Homesteading is all about self-sufficiency. There’s a certain sense of freedom and security you get from knowing that you can live off the land to meet your family’s needs. Growing and preserving your own vegetables and fruits, raising your own animals, and taking care of your own home improvements, repairs, and maintenance — all of it can help make you more financially self-sufficient, too.

But you can’t do everything. And with so much to take care of around the property, you likely can’t — especially if you’re working a regular 9-to-5 on top of caring for gardens, land, and livestock. These days, homesteading shouldn’t have to mean growing all your own food, owning a lot of animals, and doing everything for yourself on a full-time farm. A home warranty can save you money, time, and stress, and you can even get home maintenance tips and tricks to help you take better care of your home.

1) Save Time on Home Repairs

When you have animals to feed, weeds to pull, kids to homeschool (or even just homework to help with, if you’re not a homeschooling family), your time is precious. Doing your own home repairs might be able to save you a lot of the money you’d spend on hiring a contractor, but there’s no getting around the fact that they’re still going to take up some of your time.

Furthermore, if you’re not exactly an expert at a specific type of repair, it might even take you more time to muddle through that repair yourself than it would take a professional to do it. While it’s one thing to try some simple troubleshooting before you pick up the phone, at a certain point, you have to value your time at least as much as you value your money.

2) Offset Home Repair Costs

Home warranty prices can vary depending on what kind of plan you choose, but once you pay your plan costs and trade service call fees, the rest of your repair costs will be covered up to your plan limits. You can find a plan that covers most repairs completely, although really major, expensive ones, like HVAC replacement, might not be completely covered. Still, you could save thousands on a major repair.

A lot of homesteaders like to live as frugally as possible to minimize their dependence on the grid, but even if you’re not quite that committed, you can still see the benefit of saving money on repair costs. Buying and caring for livestock, purchasing seeds and fertilizers and pesticides for your vegetable garden — it all adds up, and the more money you can save in other areas, the more you’ll have to work towards being more self-sufficient.

3) Schedule Repairs Without the Stress

Scheduling repairs can be terribly stressful when you have a lot on your plate, and when do you not have a lot on your plate? Instead of trying to track down a service professional, check their references and history yourself, and get them out to your place — a process that can take days or weeks, depending on how familiar you are with the community — you can just make a service request with your home warranty provider and they’ll send someone out at a time that works for you. Home warranty companies don’t actually employ the professionals they work with — most providers network with local contractors around the nation, so you’d still be supporting your local community by using one.

4) Save Money on Appliances and Maintenance Services

What if the service professional your home warranty company sends declares that your appliance can’t be fixed? Many home warranty providers offer discounts on new appliances, and you might even be able to get free delivery and installation of your new appliance and removal of the old one. Some home warranty providers also offer their plan members discounts on home maintenance services, like HVAC service twice a year, which can help you avoid breakdowns later.

5) Get Home Maintenance Tips You Need

As a homesteader, you’re probably more into the do-it-yourself life than the average homeowner, but that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from maintenance tips. Many home warranty providers send out regular newsletters and other publications offering tips and tricks for maintaining your home, like how to check your weatherstripping and take care of your windows, how to clean your gutters, and how to prepare your roof and home for winter.

Working to be more self-sufficient is great, but at a certain point, you need to rely on your community, as well. A home warranty lets you delegate those home repair tasks you don’t have time for or aren’t that great at, so you can focus on taking care of your property and your family. Isn’t it time you got one?