This question is daunting to approach for a variety of reasons; primarily because what constitutes ‘worth it’ is such a subjective topic and the reasons that people are drawn to (as well as criticize) tiny houses are so diverse.
Today however is a special milestone.
Today our tiny house paid for itself.
That is to say the amount of money saved from our (dramatically) reduced cost of living equaled the amount of money spent on our tiny house.
We built SHED on weekends, paycheck to paycheck (watch us build it in THIS VIDEO) so we already owned our tiny house outright the day we moved in. Now, a mere 31.5 months later our tiny house has officially paid us back it’s total cost; and if you account for the passive income from our E-BOOK ‘Built With Our Hands’, this crazy journey has actually turned a profit. (Thank you all SO much for your support!).
We have spoken at depth on this blog about the benefits that we have personally experienced throughout this tiny house journey. We preach the positive that comes from lessons learned (through both success and failure) during the d.i.y. design and construction stages. We’ve talked about the less quantifiable benefits associated with a home custom designed around your exact needs and the increased quality of life that it offers. We’ve boasted about how liberating it has been to downsize and have everything we need and nothing that we don’t. We’ve discussed the benefits of our reduced cost of living, including the ability to work less, travel more, spend more time as a family, transition to a stay-at/work-from [tiny] home father and refinance six figure student loan debt all while building a significant financial safety net that in turn eliminates the subconscious nag of needing that next paycheck to survive financially.
BUT, this is the first time that we can say that our home has paid for itself in the time we have lived in it; and THAT is a tough tiny house perk to dismiss. We don’t have much else to say, but such a milestone is worth mentioning because we know many people approach tiny house living for financial reasons and there are very real and very significant benefits to such a transition. Consider us proof!
And if you’re new to our tiny house project this year we have placed a few of our favorite photos from the last 31.5 months as well as some helpful links below (including free floor plans!)
And if you are wondering what happens in the future (especially with a growing child) we invite you to read our blog post titled ‘THE STIGMA BEHIND MOVING ON.’ Let us know if you have any questions and tag along on OUR INSTAGRAM!
