One last thing...

I received quite a lot of comments and messages off the back of my last blog, which I'm really appreciative of - however one comment struck a bit of a nerve with me, and I want to address that here for clarity. I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but the tone of the comment was along the lines of "only the financially privileged can talk about not worrying about money". I cant let that go unanswered.

I am privileged. Very much so. I'm extremely privileged in many ways relevant to living how I do. I'm a white heterosexual male for starters - any hardships and struggles I face are not furthered by or a direct result of my ethnicity, colour of my skin, sexual orientation, or sex/gender. I don't generally have to worry about my personal safety, or take additional steps in protecting myself. In all likelihood, I will never be a victim of sexual assault, discrimination or targetted bigotry. There is a level of stereotyping and discrimination towards "travellers" of course, but that's not really what I'm talking about. I'm fortunate enough to be in very good physical health and general fitness, all things considered, for a nearly-forty year old, and I take the time to recognise and be thankful for this. I am extremely lucky to have a supportive family and network of very good friends. These are the things that I'm privileged with - I am not nor have ever been privileged financially, I have never been gifted money, I am not funded by anyone. I don't have much, I funded my van build by selling a cherished car that I'd restored and owned for a long time, and I moved into my van with no immediate income and less than a grand in savings. What I do have comes from my own sweat and blood, taking pride in being good at what I do, living somewhat frugally, and a having positive attitude towards opportunities for work. As I write this now, I have more in rainy-day savings than I ever did when living conventionally - but I don't forget that I started out with nothing (big up, Steve!).

I've spoken before about how there are two "camps" in the vanlife community - those that live in vans because they want to, and those that do because they have to, for lack of a better option. There is some animosity between the two factions a little, with a perception that those who live in vans that are... a little fancier shall we say, or furnished to a level above bare basic essentials, come from wealthy backgrounds and are being financed by the bank of mum and dad. I have no idea if there is any truth in this, I've never asked anyone how they funded their builds - but I suspect it's spite ridden bollocks. Most definitely is in my case anyway! Financially privileged?! The fucking AUDACITY! 😅

The Route (sic) Of All Evils

Ugh. I'm going to do it. I'm going to blog about something I hate, so let's just get it out of the way and have done with it. Money. I've never liked money or wanted much association with it. It doesn't motivate me, excite me, or inspire me. It certainly doesn't drive me in any way, and was never a factor in my decision to try this vanlife thing - but whether I like it or not, it is a necessary evil in the capitalist construct of, well, paying for things I want (like coffee, and rum), so as much as I loathe to talk about it, I do want to talk about the financial aspect of Vanlife and maybe expell some unrealistic dreams about the cost of living full time in a van in the UK. Spoiler. It isn't free.

Before I talk about what it costs me personally, what I pay for and how much, I'll list what I don't pay for:

• Rent/Mortgage. Obviously. I'll also add to this that that I don't (or at least, haven't yet) pay for any sort of camping. I either boondock on the move, or park on private property.

• Council Tax. On account of not residing at a physical address.

• Electricity. My electric currently comes "free" from my van engine as I drive. Soon to be my solar panels, once I fit them (shush, I'll get round to it one day).

• Water. I take the opportunity to fill up my tanks and bottles where ever I can, when I can.

• Heating. I mostly heat my van via my log burner with salavaged scrap wood from jobs and projects, and have become a bit of a timber-squirrel.

• TV License, Cable/Sky.

Straight away you can quickly put a rough figure to the realistic costs if living nomadically. Take your current outgoings, deduct the above, and you won't be far off the number. So here's the remaining what I do pay for, and how much:

• Van insurance. Currently £270 a year, or £22.50 a month, on account of being old and having a lot of no claims.

• Road Tax. £23 a month

• Mobile bill. £22 a month, unlimited data (must have)

• Pet Plan. £12 a month. Covers my dogs flea/worming and checkups/consultations. I don't have insurance for him as it's extortionate, so I keep a blank credit card for emergencies.

• Breakdown cover. £12 a month with European coverage. Optimistic!

• Netflix and Prime. Tenner (half). I split this with a mate.

Call it £100 a month all in for my fixed bills  Now obviously this doesn't factor in my two largest outgoings - food and fuel. These are both variable costs, and can be as little as £50 a month if I'm working on fixed location and food/parkup is part of the deal, or upwards of £400 a month if I'm permanently on the road and covering a lot of miles. It's also worth accounting for van maintenance, keeping on top of the servicing, fixing and mending bits, adding and changing other bits. It can add up, especially if you're paying for labour rates and the clutch shits its self. I like to average it out at £100 a month for tinkering, but we all know a big bill is only ever a bad MOT or major breakdown away!!

So there we go, that's everything. My total fixed outgoings plus my variable costs even at peak, is a substantially different figure to when I lived in bricks and worked a 9-5. When I put it like that, I can certainly see why so many peoples inspiration for wanting to move into a van and live on the road, is money and getting out of the rat race. It isnt my place to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, however what I will say from the benefit of a little experience, is that there is so much more to living in a van - both positives and negatives - than simply cheap living, and the financial aspect in relative terms is only a minor one which I don't believe should be anyone's only major consideration. In my case, moving into a van was the catalyst for a lot of life (and lifestyle) changes, and living so cheaply afforded me the ability to make a drastic career change. Ive spoken before in previous blogs about what I used to do for (ironically termed) "living", and what I do now to pay for my life, so I wont cover it again here, but as a result of having so few financial leeches sucking me dry, I can afford to work very sporadically and put enjoyment before need - I can now take on work when and where I want to because I enjoy it, rather than needing to, and need is very subjective.

Money, as they rightly say, isn't everything.