I Have Exciting News About My Budget
I made it! All major purchases are made! I literally have a few sticks of lumber and some grout for the tile left to buy…. then my budget is complete.
So, how did it go? Well, my opening statement was
“12-14 months rent @ $800 per month brings costs [hopefully] between $9,600 and $11,200.“
In my head this was not including any appliances. My ACTUAL budget comes in at $11,193.56 minus some small miscellaneous purchases but also including my fridge and a washer/dryer unit… not shabby! I am estimating I had close to $7,000 savings due to sponsors and donations. Without those I still feel like someone could build a very nice tiny house for under $20,000 if they were diligent about it. I definitely had some mistakes but I am glad I have had very little waste! I bet if I tried I could skim maybe $300-$500 more off of this (wrong color paint, lost electrical boxes/covers, etc.) but really I did fairly well with eliminating waste to date. There are certainly people who have spent less than me on their house and come out with a lovely end product. Here are some of MY major expenses which could be eliminated or substituted with a more cost effective solution, in most cases I have reasons for not going with the cheaper option, just let me know if you want to know what any of those reasons are:
- Sun Touch Warm Wire radiant floor heat $375.00
- SunMar Composting Toilet $2000.00
- Bathroom Sink $203.00
- Dal Tile Floor Tiles $518.21
- TPO Roofing System $701.83
- Washer Dryer Unit $886.00
The costs of these 6 items start to approach $5000.00 by themselves. Without using these you would have to substitute for a different solution but it could potentially be MUCH less expensive.
I’m actually pretty excited to be broke 🙂 I feel like my money went to a very good place and certainly a great investment! Not to mention all the experiences I’ve had so far! Very cool! Now to finish it all… 🙂 Hope all are well!
And here is a visual of where my costs went!
Great job, cut out words ( or letters ) where have I seen this before? 🙂
No ransom required! I made it! 🙂
I like how toilet is one of the big ones haha. It’s important to remember everyone has different needs and budgets. I couldn’t afford $11,000 on my house but it’s great that you were able to.
I’ve always thought that was silly too… If I want to live urban though…. *shrugs* :). I think these things span the whole spectrum on cost… Had I hired it done it would have been exactly the same end product but likely 3 times the cost… labor isn’t cheap, even cheap labor :). I am really digging your house, it is an excellent example of very cost effective awesome tiny-house-ness… I made that up 🙂
16% of the budget went for the toilet? That has to make you laugh!
Very Inspiring! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I love reading many tiny house blogs. It is so fun to see alternatives to living. And, this price tag on owning your own home is impressive.
Thank you Stacy, I’m so glad you have enjoyed following the experience, thank you for your kind words!
It’s amazing that you were able to create such an awesome house for half the price of a new car!
Especially since you didn’t skimp on some real luxuries. I mean, how many traditional houses have $2000 toilets? And radiant heating? And river rock shower floors?
But aside from all that, the best thing about your house is your simple, efficient, elegant design. While I love all the little homemade homes being built, and love all their quirky little personal details, there is an elegance to the original Tumbleweeds built by Tumbleweed itself. Your house is the only other tiny house I’ve seen that approaches that level of elegance.
Your blog has been so much fun to follow – I’m going to miss it! But I’m super excited to see you cross the finish line, and get to start living in your house!
I love how you said it felt like an investment.. That’s why it must have felt so good to spend it that way, it’s true! Excited for you!
Thanks Alex!