Many people do not notice how much money their homes absorb. The costs of utilities, furniture, cleaning products for a large room and all those unnecessary things that can accommodate our houses and apartments could well be spent on traveling, high-quality tasty food and other intangible entertainments.
Six small houses that changed the lives of their owners
From personal experience, six American families found out about this right after they changed their former large housing to tiny houses with minimal space. They were able to significantly reduce their housing costs, thereby doubling or even tripling their savings.
The criterion that defines a tiny house is a space of 9 to 37 square meters. The reduction of ownership and a minimalist lifestyle can give comfort and peace of mind, while simultaneously increasing the bank account.
All our heroes have their own story and their own reason for acquiring small housing - get to know each of them.
Bele, Spencer and their little daughter, the change of housing allowed to travel, renting a new house
This California couple was forced to rent a house before they decided to change housing. One fine day, they realized that they simply paid senselessly for unused space, and therefore in 2007 they bought a house with an area of just over 27 square meters. For 12 years, they have never regretted their decision.
After paying the rent for the land, building housing and interest on the loan, they halved the cost of housing from 30,000 to less than $ 15,000. And this is even without a down payment or any other bonuses.
Since most banks do not consider tiny houses to be real housing, many buyers cannot take a mortgage on them - the same thing happened in Bela and Spencer's practice, so they had to borrow a lot of money from friends and acquaintances, as well as take ordinary consumer loans. Housing fully paid off after seven years.
An additional source of income is the ability to rent out your home when they go on a trip - cute little housing in a cozy place is in demand. Of course, while owning a large house, they could not afford a long vacation - there was not enough money. Now they are quietly leaving for a few weeks, and even making a profit for it. And the house is under supervision, which is important for such a tiny housing.
Beka and Paul Taylor tripled their spending after leaving town
Beck began her story by saying that their life in a trailer house at first was not at all so simple, but they were ready for difficulties. Firstly, everywhere they were waiting for restrictions on the "parking" of their housing, and secondly, depending on the new location, they had to get new insurance, and prices in each state are different. Yes, and at the very beginning there were difficulties with restricting companies providing the purchase of a motor home on credit, but they did not have personal savings.
They took a regular loan at a rate of 14%, carried out independent refinancing, since a loan was also issued for their house, and then they built their own trailer. By the way, they managed to significantly reduce costs due to the fact that all relatives and friends volunteered to help in the construction, and therefore they did not have to spend money hiring labor.
However, all this fully paid off with the new life of the Taylor family - the three of them with their dog spend three times less than they spent in the city, despite the fact that now they travel almost every month, leaving and returning, or periodically changing their place of residence.
Moving to a tiny house, Tim and his girlfriend Sam cut down on all unnecessary expenses.
Lovers Tim and Sam have long been living together, and the idea of small housing has been hatched from the very beginning of the relationship. And their dream - a 25-square-meter home in Florida - came true.
Unlike the two previous heroes, they bought the land on which they built their house, as this allowed them to take a mortgage for construction. But even taking into account the repayment of the loan, the costs of Tim and Sam significantly decreased. They themselves are sure that the reason lies in the rejection of useless expenses. The girl admitted that the big house always required filling, but they did not realize this - they just bought a particular thing, which then stood and dusted. Now, he and Tim are very serious about buying every item, because there’s simply no place for anything useless in it. Of course, as Tim said, you can litter any house. But, as you can see from the photo, their sweet house is very comfortably furnished and it even has cute trinkets, but each of them has a special meaning for the owners.
Limited space even saves on clothing - now Sam does not spend money on extra pairs of shoes, because they simply have nowhere to store. But they got a lot more money for traveling and attending a variety of events, such as exhibitions and concerts. And they are preparing to open their own business.
Ryan Mitchell greatly improved his life by building himself a small house
Before Ryan Mitchell bought a small piece of land and built his 14-square-meter home, he spent more than $ 1,500 a month on rent, utilities, insurance, and housekeeping. He built a new house that receives energy using solar panels for only $ 30,000, and now, of course, his monthly needs have been greatly reduced.
Having managed to save more than $ 100,000, Mitchell was able to create his own business, which he then sold, doubling the profit. Since his cost of living has almost tripled, he can work only five hours a week. At the same time, he calmly travels abroad and can spend several months in a new country, managing to cover all his accounts, replenish his savings and even postpone his retirement.
Laura and Matt Lavoie were able to live the way they always dreamed, thanks to tiny housing
Georgia's Lavois spouses began building their tiny 11-square-meter North Carolina home in 2009. Working full time, they came to the purchased plot of land during the weekend and vacation, building a dream home. When it was finished, they drastically changed their whole lives.
In 2012, Laura, who dreamed of a career as a writer, quit her job and started writing all day, working on a full-fledged work, and her husband began his studies at the university, as he dreamed of private legal practice. There was now enough money not only for daily expenses, but also for savings.
Now the Lavois family has two small houses
Lavoie's next step was to return to Georgia, where they bought a 65 square meter bungalow. Now they live there, moving to their small house for the summer. The reasons why Matt and Laura decided to live in two houses, they did not want to explain, but even with this condition their financial situation improved greatly in ten years.
Moving to a new home, Jenna Spesard got rid of debt
Jenna Spesard built her house, an area of 15 square meters, on the island of Whidby, Washington, literally from scratch. She had very little money, and so most of the planning and construction reached the final through trial and error.
The girl dreamed of financial freedom, but she could not imagine how much money a small house would save her - for several years, working on a part-time basis, she was able to pay $ 20,000 in student loan, about the same amount for a car loan and stay in a big plus.
Now Jenna has her own business, and she has the opportunity to travel the world not once, but several times a year, although previously finances did not even allow her to leave her native state. The girl is sure, if not for a tiny house, she would never be able to afford it.