The Benefits of Tiny Home Living
The tiny home is more than just a passing fad. It’s a lifestyle that has been embraced by everyone from Generation Z to recent retirees.
In fact, a study conducted in 2017 found that year-to-year increases in tiny home sales were at 67 percent! In the following article, we explore what tiny homes are, how much they might cost, and the resounding benefits you can expect. Let’s build!
How Big Are Tiny Homes?
It’s important to distinguish the difference between a tiny home and a more traditional one. Many homeowners live in a space that totals anywhere from 1,500-3,000 heated square feet. This doesn’t count external/internal garages or separate buildings (i.e., workshops, barns, etc.).
Even a so-called “small” home is big for what the industry refers to as a tiny home. Small homes can go as low as 400 square feet while tiny homes clock in at around 200, with some, even reported as low as 80 square feet.
What Are the Costs?
The cost of a tiny home will vary based on the building materials used, the geographic location where you’re building, and whether you need to purchase the land in addition to the structure itself. The average cost to build nationally is around $126.15 per square foot, so if you’re living in a 200-square foot home, expect to lay out around $25,230.
1. Reducing Living Expenses
The first major benefit of tiny home living is that you can greatly reduce the burden of living expenses. This happens in two ways.
The first way is with the actual price of your home. The typical home purchase requires a 15- or even 30-year mortgage. Buying or building a tiny home brings this number down quite a bit because you’re essentially paying per square foot.
The second way is with the utility costs. Tiny homes might still run on electricity or gas, but they don’t require nearly as much energy to heat and cool the living space since we’re talking about a space smaller than many studio apartments.
Furthermore, tiny homes are more easily fit for solar power. This can further drive down the cost of energy.
2. Minimizing Lifestyles
The decision to buy or build a new tiny home also brings with it the benefit of lifestyle minimization. You force yourself, in other words, to let go of many of the personal items you don’t need.
This re-evaluation of the role materialism has in your life is ultimately empowering. You get a chance to look at the excesses that are cluttering your space both literally and figuratively. From that, it becomes easier to learn what’s truly important.
3. Increasing Mobility
The desire to buy or build a tiny home often stems from one’s desire to be more mobile. Your tiny home becomes a place to stay in between vacations or business trips.
Tiny homes can also be transported from one location to another. That way, you can more easily incorporate location independence into your life without leaving the comforts of home.
4. Bettering the Environment
Whenever you see a tiny home for sale, you’re seeing a home that places fewer demands on the environment. As we’ve already discussed, they have fewer energy requirements. That goes for whether you’re using wind power, solar power, or traditional electricity and gas.
Reducing your carbon footprint won’t single-handedly mend the detrimental effects of climate change. Taken in conjunction with others in the tiny homes movement, however, it can make a tremendous impact.
Being the example of reducing your carbon footprint through a tiny home can rub off on others. From there, you can foster a movement with long-lasting advantages.
5. Calling Your Own Shots
A tiny house places you more in control of your destiny. You don’t have to be burdened by high-interest rates and the demands of a bank to pay up or face foreclosure.
Furthermore, any detrimental financial impact that comes with the ownership of a tiny home is a lot less to deal with than if you were to get underwater on a traditional mortgage, which often runs six or seven figures.
There’s also the aforementioned mobility and lifestyle minimization. Taking all these factors into consideration means you’re much more in charge of your own life than creditors or material possessions.
4 Ways to Prepare for Your Tiny Home
Now that you know why you should be considering the purchase of a tiny home, it’s time to think about your journey for getting there. There are essentially four easy steps that you can take to join the ranks of the tiny homeowner. Let’s examine.
Downsize
Moving into a tiny home can take some adjustment. If you expect that it’ll be a while before you can give it a go, move into a transitional location, such as a studio apartment or a small house rental.
These can help you reduce the number of personal possessions that you have, get into the right headspace, and give yourself time to build or find the right tiny home for you.
Choose the Land
If you’re building, you will need land. Some individuals are fortunate enough to have family members with land who won’t mind them setting up shop free-of-charge. For the vast majority of us, it will probably require a land purchase.
The good news is that you probably don’t need more than a half-acre. Also, living in an area that already has a low cost of living gives you the chance to save thousands potentially.
Decide Whether to Build or Outsource
There are many developers getting into the tiny home construction space. For the DIY types, though, it’s not a huge commitment of time or resources to try it on your own. Whatever you choose to do, you’ll need to decide upfront whether you want to build it yourself or hire someone who specializes in creating these particular living spaces.
Learn to Let Go
By this, we mean letting go of your things and the hold they have over you. You might consider shifting all movies, music, and books to a digital-only collection if you haven’t already.
From there, you can take the rest of your possessions one at a time. Be ruthless as you decide what to keep and what to get rid of, and you’ll have a lot more room to move.
Tiny Home Living Is Worth Trying Out
Life in a tiny home is rewarding on multiple fronts. You shed the hold things have over you while making it easier to clean, protect the environment, and save money.
Ready to start your tiny home journey? Contact Martinez Casitas today to see the exciting level of quality and creativity that we can bring to your build.
