Tag Archives: tiny house

Tiny House Living in Retirement

By Claire Posted in Clutter, Debt-Free, downsizing, Retirement, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , ,

I recently discovered a new book about tiny houses that’s packed with photos and interesting information from people who live in tiny houses; some of them even built their own tiny houses.

Now, while I don’t think a tiny house is for me (we use our basement almost every day for our work and our hobbies), I can see how well the concept works for some people. In the new book Tiny House Living: Ideas for Building & Living Well in Less than 400 Square Feet, author Ryan Mitchell shares the stories of a variety of tiny house residents.

My favorite is that of Kathy, a retiree whose son began building her a tiny house without her knowledge (“He knew if he told her ahead of time it would be a much harder sell, so he waited until it was almost done to show her.”) Kathy now lives in the tiny house with her husband, and has found that the tiny house has made some big positive changes in her life:

She can do all that she needs to do in her home, without a mortgage and with very low bills. Her power bill tops out at $25 a month and water is about $12—not because she uses that much, but because that’s the minimum charge to keep the service on….Since she is retired, it is very important to keep her living expenses low and it means that she can do much more, like visit her grandchildren more, go out to eat with her friends more, focus on her hobbies and simply not have to worry about the bills as much…..For the first time she has had the money and the time to visit her grandson for his birthday….

So many Baby Boomers don’t have big pensions waiting for them and were unable to save up much for retirement; a tiny house might be one answer to living successfully in retirement on only Social Security and some modest savings. If that sounds like you or someone you know, you should check out this book!

In the story about Kathy, she says that her friends with large houses are beginning to wish they had smaller homes to care for and more free time like Kathy does. But she says something holds them back:

“It’s because they don’t know what to do with all their stuff that they spent their whole lives trying to pay for. They are so inclined to having stuff that it’s scary for them to think of paring down.”

To Kathy’s friends, I say “Downsize, people, downsize! Lose the clutter and gain your freedom!”

One more thing: in most tiny houses, the sleeping area is always up in a loft. Who wants to risk falling down that tiny loft ladder in the middle of the night when they need a bathroom? But Kathy’s tiny house has a futon in the living area that turns into a bed, so she doesn’t climb up into a loft to sleep. Smart!

The Truth about Tiny Houses

By Claire Posted in Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , ,

Tiny houses continue to be popular, and I understand why people like them:

  • They’re cute, and often cleverly designed.
  • They’re good for people who want to live very simply.
  • Since they’re on wheels, you don’t have to pay property tax on them.
  • Since they’re tiny, they don’t cost much to heat or cool.
  • They’re sturdier than a modern towable trailer.
  • They’re cheap enough that you can pay cash and live mortgage-free.

Nevertheless, I can see some problems with tiny houses, particularly for those who are looking for a cheaper way to live:

  • They’re very expensive per square foot. A new 20-foot long model (226 square feet including loft) sells for $62,950 or $279 per square foot. Consider that many nice small homes sell for $100 per square foot or less. (Of course, tiny houses can be cheaper if you build your own.)
  • There’s little room for storage, meaning you can’t save money by buying on sale in bulk, nor will you have room to store the tools needed to make repairs or create things (ouch!)
  • You’ll have to find a landowner who will give you permission to park your tiny house on their property.
  • Tiny houses often have wooden exteriors, which will require regular maintenance to prevent weather damage.

Finally, there’s the fact that most tiny houses have upstairs lofts for sleeping, and they’re usually accessed by tiny ladders or steps. Being a woman of a certain age, I think I’d be courting disaster when making my routine middle-of-the-night bathroom trips down to the bathroom and back up to bed using a ladder. So tiny houses might be better suited to the younger set.

Nevertheless, tiny houses have been a popular topic for a few years now. No doubt the lousy economy has something to do with this surge in popularity.

Personally, I find that living in a small house with a basement solves the affordability problem very well. Our purchase price worked out to $84/per square foot (not counting the basement or garage). Our basement is finished, making it great for entertaining and useful for extra storage. And even though I can’t take my house with me when I travel like people with tiny houses can, I find that a well-appointed hotel room or vacation condo suits me just fine and makes a nice change of surroundings.

But that’s just me. If you’re convinced that a tiny house is the only way to go, why not rent one to see how you like it? It would be fun to spend a month in something as cute as this tiny house, and it’s in a lovely location to boot.

 

How to Live Economically in Retirement

By Claire Posted in Debt-Free, Good News, Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , , , , ,

How encouraging this video is to those of us who won’t be retiring on a huge pension. Note how relaxed this man is and how he ended up doing this: sounds like it was for the joy of it, not because he’s financially limited. I love how he emphasizes the convenience of living like this. After all, a lack of housework, fewer things to repair and lower costs are all benefits of this way of living. What a great video!

 

 

Trading a Big House for a Tiny House

By Claire Posted in Simpler Living, Small-House Living Tagged , ,

This story about a company in Missouri that builds tiny houses has an interesting lede: a family is selling their big house and moving into a tiny house even though they can afford the big house. The reason? The big house eats up so much money that they haven’t been able to go on a vacation in seven years. They’ve decided to live debt-free and be able make memories instead of spending all their cash on a big, impressive home.

I get it. I used to live in a big house. It was a great place to raise our large family, but it cost a lot in upkeep, utilities and (especially) property taxes. So I understand where the woman in the article is coming from. I imagine that no matter how much you love your house, when it begins to keep you from doing other things you want to do, you start to fall out of love with it.

I suspect this woman may find her new digs to be a little constrained. She might be better off buying something a bit larger than a tiny house, but more affordable than her current large home. In any case, we’re seeing more and more of this sort of thing as people try to stay afloat financially and enjoy life at the same time.

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