Here are the key motivations for tiny living.
Self Determination
When you take out a large loan from a bank for a house or a car you’re giving up full control of that property.
I find it amusing when I hear people say they own the 5,000 square foot home they just moved into. They, of course, do not own it. The bank does. And if they miss a few payments for any reason the bank can take it away from them. A mortgage gives the bank a considerable amount of control over your life until the loan is paid off.
With small houses and small cars, the possibility of paying for them in cash is much more within reach. It’s also easier to pay them off much earlier. And once they are paid, you gain full control of those properties.
Aversion to Mortgage Prison
A huge mortgage can create a financial prison. This is especially true if the housing market takes a dive, the amount you owe is much greater than your equity, and there are no buyers. Even if the market is fairly stable, if there are no buyers, you’re in the same boat.
In these situations, you’re forced to keep a job that you may hate. You’re forced to pass up your dream to start your own business. And you’re forced to continue to live next to an outrageously noisy neighbor because you can’t afford to move.
If you have a small house you’re in a much better position to avoid these situations and make changes if necessary.
Reduced Expenses
All your expenses go down dramatically when you live tiny. With a small house, this means much lower mortgage payments (if at all), utility bills, insurance premiums, and maintenance costs.
It’s similar to a small car. It costs much less to buy it, insure it, gas it, and maintain it.
Since you’re living in a much small space, the need for furniture goes way down. In many cases, furniture, appliances, and electronics will cost less than what you might pay for a traditional size house since they’ll often be smaller.
Luxury Conditions for Less
A small house will have much lower overall expenses and much less total square footage. Because of this, you can more easily afford to buy some luxury items that might otherwise deplete your savings if you were doing it in a traditional size house.
You can afford just luxury items such as premium countertops, flooring, and kitchen and bath fixtures. You can also more easily afford central air & water purification, heating, and cooling system as well as renewable energy devices (solar, wind).
Many things that you add to a small house will cost less because there is less material used to complete the job. Don’t let contractors give you a baseless rationale for keeping the costs like that of a traditional size house. Just get a least three estimates so that you know where you’re at with pricing and integrity.
Quicker Wealth Accumulation
If your monthly expenses are much lower in comparison to owning a conventional size house and car then the opportunity to build your savings is tremendous. And nothing gives you more freedom, power, and choice than liquid assets like cash!
If house values tank, an economic recession begins, and gas prices go through the ceiling, no worries! You’ve got cash, low expenses, and hopefully no credit card debt, mortgage, or car payment.
More Time
It’s easy to imagine how much less time-consuming it is to clean and maintain an 800 square foot small house in comparison to one that is 5,000 square feet.
A small house and tiny living in general means that you can take a job that is less demanding and requires fewer hours.
The goal is to be able to do more of what you love and less of what you don’t.
Use Less Natural Resources
I don’t know how many trees it takes to build a traditional size house, but I’m certain it’s a ton more than what’s needed for a small house. This is particularly true when it comes to a tiny house.
The footprint of a small house is much smaller than a conventional house so its environmental impact is less.
Small cars and appliances use fewer energy resources, which also helps.
Inspires Brilliant Innovations
Tiny and small things require ingenuity, creativity, and resourcefulness to be made, used, or lived in.
I’ve been amazed by the creative things people have come up with to make their tiny and small houses more efficient and comfortable.
Automobile manufacturers have developed all new components for exclusive use in their microcars. They have done this to maintain performance, comfort, and safety standards. And, of course, you get better gas mileage.
Tiny Things are Irresistible
Tiny houses, cars, and other things are like puppies. Most are irresistibly cute.
Small houses can bring up pleasing memories of a small craftsmen style home, beach house, mountain cabin, or idyllic tiny house in a painting, movie, or book.
It’s as though designers of small houses, cars, appliances, electronics, and other tiny things work harder to make the best use of every inch to achieve an attractive appearance and optimal functionality.
Freedom
This is the principal motivation for tiny living. The goal of this lifestyle is to create as much freedom in as many areas as possible.
When you’re living large, true freedom is more difficult to have on a consistent basis even if you have a lot of money. Having large amounts of money often leads to bigger houses, bigger obligations, bigger responsibilities, and less freedom.
More freedom can be created through tiny living because the focus is on reducing obligations and responsibilities while increasing financial independence and simplicity.