If you’re dreaming of a lifestyle change, but aren’t sure where to start, you’ll want to check out our eCourse. We’re Hari and Karl Berzins of TinyHouseFamily.com. We designed and built our tiny house and have lived here for almost four years while continuing to build our mortgage-free homestead. Our course has helped almost two hundred people get started on their own path to debt-free living and several folks have already reached their goals.
So often we get questions like—“Where do I even begin?” That’s what we do in the course. We begin. You begin. Every single day. All the tiny details of how we achieved mortgage-freedom are woven throughout the course—but our story only gives context to the tasks and lessons—it’s all about you and your plan—how are you going to achieve mortgage-freedom?
I had this sense that we needed to tell the whole story the real, trudging-through-mud-and-celebrating-the-milestones story—I needed to share the practices of self-care that make-up the bedrock below the foundation of our homestead, our true money story, our budgeting and saving, our downsizing, land search, and ultimately how we designed and built our legal tiny house. And so we did. And I’m glad we did, because we get notes like this:
“This course is such a gift. Today, because of the encouragement I find here from you and the group, I am moving along in the direction of my dream. It is amazing to see how setting my tiny course has given me confidence, courage, and hope. Every decision now points in the direction of a hugely tiny life. Gone are the bitterness and self-pity, the feeling trapped by decisions past. These days, I catch myself singing and clapping to “Happy,” knowing that “happiness is the truth.” It feels solid and grounded, this happiness. Everything that I appear to be giving up is bringing me closer to freedom. By letting us in to the truth of your experience, you have emboldened me to live my truth. I wish I knew bigger words than thank you…” – E.L., 56, Washington, D.C.
I had to tell our story because we made this happen, and it isn’t a miracle. It has happened one decision, one breath, one step, and one board at a time. We created a deliberate process and practice to design a life and live it. Sharing this plan and process with others, breaking it into manageable steps, and watching them put their own plans in action is AMAZING.
If you long for freedom from the system of debt and consumption, check out our course. You’ll find a vibrant and supportive group of folks walking a similar path. We welcome you. Learn more and enroll now.
=> You can check out all the details and enroll here. We get started January 24, 2015.
=> Learn more and enroll here.
Hari Berzins
Latest posts by Hari Berzins (see all)
- Tiny House Family Teaching eCourse on Mortgage Freedom - January 22, 2015
- Tiny House Living Perspectives from a Tiny House Family - December 21, 2012
- How Tiny Houses Give You More Time for Relationships & Giving - December 1, 2012
I really loved this so I thought I’d post it here for easier access. It’s a great story about this family on the Nikon #IAmGenerationImage page. You can see a movie and an image gallery of photos by Hari with her Nikon.
http://iamgenerationimage.nikonusa.com/profile/tiny-house
Thanks Kelli I wanted to share that too!
Hi Kelli,
Thanks for sharing the Nikon video. It was so much fun making the video and meeting the creative crew behind it. They really captured the essence of our story, and taking pictures with my new camera is a dream come true. I am so excited to have my pictures featured on the Nikon website. It is proof that small, deliberate steps toward your dreams really works! Cheers! 🙂
Just having difficulty understanding your motives with this course. You.ve downsized, built a tiny house, mortgage free and appear happy , yet you are building your dream home which is not tiny? I understand that you want to express/sell your knowledge about your own tiny house journey but to built larger and collect more crap sounds like you are just not happy in your tiny home.
Help me understand?
Our motives with our course is to help others plan their own path to mortgage-freedom be that in a tiny, small or big house. Our plan has always been to live tiny while we continue to build our mortgage-free homestead. We have two kids nearing adolescence and we do miss space for solitude and also gathering with friends. We’ve thoughtfully designed our big house to accommodate our simple lifestyle, but also allow for room to have a dance party, do yoga and host more than two people at a time. Our tiny home has been the ticket to the mortgage-free lifestyle we enjoy, and we are very happy about that. After four years of living here with growing children, we are definitely excited about moving into our 1400 sq. ft. house. Even if you don’t live tiny forever, it’s still a valuable experience. We absolutely don’t plan on collecting more crap.
Hari probably answered concerns but just to add.. They built tiny and lived tiny for years. They did it mortgage-free. Since they’re a family, naturally, they could use more space than a tiny house on wheels offers. So they’re building a custom home mortgage-free. And they are able to do it thanks to their tiny house. It sounds like they skipped the 30 year mortgage trap relatively pretty quickly. Doesn’t that sound like a success story?