Journey to off grid self reliance

My ultimate goal is to have a piece of land and be completely off the grid as well as not reliant on anything outside my property for survival.

I have been offline for years when it comes to IM but have been putting an eye on it here and there. I have a full time job in IT (which doesnt make much in my country even with a masters degree) and since I work from home as a remote programmer/database administrator/and network administrator I am also a full time dad of three awesome but insanely crazy kids.

My wife and I had been into IM and SEO years ago with a bunch of varied skills in web development and social media. All of that is gone/changed now so its a bottom up thing atm.

To make money I started a new YouTube account and create my own android game/app Modding videos teaching people how to program the games to give them more in app currency and other cool things.

My goal for that channel is 3 videos a week.

I have to get back into the forum here and start reading up on how to rank videos again and the like. I dont know the method of monetization yet. I was thinking of just trying to build a large audience first and then develop a product around the concept of Modding and sell it. My country doesnt have all of the awesome partner programs available to make money and a large channel usually has companies chasing the owners with pipe dreams but then take 90 % of profits so I will stay away from that.
Quick edit: I am paying for tubebuddy to help me a bit...just figuring out the best way to use that resource.

If I find some good things here for that I may try them out.

Another option I am working on right now is an online series of excel courses in spanish with a verified certification here in my own country. I have the videos and courses and I will need to drop a dime in a domain and hosting. Also pay the education board to have a certification number. Once complete I can offer the basic course free in local facebook ads and then push the more advanced courses and an exam for like $100. National certification would help people in their jobs here so that is a plus.
The goal would be to use fb ads to promote that here (dirt cheap ads compared to other countries I suppose) .

This year I want to buy the two pieces of land for this. Land here is cheap at about 4k per plot which is an attainable goal. The following year I want the base house built, partially solar powered to start, a few basic animals like chicken, rabbits, and a rooster, and a good solid garden started.

When I am completely off grid and do not have to pay for practically anything (I doubt I can start a broadband company so internet will always be a bill) financial success will be sustainable regardless of investment/losses.

So this is my journal.

What I have right at this moment:
About $100 per month to invest @$50 every 2 weeks
A youtube channel with: 5 videos; 30 subs; 114 views.
Excel courses that need to be watermarked.

Goals for this month:
Find out the cost of certification
Buy a domain and hosting
Upload and develop the excel courses
Create another 9 videos @ 3 per week

P.s. I have a set of backburner stories (about 20) I planned to write as in ebooks. At the moment I do not have time, but taking the advice of Stephen king, I should find time to write at least 500 words a day and eventually finish those.

Good luck with it, it will probably take you a good few years to be totally self sufficient but should be possible.

Good luck to you on this journey. Wishing you all the success and luck.

Being off grid and having reliable fast internet are two totally separate things. I know from experience. It is doable though but you will need to make compromises as to what you do online if you really want to be off grid.

I have been working towards urban homesteading, not off grid, but grid tied.

My solar plan is projected to give me back monthly $100 from the electric company.

I just got my first quote for a geo-thermal heat pump, which will provide heat and A/C for my home.

As I renovate the home, I use sustainable resources only, or buy used. Like I just scored a cast iron bathtub from the 20's. My flooring and deck will be 100% bamboo.

Since it is urban living, landscaping is a big deal, as you must keep up with the Joneses. So, I have been primarily planting an edible landscape, even the flowers I am planting are edible, for salads and such.

Since the soil where I live is primarily clay, I do raised bed gardening. Last year, I only had 1/4 of what I wanted built and it provided 100% of my veggies for the late summer/fall. This year, I plan to add another 1/4, and build a green house hook over it for earlier and later growing.

There is so much more, and I have built a blog completely around this, partially a place for me to put my research notes, and also so others can join me in my journey to self reliance in an urban environment.
Eventually I will be seeking sponsorship from companies for things to showcase their products, like a wind turbine to partially power my home. This is my side project and has a 5yr plan for completion, at minimum.

If you have any questions about setting up a homestead feel free, and I'll answer in this thread, I live to share my passion.

Asif WILSON Khan said:

Good luck with it, it will probably take you a good few years to be totally self sufficient but should be possible.

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Thanks. I do believe that it will take a while.

Seven4 said:

Good luck to you on this journey. Wishing you all the success and luck.

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Thanks I appreciate the vote of confidence.

William702 said:

Being off grid and having reliable fast internet are two totally separate things. I know from experience. It is doable though but you will need to make compromises as to what you do online if you really want to be off grid.

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I thought about that. The more rural areas here have satellite but that is scrappy. I may have to plan on starting some local business like a restaurant in the future to not only produce an income but have fiber there. Its a bit easier in this country because cost is lower for everything. But hard if I cant make a solid extra income to do it in the first place.

patriotnews said:

I have been working towards urban homesteading, not off grid, but grid tied.

My solar plan is projected to give me back monthly $100 from the electric company.

I just got my first quote for a geo-thermal heat pump, which will provide heat and A/C for my home.

As I renovate the home, I use sustainable resources only, or buy used. Like I just scored a cast iron bathtub from the 20's. My flooring and deck will be 100% bamboo.

Since it is urban living, landscaping is a big deal, as you must keep up with the Joneses. So, I have been primarily planting an edible landscape, even the flowers I am planting are edible, for salads and such.

Since the soil where I live is primarily clay, I do raised bed gardening. Last year, I only had 1/4 of what I wanted built and it provided 100% of my veggies for the late summer/fall. This year, I plan to add another 1/4, and build a green house hook over it for earlier and later growing.

There is so much more, and I have built a blog completely around this, partially a place for me to put my research notes, and also so others can join me in my journey to self reliance in an urban environment.
Eventually I will be seeking sponsorship from companies for things to showcase their products, like a wind turbine to partially power my home. This is my side project and has a 5yr plan for completion, at minimum.

If you have any questions about setting up a homestead feel free, and I'll answer in this thread, I live to share my passion.

Click to expand...

Drop me the blog if you can via pm. Here the resources are limited and things that are imported are expensive. However, at the same time building a cabana is dirt cheap with materials we have here so it just depends on the direction I want to go with building.

To all: the small saving grace here is that the country I live in is very low cost. An average mcdonalds income in developed countries would promote great success here. Which is, of course why I am focusing some time and money in online ventures.