The REALITY IS the homesteaders, you and I would be much better off financialy IF we viewed and worked our property, animals, and all crops as a BUSINESS instead of a hobby. A hobby guarantees you throwing your money down the toilet.
But, as you point out, money can be 'lost' and inversely, money can be 'saved' even if looking at it from the perspective at the end of the year when one wonders "Where did all my regular job earnings go?"
None of us, whether in it for pure enjoyment, for supplemental income, for just supplementing our table fare or any other reason want to throw money away needlessly or not be diligent about where it is spent. If any tool helps in that regard, then it is a good investment.
I keep my household expenses completely separate from my cattle operation, but even within the household account, I... like everyone else keeps an eye on how and where I spend my money.
And in my area, there are lots of people who make a financial profit on their small livestock ventures even tho it is no where near enough to provide what the IRS would call a business.
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Most of us that have more than two goats or sheep already do keep our stuff separate and know the cost. The fact is that if a person is using their homestead for their sustenance there is no going to necessarily be profit however food is important. For some knowing where their food comes from and living off their land is very valuable even though there may be no profit.
Many who choose to live this way are savvy enough to know what part of their venture is too costly and what is not.
For many starting out as a hobby and having zero interest in becoming a business has it's advantages. Many will give up and get out of having livestock withing the first 5 years.
Those that make it to five years have a better grasp of all the important things that can make or break them. It is generally after that 5 year mark that people will venture into more of a profitable farm vs a hobby.
As
@Goat Whisperer mentioned... we see many that are real gung ho about how they are going to have this farm and what they are going to do ... they plan invest etc yet have no knowledge and fail.
Some think taking care of 4-6 goats is easy so lets go forward and do abc... not realizing that moving from 2-6 animals to 20, 30, 50 or more will be significantly different.
Don't get me wrong, profit is great but for many, they are fine with their hobby and having a few animals for their homestead or enjoyment.
Many that have just a few aces and have small "hobby farms" are already grilled by so many about WHY they aren't making money off their farm.
Why don't you do this?
Why don't you do that?
All you do is spend every minute on your farm and yet you don't make any money.... blah blah blah
Truly it gets old. Like anything we all make choices. Some have hobbies like travelling, they don't profit, they won't break even... there is NO return BUT they enjoy it.
In a culture that is so removed from farming in any regard and a youth that knows nothing about caring for something. Life & loss, hard work, understanding, compassion, heartbreak... these are all positive life skills and valuable. Some of us feel that those things are of greater value than a dollar figure or what the profit/loss margin is.
