We were made homeless 2 weeks before Christmas & couldn’t afford rent so bought a van to live in… it’s changed our lives
A COUPLE who were made homeless two weeks before Christmas have shared how converting a van into a tiny home has changed their lives - for the better.
When they lost their house, they decided that instead of spending all of their money renting another abode, they'd try something they'd always wanted to give a go.
They sold their car and bought an old Citroen van and, with no previous experience, began the gruelling job of turning it into a home.
"We were tired of just surviving - saving up all year just to go travelling for a month," he explained in a video on his TikTok page.
"Constantly just looking forward to Friday to come... we were just wishing our lives away.
"We had always dreamt of living a simpler, freer life, so we hope that losing our home would just be serendipity."
On the van build journey, he decided to share videos of the process on TikTok, in a bid to "open up some people's minds on a certain cheaper, freer way of living - where the government doesn't necessarily have you by the b**locks all the time".
"You don't need the best, most expensive stuff," he added.
"It doesn't necessarily have to look perfect.
"So many people are struggling just to pay the bills.
"And maybe you guys can use us as your test dummies - to see if it's really possible to do a van build with no experience, on an extremely tight budget, and then live a happy, free life in it."
Concluding, he said: "And to be honest with you, I want to see if it's possible too!"
"Why we started van life," he captioned the video.
Among the questions received on the clip came many about where they would go to the toilet, to which he replied with another clip, showing where their "full size shower and toilet" would be going.
"For us, a toilet and a shower in a van was an absolute essential," he explained.
"Yes, living in a van does make you give up some of your luxuries. But things like a toilet and a shower, if you save on weight in other places, you can definitely have them.
"And for me, my toilet's like a sanctuary."
"You still need an address for things like banking, getting wages from work, receiving benefits etc," someone else commented.
To which the man replied: "I have a account which isn’t a UK registered bank so I don’t need an address for it, I work for cash for myself and have no benefits."
"Not absolutely certain, but if you need to receive benefits in the UK you can use your local Jobcentre as your address apparently," another wrote.
To which someone else posted: "Yes I’m homeless and I use the jobcentre for my address to claim".
"How do you heat it?"another asked.
With the van owner replying: "We have a diesel heater which runs off a little tank.
"Works great!"
Others praised the couple for taking the plunge and moving into van life.
"More people need to do this,"one wrote.
"This is gold!"another said.
"Explore the nature, you guys will definitely live happier than being stuck somewhere!"
"Do it when you are young!!!" a third urged.
"There are no hurdles except the ones we create for ourselves!"
While someone else said: "I love this video! I bought a van for 2k two years ago, spent another 2.5k on the build..
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"I have a 5k home, it’s not the best and most expensive.. but it’s mine to call home.
"Van life is truly magic!"
