Most colonists were farmers or plantation owners. They were able to grow their own food and livestock- pigs, cows, chickens - and vegetables- corn, beans - and they lived in houses. Some of them lived in log cabins and some of brick. The plantation owners were rich. Plantation owners lived and grew things on huge amounts of land. These huge amounts of land are like farms, just way bigger. Even then, you still need money for the house you lived in, the animals you had to buy, and the seeds. There are many more jobs too, like fisherman and shop keeper, but farmers and plantation owners were the most common.