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.