The 8th issue of the Small Living Journal (SLJ) is out and it focuses on bureaucracy, regulations and small living.
The single biggest roadblock to small living is, in my opinion, the excessive regulations that appear in the form of minimum-size requirements. Many of you that are reading this are likely looking for ways to live small yourself, and chances are that this is one of the reasons you haven’t been able to yet. But the limits of bureaucracy are not just visible in minimum size…
Read my contribution to the journal, Seven Tiny House Options, and tell me what you think.
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Last weekend, we attended the Little House Construction Workshop in Portland, Oregon. In this article, I’ll talk about our journey to Portland, what we did in the workshop and the good humans we met along the way.
Background
Dee is my tiny house hero. You’ve probably heard about Dee’s tiny house adventures. She’s been interviewed by NPR, Good Morning America, MSNBC, and a variety of other local media outlets about her experiments with voluntary simplicity. She built her tiny house for $10,000 in about 3 months, using mostly recycled building materials.
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by Tammy on June 30, 2009
by Tammy on June 30, 2009
I love the following post by Seth Godin…
Ads are the new online tip jar
“I never click on ads.”
It’s almost a badge of honor to say that. The subtext is, “I’m too smart/busy to waste my time doing that,” or perhaps, “I don’t want someone to sell my attention.”
But the real effect is that you’re starving great content.
I can say this because there are no ads here but,
If you like what you’re reading, click an ad to say thanks.
Pretty simple, but not an accepted online protocol, at least not yet.
If every time you read a blog post or bit of online content you enjoyed you clicked on an ad to say thanks, the economics of the web would change immediately. You don’t have to buy anything (though it’s fine if you do). You just have to honor the writer by giving them a click.
You still get what you pay for, even if you pay with attention.
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by Tammy on June 29, 2009
by Tammy on June 28, 2009
by Tammy on June 26, 2009
by Tammy on June 26, 2009
by Tammy on June 25, 2009
I’m not planning on having children. Don’t get me wrong, kids are super cute and I like spending time with baby tots and teenagers. But I’ve always known I wasn’t meant to be a parent. My role in life is to be a cool Aunt, that donates to a college fund every month and babysits when needed. 
The $204,000 Question
For those of you who are considering have children I thought you would find this article interesting: The $204,000 Question: Are you ever financially ready to have a baby?
One piece of advice stuck in my head when my husband and I decided it was time to start “trying” for a baby: my father’s directive, “If you’re waiting to be financially ready to have a baby, you’ll never have a baby. So just have one!”
Turns out the experts are on his side. The numbers are daunting — but odds are you can make it work. In this report (pdf), the USDA estimates a middle class family will spend more than $204,000 to raise a child to adulthood (not including college tuition). Considering a middle-income family makes an average of $61,000 before taxes, it’s not hard to imagine few have an extra $204,000 lying around. It’s no wonder a Charles Schwab/Baby Center survey in 2007 found that forty percent of women delay pregnancy because of financial concerns.
What do you think? Do you agree with the cost analysis presented in the article?
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by Tammy on June 24, 2009
I love the following quote…
“They intoxicate themselves with work so they won’t see how they really are.” ~Aldous Huxley
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