I have been quiet recently.......

[Buggirl]

there has been a reason. I have been really focusing on my future and living requirements vs my desire to be a bit of a nomad! Yes, I want a simplified life. I have come to the conclusion that having not had children, who am I paying a mortgage for? What if I never make it to my ideal retirement?!
I am fast approaching 40 and don't want to be tied to bricks and mortar anymore.
So after exploring alternative lifestyles, I am going to embark on a bit of a change of habitat!
The T6 will remain in situ as I have plans now to full convert her to a camper (minus pop top) and travel Europe at every opportunity.
Rest of my material nooses are going! House will be up for sale before Autumn and depending how quick it sells, will depend on how quickly I will start to live my alternate and long dreamt about lifestyle.
I love my job and will continue my career for the foreseeable, but you might wonder where I am going to live and make my home?
All will be revealed soon.........

 

[Fish]

Fantastic.. sounds awesone!.
Wish you the very best, such a brave and radical change against the 'norm'.. why the hell not I say..

Keep us posted tho.. would be great to see your travel thread..

 

[Davenjo]

@Buggirl to become BoatGirl I wonder?? Good look with whatever you are planning!!!

 

[former member]

Great choice @Buggirl - amazing how many are slaves to a mortgage and often a job with no reason other than because everyone else does it.

Shout if you need any advise on Euro travelling!

 

[Jonny]

I'm excited to see what you do.

I've longed to build my own home out of what ever I can find. There's a company in Wales that sells huge double decker buses for peanuts. For years I've wanted to convert one of them into a home, it'll probably be the same size as the house I'm in now but not taking 2/3 of my wage to live in it.

Also met Ben Law, that dude from Grand Designs. I spent the day at his house he made from the trees on his Copse woodland he lived in. Totally inspiring bloke. He proved that a lot of us are doing it wrong.

So good luck with what ever you do, keep us in the loop and it might be the boot up the arse I need to start thinking what the hell im doing.

 

[Chopman]

I'm sure many of us have asked those same questions at some stage, but all all of us were brave enough to act.
I hope you find what you're looking for @Buggirl.

 

[Roadrunner]

Too late for me I'm over the hill but fair play @Buggirl if that is how you fell go for it. I often wonder how life would have been like for me and the wife if we had no kids.

 

[former member]

Too late for me I'm over the hill but fair play @Buggirl if that is how you fell go for it. I often wonder how life would have been like for me and the wife if we had no kids.

It's partly because we have kids that we refuse to comply with some daft template of how one should live.
Get job, save for a deposit, get out enormous loan to make banks (because they are really great institutions...) a pile of cash, waste countless days doing DIY and maintenance in tiny little "first step on the housing ladder" shoebox, move to next slightly larger shoebox with a loan extension, work more to pay larger loan and pay for all the things you are constantly "told" you must buy, have kids, pay a vast amount a year to get them looked after so you can do your jobs to pay your massive loan, rent latest car/van on the never never while being dictated what mileage you are allowed to drive, get stuck in three year cycle while convincing yourself you are doing well because you are always in a "new" car/van (that is rented), the kids leave home and the cycle begins again. Get to retirement age, finally pay that last mortgage payment forgetting that you've paid far more than the house value in interest BUT it's gone up in value so you've made a massive profit and are a financial genius (also forgetting how much your've spent maintaining/extending/etc it) , realise you are now too old to enjoy the things you should have done in your younger years with your kids and yourselves, sit in large house that needs even more constant maintenance and read the paper.

Nope, not joining for it. Never have, never will.

Or live within your means, save up for stuff, rent a house (NOT a buy to let property with a big mortgage on it - must be fully owned and the landlord must be a decent person) so you aren't tied down, explore, see the World, have loads of time with your kids and teach them that life isn't about consumerism and playing Xbox, learn languages, meet all sorts of fascinating people, keep very active and do it where and when you want preferably in a VW van/camper.

Random rantlet over.

 

[Jonny]

It's partly because we have kids that we refuse to comply with some daft template of how one should live.
Get job, save for a deposit, get out enormous loan to make banks (because they are really great institutions...) a pile of cash, waste countless days doing DIY and maintenance in tiny little "first step on the housing ladder" shoebox, move to next slightly larger shoebox with a loan extension, work more to pay larger loan and pay for all the things you are constantly "told" you must buy, have kids, pay a vast amount a year to get them looked after so you can do your jobs to pay your massive loan, rent latest car/van on the never never while being dictated what mileage you are allowed to drive, get stuck in three year cycle while convincing yourself you are doing well because you are always in a "new" car/van (that is rented), the kids leave home and the cycle begins again. Get to retirement age, finally pay that last mortgage payment forgetting that you've paid far more than the house value in interest BUT it's gone up in value so you've made a massive profit and are a financial genius (also forgetting how much your've spent maintaining/extending/etc it) , realise you are now too old to enjoy the things you should have done in your younger years with your kids and yourselves, sit in large house that needs even more constant maintenance and read the paper.

