Considering Tiny Living?

Ever since I was young I always dreamt of getting married, having a ton of kids, and having a big house. I basically grew up in that Disney generation where it was taught that prince charming would come swoop you off your feet, and live happily ever after in our mansion some day. As I got older and realized bills were a thing, my imagination slowly dwindled over time.

Not only did I realize that bills are apart of life, but that kids are EXPENSIVE. The thought of having so much debt and bills gave me this anxiety and impending doom. My parents never taught me to be financially responsible when growing up. In fact my parents taught me the concept of getting in debt and staying in debt. Or the opposite, hoarding money and never let any one touch it. Needless to say I grew up with an unhealthy relationship with money.

After I got into the military I began to recognize a pattern. A lot of my spending habits were linked emotionally to when I was in foster care. I lost everything, and to be quite frank I was still very traumatized as an adult. I would purchase these name brand things and max out credit cards just so I could fill this void. I even blew a 90k settlement I got from being in a car accident in less than one year. All because I couldn't stop spending money. That being said, after having been married and am finally divorced, my goals have changed.

While I was still together with my ex, we looked into several living arrangements. We never liked the idea of permanently settling down somewhere and truthfully wanted to travel. Unfortunately we knew that would not be in the cards for us if we bought a home, because we would be committed to living in one place and paying for that long term. And now that I actually have kids of my own and both having autism, I knew it was time to buckle down.

Now that my ex has moved out, I have been revisiting some of the old drawing boards in my head. I thought about the concept of tiny living, and I think it's something I want to stick with. Yes I am aware kids need space to run and play, but I would love to be debt free in the course of a couple of years, and not be paying for a mortgage forever.

The things that appealed to me about tiny living out weighed the cons. I just need to figure out a when and where situation, rather than a Is this going to happen? I am currently bouncing around the idea of moving to Washington State. I visited Seattle about 5 years ago now, and fell in love with the location. I love pine trees and everyone was welcoming. Hell, even on Black Friday their lines were super organized and they were even more polite.

The only curve ball that I keep running into, is the simple fact that there's not a ton of places to legally park one of these. Granted there are Tiny Living Communities, however a lot of states don't have a lot of places for them to be legally parked. Often times, the only options to park them would be to do a long term stay RV park or rent land from someone. There's a lot of zoning issues, and the government is really cracking down on things. I found a location in Oregon that has a community but the wait list is about 3 years out.

On the plus side there are TONS of people who are building these tiny homes! I personally spoke with someone at Tru Form Tiny, and they are located in Eugene, OR. Many of these companies can build out of state and deliver them to whatever location you'll be moving too. I personally loved this company. They were a no BS kind of mindset and straight forward. They can do a lot of customization builds or add ons to virtually make your small space seem much bigger than it actually is. The only catch is some of these tiny homes can cost almost $100k so make sure you budget and do what's best for you and your family.

I will say upon research, to me there's no way to actually live in one of these if you have kiddos that go to public school. If you want to be in one, you almost exclusively have to commit to homeschooling. My kids have IEPs, and require a lot of specialty services. So for me- I have to commit to being somewhere for awhile until my kiddos get older. But that being said- this isn't forever. I genuinely feel like as time goes on we will be able to live more independently and be more nomadic. I want to give my kids experiences, not things.

Part of the reason tiny living appeals to me, is that I never had consistency growing up. My body almost revolts at the idea of genuinely staying somewhere long term. I was in foster care bouncing around place to place, and then I was in the military for 5 years. I got accustomed to not having a same similar structure, but my room set up was always the same. I made it a point whether I was in the barracks, or a new room in foster care to always make my space mine. It was the one thing I had control over and brought me a sense of comfort. That's the benefit of tiny living, you can customize your tiny home the way you want it, but you just bring your home with you! The scenery may be different, but you are always waking up in YOUR bed.

