The Tiny Home Craze

Tiny homes have become all the rage – at least on social media they have. There are Facebook groups filled with discussions of tiny homes, TikTok videos of people and their tiny homes and Instagram stories all about life in a tiny home. The idea of a tiny home has, perhaps, become more popular as the housing market prices have gone through the roof and as many people have started to value downsizing.

Tiny homes, typically ranging from 100 to 500 square feet. These small dwellings offer a minimalist lifestyle, focusing on simplicity and reduced environmental impact. However, the cost of a tiny home can vary significantly. Generally, they range from $30,000 to $60,000 when ordered directly from a builder, but additional expenses such as trailers, utility installations, and land purchase can increase the total cost.

Park model tiny homes, often placed on foundations in dedicated communities, can be more expensive, especially when factoring in location, upgrades, and additional amenities. For example, new tiny homes in some communities start at around $160,000, excluding land costs.

Living in a tiny home also involves trade-offs, such as limited space for entertaining. Despite these challenges, many find the lifestyle appealing due to lower utility costs, minimal maintenance, and a close-knit community environment. It’s also important to consider your own lifestyle. One of the things that many people enjoy about tiny homes is that they are often built as a community – so you have neighbors, shared facilities like swimming pools and social halls and a way to build a community together. Of course some people want a tiny home away from others, and this should be considered as part of the plan. Whatever you want to do – it’s important to experience a tiny home before you give everything away and jump into living in one. You can find tiny homes for short term and long term rent to get a feel for them before jumping in.

Your Lifestyle Choices Matter

Researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville have shown that your lifestyle choices definitely matter for your life expectancy.  They have linked longer life to a combination of five key healthy lifestyle factors.

Following the lifestyle choices of Chinese women, Dr. Wei Zheng and colleagues found five key components.  These include: normal weight, low belly fat, regular physical activity, limited secondhand cigarette exposure and a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables.

In a statement, Dr. Zheng explained that,  “The results show that overall lifestyle modification, to include a combination of these health-related lifestyle factors, is important in disease prevention.”

Published in the journal PloS Medicine, the research tracked 71,243 non-smoking, non-drinking Chinese women aged 40-70 for nine years.

Warning: Coaching May Be Dangerous to Your Health

Many people don’t realize just how stressful being a sports coach truly is.  Michigan State Coach Mark Dantonio had a heart attack this week, following Saturday’s overtime victory against Notre Dame.  Winning can truly be hazardous to your health in the coaching field.

Certainly, heredity and physical health play roles in your heart’s health, but so do your lifestyle and pressures.  Football coaches earn their big bucks with incredibly long hours of coaching and worries about recruiting and future potentials for the team.


Certainly, other coaches should take heed of the lesson from Coach Mark Dantonio and focus as much on their health as they do on their game.