Financials

Is living in a tiny house ‘worth it’?

My answer is absolutely for a TON of reasons that are not financial (family time, work options, environmental, educational, etc.) but finances are what lead a good portion of folks to the tiny life.  So, here is the difference in my pre tiny finances and my post tiny finances:

Pre-tiny monthly expenses (as a single lady):

Car Payment: $563 month
House Payment: $765 month
Utilities: $100-250 month
Gas: $35 month
Groceries: $300 month
Health Insurance: by employer
Car Insurance: $80
Total: $1,808-$1,958

Post-Tiny monthly expenses (as a family of 4+dog):

Car Payment: (Paid off withing 8 months, three years early)
House Payment: $0 month lot rent
Utilities: $8-50 month
Gas: $35 month
Groceries: $300 month (home made, rather than eating out)
Health Insurance: $600 month
Car Insurance: $50
Baby ‘Stuff’ (diapers and milk): $80
Total: $1,073-$1,115

We provide for a family of four on pretty close to half of what I was previously paying for, just for me.  This is obviously just one example and heavily dependent on individual choices.  Had I opted to keep my job I could tack on about $900 for daycare and subtract the majority of health insurance and easily save tons of money but for me it was an easy choice to stay with the kiddos instead.  There are days I crave my old work but I know if I was there in my now life I would just want to be with Hazel and Miles the whole time.

It’s important to note that I was debt free within eight months of living tiny.  I continued working for that time taking all of the savings and applying it directly toward my car payment which was pretty much my only debt.  James ‘officially’ moved in about a year after I was full time.  I say officially because that is when we started renting out his house.  Before that he came and went as he pleased but once I got my financials cleaned up I nagged him enough that he saw value in doing the same.  Without getting too personal… he is very close to being debt free as well.  He continues to work for himself but had bypassed his mortgage payment by renting out his house.  He lets my house park for free in his yard while I let him live for free in my house… so between the two of us we have managed to have a zero rent payment (works out well).  He works less than the average American but still more full time than we would like ultimately but he does so to pay off his student loans.  This year he paid off over 60% of what was remaining and, if we can stay lucky, they will be all gone by the end of 2016, then the world is our oyster!

So that’s just a quick overview, 3 years later, still TOTALLY worth it.  It’s seriously not hard.  We will never be living in a ‘regular’ house again.  More than financially, it’s just not worth it!