Good Simple Living, one of the best info. You Tube channel about homesteading out there which documents and share their journey to a self-sufficient lifestyle.
Jeremy Souza and Melissa Munro launched the Good Simple Living YouTube channel on March 31, 2010,to inspire individuals to live a debt-free and sustainable life.
The family of six used the lessons they gained from cultivating their one-acre plot of land in Washington to constructing their farmhouse in North Idaho. They have grown farm animals and produce all of their own fruit and vegetables.
With 307 thousand subscribers, this North Idaho-based channel is quickly expanding its reach. the Good Simple Living YouTube channel manages to garner a staggering overall monthly view of around 35 million to 45 million.
More impressive is that despite having just 224 videos, this channel receives between 170,000 and 350,000 views each day. That is a massive amount of viewers for a homesteading channel. So, what is it that keeps their subscribers and viewers interested?
The Beginning
It All Started Before quitting their professions, the pair were well-paid professionals in their respective fields.
Jeremy Souza was a police officer who had been in the service for around 12-13 years when he decided to step out.
As a full-time law enforcement officer, he was entitled to all government benefits and earned a respectable salary. He is unquestionably capable of raising his family.
Melissa Monru, on the other hand, had worked as a teacher before deciding to become a full-time mother. Melissa decided to leave her work and remain at home with their first child to provide the best possible care.
She looks for excellent side hustles to help Jeremy with other expenses. She has tried writing journals and newspapers as a freelance writer for years.
Melissa also tried creating handmade baby décor while slowly building their YouTube channel. But that’s not what keeps their viewers hooked.
Life as Homesteader & Sacrifices Made
Many have asked the couple how they could manage to purchase the 20 acres of land on cash.
Rumors and theories have circulated that it could be because someone loaned a considerable amount of money, or they have inherited the land from their parents.
To get things straight, the couple addressed these questions in one of their videos.
Before Jeremy quit his job, he was able to work on his savings for six to seven years. Of course, he can’t bring about 200,000 + without his wife’s help.
The couple addressed this issue by showing how they live as a family. So what They do is they spend less to save more.
They use Jeremy’s first paycheck on expenses and keep the second paycheck, which goes to their homestead-building budget.
Melissa, on the other hand, is being careful with her side hustle money. Unlike other people who treat it as fun money, Melissa keeps her earnings for the bills or the homestead.
The couple pushed to live a thrifty lifestyle when they realized that their family is growing.
They initially didn’t really plan to have four kids, but as the kids grow older, they strategically plan the future of the kids including their studies.
Jeremy and Melissa think that it would be better to homeschool them. Good Simple Living couple made a great choice though, as Melissa was once a teacher.
She can definitely give quality teaching, and the couple can quickly impart real-life skills to their kids.
Because they will be staying at home longer than expected, they will be more creative with their revenue sources. And here comes YouTube, which has given them dozens of dollars apart from several businesses Melissa runs.
Running a household of six people is not an easy job, but Melissa Monru has perfectly managed her home.
She made sure that they were and will really stay on a budget. She keeps the grocery bill down and uses coupons to purchase toiletries.
Since they grow their own vegetables, the couple sells some of them for $20 a basket. And what Melissa does is keep the profit until it hit a thousand dollars, and then she’ll put it in the bank.
They are also using their couponing and micro spending skills to save more money.
Micro spending allows them to grow their cash by spending less. So, instead of going to the grocery store and picking up anything they want to buy, they would rather spend it on the things they need to.
Also, unlike other people, the couple usually goes out with only a cup of coffee that will keep them going for the rest of the day, while the others have four to seven cups of Starbucks.
Jeremy doesn’t invest in cars as well, as it depreciates over time, and if Warren Buffett lives in the same house for years why not others, Jeremy can be seen driving the same 1992 Mitsubishi Mighty Max Pickup Regular Cab, which he bought for $900 cash.
Though he was ridiculed because of the truck’s outdated make and model, Jeremy continues riding it for 10 years. Because the car has really very cheap insurance.
Around that time, the family also purchased a used 1998 Ford Explorer, which they drove for ten years too.
The couple then decided to sell their house for $75,000 and started saving for the 20-acre of land in North Idaho to move off the grid with their children.
It was bold decision for both of them as they didn’t really know where to start. But with their real-life skills, the couple managed to live a debt-free life and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.
For the past two years, they’ve been diligently documenting their efforts of building their own home. And just before winter, the couple is really serious in pushing to finish the house’s exterior.
They originally planned to build a log cabin. Still, after doing some research, the couple discovered that they needed to consider the maintenance, especially with all the snow and moisture they get and the intense summer sun as the climate changes.
Plus, the area is prone to wildfire too. Because of this, they find an opportunity to go outside and bond as a family.
After deciding what they will use, the couple starts checking for some stick frames for their house. They found some excellent deals in Montana.
So, they took their kids out with them, and then they had a quick side trip to Missoula, A western city of Montana. This becomes their little adventure with their kids.
They are really doing their best to do some final touches to have their house dried up before the winter hits.
Jeremy and Melissa ( GoodSimpleLiving ) are extremely near finishing their dream house, and their subscribers have filled the comment area with their thoughts on how they feel after following along with them throughout the process.
Net Worth of Good Simple Living (Homesteader)
Homesteading is defined as a way of life characterized by a dedication to self-reliance.
The Good Simple Living has collaborated and worked with several brands to sponsor their homesteading journey.
Their most popular video has a viewer count of 3.5 million, which was uploaded on December 20, 2020, which is a video update of their dream house after eight months since they quit their jobs and sold most of what they owned to build their dream home from scratch.
Keep in mind that these numbers are estimated as no one knows exactly how much they earn but as of December 2021.
They have an estimated net worth of $291,011 which will definitely go up as the couple has excellent saving and investment skills and different sources of income.
Plus, they are really pushing to grow more poultry and other agricultural goods to potentially sell to the public. That’s another potential source of income.
The couple has made sacrifices to achieve their goal, and one of their most significant adjustments, especially for Melissa, is to be busy with something other than being a mom.
Since the couple is really dead set on achieving their goal, they need to focus and prioritize it without compromising their kid’s quality of life.
