The Little Brave House is a story of unconventional investing, self-reliance, and learning by doing.

What began as a forgotten retirement account and a chance podcast episode led Jen down an unexpected path of land ownership, off-grid construction, and entrepreneurship.

Armed with little more than determination, a set of Ryobi tools, and a willingness to figure things out as she went, she transformed a remote piece of land into a thriving tiny house retreat that continues to generate income and opportunity today.

How it began…

The Little Brave House was born out of necessity and curiosity.

I needed a place in nature to ride out Covid that wouldn’t get unceremoniously shut down some random Wednesday (remember how crazy that was?). The problem was, I wasn’t very “liquid” at the time. I had, however, just discovered a 401k that I had lost track of in my 20s.

At that time, it was about $23,000 just floating around my house in the form of a check.

I thought my only option was to roll it into another 401k and continue investing in the stock market, which made me want to burn my house down. I hated that option.

Then one day, in the shower, it came to me. Not my own bright idea, I was still so new to investing then. But a podcast. One that snuck into my orbit when the one I was listening to ended and my phone was too far away to change it. It was about “Checkbook IRAs”.

Once I heard that, I knew what I had to do. I converted that retirement money into an IRA, and took all the steps to take control of my money. The first thing I did was invest it in property. I bought that first 2.5 acres in the Carrizo plains for less than $6,000!

The Tranquility…

Once I had the property, I got very curious about what I could do with it. Could I rent it out to campers as dry land? Turns out I could! I wasn’t the only one desperately needing to get outside. Could I make enough money to re-invest it in the property and rent it out for even more? Absolutely!

I used the profits from renting it as dry land to buy my first set of tools: a variety pack of Ryobi power tools in a bag (and thus, I was inducted into House Ryobi). Then, I bought a shed kit from Costco for $1,400 and IT. WAS. ON!! I had it delivered to the property in the absolute ass-crack of nowhere. Once it was finally unloaded, the delivery man looked around, took a deep breath and exhaled “Welp, this is a first!”.

Y’all, I had no idea what I was doing. Did I feel prepared? Hell no. I was in the middle of nowhere, an hour from any services, with no electricity or cell reception, camping in a tent and building as long as the Ryobi batteries would last. I spent every weekend for almost 3 months building that house. When I started, I could barely comprehend the instructions. When I finished, I knew how to insulate, drywall and roof a house. Something that would come in handy later.

I remember celebrating when the walls and ceiling were up, because it meant not having to sleep in a tent anymore. I remember the day the solar electricity was up and running because it meant I could charge my tools. I remember when I was finally finished and hosting my first guest. I was so nervous!!

A Space to Be…

Today, The Little Brave House makes me money while I sleep. It was such an excellent investment. Not just for the money, but for the free education it provided.

The next step in the journey will be to sell it, hopefully to a family who wants to start a homestead. I have had so many adventures with that property, and have really grown to love the area, but it’s time to pass it on. I will sell it using a seller carry, continuing a long tradition of women surviving. Of outsmarting a system designed to keep us permanently in 2nd place. And I will thrive.