Small House, Happy Home

One day, I discovered that a smaller home with a smaller mortgage would mean we could have a happier lifestyle, with less debt and stress and more time and money. So we squished our family into a "two-bedroom cottage," and here are some of the ways it saves us money and helps us build a happy family.

• Our small house makes us closer. We are forced to cooperate, and spend lots of time playing together.
  
  
• Staying in our small home when Jacqui was born saved us $100 per week in rent or $5,200 per year. Squishing us all in means I get to spend more time teaching and playing with my kids.
  
  
• We can clean our house in under an hour (and often do when visitors are expected!). This gives us more time and we need less cleaning products.
  
  
• We need very little furniture. We have spent $120 total on furniture and I can't buy any more, because there is nowhere to put it!
  
  
• It provides protection from impulse buys. Sometimes when I'm shopping, I see the most gorgeous things. I would love to buy them on impulse but I can't, because where would I put them in our small home?
  
  
• It is cheaper and easier to heat and cool a small house. This drastically reduces the electricity bill, especially with our lovely new triple backed curtains.
  
  
• The children play outside more and get lots of free exercise.
  
  
• It is easy to know what the kids are up to. There is no need for buying baby monitors when you can hear them wherever they are. And it's much safer, too.
  
  
• Items in our house go through a process of natural selection; only the most used and loved items stay. This means everything we use and play with is high quality.
  
  
• No more toys! There isn't room for any more toys in our house. No matter how big the special or how good the deal, I'm rarely tempted because our house is already full.

If your mortgage is bugging you and you want to reduce (or stay out of) debt, consider moving to a smaller house, a cheaper suburb or see if you can think of a clever way to squish in. You will save thousands.

Fiona Lippey lives with her husband and two children in a waterfront paradise one and a half hours from Sydney, Australia. She is Australia's queen of frugal, founder of the very popular site simplesavings.com.au and creator of the 2006 "Habit Changer". An unique calendar that helps people ditch their bad habits and replace them with cheaper ones. To check out the "Habit Changer" go to simplesavings.com.au/wealthyhabits/

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