50 Ways to Become More Self-Reliant
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For me, being self-reliant is about personal responsibility and providing for my family. I am tired of corporations and government dictating my health and food choices.
We need, as a country, as communities, and as individuals to develop our own resources. I don’t want to be dependent on some foreign power that may pull the plug at any time.
When you can provide for yourself, even in a small way, it gives you a feeling of empowerment. You don’t have to rely on experts to make your decisions for you. We’re here to help you on your journey, though this website, and our mentorship program.
The Japanese concept of “kaizen” translates to “continuous improvement”. It involves taking small steps, every day, to make a process better. We’ve divided these self reliance tips by category to help you get started.
Self Reliant Mindset & Personal Development
- Take responsibility: Own up to your actions and decisions, and learn from your mistakes rather than blaming external factors or other people.
- Set goals: Define clear goals and create a plan to achieve them, relying on your own efforts and resources.
- Practice time management: Learn to prioritize tasks, maximize productivity, and achieve your goals efficiently without relying on external reminders or supervision.
- Practice self-discipline: Focus on your goals and follow through with your plans, even when faced with distractions or temptations.
- Cultivate self-reliant mindset: Foster a mindset of resilience, adaptability, and self-reliance by reframing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning.
- Practice self-reflection: Set aside time for introspection and self-reflection to clarify your values, goals, and priorities.
- Embrace failure: Failure is an inevitable part of growth and learning. Setbacks are opportunities to refine your skills. Keep records so you can learn from your mistakes.
- Practice gratitude: Cultivate a mindset of gratitude for the resources and opportunities available to you. Don’t wait for the world to tell you when to be happy.
Community and Relationships
- Develop a support network: No one person can do everything. Cultivate relationships with like-minded individuals who can offer advice or assistance when needed.
- Practice mindfulness: Cultivate self-awareness and mindfulness to understand your own needs and emotions better. Build relationships with people who compliment your strengths and weaknesses.
- Volunteer: Many hands make light work. Participating in volunteer opportunities can be a good way to meet like-minded people.
Skills & Knowledge Development for Self-Reliance
- Become knowledgeable: Stay informed about various topics, from current events to practical skills. This will help you to make well-informed decisions and rely less on others for guidance.
- Seek continuous self-improvement: Commit to lifelong learning and personal development. Small changes over time reap dramatic results.
- Learn to problem-solve: Develop problem-solving skills to tackle obstacles independently and find creative solutions.
- Embrace self-reliant hobbies: Engage in activities like woodworking, hunting, or fishing that encourage self-sufficiency and independence.
- Learn to fix things: Acquire basic repair skills for household items, electronics, and appliances to save money on repairs and become more self-reliant.
- Develop a personal library: Build a collection of books and resources on various topics of interest. This is more important than ever as online censorship increases.
Financial Independence
- Become financially literate: Educate yourself about personal finance, including budgeting, investing, and retirement planning, so you can make informed decisions.
- Develop financial independence: Save money, invest wisely, and live within your means.
- Learn to trade and barter: Swap with friends and neighbors so you can all have a little more.
- Shop used and let others know you are looking for certain items: Many times friends and relatives who are no longer using items are happy to pass them along.
- Learn basic car maintenance: Familiarize yourself with basic car maintenance tasks such as changing oil, topping off fluids, or replacing a flat tire.
- Invest in self-reliant infrastructure: Add elements like rainwater harvesting systems or permaculture gardens to increase self-sufficiency and reduce reliance on external resources.
- Explore alternative energy sources: Investigate renewable energy options such as solar panels or wind turbines to reduce reliance on traditional energy sources and lower utility bills.
- Start a side hustle: Generate additional income through a side business or freelancing gig, diversifying your income streams.
- Embrace minimalism: Clear out clutter and focus on useful items and meaningful experiences.
- Practice resourcefulness: Make the most of what you have by repurposing items, improvising solutions, and finding alternatives when necessary.
