[dropcap]H[/dropcap]ave you ever started daydreaming about a better future for yourself? When you are a homesteader, you are constantly thinking about your long-term goals. Planning for the future goes hand in hand with creating a sustainable lifestyle.
Homesteaders spend their days doing activities like preserving food, raising animals and creating lasting relationships with the community. We are constantly learning useful skills, working with the land and building a better life.
Building A Relationship With The Land
When you work on a farm or in a garden, the relationship you build with the land around you is very special.
You want to create health, wealth and, most importantly, you are looking for everything to flourish. It can all start small with just a tiny seed.
After spending time nurturing that tiny seed, it will soon grow. You put hard work and your time in day after day. Soon enough, your crops have all grown, and it's time to harvest.
The more hard work you put into the land around you, the more bountiful your results will be! You want to be constantly investing your energy into the earth, and it will continue to give back.
Building A Relationship With The Animals
The bond you create with animals on the farm can become unbreakable. 
When you raise theme from babies, that strong imprint on your heart never fades. It only gets bigger over time. When you care for them and have that emotional connection, they will put their trust into you.
In turn, they will produce food for you while protecting the farm and alerting you of intruders. Most of all, they will help you to continue to live a healthy and happy lifestyle.
Raising backyard livestock can be a truly rewarding experience. Each relationship with every animal is a unique bond. Getting them off to a good start in life, introducing them to the environment around them and giving them care is very rewarding. It's an achievement I think every homesteader strives for.
Building A Relationship With The Community
Building strong relationships with local farmers and the communities around you is beneficial in many different ways. 
You can begin to discover a wealth of inspiration and education. This includes meeting friendly farmers who will supply you with goods, having access to small businesses who will barter with you and working with the local markets to sell goods.
With the holiday season in full swing, it's important to support small businesses as much as you can. Get involved by signing up to your local CSA, shopping at the farmer's market or reach out to help any school programs in your area.
Local community relationships will continue to grow if we all establish strong connections with those around us. Support as many farmers and ranchers as you can. As your homestead grows, never stop building your nest egg.
As homesteaders, we are focused on building and providing. 
It's never too late to start building a savings, and now is the perfect time. When you are looking for a bank, it's important to partner with one that values relationships.
Rockland Trust is perfect if you are looking for a local bank that offers a wide range of investments and insurance services to businesses and individuals. Each relationship matters to them, and they are committed to serving and meeting all of their customers' needs.
They have over 90 locations throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They also offer online, mobile and phone banking for your convenience. Check out Rockland Trust on Facebook and Instagram if you are looking for a local bank that puts you first!
Has being a homesteader and creating a sustainable lifestyle helped you build strong relationships? Are you considering learning more about or becoming a homesteader? Tell me all about it in the comment section below!
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7 Comments
Florence @ Vintage Southern Picks
January 9, 2018 at 9:50 pmI never thought about any of this before, but love the idea! It fits with protecting the environment and valuing what comes out of the ground…even finding new uses for what comes out of the ground. I’ve heard of homesteading, but didn’t know much about it. Love that you have close relationships with the animals. I guess I always wanted to live on a farm.
Emily
December 22, 2017 at 1:25 pmHomesteading has always been a dream of mine, partially for this reason. Thank you so much for writing this post!
Stephanie | Adventures in Aussieland
December 20, 2017 at 12:35 amWow! It’s clear you’ve done an amazing job and put a lot of effort into building your homestead. I’m working on keeping my little garden alive. I don’t have a very green thumb.
Tiffany
December 19, 2017 at 8:11 pmThis is beautiful! There is so much we can learn from the land we live on. It’s great to hear your perspective from living on a homestead.
Nancy P
December 19, 2017 at 5:21 pmYou guys have done an amazing job at homesteading! I’ve always wanted my own garden!
Debbie
December 16, 2017 at 12:05 amHi Angie, homesteading sounds like a rewarding and positive way to live, but I bet it’s hard work. As with anything in life you get back what you put in. My Aunt had a sort of homestead years ago, and she would always say you don’t name the animals you plan to eat! Wise words I’m sure.
Thank you for linking up with the #MMBC.
xx
Ann
December 15, 2017 at 3:09 amThese are great points to keep in mind for a future homesteader like myself. I am very proud of my little urban garden that has been growing for me over the last few years and am planning on adding animals once we have a bigger place. Thank you for sharing such valuable information!