I’ve saved £59k by ditching living in a house for a van – I’ve done it for 3 years & haven’t paid rent in 40 months
PAYING for rent or a mortgage can be increasingly expensive, but one woman decided to get creative and moved into a van.
Not only has her new lifestyle enabled her to travel but YouTuber Bridget claims to have saved £59,000 in three years by living in her tiny home on wheels.
In a clip, Bridget made the revelation as she showed followers inside her snug dwelling.
She said: “In today's video, I want to share with you how I've saved $75,000 (£59,000) by living in this van.
“It's definitely not a perfect calculation, but let me explain how I got there.
"I have had my van for about 3 and a half years or 40 months, if you want to be exact.
“I bought it in September of 2020, so that means I haven't paid rent in 40 months.
“Cheers to that!”
Bridget said that before she lived in her van with her partner, she had stayed in different apartments across California and was paying around £832 a month.
She continued: “The simple math is that if average rent prices are [now] $1,837 (£1,460) in California, and I've been living in the van for 40 months, that equals $74,900 (£59,561).
“So, I've saved that.”
Bridget did acknowledge that while she may not pay rent, she does have to fork out for a number of expenses, including car insurance, petrol, campgrounds, water and dump stations.
She also had to buy the van in the first place, and put cash into renovating it into her dream home.
Bridget said: “I paid around $75,000 (£59,648) for this van.
“It cost $45,000 (£35,788) for the van to begin with, and then conversion costs were around $30,000 (£23,859)..
“While I did save $75,000 (£59,648), I also spent $75,000 (£59,648). So, in my mind, I broke even.
However, many people praised her nomadic lifestyle and the amount of rent she hasn’t had to pay.
One said: “You certainly have saved money because you still have a large value asset!”
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Another added: “Can’t put a price on memories.”
A third commented: “I think you can save a little more being in a van than an apartment but you get more experiences in the van.”