Nope, not joining for it. Never have, never will.

Or live within your means, save up for stuff, rent a house (NOT a buy to let property with a big mortgage on it - must be fully owned and the landlord must be a decent person) so you aren't tied down, explore, see the World, have loads of time with your kids and teach them that life isn't about consumerism and playing Xbox, learn languages, meet all sorts of fascinating people, keep very active and do it where and when you want preferably in a VW van/camper.

Random rantlet over.

Well that was awakening

 

[Veema]

Good for you. My husband worked bloody hard all his life...long hours, weekends etc and it was only when he got ill that he realised what he had missed out on...missed putting his kids to bed, missed sports days and awards ceremonies...afternoons down the park, days on the beach etc. The only benefit being that I now have financial security...but I don't have him.

I think it's important to be able to support yourself, but life is for living, you only have one shot at it.

 

[former member]

Good for you. My husband worked bloody hard all his life...long hours, weekends etc and it was only when he got ill that he realised what he had missed out on...missed putting his kids to bed, missed sports days and awards ceremonies...afternoons down the park, days on the beach etc. The only benefit being that I now have financial security...but I don't have him.

I think it's important to be able to support yourself, but life is for living, you only have one shot at it.

Your awful experience certainly does put life into focus.
We lost our first baby at 37 weeks (stillborn) - his cord knotted and that was it. That probably changed the direction of our entire lives. Luckily another boy (then a girl) appeared not too long afterwards and helped save us from a pretty dark time.

But it's shame that it can take a tragedy to show what really matters.

Slaving for hours (admittedly pre kids, we did work very hard to get the business off the ground) to pay for some bricks and mortar just seems like a mugs game to me. There's a superb TED talk (

) that really puts the housing insanity into focus. And the more I question the entire housing market and industry, the more I see how utterly damaging it is - Grenfell is an extreme example of pure exploitation but there are countless other examples. It just seems to bring out the very worst in people. If only we could see houses as homes not some vile "investment" then we'd be in a much better place. The only money we'll ever put into property will be to buy/build a home for ourselves - not the next buyer, not to exploit people, not to be yet another property parasite (a bit strong but can't think of a better word).

Anyway this has gone a bit off track - sorry @Buggirl

 

[KombiKommando]

This is deep thread.... but here's my two cents on life.....

Me and my Mrs both have/had 'good' jobs. Worked all hours to have a decent lifestyle. Two holidays a year, two nice cars. We expanded our brood over the years with two children. Worked harder to keep our lifestyle. This went on for ten years. Last year I took a job which meant my Mrs had to leave her job. Our income was halved overnight. Had to move into rented house. Money was tight as f***. No more holidays. Sold both cars and brought a banger. Living hand to mouth. We were worried for a time. But you know what? Now my Mrs don't work, she has more time for our kids. Which means I have made extra effort to do family stuff. Now we do something every weekend as a family. It's been hard. With little money it's been very very stressful. We've argued a lot. But it's brought us closer. We weren't broken before, but we have looked at our life priorities and realised we were doing it wrong. Always working working working. 'Gotta have that new car, gotta go abroad for expensive all inclusive holidays......' but that's Bullsh*t. Family. Quality of life not quanity in life. I got a raise. We saved. My Mrs started a small business from home while the kids are at school and it's taken off. But it's on her terms. We saved a bit more. Brought a map. Circled where we want to go, want to see. We brought the T6. We couldn't be happier. Yeah, poorer in money than last year, but f*** it. Life is for adventure.

Not a new life story by any means I know. But like I said. My two cents.......

 

[PukkaT6]

I absolutely love this forum. Its such a breath of fresh air in so many ways. Members are helpful, not scared to voice an opinion or two and most of all happy to share life experiences, experiences which we can all use to take stock and make our own lives better and the lives of others.

Personally from a young age I always admired and aspired to be like my Grandad, he had nothing, but always presented himself well, shared the little he had and surrounded himself with people who were decent honest folk. He was always happy and never once turned anyone away. He lost both parents at a young age and could have easily ended up in a bad place but it was his family and not money that made him the man he was and thats something that will always stay with me.

 

[Buggirl]

Thanks for all the inspiration folks! I now know I am doing the right thing! I will keep you posted as I intend to set up a you tube channel on the whole experience which I am very nervous about, but I want to try and share with others.

