9 Ways Life In A Tiny House Will Save You Money

Written by Jason Michaels Last Updated: May 8, 2024

Tiny homes are typically classified as homes that are less than 500 square feet in size. Most often you will find these homes to be less than 300 square feet. This takes quite a lot of planning as to how to fit in your whole life into these tiny spaces.

But when it’s done thoughtfully can be incredibly rewarding. With TV shows and a large Instagram following, this way of life is becoming much more sought after these days.

The tiny house movement is a stand against rising house prices. Depending on where you are looking to buy it can be impossible to find a house for less than half a million dollars.

It’s also a social stand towards the minimalist movement. In a world that is built around being busy and always searching for more this lifestyle is more geared towards gratitude and the idea of being comfortable, and appreciative, with what you have.

With this lifestyle you often don’t have to work as much as you did before as the cost of living is much less. There are many ways in which your tiny home will work towards saving you money.

1. Your Utilities Payments Will Be A Fraction Of The Cost

A tinier home means a tinier footprint. This is one of the biggest appeals to so many tiny homeowners. This way of life also leads way to less harm to the environment.

With many of these homes built to be as green as possible you are in full control of the amount of utilities you pay. Simple modifications such as opting for lots of high quality triple paned windows, baseboard heaters and wood burning fireplaces will help your home to be comfortable and cozy all year round.

Many tiny homes are built with an off-grid style which means you don’t use the city’s water or electric supply. Having this self-sufficient style will obviously save you quite a bit of money but even if your home is tied into the grid you will likely notice much smaller bills.

Hydro

If you have ever lived in a place where you had to pay your electric bill you know how expensive it can become. Solar power can help you save, even make, some money. Even if you are tied into the grid it can be beneficial.

From the second they are hooked up solar panels will start cutting your costs. Say you use 9 kWh of power a day for example. If your solar panels can create 4.5 kWh of energy in that same time frame they will literally cut your bill in half.

The best part is when the panels create more power than you use in a day. This is when your electrical company will start paying you.

If you are planning on living in a tiny home you should consider turning to solar power. There is a relatively high initial buy in but it can pay off big time. This system can allow you to live completely off grid.

Keep in mind that if you decide to live this way you will need a way of storing the electricity. This will depend on how much energy you use. There are large batteries that can keep your electricity stored and ready for you to use.

Tesla has cutting edge systems that can power your entire home. Project Sunroof can help you determine everything from how much sunlight you can expect your yard in this case to get to how much your initial buy in will take to be paid off.

Gas

You will also notice a change in your gas bill as a smaller home means a smaller place to heat. Gas is also one of the more efficient ways of heating your home.

Since you will more than likely be designing your tiny home from scratch, you will be able to decide which furnishings will be installed. It is strongly recommended to spend a little extra initially to get high efficiency items.

These will save you more than the extra cost throughout their lifetime.

If you are living off grid, your gas supply will often be in the form of large refillable propane cylinders. This will work to do everything from heat your house to run your stove.

Propane burns cleaner than most other gas sources which makes your environmental footprint much smaller. It is also relatively cheap in cost which makes it a desirable option.

Many companies also offer services which will come out to your home to refill your tank. This makes propane a great way to power your home.

Water

This is usually one of the most expensive aspects of your utilities. Water consumption is something that gets accounted for based on usage and charged semi-annually. This will often hit you with a large bill based on your metered reading.

A smaller home can prompt you to use less water. If you are in the process of designing your home look for large farm-style sinks. These can make doing dishes less of a hassle while replacing a less efficient dishwasher.

In a this small home option you will only have one bathroom and a maximum of two sinks. This means that you will have far less water consumption. Many tiny homes have compostable toilets which means that you will not be literally flushing your money away.

Oftentimes tiny home dwellers will incorporate rain catchment systems to act as their primary source of water. This is essentially a big basin that catches the rain water so that you can utilize it in your home.

Water from the basin than flows into the home through a filtration system. All of this has been designed to be super efficient and use only a small amount of energy.

This can do everything from irrigation to servicing your taps and showers. It’s possible to combine this off-grid upgrade to a home that is on the grid which would help you to reduce your water bill.

2. Location, Location, Location

Instead of purchasing land in the city you will be able to get larger parcels of land in the country. Rather than less than an acre in town you can start looking for tens of acres.

Since your home can easily have off-grid properties (like solar panels) you won’t require electrical lines to be connected to your land. This gives you way more freedom to choose the perfect piece of land.

No matter where you decide to place your tiny home, the amount of land that is required to house it is significantly less than it would be with a full sized home.

You could even opt for a small piece of land in the wilderness. This gives you enough space to place your home on while still having the secluded aspects you want.

3. Your Build Price Will Be Significantly Less

Tiny homes are growing in popularity so quickly there is becoming a real demand for builders to look towards this logical home choice. There are many contractors you can go to that understand your thought process and building requirements.

