10 Cheap Housing Options to Avoid Being Homeless

Cheap housing options

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You’re going to learn about cheap housing options to keep a roof over your head. I saw this documentary on YouTube the other day and it was so heartbreaking. In the heart of the pandemic, this couple suffered from reduced hours at work, which caused them to fall behind on rent.

Their landlord was unwillingly to grant them an extension and when they took action and went to court for an extension, unfortunately they lost. So, now they live in their car.

Luckily it’s just the two of them and they don’t have kids but the documentary told their story, including how trying to find a place to live now is so difficult with an eviction on their record.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Things get tough and housing is the most important thing. A roof over your head is SO IMPORTANT. I couldn’t imagine being homeless yet so many people in the U.S. are. Here are some cheap housing options to look into if you’re struggling. These will help you save money avoid being homeless like this couple I watched in the documentary.

10 Cheap Housing Options to Keep Your Housed

1. Move in with family

If you have family that is willing to take you in, live with them. If you can, pay them a small rent, too. This will help things out, trust me. Use the time you stay there to get on your feet.

2. Move into a storage shed

Check the rules in your area for this as it may vary from place to place. Get a storage shed and you can get them cheap for around $30 to $80 per month, then move your stuff in and you’ve got a place.

I have seen so many people do this. They outfit the storage space with a bed, lamps, some furniture, all their stuff and they’re set.

This can be a short term or long term solution for you. Many people who travel a lot do this to save money on housing. Others who need a super cheap place to stay do this to avoid being homeless.

3. Rent out your place

AirBNB out your home. This works if you own or you rent. What you’ll do is rent out the entire home other than one room, which is the room you’ll stay in. Do this everyday and you’ll make enough to pay for your housing payment plus some, most likely.

4. Stay in your shed

While AirBNBing your home, if you want to rent the entire place, you can stay in your shed. Add a small bed, your essentials and you’re set. People prefer to stay in an entire place without the owner living there I think, so this will make your AirBNB listing more desirable and help you rent it out more which will make you more money.

5. Move to a cheap condo

Opt for buying a condo instead of a house. You may get a smaller space but even with the HOA fees, you’ll pay far less usually WITH the perks of homeownership.

6. Get roommates

There are tons of apps out there to match you with roommates. A roommate can literally cut your rent payment in half.

If you’re paying $1,000 a month, get a roommate who pays 50% and you’re now paying $500 a month.

Plus, if you go half on utilities, groceries and other bills, you can save even more!

7. Live in a motel room

have you seen those motel rooms advertised on the side of the highway on the billboards? They offer a furnished motel rooms for one to $200 per week. This is a cheap housing option you can take it vantage of you want to save money on rent.

8. Live in a van

Then living is something more and more people are adopting. You buy everything and then outfit it full-time and you just found yourself a cheap form of housing. This may require some investment up front if you want to install a refrigerator and other appliances including a bed.

But there are cheap ways of getting around this deal. If this sounds interesting to you, how to YouTube and check out the van life Youtubers. There are a ton of channels in this niche that you can learn French so you can start your van life journey.

9. Live in an RV

This works well if you do your work online. Michelle from Making Sense of Cents did this traveling around in her RV while logging in making full-time living. You could choose to include or not include the travel part but RV living is being adopted by today and it’s a form of housing you can take advantage of.

10. Live in a tiny home

Tiny homes take less space and require less energy to power them. So if you live in a tiny home you could save money big-time on everything from the housing payment to the cost of the utilities and much more. Check with the tiny home builders in your area and see what options are available to you..

Jenn Leach, MBA

Jenn Leach is a Houston-based MBA with over a decade of experience in the banking industry. She writes at Millennial Nextdoor where she writes finance, money, business, and lifestyle content to help millennials create additional income streams online. Join her on Substack at https://jennleach.substack.com.

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