Guest post from Katherine of Catching Eddies:
The Dream:
When we were first married, my husband and I dreamed of living a self-sufficient life in a yurt on a couple acres. However, property values in our area were too high for us to buy at the time.
We spent a year begrudgingly paying rent. Then we found a converted school bus on Craigslist. We adjusted our dream to fit the opportunity and bought the bus with plans to live in it full-time — and no long term place to park!
Fortunately, friends offered to host us within a month. We’ve lived happily in our bus full-time for 3 1/2 of the last 5 years.
The Reality:
1. Tiny living has helped our financial situation.
We paid cash for our bus. Once we moved in, we put our rent money towards starting a successful business, building an emergency fund, and saving for a down payment.
We even went to Ireland for six weeks… and this summer we will be building a small, but not tiny, home.
2. Some traditional money saving activities are harder, but not impossible.
Buying in bulk? Preserving food? Gardening? They’re tricky, but we manage.
Our kitchen takes up a third of our square footage and when we stock up, we pack our cabinets full.
Dehydrating food is a space-efficient way to preserve. As for gardening and freezing, they depend on where you park your house.
3. We have an amazing host family.
Unless you have your own land or intend to move from RV park to RV park, you will need a host. Our hosts are happy for us to grow a vegetable garden and raise chickens on their property. We also have storage in their garage and attic.
In exchange for the space, we help them out in various ways like plowing the road in the winter and digging and fertilizing garden beds.
4. Mess builds up fast in a small space.
No matter how tidy I get the bus, everything explodes again within 24 hours. I am not a naturally organized person, so it’s hard to maintain order. However, I have learned to stay sane by blocking out part of every day for organizing and cleaning.
5. Contentment is the key to tiny living.
Tiny living is a great way to curb impulse spending as fun, new purchases quickly turn into annoying clutter in a small space!
I have to admit that our space does feel smaller now that we have a baby. As I seek to be content in our converted bus, I remember these words from Saint John Chrysostom, “If you see someone greedy for many things, you should consider him the poorest of all, even if he has acquired everyone’s money. If, on the other hand, you see someone with few needs, you should count him the richest of all, even if he has acquired nothing.”
Through living in our bus, we’ve created wonderful memories, developed better spending habits, and prepared for a financially sound future.
We have also skirted a number of pitfalls.
The Nightmares:
1. Stereotypes and Public Opinion
Some people assume that if you don’t live in a modern single family home you must be a drug addict, a hippie who’s forgotten what decade it is, or a loafer who can’t hold down a job. It’s not true, especially with the rise of the tiny home movement, but the idea lingers in many people’s minds. Be ready to prove them wrong.
2. Insurance Issues
It is possible to insure tiny homes and converted buses, but insurance may not be available in all states. RVs are obviously easier to insure. Although we did insure our bus (as an unfinished RV) for the 3 hour drive home, we don’t have insurance on it now because we don’t drive it.
The bus itself, a 1978 International with a bad transmission, doesn’t have much monetary value, so we have an emergency fund rather than insurance.
3. Legal Issues
From what I understand, living full-time in a tiny home, converted bus, or RV is often a legal grey area. If you are considering tiny living, you should look into zoning regulations, building codes, and covenants.
Most importantly, make sure your potential neighbors are fine with your plans.
In spite of these issues, I believe that tiny living can be a viable option for the right people at the right time.
Would living in a bus be a dream or a nightmare for you?
Katherine has worked as a whitewater rafting guide, ski instructor, and wilderness trip leader, but she embarked on her biggest adventure yet when she gave birth to her daughter last August. She blogs about tiny living, outdoor adventure with kids, and micro-homesteading at Catching Eddies.
Gabriel’s Good Tidings is a small yet growing Etsy shop run by Amy Gabriel — a wife, mom, and long-time reader of MoneySavingMom.com.
Amy loves to sew and has enjoyed creating one-of-a-kind items and selling via Etsy. While her husband pursued a graduate degree, she financially supported her family by working outside the home for the first year of his schooling, but then came home full-time and supported him by selling on Etsy and to wholesale buyers for the remaining 18 months.
Amy’s most popular item is her clip-on lip balm holders. They easily attach to purses, keyrings, diaper bags, backpacks, and more and keep that lip balm from getting lost! She’s recently expanded her product line to offer personalized lip balm holders and even has a clearance section in her shop.
