In a few weeks, we'll be living full time in our tiny house motor home.That's right. 180 sq. ft. and four people. It will certainly be an adventure! We don't plan to live in our tiny house forever...but we know many people who do want to live forever tiny. You might wonder if tiny living is right for you. Here are some things you should consider.


1. Do you have kids? Tiny houses are great for couples or singles. But if you have kids, a tiny house can be far more challenging. This is not to say you can't live in a tiny house and have children; it's just that you'll need to plan carefully so you don't feel stacked one on top of each other. (Want some inspiration? Click over to Homestead Honey, where my friend Teri blogs about tiny house living with a family of four.)

2. Where will you spend your time? If you have young kids, you'll want your tiny house on enough land that your children will mostly play outside. Because a tiny house is not a great place for children to play. The adults in the tiny house will want to pursue outside activities, too. For example, if you work from your tiny house, you might get some serious cabin fever unless you plan to be away from home (or at least out in the garden) several hours each day.

3. Do you have money to build or buy? Despite the fact that tiny houses are diminutive, they aren't necessarily affordable. Tiny houses generally cost $200 - $400 per sq. ft., or $23,000 on average, and most folks have to pay cash, since it's difficult to find tiny house financing. So if you don't have that much cash laying around, you'll need to get creative. Maybe you have a fantastic source for cheap building materials, or maybe you choose to live in a motor coach or RV instead of a house.

4. Do you have land? Land itself is expensive, but if you don't own land where you can put your tiny house (check zoning laws!), you'll have to pay a monthly fee to park it somewhere else. Even that can be tricky, since not all RV parks accept tiny houses. Your best bet might be a Craigslist ad asking to rent rural property to park on.

5. Can you get insurance? If your tiny house is an RV or motor coach, this won't be a problem. Otherwise, you may have trouble finding an insurance company willing to cover your tiny house. Which is even more of a problem because tiny homes are easy to steal. On the other hand, maybe you're willing to take a risk and do without.

6. Are you ready to save money? Assuming you can get into a tiny house, you have a great opportunity to save money. No mortgage (68% of tiny house owners owe nothing on their house) and lower utilities and taxes equals more cash in hand. In fact, one source claims 55% of tiny house homeowners have more savings than the average American - almost $11,000, compared to the typical $3,950.