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Tiny home living has been growing in popularity over the last couple of years, with more and more people seeking out more affordable housing alternatives.
What is a tiny home?
A tiny home is more than just a small house – at least in regards to the ‘tiny home movement’ that’s risen in popularity alongside van life in recent years. A tiny home is typically built to be low-cost, cleverly designed to maximise the space, and in some cases, mobile.
In addition, many people signing on to the tiny home movement are keen to make their homes sustainable and able to function off-grid to some extent. TinyHousing.co has some great ideas on how to get started on this journey!
Why opt for a tiny home?
Principally, a tiny home can be a fantastic way to save money. We’ll cover the main ways how below. Beyond that, a tiny home provides the opportunity to build or buy a space that is designed to make use of every bit of space available. This often means clever features such as hidden outlets. solar power, and excellent storage solutions that you otherwise just wouldn’t get when buying a property.
Finally, a tiny home provides more freedom than a traditional home in many ways. Many people opt to make their tiny home mobile for the ability to roam, but even stationary tiny homes can provide more freedom of location due to their affordability.
7 ways living in a tiny home can save You money
1. Lower utility bills
Living in a tiny house is, of course, going to mean much lower utility bills than you would pay in a bigger property. With energy bills rising (quite dramatically for a lot of people) in April 2022, this is a cost a lot of people are looking to save on, so a tiny home could provide a great solution for many people.
2. More choice over location
A tiny home can give you a lot more freedom over where you choose to buy your property. If you’re looking to buy an existing tiny home, you may find that your budget can go a lot further even in urban areas that you might have before been priced out.
However, where tiny homes really come into their own is when you look at getting out of the city and building your own, custom-made home on your own land.
3. Fewer furniture needs
Of course, tiny spaces simply need less furniture. That means fewer upfront costs when furnishing your apartment, and less space to clutter up with spontaneous purchases in the future.
4. Encourages a more minimal lifestyle
A tiny living space could feel cluttered very quickly, which naturally means a lot of people seeking out this lifestyle lean towards minimalism, too. Minimalism is about embracing living with less and discovering what you really need and value in life, and having a small space to live in is a great complement to that way of thinking.
What’s more, minimalism goes hand-in-hand with saving money. You’ll need less, use less, and love living in a functional, uncluttered space that lets you really enjoy the things that matter.
5. Less cleaning
Fewer things and less space mean less cleaning, something we can all get behind! With a tiny space to clean, you’ll need fewer cleaning products and one spray bottle will last you far longer than with a more averagely-sized space.
6. Option to be mobile
Tiny homes can be (and often are) built to be mobile, which means you don’t have to put money down for any actual land – just the home itself. However, if saving money with a mobile home is something that appeals to you, you might want to consider an alternative living style, such as van life.
7. Taxes
Whether or not you can save money on taxes with your tiny house really depends on where you are based and whether or not your tiny home is mobile (on wheels) or built on land where you need planning permission.
If you have a tiny mobile home, the advantage is that you won’t need to pay council tax – but you may need to pay some kind of fee to the land owner if you are planning on parking up for a considerable amount of time rather than travelling around the country/world. If you have a tiny home built on land, you’ll need to buy or rent the land.
In the UK, you do not generally need planning permission to build a structure in a friend or family’s back garden. It’s a good idea to look into your specific circumstances first, however, as this may change depending on the plans you have for your home.
Are you interested in living in a tiny housee and adopting a more frugal lifestyle? This could be the start of an amazing new adventure!