What a difference a year makes. Until just recently, Michelle “MJ”Boyle was paying $1,600 each month to rent a modestly sized home in the Pacific Northwest community of Sherwood, Oregon. As a long-term renter, she’d never built up any home equity and in fact spent more than a decade living paycheck to paycheck with nothing in her savings account.
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But with her children preparing to leave the proverbial nest, she decided it was time to make a major life change. That change not only cut her monthly expenses back to next to nothing compared to what she had been paying as a renter, but will also allow her to build up savings for retirement in the coming years.
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How did she do it? By joining the Tiny House Movement. She went from paying $1,600/mo. for a three-bedroom, 2-bath house on a quarter acre of land to owning an adorable, 204-square-foot tiny house for just $75/mo.
Did we mention that cost includes electricity, water and WiFi?!
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“Building anything with your own hands is one of the most rewarding experiences,” she said. “In my case: I’m not only building it, I designed it.”
My Tiny Empty Nest
Step inside her humble little abode and you’ll simply be amazed, especially with the quaint little kitchen where she spends the majority of her time.
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“All of my appliances are from circa (mid-1940s) to early 1950s. It took me nearly two years to collect and refurbish the collection,”she explained. “It truly was a labor of love. My design theme is modern nostalgia and I think I really accomplished it.â€
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The interior has enough room to accommodate a little staircase leading up to a loft, as well as a comfy little living room that just emanates a sense of home …
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So where does all her extra income go now? “I’m building MORE tiny houses, of course,”she writes in her November 28 blog post.
Instead of taking a much-needed break after all that grueling work, she’s taking what she learned while building her own tiny house and is now “designing and building four tiny houses that I can rent out on AirBnB (or a similar platform) and generate a sustainable income stream.â€
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Click the link below to hear more about MJ’s happier and more sustainable lifestyle, and all the adorable bells and whistles she chose to include in her new home. Share to spread more inspiration!
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