We moved my mom with dementia into a tiny house next door

Lori Bufka, 64, moved her 88-year-old mother out of assisted living in California after rising fees began to drain the woman’s savings. The care had cost about $4,700 a month and was set to rise to $5,200; staff planned to move her into a dementia unit with four other people as her condition worsened, a step Bufka did not want for her mother.

Bufka and her partner bought a roughly 700-square-foot trailer in Arizona, about a minute’s walk from their tiny house, paying a low five-figure price using two-thirds of the mother’s savings and one-third of Bufka’s. Lot rent is a little over $500 a month and utilities run roughly $200 in winter and $70 in summer.

They split caregiving, and hospice volunteers now visit after a hired aide proved costly once mileage was added to the bill. The mother remains somewhat independent—able to dress herself and follow routines—but needs daily reminders and help with pills and meals.

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