Self-Reliance in Daily Life
- Create a self-reliant homestead: Establish a self-reliant homestead by growing food, raising animals, and harnessing renewable resources, reducing dependency on external systems for sustenance.
- Develop DIY projects: Engage in do-it-yourself projects for home improvement, crafting, or repairs to gain hands-on experience and reduce reliance on professionals for minor tasks.
- Grow your own food: Start a vegetable garden or grow herbs indoors to produce your own food and reduce reliance on grocery stores.
- Test your soil: Use these simple soil tests to determine the easiest ways to improve your soil quality.
- Learn to cook: Master basic cooking techniques and prepare your own meals.Learn to make homemade substitutes for prepackaged items.
- Learn to preserve food: Acquire knowledge of food preservation techniques such as canning, pickling, or drying to extend the shelf life of produce and reduce dependency on store-bought goods.
- Learn to forage: Familiarize yourself with edible plants and wild foods in your area, enabling you to supplement your diet and connect with nature independently.
- Learn how to save seeds: Heirloom and open pollinated seeds will breed true, allowing you to save seeds that grow true to type.
- Add small livestock: Chickens and rabbits may be an option even for urban homesteaders.
- Learn to sew: Master basic sewing skills to repair clothing and household items, extending their lifespan and reducing reliance on purchasing new items.
- Reduce waste: Embrace sustainable practices such as composting, recycling, and reducing consumption to minimize your environmental footprint and promote self-sufficiency.
- Learn basic home repairs: Tackling small repair jobs can save a TON of money compared to hiring help.
- Become proficient in a trade: Acquire skills in a trade such as plumbing, carpentry, or electrical work to handle household repairs and projects independently.
Health and Wellbeing
- Stay active: If you rest, you rust. Regular movement, like daily walking, and the ability to get up off the floor independently improve your odds of living a longer, healthier life.
- Practice self-care: Prioritize self-care activities such as meditation, journaling, or hobbies that promote relaxation and well-being, nurturing your physical and mental health.
- Spend time in nature: Whether it’s working in your garden or taking a walk in the woods, outside time helps to lower stress levels and improve health.
- Master basic home healthcare: Learn basic healthcare skills such as administering first aid, monitoring vital signs, and managing common illnesses.
- Reduce dependency on technology: Limit your reliance on technology by practicing activities that don’t require screens, such as reading physical books, drawing, or hiking.
Preparedness
- Learn emergency preparedness: Create a comprehensive emergency plan for various scenarios, including natural disasters or power outages.
- Develop a survival kit: Prepare a survival kit with essential supplies and knowledge for emergencies, ensuring you can handle unexpected situations and sustain yourself without outside assistance.
- Learn basic first aid: Acquire basic first aid skills to handle minor injuries and emergencies, ensuring you can take care of yourself and others in unexpected situations.
- Learn a martial art: Study a martial art for self-defense skills, boosting confidence and self-reliance in potentially threatening situations.
- Practice self-defense: Take self-defense classes to learn techniques for protecting yourself physically, enhancing your confidence and independence in potentially dangerous situations.
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Start with One Thing
Pick one thing off the list and start there. Trying to do everything is a recipe for overload. Don’t delay getting started, waiting for the right conditions. There will always be a reason not to get started.
Here’s an example. To improve the quality of food your family eats, start by replacing a prepackaged food item with a homemade version. Continue until most things you eat are homemade or better quality pre-made.
Eat out less (or not at all). Source your ingredients closer to home, either via CSA, farmer’s market or growing your own. Add more veggies to your family’s meals. Ditch the highly processed snack foods.Buy in bulk and learn how to store foods, or experiment with fermenting or sprouting.
The most important step is getting started.
Become More Self-Reliant – Change The Rest of Your Life
Becoming more self reliant is a journey that can last a lifetime. It’s easier to tackle with the right mentors, which is why we created Bona Cresco. Bona Cresco is Latin for “Good Growth”, and is our private membership community.
