I went and had my taxes done yesterday. In doing so I pulled out my tax return for the previous year.  I am always shocked when I see how much money our household made in a year vs. how much we have to show for it. Where the HECK does it all go?

Driving the long and windy roads into work at the farm this morning I let my mind take stock of just where all that money went:

Rent for one year:  $18,000
Car payment:  $6000
Car insurance on 3 cars:  $2500
Health Insurance :  $5100
Electricity: $2100
Water/Sewer/garbage:  $600
Internet/cable TV:  $1800
Cell phones for 3 people:  $2400
That’s a total of  $38,500 so far…
Eating out, entertainment and buying lots and lots of stuff easily took all the rest.

Wow. That’s a pretty clear picture. In comparison here’s what I expect for expenses once I’ve settled into the Tiny House:

Rent:  $2400 for staying on my friend’s land
Utilities:  $600 (for power while I’m still building)
Cell phone and internet connection:  $2160
Car insurance for one car: $780
That’s a total of  $5940 for my base expenses
A difference of over $32,000 in a year… that’s pretty significant!!!

Granted I paid off my car – so no car payment. I dropped health insurance for now, hoping to get it through work in the near future.  My daughter has turned 18 and is taking on some of her own expenses like car insurance, etc. Some of these things are by choice and sacrifice – some simply fell into place.

By choosing to live in my Tiny House, I’m not only cutting my general consumption of resources – but my consumption of money. This is making it possible for me to have taken my dream job at Full Circle Farm at a significant drop in pay.

Money vs. life – I’m not making the big bucks anymore – but I’m not spending the big bucks either and  I sure am happier!

Wow! It's been really hard to make myself solidify my floor plan. It seems I wake up everyday with a new idea or worry - and change everything! But it's time to get seriuos about some plumbing and wiring - so I need to know what is going where

The first drawing is my final choice. The second drawing is a rough sketch of the orginal layout as per the plans.

I've taken a few ideas from my little travel trailer (which is still for sale by the way!).  The pull-out bench/bed is very simple - it's just a board that slips out on a rail to double the size - and then the cushions fold out to make the mattress. This leaves a lot of room for storage underneath - and covers up part of the wheel well. This is probably where I'll install the water pump as well.

The cabinets to the left also cover a wheel well - and provide space for pots/pans dishes, etc. - as well as books. At the end of that shelf top will be a small pull out piece that can be used as my desk when I'm working on the computer.

The main reason I had to shift my layout is due to the size of my composting toilet. It takes up more space than a convential toilet - but not having to deal with a black water tank or sewage hook up is well worth the loss of a little space!

Not showing is the loft areas of course. Over the bathroom area is the sleeping loft - and over the stove and front door is a storage loft.

You can see some photos of a fellow Lusby owner who is currently living in hers here. I think one big advantage of building my own is getting to make it exactly the way I want it ;)

More progress - yeah!

Started by finishing off putting the roof back on after fixing the skylights and adding flashing around those skylights.

Then Jaimie, Eric and Jen showed up and we worked on getting some siding up. Wow - it's looking great!