Very true… I have found the best approach is to build up slowly and do what you can do with little. As Thoreau says … Simplify
Reduce your dependence on the automobile and fossil fuels. It helps to live walking distance from a Farmer’s Market and grocery store. The cost to grow your own food is ridiculously expensive.
Especially in Drought conditions.
Recently, all this has been felt especially acutely. The most reliable path, as practice shows, is the path of the ancestors, who paid due attention to working with their hands on the land.