If a tiny home doesn't appeal to you, there's several people online who are living out of converted school buses, RVs, Travel Vans, and so much more! Literally YouTube Tiny Living and you will find tons of people who are living this alternative lifestyle. It comes down to people want more quality time with their family, less debt, and the ability to work while traveling. Many people are able to work from home which provides them the flexibility to live within their means.

Tiny living is also WAY better for the environment. Regardless of the vessel you decide to live in, you tend to not collect as much useless stuff. Which intern also helps you save money. You typically only get things you need because depending on the vessel you choose, you have a weight limit in which you have to meet to tow around your home. Also you are able to afford more healthier foods because you don't have a giant mortgage payment looming over your head. You are able to be more active and explore the world, and you have the control of where your next destination is.

Personally once I get my affairs in order, and the kids get a little older, I am doing this 100% even with my 2 Corgi's. I am that crazy mom who loves to pack up the car and go on a road trip. There is something so freeing about being able to see the world. And personally, I'm vicariously living through my kids. I always had dreams of seeing these places that they talked about in school- I want those pictures to come to life. My first time really doing this is in 2020 when I went on a cross country road trip with my kids. We were passing through the desert, and I wanted to see the Grand Canyon. Mind you at that time, the kids were smaller and I only had one dog. But the Canyon was everything I wanted it to be and then some.

I want more experiences like this. I want my kids to remember life as an adventure, and not us constantly worrying about money. Or being attached to a house. I crave more experiences like these because I felt alive. I felt like I was being a good mom, and seeing my kids happy because they weren't glued to a tablet was even better. I loved seeing Gatsby climb on every boulder, or seeing Morty (my Corgi) try to stand up a moose. I loved seeing how active we were, and allowing my kids to be submersed in culture.

Tiny living allows you to learn, and to be educated in person- not just through a book or a picture online. Seeing and experiencing are two totally different worlds. You also can check out little small towns, shops, and restaurants, that you may have missed if you would've flown to that destination. I have found so many cool places just from driving, and just seen how beautiful nature truly is!

Somethings I am currently doing to prepare for this journey are small now, but will make a big impact in the long run. I am currently reading all the books I have right now. I have about 60 books I need to finish here at my house, and while there was a time where my ADHD was hyper focused on collecting books, I now am completely overwhelmed with how many I have accumulated. They are literally dead weight and I am tired of hauling them around everywhere I go. So I plan to complete all the books, and then if I want to read something in the future I will go with Kindle or Audible.

Second, I am working on residual streams of income. So no MLMs. Nothing like that, I want to have multiple streams of income other than my VA disability so I can spend time genuinely with my kids with minimal work. For now, I plan to finish my bachelors and get a regular job so I can pay for the tiny home to be built. For that to happen I need to be debt free, and to having a savings/safety net built. Because like any home you will have to do some maintenance and repairs. Not to mention, this is a dream, and I want this home to scream KAYLA. I don't want this to look like everyone else had a say in it. I want a place for the boys separate from me, I want a space for my dogs, and a full kitchen.

Third, I want to get memberships to places that will help us in the long run nation wide. For instance AAA for if there's an emergency road side they can come and look at my vehicle. Planet Fitness, so I can go to the gym and work out around other adults and have time away from the kids. Also having a membership like this is great if you don't have access to water hookups and you need to take a shower. Banfield Pet Hospital, they are through Pet Smart and are nation wide. If you are in a crunch and have a pet emergency your dog can be seen at any location cross country! The Joint Chiropractic, they are great for Chiropractic services and have locations across the country. So regardless of where your home office is, if you need an adjustment someone can see you. Costco or Sam's Club, great for whole sale and can be used nation wide so if you need to stock up for the road, then you have plenty of options to get what you are looking for and to save some money.

Finally make sure you think this through, because it's genuinely a big commitment. However I would consider what I have mentioned here because there are a lot of pros and cons to weigh. But ultimately I see this as the ability to have happiness with a minimalist life and without breaking the bank. And remember- regardless if you have kids or it's just you as a single person, you only have one life to live. You need to do what makes you happy in spite of what the world may tell you and make you believe.