire to heat, there is no Teresen here! Our hydro is low because of that, but we did need to purchase firewood (about $500 for a years heat!) We have no cable, and Netflix is about 8$ a month instead. We have celphones and a basic telus landline.
Life in general: As with any life, there are fun bits to be had. But, because of where we live this does NOT mean shopping or hitting the cinema. There is an amazing arts center here and an active community, but most of those events are less in price than a night out watching the latest flick. We don’t eat out much, even though there are amazing restaurants here. We have 3 kids. They are picky and not the best restaurant company!
So, for a fun life we spend money on riding lessons for the girls, and save our pennies for awesome adventures. Oh, and wine . . can I add a wine budget here as well ?
We spend a lot of time outside. Hiking, sailing. Enjoying the space around us. This is all free! 🙂
So, does that give you a better idea of how much we need to make to live on this island? Our plans are to purchase a home and have our mortgage be less than our rent. We aren’t going BIG, we are going permanent, and logical, and conservative. We want to stay here, which means every penny counts!
Our monthly expenses in Vancouver were about 6k. We have at least halved them here. Our hope is to continue to build our revenue to support a simple life not based on consumption, but centered on adventure and quality of time. We own our cars (our insurance is half of what it was in the city because we live rurally) and if you have seen me lately, my wardrobe does not keep up with the current trends (ps. I never really cared about trends)
So, can you and your partner make $3-4K a month living rurally and living smarter? That is a question you need to ask yourself. (but note, the average income on SS, based on a school survey, is $35k) Of course, make sure you build in some emergency funds and future investing, but I believe that living the life you want NOW, is better than saving up for a future you can never be sure you will get!
We are not a poor island by any means – just check MLS – but we are a smart island, who spends their pennies well.
Think about the life you want and what you are willing to give up for it. Chances are, the things you sacrifice are the things you never needed in the first place. And when you find your dream, it is so much better without all the crap you used to distract yourself from living in your old reality!