As one meanders down the flowchart, various decisions and paths
emerge for which these external factors are a minimum
influence. That has a lot to do with why we homestead.
You mentioned that you just bought life insurance, a prudent move for
parents of children not yet able to support themselves. Homesteading
might well be thought of as an ultimate insurance policy, a way to
deal with those many essential items beyond our control in the
greater economy but substantially in our control with a bit of land
and a garden, more so with a woodlot.