If you choose a contractor who regularly build smaller homes they will have knowledge that can benefit you and even offer suggestions about hidden compartments and how to make areas multifunctional.

Build It Yourself

For most houses building your own home isn’t a logical option unless you have a business and a lot of help. With tiny houses you taking on the project yourself is a very real option.

While it does require some construction knowledge, quite a bit of free time and some dedication ,it is well worth it. This option is guaranteed to cut the cost of your tiny home down drastically and make it so that your dream home can be much closer than you think.

Even if you can’t build all of it doing aspects like installing the flooring yourself can save you thousands of dollars.

4. You Won’t Require As Much Furniture

With a tiny home everything you have is designed to have multiple purposes. Your living room often doubles as an office making everything you have require extra thought and attention. This means that one area can have multiple uses.

Many furniture stores now have complete sections of their stores that are dedicated to small spaces.

Instead of purchasing a chair for your office, dining room and bedroom take your time and find one chair that you can use for all of them. Instead of cheaping-out on all of the lights in your previously larger home spend a little extra on one or two fixtures that truly speak to you.

Not only will this save you money but also improve your quality of life.

5. Tiny Homes Can Be Mobile

By incorporating wheels into your tiny home you will be able to move it around freely. Not only is this a great option for people who travel for work but it is also great for those who want to see more of the world.

This type of build can be incredibly rewarding for those looking to pick up and go as your house can now move with you. With this mobile lifestyle you can use RV parks, free campsites and mobile home parks to situate your tiny house on during your stay in a specific area.

Opting for a mobile tiny home will save you money on land costs as well as yearly property tax. While you will still need to find an area to put your tiny home on this will give you the diversity to have a home that moves with you at a fraction of the cost.

And unlike RV’s this will be a fully customized home that is completely specific to you.

6. A Minimalist Life Costs Less

Switching to this lifestyle you will find that the savings go far beyond just the cost of your new home. This often extends to your wardrobe and your shopping. Let’s face it, when you are living in 300 square feet you will not be able to fill your home with all the expensive knick knacks that fill larger 2000 square foot homes.

In this minimalist lifestyle you will find you only have room for the items you actually use rather than accumulating a bunch of clothes and household items that lay dormant in a closet.

This is especially true when it comes to your closet. Many people have closets full of clothes that no longer fit them or that they do not wear. In a tiny home you only buy what you need without all the added unused extras.

7. It Is Easier To Clean

Most people hate cleaning. Obviously living in a smaller home will cut your cleaning time significantly, but it will also save you money. Instead of cleaning 2000 square feet you will only have to focus your attention on 200 square feet.

Not only will you have more free time, but will spend less money on cleaning products. Instead of purchasing them weekly, you may only have to buy them once a year.

Living in a tiny home is a different lifestyle that breeds a different way of thinking. Instead of purchasing harsh chemicals to clean your home look into natural alternatives. Instead of bleach try using vinegar.

This way you don’t have to spend extra money, and use more room, storing your cleaning products. Instead, you just have to store one item that can also be used for baking.

8. Pre Built Tiny Homes Are Affordable

If you are not looking to do the building work yourself and are not interested in designing your own place there are many tiny homes for sale as well. While you may be used to house costs in the mid hundred thousand dollar range, the price of a tiny home may shock you.

These homes come both pre owned and as new builds. Depending on the upgrades and size you are looking for as well as the area you are buying from you can get your new tiny home starting at around $10,000.

There are also many homes you can buy with more luxurious fix-ins that come with higher price tags.

Just like buying a full sized home, there is also a tiny home market. There are websites that have listings of already made homes for sale. These differ from custom pre-built homes in that they are already constructed.

Someone has spent the time to design and build them but no longer wants them. Their loss can be your benefit. Check out Tiny House Marketplace to not only find your perfect tiny home, but also view floor plans for your own home.

Some even include wheels so that you can bring them with you wherever you go.

9. Excellent Resale Value

You may think that going for a tiny home may cause you to lose out on the biggest perk of owning real estate: the resale value. While you are likely not going to double your money making hundreds of thousands on your home you likely won’t lose any money either.

Tiny houses are booming in popularity and are in more of a demand than ever before.

Depending on if you built your home on your own or not you can more than likely make your money back and then some when looking to resell. This makes moving into a tiny home even more desirable, especially for first time homeowners.

This will allow you all of the perks to your own home while you are waiting to be able to afford a full sized house.

Final Thoughts

As tiny homes become more popular their price to build and maintain has been decreasing. You are in full control of every single piece of material that goes into it.

From the light fixtures to the way it is powered is entirely up to you. These are a great way of living a more simplified life and a great way of saving money – some even give you the option to travel.

Have you thought about turning towards tiny home dwelling? Let us know what you think of the movement in the comment section below.