In Bona Cresco, we have forums, courses, and live Q&A sessions to give you the support you need to live a more self reliant life. Save money, take charge of your health, and be more prepared for these turbulent times.
Online censorship, changing search algorithms, and AI generated content have made it harder to find information you can trust. Our core group of “village elders” is made up of friends with decades of real world experience who are ready to help others by sharing their knowledge. We’re building a unique community, and I hope you can be a part of it.
Learn more at Bona Cresco – Your Path to a More Resilient, Abundant Life.
This article is by Laurie Neverman. Laurie grew up on a small dairy farm in northwest Wisconsin, and now lives on a 35 acre homestead in northeast Wisconsin. Their family raises meat chickens, laying hens, and ducks. They use solar water heating and line drying, root cellaring and freeze drying, annual gardens and permaculture.
Originally published in 2012, last updated in 2024.
thanks for info.
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover.
Slip out the back Jack
Then make a new plan Stan
No need to be coy Roy
Hop on the bus Gus
Just drop off the key Lee
1975 – it sure was a very different world back then. My siblings played a lot of Simon and Garfunkel.
Laurie, Well I finally bought the home just south of Mackinaw. It has 5 acres and I bought the adjoining 5 acres. I can’t wait to get up there. I plan on moving this fall. It has fruit trees ,raspberries,strawberries,grapevines and a large sunny spot for some raised bed gardens.
I hope your health has gotten more manageable and you are back on track. I wish all the best for you and your family. You have a great outlook .
I will let you know of my progress. I will no doubt have loads of questions as I am a bit of a novice at some of this.
Congratulations! You’re living bravely, heading up to Michigan just before the snow hits. I’m sure it will be quite an adventure. The place sounds beautiful, and that’s a great area. We were up there for my husband’s aunt and uncle’s 50th wedding anniversary a few years ago.
I’m doing much better. Lost a bunch of weight, skin is much clearer and I just feel better overall.
I am glad you are feeling better as it was sad but encouraging to read your comments about it. I wish you all the best. I am making my plans for the move which hopefully will be this fall.
Can’t keep a good woman down, right? 😉
i work full time AND have three kids (one leaving for the Air Force in July) AND don’t have a large budget…
but I REALLY would like to get out of the rat race…I’ve finally gotten IN it and it’s not as rewarding as I hoped.
I want to live simply, cook a lot, and knit for fun and profit.
Where do I start “unplugging”?
Check out the free subscriber ebook, look through the lists that talk about different areas of your life, pick something that seems like a good fit for you, and just start. The journey is different for everyone, but you’ve taken the first step.
Laurie, I’m still plugging along here in Florida. I think I may end up buying a house w/5 acres in Northern Lower peninsula of Mi. (about 40 miles south of the Mackinaw bridge. This is the area I’m from. I am just about ready to put in an offer. I now need to sell my house down here. I am thinking about applying for a bus driving job at the school as there are a couple of drivers retiring this spring. I’m too young to retire yet . I would take a cut in pay but the cost of living up there is far less, plus I would enjoy the area far more than the rat race down here. This property is wonderful and is only a few miles from where I used to live. It has a few apple trees and grape vines and part of the property is fenced. It has a pole barn and a beautiful view of the river valley. It is a three bedroom 2 bath house with new steel roof and new flooring etc. I CAN HARDLY WAIT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheers,Jerry
Hi Jerry! The place near Mackinaw sounds really nice. That’s a really pretty area. We’ve had some family gatherings up there, and stayed in the area on vacation for our tenth wedding anniversary. I hope everything comes together for you to have the life you’re dreaming about.
