Greetings from Our Kaleidoscope Homestead. While it has been a eventful winter that kept us busy, we’ve been anxiously awaiting the next season at our new home. Here is your update on what’s been happening and what’s to come, as we build our financially semi-independent, family homestead.
Our Home
Older homes come with a lot of charm, but inevitably require more work, which can be costly! In the late fall, out heat stopped working. We have an old-fashioned boiler system with radiators. We found out that the boiler is from 1988. Mr. Smith was not able to do this repair on his own and ended up having to call two different technicians.
The first technician just wanted to do a full replacement of our system ($8,000 to $9,000). He ended up charging us $80 for a service call, to do nothing. We think he just didn’t want to deal with the old radiator system.
The second technician fixed a gas valve and a safety relay switch for about $500. He advised us that the boiler will eventually rot out and need to be replaced, but it’s in fair condition for now.
Both technicians warned us that our home has a very antiquated heating system which will be costly to convert. We plan to keep it as is for as long as possible. In addition, we are having our wood stove from the old home installed in our new home, to supplement the heat. There are acres of trees on this property, so it makes sense to be resourceful by heating the home with a wood burning stove. Our heat bills have doubled since we moved to this bigger, older, draftier house.
We also ran into a problem with the two toilets running constantly (noticed thanks to a huge water bill). We had to call in a plumber to replace the main shut off valve ($165), so Mr. Smith could do the repairs ($30 in parts).
The next big home expense will be to have a new roof installed, which we knew would be needed. We had two contractors recently visit the property and provide us with estimates. We may try to find a third for further comparison. It looks like our tax return will cover most of this expense.
Our Children
I was worried about the kids having to start over at a new school, but they have all been doing great. The twins are enjoying kindergarten. Tornado, now 10 years old, has probably read every single book in the library, participates in a bunch of clubs, and has a best friend. We were even able to host a sleepover for the first time, now that we have more room! Goofball, now 12 years old, has participated in Modified Swimming and Math Club. The only one who says anything is seven-year-old Trey, who misses his best friend from across the street at our old house. We did make sure to bring him back for his old friend’s birthday party and promised to make sure that they still see each other. We’re only about 45 minutes away from the old neighborhood.
We love the new school system – it’s really wonderful. Our only disappointment was that there were no free lunches for everyone (which was the case at the old school). In January, however, that changed and now the kids can eat free lunches everyday (irrespective of income) and we don’t have to make five lunches in the morning! Another really nice thing about this school system is the late bus for middle and high school. The kids get a ride home if they stay after for clubs and sports. With five kids, I know this is going to be extremely helpful.
My Job
In December, my law firm hosted a Holiday Party again, for the first time in a couple of years. They paid for Mr. Smith and I to take a short flight and stay overnight at a hotel. This short getaway was very nice, and what made it even better was the surprise announcement that I was being named a Partner!
I was not expecting the promotion. In November of 2017, I left my traditional law firm position to work as a remote attorney. I accepted that being removed from the “partner track” was an unavoidable concession. It didn’t seem to matter that much, given my goal of financial semi-independence. But I won’t deny it, being promoted to partner made me feel recognized, valued, and accomplished. The day-to-day of being a partner isn’t much different than that of an associate, at least so far. The modest pay raise will certainly help towards our goal of early semi-retirement.
Walking Away From My Career . . . Sort Of
Finances
We have taken on some debt since moving to the new home, as we’re now paying three mortgages each month, with one tenant. We opened a new credit card that is interest free for two years. It is nowhere near maxed out. Instead, we’re just using it here and there, in order to keep a good cushion in our bank account in case the cash is needed. I remain hopefully optimistic that we have learned enough from our past mistakes with credit cards, to ever let them get out of control again.
It is taking much longer than anticipated to finish remodeling our old home, to be a rental property. Mr. Smith has been hard at work fixing, painting, replacing windows, and installing new floor. We hope to have it ready within the next few months. Once we have renters, our finances should resume moving steadily in the right direction.
Establishing The Homestead
We were very interested in having chickens, even before the price of eggs increased and everyone started talking about getting chickens. Now, we finally have the space to raise a little flock. We ordered a set of ten, female, Delaware chickens from Tractor Supply. Delaware chickens are good egg layers, docile, cold-weather hardy, and good foragers. I have seen a lot of people who purchased unsexed or “straight run” chicks from the store and are ending up with a whole bunch of roosters. Yes, I’m sure it’s fun to pick out your chicks in the store. The other option is to order online. There is a minimum of ten chicks, and a $0.99 shipping fee, but you can get all females (with a 90% accuracy guarantee). Seems like a much better idea to order them, if you’re looking for laying hens. The kids are loving these little chicks.
Mr. Smith has been hard at work on a DIY yard tractor for the chickens. They will be allowed to forage whenever weather permits, to keep down the price of feed. We are fixing up one of the barn stalls to be the chicken coop.
There are seeds planted in the greenhouse for the garden. In the past, we have purchased plants, but now that we have a little green house, we should be able to cut back on that expense.
There is a large field behind the house which will be turned into a garden. We found a neighbor with farm equipment who is going to help us clear and mix up the field. Thankfully! It would have taken us forever with our small tiller.
My Christmas present was six apple trees which will be delivered in the next month. We went with Honeycrisp and Fuji apples, which will cross-pollinate. There are a couple of apple trees already here, but they seem to be on their last legs and didn’t produce that much in the fall. We want to get our orchard started ASAP, so we should have lots of apples in two years or so.
I agreed that it would be a good idea to wait for next year to start with bees. We have a lot to figure out this year, and it seems smarter to add a little bit at a time to the homestead.
I have been slacking on this blog lately, with everything else going on. Please do follow me on Instagram or Facebook for more-regular updates on our progress during this very exciting time (buttons are on the top right corner of this page).
