Most of us can probably agree that life is a little more expensive these days.
Whether it’s going out to dinner, going out for a movie, or just staying in for the night, our bills seem to be going up — despite the behavior changes we might be making to cut back.
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Data from the most recent Consumer Price Index shows that the prices of many goods and services are higher compared to past prices. Here’s a breakdown of how different items rose over the past 12 months:
Food: up 3.3%Food at home: up 2.1%Food away from home: up 5.4%Energy: down 4.5%Electricity: up 2.4%New vehicles: up 1.9%Apparel: up 2.6%Medical care commodities: up 4.7%Transportation services: up 9.2%Shelter: up 6.7%
If you’re on a budget, going to the grocery store feels like enough of a challenge. But if you’re in the market for a new home, saving enough might feel next to impossible.
The average fixed mortgage rate sits at 7.924%. Compare these rates to where they were in January 2021, where many rates sat around 2.65%, and home buying feels like a reality tv contest; it is not for the faint of heart.
Shelter is the CPI’s benchmark for measuring housing costs and its relationship with inflation. It’s based more on rent prices, but an increase in rent typically correlates closely to a rise in housing costs across the board. Given that it’s up just 6.7% as of October 2023, it’s not surprising that some folks are considering alternative living opportunities.
Visitors to the “New Housing” trade fair walk around the grounds of the Karlsruhe trade fair center and look at Tiny Houses in Baden-Württemberg, Germany on June 30. (Photo by Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images.)
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Buyers find compelling solution on Amazon
Leave it to crafty Amazon (AMZN) – Get Free Report buyers, then, who scour the internet high and low for deals.
The most recent finding for buyers looking to pinch their pennies is a storage shed which costs just $5,490.88.
The shed, which is sold by Best Barns Inc. and measures just 12 feet by 16 feet, features pre cut and pre drilled parts for ease of assembly. The barn weighs 1,200 pounds and is usually available to ship within 8-9 days. The barn doesn’t include a floor and isn’t officially billed as a potential place of residence.
Best Barns Inc. also offers a slightly different 12 x 20 foot barn, for $6,195.18. Shoppers claim it has room for a sleeping area and ample storage.
Though it also features a more rustic appeal.
“This needs to be wired, plumbed and insulated to be a tiny home. this would also need to have the interior finished out and a kitchen and bathroom installed,” one Amazon reviewer wrote.
The tiny home trend has been growing in recent years as customers who might otherwise be priced out of the housing market find alternative means toward home ownership. Other retailers, including Wayfair and Home Depot have made similar moves, selling storage sheds and barns that some motivated customers might convert to use as dwelling spaces.
It’s important to note that, while these sheds might offer storage, water resistance, and technically a roof over your head, none of these retailers officially bill these as structures as homes.