Hey Laurie, I just got back last week from Northern Mich. I still can’t make up my mind about a homestead. I looked at some while I was there visiting with my Dad who was in the hospital for some surgery. I am now waiting for a call from the transportation director for the school system. I am sure I will get the job just don’t know when. Looks like either Sept. (start of school) or December (end of semester). I will probably stay with my Dad for a bit until I get settled in. The weather was sure nice for the visit. After stepping out of the Tampa airport I wanted to get back on a plane and head north. My figs are almost ready to harvest and the tomatoes are done now (seems odd huh ? ) Oh by the way you mentioned a couple of months ago that you had an announcement to make……. All the best,Jerry
You’re not getting any younger, Jerry. At some point, like my mom would say, you need to “*hit or get off the pot”. Trust your guts then go with it.
It’s strange having southern friends, because your harvest times are so very different. The greenhouse peppers and tomatoes have small fruit, but most of the garden tomatoes and peppers are farther behind.
My big announcement was intended to be the publication of my first print book, but I ended up pulling the plug because the publishers were pushing it in a direction I didn’t want to go, and the homestead projects and some health stuff I’m dealing with has me too overextended. So I had to let go of something, at least for now, to keep my sanity. I don’t talk about my problems much because everyone has a enough of their own, but sometimes my thyroid stuff really kicks my butt, and just this last month or so, my psoriasis has gone crazy and it’s making me miserable, so I’m taking a step back and focusing on getting both under control again.
I hope you have a good weekend, and things come together for you so you can follow your homestead dreams.
Ive been working toward “farm to table” over the past couple of years. I just stumbled across your page and reading your posts and information has given me a boost! I live in Door County WI within city limits so having any livestock or bees is not a possibility. We do have 8 laying hens and medium sized garden. My daughter joined 4H a couple of years ago. She will be raising our pork this year at a near by farm. We have a church family that has started a meat share on their farm. That, along with my husband providing venison and turkey will take care of our meat. We joined a local organic CSA to put up enough food to get us through the winter. The goal is to stay out of the grocery store. I wish I could find a dairy that would do a “dairy share” of sorts. If we “owned” a portion of the cow I believe it would be legal to get the milk straight from the farm. I’ve started vermiculturing (is that a word?) and composting to keep feeding nutrients back into the garden. Anyway, it’s been so incredibly rewarding. Now if only I had some land OUTSIDE the city limits… $$$. Bye for now, and thank you!
We are pretty lucky in this area to have a wide range of resources available, including a number that are organic/humane. The best bet on the milk is to find a friend with a cow or goat. Unfortunately, due to legal restrictions in WI, I can’t offer detailed suggestions online, but if you have friends raising meat they may be able to offer some suggestions. It sounds like you’re making good progress. 🙂
Laurie, It has been awhile. Still in St. Pete and wishing I was retired and living up north again. Oh well ! I hope your Christmas was wonderful and the new year looks promising. I’m enjoying some sailing,kayaking and a bit of scuba diving on the weekends. I’ve also got quite a little garden going now. Dozens of tomatoes, strawberries, mangos, grapes and papayas. I’m still looking for a place in upper Michigan perhaps near Mackinaw bridge. I’ve been doing some oil painting and building some garden furniture in my spare time as well. I almost don’t have time to go to work during the week (what a shame that would be ). Several of us have started a community garden specifically for those that don’t have the property and /or can’t afford groceries ( who can). It has been very rewarding cuz it gets these people away from the tv and out in the fresh air.
Thank you for a great site……Jerry
Hi Jerry! I’ve been working on some “housekeeping” type items for the website, which I can’t stand, but it must get done. The bills don’t pay themselves. 😛 The holidays were pleasant and the temps were mild in December after a cold November, but it looks like winter is back with a vengeance for January. Lots of cold and snow in the forecast. If things go as planned, I should be making a big announcement in the next few weeks, but I can’t spill the beans on that yet. Glad you are out enjoying the soil and sun and sharing it with your neighbors. 🙂
One thing I would suggest everyone learn is collecting seeds. If you collect tomato seeds and your neighbor collects melon seeds, it becomes simple–just trade! But if you can’t or don’t collect seeds of your own, you’ll end up spending more money every year. $50 per year is not out of range for a large garden, and that’s money I don’t spend by saving my own seeds.
