A 24-YEAR-OLD had challenged himself to live a minimalist lifestyle in his car so he could save up money and purchase his dream tiny home.
In just under five months, the content creator and DoorDash driver had racked up $60,000 thanks to his meager lifestyle, spending only $1 to $2 per day on food.
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Michael Hickey, born and raised in Indiana, fell in love with travel after visiting Mount Hood, Oregon – 50 miles from Portland – in October 2021 and staying in a tiny home.
“That to me was my happy place. It was a time in my life where I felt content and happy,” said Hickey.
“I wanted to duplicate what I used to have and replicate that peaceful mindset I had.”
Having lived in Indiana his whole life, the 24-year-old decided he wanted to travel for a living.
In January 2024, he began living in his Kia Rio full-time, traveling to every US state while saving the money he made working as a DoorDash driver and travel content creator.
Hickey has millions of combined followers across his Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook pages, with his posts pulling in around $13,000 monthly.
He would also DoorDash for five to 10 hours per day, making roughly $7,000 per month.
Hickey would shower at the gym and cook on his portable stove, spending just $1 or $2 each day on food, living off of eggs, chicken, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with groceries from Walmart.
While exploring the country, he challenged himself to save up $60,000 in just six months so he could afford to build his dream tiny home.
He slept in his little car each night, which came with its own challenges.
“Safety was my main concern. I was sleeping in random parking lots and didn’t know the area well,” said Hickey. “My biggest fear was getting my car broken into or getting robbed at gunpoint.”
“There is no comfort sleeping in a car, you don’t have a kitchen, bathroom or bedroom. The bare necessities kept me in a state of work mode.”
In June 2024, just 146 days after setting off in his Kia, Hickey had managed to accumulate $60,000 thanks to his two sources of income and bare-bones lifestyle.
BUILDING A DREAM
After meeting his goal, Hickey continued living in his car until March 2025 when he set out to build his dream tiny home using the money he had saved.
What is a tiny home?
Technically, a tiny home is any house measuring under 400 square feet.
Many tiny homes are built on trailers so they can be towed anywhere, and some are converted from old school buses or vans.
Each state has its own rules about tiny homes, but, generally, they are not subject to the same taxes as regular homes.
However, Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, and West Virginia have made tiny homes illegal as permanent dwellings.
“Tiny homes are cute and cheap. It felt like the right thing to do,” said the content creator.
He moved out of his Kia and began renting an Airbnb tiny home for $600 per month, working to build his own tiny home alongside the family-owned company Pacifica Tiny Homes.
“After I saved up enough money, I talked to a bunch of companies, and it took months to find a great company worth working with,” he said.
Hickey is currently in the process of building his eight foot by 24 foot tiny home on top of a trailer, planning to buy a plot of land for roughly $7,000 to live on.
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His dream home, costing him $53,000, will be equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, and queen-sized bed once it is fully finished.
The 24-year-old hopes to complete the construction on his tiny home by May this year so he can purchase a piece of land in Oregon or Indiana to settle down on.
With tiny homes becoming increasingly popular, online retailers such as Amazon are taking advantage of the craze and selling the mini homes.
The company is selling a two-story tiny home for just $34,999 – it’s a hassle free option for a personal office or guest house.
Amazon is also selling a tiny home villa kit for just $8,900 – and it comes with a full-sized living room and bath.
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Where to buy a tiny home
THE tiny home phenomenon found new heights as an alternative living solution for consumers concerned with ballooning homebuying costs and sustainability concerns.
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You can buy ‘tiny homes’ online in a few places, including:
You can also check out our full tiny home guides here:
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