Six years ago, Tammy Strobel was unhappy- "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 video featuring Dee Williams and her tiny home- a moment she calls her "turning point"- and she began to dream about less.
Prior to downsizing Tammy and her husband, Logan Smith, were living in a two-bedroom apartment, driving two cars, commuting long distances, and $30,000 in debt, but they were hesitant to change the status quo. "Initially, we resisted the idea of moving into a smaller one-bedroom apartment because we were more concerned about appearances and space for guests than for our financial well-being. We decided something needed to change once we realized our debt was causing us so much stress."
Tammy and Logan began with small steps. They sold one car and moved into a one-bedroom apartment. Next, it was a 400 square foot home. Today they are car-free and living in a 128-square-foot home on wheels (designed by Dee Williams' company PAD). Along the way, the couple shed weight, stress, debt, and the unhappiness they felt being tied to jobs they didn't enjoy. Today, Tammy is a full-time blogger/photographer/teacher.
Tammy recently published a book titled "You Can Buy Happiness (and It's Cheap)", but she explains that it's not exactly happiness that she pursues, but resilience. "Jobs move, people lose jobs, people die," she explains, "So how can you structure your life so that you're more flexible and embrace the good stuff even when loss makes it really really difficult?"
One of the biggest side effects of living in a small, mortgage-free home on wheels is the freedom to move, something that has served them well in the past year. When Tammy's father had a stroke, unfettered by home or car loans, Tammy was able to be with him during the last months of his life. When Logan lost his job (it was transferred to Boston), they were able to pick up their home and move from Portland to Northern California to be closer to family.
For their first move, they attached 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 year, they moved again to be closer to Tammy's mother: this time they parked in her yard in Red Bluff, CA. Again within the same year, they moved to a more permanent home in Chico (their college town and still close enough to family) where they pay $500 in rent for an empty lot and hookups (it was previously occupied by a mobile home).
"Even though the past year has been a lot of upheaval with moving the house, like it's harder than you think to move the tiny house and stressful and all that, but I'm really grateful for that because we've had that flexibility to really be there for family", explains Tammy. Her father's death "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: Tammy Strobel. She teaches e-courses on how to photograph everyday life:
http://rowdykittens.com/everydaymagic/"You Can Buy Happiness (And It's Cheap)"
http://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Buy-Happiness-Cheap/dp/1608680835Original story:
http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/debtcar-free-tiny-house-couple-simple-living-resilience/About the Site 🌐
This site provides links to random videos hosted at YouTube, with the emphasis on random. 🎥
Origins of the Idea 🌱
The original idea for this site stemmed from the need to benchmark the popularity of a video against the general population of YouTube videos. 🧠
Challenges Faced 🤔
Obtaining a large sample of videos was crucial for accurate ranking, but YouTube lacks a direct method to gather random video IDs.
Even searching for random strings on YouTube doesn't yield truly random results, complicating the process further. 🔍
Creating Truly Random Links 🛠️
The YouTube API offers additional functions enabling the discovery of more random videos. Through inventive techniques and a touch of space-time manipulation, we've achieved a process yielding nearly 100% random links to YouTube videos.
About YouTube 📺
YouTube, an American video-sharing website based in San Bruno, California, offers a diverse range of user-generated and corporate media content. 🌟
Content and Users 🎵
Users can upload, view, rate, share, and comment on videos, with content spanning video clips, music videos, live streams, and more.
While most content is uploaded by individuals, media corporations like CBS and the BBC also contribute. Unregistered users can watch videos, while registered users enjoy additional privileges such as uploading unlimited videos and adding comments.
Monetization and Impact 🤑
YouTube and creators earn revenue through Google AdSense, with most videos free to view. Premium channels and subscription services like YouTube Music and YouTube Premium offer ad-free streaming.
As of February 2017, over 400 hours of content were uploaded to YouTube every minute, with the site ranking as the second-most popular globally. By May 2019, this figure exceeded 500 hours per minute. 📈
List of ours generators⚡
Random YouTube Videos Generator
Random Film and Animation Video Generator
Random Autos and Vehicles Video Generator
Random Music Video Generator
Random Pets and Animals Video Generator
Random Sports Video Generator
Random Travel and Events Video Generator
Random Gaming Video Generator
Random People and Blogs Video Generator
Random Comedy Video Generator
Random Entertainment Video Generator
Random News and Politics Video Generator
Random Howto and Style Video Generator
Random Education Video Generator
Random Science and Technology Video Generator
Random Nonprofits and Activism Video Generator