Seed saving is a great skill and can be a great budget stretcher. It should be noted that, if I’m remembering correctly, to maintain a stronger gene pool, you should grow out at least thirty (30) plants of a specific variety. This can be tough in a smaller garden, or if you want to grow multiple varieties that interbreed.
Laurie,
Sorry I have not gotten back to you but I just recently (sept.) got your comments. I don’t think computers are my thing.
I’ve harvested my first bananas the other day…. I’m also getting ready to plant my fruits for the winter ie; strawberries etc. Still hard to get used to this.
I am still looking for a cabin in N. Michigan . So expensive to live down here !
I will keep in touch and thank you ………….Jerry
Getting expensive to live everywhere. 🙂 Good luck with the house hunt.
Laurie, I have not forgotten you or your site. I am still in Florida and the heat is coming on early. I’m flying up to northern Mi. in a few weeks to look at some properties. This time I’m going to look in the eastern part of the U.P. It is far less remote but still mostly woods. The soil is also much better in the east. I am still so excited to start living a much simpler lifestyle. I have started growing things down here even though much of it won’t actually apply in the north. I have a mango tree started along with pineapple,strawberries, grapes, tomatoes. I have been playing with containers mostly and enjoy it along with raised beds.
Anyway, I’m planning to retire in a year or two. Hope to have nearly everything paid off by then!!!
Cheers, Jerry
Hi Jerry! (((Waving))) Good luck on finding that dream property. If you’re site-seeing at all, you might want to check out the No Nahma Resort. The little cabins aren’t much to speak of, but that have a sand beach with a shallow access to Lake Michigan that is really beautiful. It’s shallow enough that is actually warms up quite nicely in summer.
Getting experience keeping plants alive and producing is still good experience. 🙂
Great information! We are just starting on our homesteading journey and love that you have so much great information in one area! Thanks for putting it together!
My best to you on your journey. Welcome.
Laurie, It has been awhile. I did not buy the property in the U.P. but am continuing to look around. In the meantime I am going to try growing some things in Florida. I have very limited space but will try to be innovative. I’ll just grow “up” rather than traditional garden growing. Still a bit hard to get used to planting tomatoes in February. I’ll let you know how things go down here.
I can’t believe the cold weather you have had and how long it has lasted. Of course it has been bitter here too ! I had to actually put long pants on the other day !!!! Can you imagine that ? My Dad (northern Michigan ) has had very few days of above zero weather lately. I guess no January Thaw this year.
If you have any ideas or resources you know of for growing veggies or fruit in the Tampa area I would love to hear about it.
Hurry up spring,huh ? Cheers, Jerry
Hi Jerry! I was just talking to my husband about you the other day, and your trip to Michigan to check out a potential homestead.
We’re freezing our tails off up here. It’s getting old. I’ve barely been out the last two weeks because the winds keeping drifting my driveway closed. The heating system busted and we had to put in a new boiler, the well pump controller died and had to be replaced, the cat ate something he shouldn’t have and the vet bill was crazy – it’s been bumpy lately! On the plus side, so far we’ve been mostly healthy and haven’t run out of propane, and the pantry is well stocked so even though I haven’t been to the store in two weeks, we’re fine.
I don’t do much with southern style gardening, but I’d highly recommend scoping out your neighborhood or local gardening clubs and tracking down people nearby who can make things grow. They are usually a gold mine of information.
Take care,
Laurie
I came across a video called ‘Back to Eden Gardening’ by a man in western Washington. He uses thick layers of chipped wood mulch and plants directly in it with amazing results. There are several other experimental locations, one in Texas and one in Penn. that have used the same technique. Its best when there is virtually no soil to grow in, but worked really well in the Penn plot. I am currently in Utah with poor soil so this spring I am going to try that and compare it with the normal gardening procedure for around here.
I’ve seen that film, and it’s very interesting. I’ve personally been using more mulch and ground cover, but it’s tough to come by the sheer volume of chippings that his method calls for.