GET 40% OFF ANY PURCHASE + FREE SHIPPING!
For the remainder of February, Amy is offering 40% off to all Money Saving Mom readers! In her Etsy shop, simply use the coupon code MSM40 at checkout and the savings will be automatically deducted. (And yes, you may use the coupon code in the clearance section! Amy loves frugality, too!)
This coupon expires 2/28/15. Additionally, if you sign up for Amy’s email newsletter, you’ll receive a coupon code to save $5 off any purchase of $10 or more – and this coupon never expires!
Amy sent me a personalized lip balm holder — in one of my favorite colors! I love it.
In addition to lip balm holders, Amy also creates unique holders for essential oil bottles. She’s worked with countless essential oil distributors to offer giveaways and discounts to those who love their essential oils.
Amy also loves to be organized, so her personal favorite product is the jumbo paperclips. They are perfect for teachers, students, moms, and bosses! And speaking of organizing, she’s purging fabric and has it listed on her Etsy site – check out her fabric destash section if you need to stock up for less than retail.
You can hear more about Amy’s journey to creating and building a successful Etsy shop in her Brilliant Business Moms podcast (recorded last November). You’ll also want to check out her business tips, behind-the-scenes info, and new product releases on Instagram, Facebook, and email.
Would you like to win a free $50 gift certificate to Gabriel’s Good Tidings? Amy is giving away five $50 gift certificates to her Etsy shop this weekend. This giveaway ends Sunday, February 22, at 11:59 pm, CST. Five winners will be chosen and posted early next week. 
Dillons
1 Nature Valley Loaf Bread – $2
1.01 lbs Asparagus – $3.02
1 Sara Lee Cake – $2.99, Used $1/1 printable – $1.99 after coupon (The sale sign said B1G1 Free but it didn’t ring up as that. I’m guessing it was a sign they needed to take down from a previous sale.) 
1 Thomas English Muffins – $1.59, used $0.40/1 coupon from the 1/11 SmartSource insert – $1.19 after coupon
2 Cucumbers – $0.79 each
1 gallon Dillons Milk – $2.50
1 bag Kroger Spinach – $2.50
1 dozen Eggs – $1.88
1 Simple Truth Almonds – Marked down to $2.79
2 Kroger Cottage Cheese – $1 each
1 Kraft Tarter Sauce – $2
0.59 lbs Broccoli – $1.12
2 Tofuti Cuties – Marked down to $0.95 each (I had never tried these before but thought it would be fun. They aren’t too bad!)
1 Kroger Sour Cream – $1
1.94 lbs Bananas – $1.14
2 bunches Lettuce – $0.99 each
2 Pineapple – $1 each
1 Celery – $1.49
I also used a $2/$10 produce coupon Dillons mailed to me.
1 pkg Kroger Chicken Drumsticks – Marked down to $4.43
Mega Sale Items (Buy 6, Get $3 off):
1 Trix Cereal – $1.79, used $1/1 printable (no longer available) – $0.79 after coupon
1 Honey Nut Cheerios – $1.79, used $0.75/1 printable – $1.04 after coupon
3 pkg Motts Fruit Snacks – $1.49 each, used 3 $0.50/1 printable – $0.99 each after coupons
1 Kraft Cheese – $1.99, used $0.75/1 printable – $1.24 after coupon
Total with tax ($3.04): $45.57
I also picked up a box of Fisher Boy Fish Sticks from Homeland this week for $0.99 but don’t have a picture of it.
Total for all grocery items: $46.56
Menu Plan for this Week
Breakfasts
Cereal
Toast & Eggs x 2
Oatmeal
Homemade Granola
Egg Muffins
Lunches
Fruit/Veggies/Cheese/Crackers x 2
Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches and Oranges x 2
Cheese Quesadillas & Carrot Sticks
Baked Potatoes, Cottage Cheese, Fruit
Spinach Smoothies/Tossed Salad
Dinners
Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Steamed Asparagus
Dinner with family
Church Valentine’s Banquet
Salad Bar, Pumpkin Muffins
Fish Sticks, Tossed Salad, Steamed Peas, Pineapple
Chicken Enchiladas, Steamed Asparagus, Fruit Salad
Spaghetti Pie, Tossed Salad, Green Beans, Double Fudge Banana Muffins
