The most commonly asked question we often get is how we manage to live in such a tiny space. That is a loaded question, the answer being that it requires a daily balancing act and is most definitely not easy. However, this question overlooks the more important question, which is why we choose to live in a tiny house. There is a lot to unpack in the reasons for our why, but I think it could be best described by Mel Gibson:
To the casual observer, living in a tiny house might seem a bit extreme or crazy—but if you truly want to break free from the shackles of debt, we are forced to take extraordinary efforts to make that dream a reality.
We’re not there yet, but we’re slowly working towards our goal every day and much closer than we ever would have been had we not taken the tiny house road. You can read more about our journey in our previous post: The Tiny House Road Less Traveled.
I think one of the biggest problems facing our society is that for too long we’ve continued doing what we’ve always done without ever questioning why. That’s how we ended up facing the many crises that plague us today, with global warming looming the largest of all. But all of that is slowly starting to change with the current generation of millennials who some might say, annoyingly question everything.
I sadly fall into the pool of millennials who also suffer from devastating student loan debt. It’s frustrating to be tethered to a bad loan before you even realize it’s a bad deal. I’m not saying a college degree is a bad deal for everyone, but specifically for someone like me with a liberal arts degree, your money could be better spent elsewhere.
I’ve always imagined how freeing it would be not being tethered to a mortgage for 30 years of my life. I say this not to be judgmental in any way to many others who have mortgages and don’t have any issues with them. I know many people who would rather pay extra towards their rent or mortgage each month in order to have more space and be more comfortable in their home, and that’s totally okay. For me, however, fundamentally, I always liked the idea of owning my own house. When you have a mortgage, you don’t actually own your house until you officially pay off your mortgage. Until then, the bank owns it.
It turns out, many people don’t finish paying off their mortgages before retirement and will sadly be unable to live out their “golden years” as they hoped. Many of my generation will likely never be able to retire. According to an AARP survey linked in this article, 44% of people will still be paying for their home after they retire. So if we’re literally stuck paying for our homes forever, will we ever have the ability to actually enjoy our lives?
Living in a tiny house is a simple solution to a larger problem. It’s not something we decided to do just to be contrarian. There is a problem with the rising costs of real estate that many of my generation and others simply can’t afford. The cost of rental properties is rising. It’s not that we want to live in our parent’s basements, but what other choice do we have? Living expenses are the largest bill most people are faced with every month, usually coming in the form of a large mortgage or rent payment.
By simply purchasing a tiny home, you essentially eliminate that enormous monthly expense, opening up a whole new world of possibilities for the kind of life you can live—maybe even a life you enjoy!
There is a major problem with the ease at which the world runs on debt. If you google how much debt the world is in, you would find a total of over 22 trillion dollars.
That seems a bit high, doesn’t it? Credit cards are so easy to obtain and too easily allow us to over consume products and things we don’t need, pushing ourselves further and further below water with regards to our finances. If you’re not careful, you can quickly find yourself struggling to survive, drowning in debt.
I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that would agree that all of the above issues exist in the world today, but will get easily discouraged, thinking there is nothing they can do to change their circumstances, and begrudgingly continue to go along with the status quo. I don’t agree with that.
I don’t believe that any of us have to do anything we don’t want to, or simply don’t believe is right. If you don’t want to participate in a broken system, you have to think differently. You have to change this unfair game and make it work for you.
Choosing to live in a tiny house with fewer possessions is the simplest way to avoid this flawed system of consumerism and debt. It’s a better form of rebellion than protesting in the streets and creating chaos.
One person standing up for what they believe in can make a world of difference. You never know who is watching and who might be inspired to follow you. You can make a change by being a positive force and simply leading by example! If a 77-year-old Senator from Vermont can start a revolution, who can say you or I couldn’t start our own tiny house revolution?
Buying our tiny house was the first metaphorical “tree” we planted to jump start our debt-free journey. We couldn’t bear the thought of not having the money to travel and enjoy our lives while we’re young and able because we’re stuck paying bills every month.
We were not born to pay bills and die!
We’re making short-term sacrifices to benefit us in the long-term. Having a tiny space, in the grand scheme of things, is a small sacrifice to pay for a lifetime of freedom and happiness. But in all honesty, living in a tiny house can be a lot of fun. We’ve actually enjoyed the way living in a tiny house has brought us closer together as a family!
During these past two years, while living in our tiny house, we have been working very hard to live frugally and slowly pay off our debts. When we put our plan to paper and slowly started putting things in motion, we quickly realized we could actually achieve this.
It was so incredibly helpful to actually make a list of all our expenses and be able to look and analyze them. I went through so many years of my life just mindlessly paying bills without ever looking closely at them.
I’ll admit this is not sexy advice. It is, in fact, very boring. But the best way to address your debt situation is just that, to address the issue, acknowledge your finances, take responsibility, and look closely at the numbers to figure out what is important. Without taking that critical first step, any change you hope for likely won’t ever happen. You have to start somewhere. You literally just have to make a plan and start.
We made a simple list of all debts we owed and slowly started chomping away at them, like a small axe to a forest of overgrown trees. In time, with enough discipline and persistence, we knew we could make them all fall.
These “trees” we started chopping down included:
- Credit card debt (We lock them away in a safe while we pay them off so we can’t use them)
- Student loans (Stephanie is nearly done paying hers. I’ll be paying mine until 2027.)
- Car loans (Stephanie just paid off her car! I pay off my car next April 2020)
- Personal loans (Will be paid off in September 2020)
- Land loan (Will be paid off April 2021)
In April of 2016, we took out a 5-year loan to purchase the property for our tiny house. In less than two years time we’ll officially own our property!
Each time you eliminate one of your debts, you will slowly start to see money begin to start flowing in freely. A tiny house, in theory, should help your bank account grow, like a money tree! Each time you knock down one of these debts, your tree will start growing more money, and it will continue branching out, growing larger as you continue to knock down every single debt currently holding you back.
Just don’t forget to reward yourself when you reach certain milestones along the way. You earn those occasional treats! Not by buying something, but maybe by taking a day trip or weekend getaway. It’s not easy living frugally and paying off your debts. It’s like climbing up a seemingly endless mountain. Don’t forget to enjoy life during your debt-free journey!
We aren’t there yet, but simply knowing that we are on course to achieve our goal of financial freedom has inspired me to continue moving forward and helps put everything in perspective during our current daily struggles. I can always take a deep breath, step back and give myself a much-needed reminder of our end goals from time to time when times are tough and you want to question everything.
If you want to move forward with a similar plan and begin your own debt-free journey, you must first learn to be okay spending less. You have to appreciate what you have and not constantly wish for everything you don’t. Write down all of your expenses and figure out areas where you can make cuts. Take a close, hard look and determine what you really need.
It’s not rocket science. Develop an idea, make a plan, and put it in motion.
You don’t have to go as far as ditching everything you own and living in a tiny house as we did. We’re not even close to being the best minimalists, which anyone could easily tell if they took a quick look into our storage shed and saw the disgusting pile of junk we still need to purge!
Start small and make progress toward your goal every day. Life is just too short to work so much that we forget to enjoy our lives. If you happen to be struggling today, just know that you can start taking control right now and take your first steps toward financial freedom.
You have the power to change your circumstances. Make it happen!
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