I got married in February of 2009. I was 31 years old and had already lived what seemed like a lifetime. I had gone to and graduated from an undergrad program, a masters program, and even started in on PhD hours. I had started a career. I had had major medical surgery. I had traveled to over 9 countries and 14 states. I had owned and sold a “starter house”. But even with all of that under my belt I truly had no idea what I wanted to be when I grew up, what I wanted from life, or even how to truly live! I knew though that because of my past with credit cards, mortgages, loans, etc., the one thing I didn’t want was to get trapped under payments I couldn’t afford or become house poor. Lucky for me both my wife and I came across this fella named Jay Shafer and his tiny house on wheels.
The first house I bought cost a whopping $52,500. It was purchased in a buyers market in 2001. It was just 720 sq.ft. and needed to be gutted, reinforced, and then renovated. By the time it was where I envisioned it the day I put a contract on it, I had laid out some $81,000. At the time the monthly payment turned out to be $403/month. After taxes I was making about $1,760/month. That meant that roughly 25% of my monthly income was going towards my house payment. That meant I had just at $1,330/month left or $332/week. Factor in to that utilities, homeowners insurance (it was not included in my monthly mortgage), food, entertainment, a small auto loan payment, etc. and it is easy to see that while I wasn’t exactly poor I was very much living paycheck to paycheck. Because the house was only a 1-bedroom I didn’t have an option for a roommate nor did I have the money to build an addition in order to acquire a roommate. I subsequently sold the house for a small profit just 18 months later. Looking back I couldn’t imagine that being a house fit for an American family. It was laid out poorly. It wasn’t insulated well and cost quite a bit to heat and cool. It was stationary in a neighborhood I now realize was going down quickly. The list goes on. BUT….what I also see is that that house enabled me to make better choices through the years ultimately leading me to a tiny house on wheels.
At 240 sq.ft. the tiny house that my wife and I built was a single level design with a “bedroom” for a queen size bed, a full kitchen complete with gourmet accoutrements, a sitting area, and a “pop out” office space. It cost us right at $19,000 to build which we did “cash on the barrel.” Based on what I had learned from previous situations it was well insulated, used sustainable materials, took advantage of eco-friendly materials and alternative energy ideas, and we had no house payment. For a newlywed couple it was heaven on wheels.
But here is where the transitional home part comes in.
After starting our build we found out my wife was pregnant with our first child. We immediately thought the build would have to cease or at very least we would have to go back to the drawing board. However, we got to thinking about what we needed, what a baby needed, and how long we could thrive in 240 sq.ft. We ultimately decided to move forward with the build and just work in a place for a 3-in-1 pack ‘n play for our newborn. It worked perfectly! Our daughter was within arms reach of momma all the time and she started on day one in a house where quality trumps quantity, need and want are not synonymous, and it is about surviving in life but about thriving in life. After 19 months in our tiny house we had saved up quite a bit of money, became consumer debt free, and allowed ourselves time to think about what we wanted next in life. Turns out we were itching to see America and complete the “great American road trip.” Through a fortunate series of circumstances – personal and professional – we were able to do so and we ended up selling our tiny house on wheels for a 28′ travel trailer.
During the next two years we traveled highways and bi-ways, exploring new cities and towns, and thinking about where we might one day want to drop anchor. It was a magical time for our family and yet another transition in our great adventure. That is another story though. Let me instead skip to the end’ish’.
Sometime in mid-August we were in Colorado when a friend of ours sent us a real estate link for a 2-bedroom / 2-bathroom house on almost 2 acres of cleared land. It was back in rural North Carolina where we started. From the moment we saw the listing we knew it was the next step. We would have to transition again but if our tiny house adventure taught us anything it was that transition is a great thing and even more if you have allowed those transitions to come naturally. Because we had built and lived in our tiny house we were able to save money and become debt free. We also learned what we needed in life to be happy. That followed us to our travel trailer and has colored our last few months in our * new to us * little house. At 900 sq.ft. it is perfect for our family of 3 and the land allows us to revisit our love for gardening and homesteading.
The moral of the story here is that tiny houses don’t have to be the starting gate and the finish line. They can be any point along the journey. They are perfect stepping stones to a more long term goal. For us our tiny house on wheels allowed us to grow as a couple, as a family, as individuals, as homeowners, as eco-conscious people, and more! It allowed us to meet financial goals and learn fiscal responsibility. And in the long run it allowed us membership into one of the finest communities I know of: the tiny house community!
What about you? Do you see how your tiny house could be a transitional step in your full life?
By Andrew M. Odom for the [Tiny House Blog]
Well I would say that that you have nicely concluded the whole part..