Let’s be honest—it’s not easy to be a young person these days. Even if they managed to do everything “right” in their lives so far – getting a degree, finding a job, moving away from home, etc. – soaring tuition prices, rent, and healthcare costs usually put many under a mountain of debt.

It’s an unfortunate reality that can put the financial futures of even the best and brightest in jeopardy, but some craftier millennials seem to be finding a solution when it comes to one of the highest living costs—housing.

Take Jackie Kemp, for instance. Jackie’s a recent college grad currently living in the high-rent town of Denver, Colorado. To give you some idea of what it’s like to afford the “Mile High City”, on average, renting a small one-bedroom apartment will cost you a mind-boggling $1,413 per month.

This means that 20-somethings, like Jackie, would have to be earning $50,000 per year—right out of college—just to afford a simple apartment.

Fortunately, upon graduation, Jackie partook in some out-of-the-box thinking and quickly came up with a solution that worked well for her; she would forgo the expensive rent route and just buy a tiny house!

The crafty gal attributes her wise decision to scale down and go tiny to her Montessori education. “We really learned about sustainability and reducing your footprint, and just having less stuff so you’re less stressed,” she tells Bryce Langston with Living Big in a Tiny House.

Along with her practical upbringing, Jackie also has the full support of her parents. After finding and purchasing her tiny house off of a Craigslist seller – of all places! – she parked her sleek home right behind her folk’s house.

view of tiny home behind yellow houseLiving Big In A Tiny House
Sure, she may not be technically out of the roost yet, but the young 20-something explains that she doesn’t mind. After all, her folks have a large piece of land which allows her to care for her bevy of barnyard animals, including horses and chickens.

But just because she is currently sharing digs with her dad doesn’t mean that she’s getting too comfortable. As a matter of fact, Jackie is doing her best to pay off her $42,000 tiny home as quickly as possible, so that she can find a piece of land that she can call her own.

Now that you know all about how Jackie was able to become a homeowner straight out of college, let’s talk about what’s inside her house…

inside view of Jackie's tiny homeLiving Big In A Tiny Home
Believe it or not, this 190-square foot home has everything you would find in a normal studio apartment. There’s a full kitchen, bathroom, a quaint loft bed, and even a stacked washer and dryer.

She’s got everything she needs! To get a full tour of Jackie’s surprisingly chic tiny home, be sure to click on the video below. We don’t know about you, but we plan on sharing this clip with all of the young people in our lives. How inspiring!

What do you think of Jackie’s tiny home? Do you know a young person who has done something similar? If so, what has their experience been like so far?