Weird topic, money.  Hate it, myself.  Boring.  But it’s relevant to living and so I will address it somewhat.  It is a hard topic to address because most people think money is a touchy subject and they like to keep their finances to themselves.  As if it is all some kind of a secret or something. 

It isn’t!  No one really cares except snobs and Revenue Canada.

But, anyway………….here we go…………

Living off the grid is cheaper than living in town.  The cost to get here is greater.  The cost of building is greater.  And the cost of much of what you do and buy while you are out here is greater and yet, oddly, the overall effect is much cheaper.

“How is that possible?”

Two reasons: one: you live differently in a positive, constructive way.  Two: you live differently in a minimalist, conservative way.

When you live off-the-grid in a cabin/cottage/remote sense, you need to buy food but, over time, you tend to gather, grow and forage much more than when you were in the cul de sac.  You ‘positively’ live more off the land.  By comparison, a garden was discouraged in the ‘burbs.  So was hunting.  Fishing?  Fuggedabout it.  Plus there was no time.  Out here, living off the land is a pastime, a hobby, a form of entertainment and a constant source of marvel.  You get ‘hooked’.

Of course, our little garden doesn’t make a huge dent on our budget but gathering oysters, clams and the odd fish helps.  Being ‘gifted’ eggs and such helps.  Making our own wine helps and ‘making do with what is handy or what floats up on the beach’ helps even more.

But even if you add up all the freebies, supplements, trades, swaps, gifts  and recycling, it might make only about $400.00 a month difference to the cashflow.  It just ain’t that big a deal yet.  And even that is easily offset by at least half by the more expensive burning of fossil fuels for energy instead of ‘buying’ BC hydro.

“So, why is it cheaper living?”

Mostly lifestyle.  I burn fossil fuels to make energy but I don’t use a full tank of fuel in my car driving in a month.  And I use free wood for heat.  In fact, I probably do only 200 kms a month driving the car on an average month.  I did more than 1000 kms a month when I lived in the city.

There’s an irony there.  In theory, I was closer to everything in the city.  But,in practice, I drove a great deal more to get there.

And no one sends out for pizza or Chinese take-away out here.  I don’t frequent restaurants hardly at all anymore.  There is virtually no dry cleaning and my suits, shirts and tie budget is as reduced as Sally’s Jones of New York budget.  We wear Costco jeans now.

We don’t go shopping for the sake of entertainment by finding something new, either. Now we shop for the basics, the essentials.  There ain’t much in the way of discretionary spending out here.

Living off-the-grid is as much about living differently as it is about whether we are plugged in or not.  No Starbucks.  No services by Lawn-care inc, the Pool-boy ltd or Windows-R-us.  Now we do our own thing.  And it is remarkably less expensive in the overall lifestyle even if, on any one item or even many of them, you spend more.  Generally speaking, things cost more because of the remoteness but you still spend less because of the remoteness.

You can quote me on that.

When we first came out here almost 8 years ago, I saw a couple about our age disembarking from a small boat and looking a lot like ‘locals’.  I went over and introduced myself.  Mentioned that I was morphing into a local and needed to ask a question about how much it cost for them to live out on a remote island.

They hemmed and hawed and then said, “$1,000 a month!” Then they had a little more discussion and he corrected himself, “Sorry.  Forgot the taxes.  Costs us $1050 a month!”

I asked about a dozen people the same question over the ensuing months and the highest income reported at that time was $22,500 a year.  The lowest was just over $4,000.  I have kept up that completely un-objective survey over the years and I would say that a couple not burdened by a mortgage and having the odd mod con at their disposal and a decent, healthy lifestyle lives out here for between $24,000 and $36,000 a year.  All in.

The difference between then and now?  Mostly the higher price of fuel.

One of my neighbours lives on about $5,000.00 a year and he lives well.  A few others live on even less than that (but not so well).

“Dave!  What’s your point?  We don’t want to live like that!”

My point is simple.  You have to work to spend more than $36,000 a year out here (again, assuming that you are finished building and debt free).  This lifestyle is simply not consumer oriented.  We got no stores!

Except for the optional winter getaway, you would be hard-pressed to maintain half of your old spending habits.  I don’t think you could. Those of you who think that, because you can’t get by on the 100K income you both earn now, you have to keep at it til you’re dead, are dead wrong.

Living off-the-grid is cheaper than living in-the-cul-de-sac and the lifestyle is more rewarding.  Financially, it’s a good deal.  And for me, comparing lifestyles, it is a great deal.