Six years in the past, Tammy Strobel was sad- “I was commuting 2 hours a day, going to a job I hated, overweight, unhappy, kind of middle class plight”. Then she watched a youtube movie clip that includes Dee Williams and her tiny home- a moment she calls her “turning point”- and she started to envision much less.
Prior to downsizing Tammy and her husband, Logan Smith, had been living in a two-bed room condominium, driving two automobiles, commuting lengthy distances and $30,000 in debt, however they were hesitant to change the established order. “Initially, we resisted the concept of relocating right into a smaller one-bed room residence considering the fact that we had been even more involved about appearances and space for friends than for our fiscal well-being. We determined something needed to change as soon as we realized our debt was inflicting us much stress.”
Tammy and Logan started with small steps. They sold one vehicle and moved right into a one bed room residence. Next it was a 400 sq. foot home. Today they’re car-free and living in a 128-square-foot home on wheels (designed by Dee Williams’ corporation PAD). Along the way, the couple shed weight, stress, debt and the unhappiness they felt being tied to jobs they did not take pleasure in. Today, Tammy is a full-time blogger/photographer/trainer.
Tammy not too long ago printed a publication titled “You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap)”, however she describes that it is not precisely joy that she pursues, but resilience. “Jobs move, persons lose jobs, individuals die,” she describes, “So how are you going to shape your life in order that you are even more versatile and embrace the good things even when loss makes it really not easy?”
One of the largest side effects of living in a small, mortgage-free home on wheels is the liberty to maneuver, a thing that has served them nicely in the past 12 months. When Tammy’s father had a stroke, unfettered by home or motor vehicle loans, Tammy was ready to be with him during the last months of his life. When Logan misplaced his job (it was transferred to Boston), they were ready to pick up their home and transfer from Portland to Northern California to be nearer to spouse and children.
For their first transfer, they connected their tiny, wheeled home to the back of a pickup truck and drove the 400 miles from Portland to Logan’s family cattle ranch in Montague, California (in exchange for free rent they put in “workshare” hours). Within the yr, they moved once again to be nearer to Tammy’s mom: this time they parked in her yard in Red Bluff, CA. Again within the same 12 months, they moved to a even more permanent home in Chico (their college city and still close enough to relatives) where they pay $500 in rent for an empty lot and hookups (it was earlier occupied by a mobile home).
“Even though the previous 12 months has been loads of upheaval with relocating the house, like it’s harder than you think to move the tiny house and stressful and all that, but I’m surely grateful for that since we have had that flexibility to essentially be there for relatives”, explains Tammy. Her father’s dying “was part of the reason we decided to move back home just to be closer to family and really focus on that because that’s what matters, you only get one shot.”
Photo credit score: Tammy Strobel. She teaches e-programs on methods to photograph daily life: http://rowdykittens.com/everydaymagic/
“You Can Buy Happiness (And It’s Cheap)” http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Buy-Happiness-Cheap/dp/1608680835
Original story: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/debtcar-free-tiny-house-couple-simple-living-resilience/
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