I am looking at a 50ft -60ft narrow boat. I have always wanted to do this. I have just sorted storage (for when we have sold the house, whenever that may be!) for my beetle and the hog. Very secure and surprisingly cheap at £75 a month for both!

Everything else must go! We want to clear everything in the next two weeks so we have just the stuff left in the house that we will move with!

 

[Roadrunner]

@Buggirl nothing wrong with living on a Narrowboat, I have seem plenty of people living on them along the Kennet & Avon as well as the Oxford Canal. A friend of mine here at work mother owns one. Get some advice from some one who owns one first to find the pitfalls. I seriously thought of getting one myself once but mooring fees on the Thames are high plus you have the problem of flooding (could find the boat in a field) Have a good look at what you need and we hope to see a photo of the boat

 

[superflyguy]

I personally think rent on a property is dead money, the same as rent on a vehicle, Im now at the point my mortgage is nearly paid and my house will be mine, rather than pay inflated rent all my life to a landlord and have zero.
The same with my vehicles, yes I know they depreciate, but because I decided to not rent and be tied to how far I could drive, when I sold my Audi last year I owned it, so my new T6 only cost me £7k.

Its each to their own I guess, but it suits me, I could still sell up if I wanted, and have a tidy sum to survive on.

 

[Jonny]

I personally think rent on a property is dead money, the same as rent on a vehicle, Im now at the point my mortgage is nearly paid and my house will be mine, rather than pay inflated rent all my life to a landlord and have zero.
The same with my vehicles, yes I know they depreciate, but because I decided to not rent and be tied to how far I could drive, when I sold my Audi last year I owned it, so my new T6 only cost me £7k.

Its each to their own I guess, but it suits me, I could still sell up if I wanted, and have a tidy sum to survive on.

Just not everyone is in your position and there's nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day, we are all good people that have the same moral understanding.

People must do what makes them happy, now more than ever.

I get so frustrated sometime with the way I live just because I know how make large roundwood timber frame structures...a house basically. I cut down hundreds of trees a year (and replant) so I have free materials...why the hell don't I live in a free house? I even work for a social housing company that throws away perfectly good albeit old double glazed UPVC windows amongst god knows what else.

I work to live because I have to. I don't want to. At any given opportunity, I would get out of the regime I have been repeating for my entire adult life.

 

[former member]

Yep @superflyguy and that's the view of rent/buy (or in the vast majority of cases - borrow from the bank); everyone thinks it costs more, they fail to appreciate how much maintenance/legal costs/etc are and totally commit themselves to a life of slogging to crawl up the ladder.
Our rent is a bargain - we claim a chunk of it back from the business we run from home. In the last two years, the repairs (new roof, £11k shed that burnt down, total re-wire, new windows, bathroom re-ft, etc) have cost more than our rent - we've paid nothing. For a five bed property overlooking the sea in one of the major property hot spots of the SW, we pay so little, we save every month and will one day buy outright (could do now if we wanted to having saved a "tidy sum"); we are paying a small amount to a landlord we like and who sorts everything out immediately. Same with our last place - 5 bed property in 5 acres of land. We're still in touch with the landlord there who lived next to us.

So yes you could sell up but what then? Would you rent? Would you live in a caravan? Probably not.

What baffles me is how unusual our situation is - people cannot understand why someone that could clearly "buy" chooses to rent. They wonder why on Earth we save and have done for many years. They wonder why we buy vehicles outright; it's like some brainwashed society that thrives on debt, is happy to throw hundreds of thousands at banks (yes the ones that pretty much broke the economy and got away with it), thinks debt is somehow okay. It isn't - that's why we have a VAST deficit.

We could make money out of property; like anyone can with a spare few quid. But we won't. However good the return "might" be. It's a hateful industry that is responsible for far more social issues than any immigration, drugs and so on (issues which the media like to blame for everything) and IMO is the main thing holding back an entire nation. We need to make stuff, sell stuff, design stuff, innovate, grow stuff not sit in a flaming 3 bed semi in housing estate in Croydon convincing ourselves that we are financial geniuses for flogging ourselves to death to pay a bank to lend it to us.

Free yourselves; explore, learn, educate, get more active, think of others a little more, volunteer. Stop dedicating most of your life to a pile of bricks and mortar while helping to make that first step ever harder for your kids/grand kids.

 

[superflyguy]

I agree with what your saying, I get frustrated with how we are taxed for everything we do in life.

I'm not fortunate, I've just turned 50 , had an expensive divorce some years ago, and also experienced some life changing things along the way. Not knocking anyone for how they choose to pay for their existence. Its just worked for me doing it this way.

 

[superflyguy]

I don't live in Croydon

Whatever I've done in life I don't think I could live up too your lifestyle @Polzeylad !!