Ditching the flat for van life: What would you do?

CCG___87

Hi everyone,

I’m considering a big lifestyle change and would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives. I'm in a fortunate position, I work remotely, own my flat (mortgage), and currently live and work from home. However, I’m starting to feel stagnant and want to make the most of my position by traveling and living in a camper van. I already have the van, so going to start testing it out for a few weeks at a time first and see how it goes. My plan would be to go off-grid for a bit, stay at a campsite now and again, stay with family now and then and repeat. Anyway...

Here’s my plan for the van (excuse the 

1. Financial Situation:

   • Age: 37
   • Income: £4,700/month after tax
   • Outgoings: Estimated £700/month for essentials while living in the van. Fuel, food, insurance, etc.
   • Savings Plan: Save £3,000/month and allocate £1,000/month for fun or emergencies. (occasional Airbnb stays, travel activities, etc.).

2. Current Finances:

   • Emergency Fund: £8,000.
   • Stocks & Shares ISA: £10,000 in Fidelity Index World (low-risk).
   • Pension Contributions: 10% of my salary plus 4% employer contributions - about £1,200/month total).
   • Mortgage: £210,000 remaining.

3. My Goals:

   • Save aggressively to become mortgage-free as soon as possible. Renting my flat out so someone else can pay the mortgage for me, until I have enough to pay it off.
   • Invest wisely to make the most of my savings (~£30,000/year).
   • Balance saving and investing with enjoying life while I can.

My Questions:

1. Investment Strategy:

   • I can save ~£30,000/year, but only £20,000 of this can go into my Stocks & Shares ISA tax-free.
     • Should I continue investing the full £20,000 in my index tracker (Fidelity Index World)?
     • Should I risk a portion (e.g., on crypto or high-growth stocks)? If so, what would you do?
   • What would you do with the additional £10,000 that isn’t tax-free? Keep it in a savings account, or invest elsewhere? If so, where?

2. Mortgage vs. Investments:

   • Would it be smarter to focus on paying down my mortgage faster instead of investing all my savings? Bearing in mind, my plan is to rent my flat out, so someone else will be covering the mortgage payments.

3. Lifestyle Change:

   • Has anyone here lived or worked from a van long-term? Any tips or things to consider that I might be overlooking?

I’d really appreciate your insights on how to structure my finances and make the most of this opportunity to save, invest, and live a more adventurous life. 

Thanks in advance!

born_again

There are plenty on U-Tube that cover van life.
One I know works from their van. phillyandkeely. She does remote teaching.
Sure there must be many more out there.

What sort of van are you planning on? Self build or a ready bought. Some of the ready bought are not cheap. To either buy, run or insure when you are living in them. Quite a few van lifers have also said what their costs are. 

You may find that saving while running a van will be a lot harder. Kore chance too spend more as you are travelling around. Which might make it better to sell flat.

Rosa_Damascena

OP- my suggestion is that you have a read of this before you do anything:

ETA: you're on good money, so you can afford to enjoy it a bit whilst you pay off your mortgage.

Brie

Haven't read the book Nomadland but I have seen the movie.  Excellent but a hard watch.

Will work allow you to be this remote?  How does wifi etc work if you've no fixed address??? Will work suddenly say "need you in the office Tuesday" so you'll have a massively long drive to get there?  Or will you have a tow along car/scooter?

Biggest issues I've heard about with vans is cold and damp.  But not tried it myself even short term.  Obviously if you are going to stay with family occasionally you'll be able escape the confines for a bit.

How will you deal with the mortgage if you are renting out?  And how will you deal with the tenants if you aren't nearby?

Alexland

I always wanted to live in a van when I was a child and eventually my parents became a bit worried it might happen. I would collect the shiny van brochures from car dealers and eventually determined a Bedford Rascal would be right for me not really factoring in the possibility I would grow taller with age. I never got as far as considering where I would park it or get access to essential utilities.

On most conventional scales Fidelity Index World would not be described as 'Low Risk' but "High Risk". A global index tracker has the potential to drop around 50% and take years to recover. Although I accept it's lower risk than crypto which I would consider Ultra High Risk. Short dated bonds are Low Risk.

Anyway I would pay enough into your pension to keep your income within basic rate tax (this should solve the problem of the £20k pa ISA limit) and then come up with a sensible split of mortgage repayments and S&S ISA and S&S LISA contributions.

Happy vanning.

jackieblack

Brie said:

Haven't read the book Nomadland but I have seen the movie.  Excellent but a hard watch.

Will work allow you to be this remote?  How does wifi etc work if you've no fixed address??? Will work suddenly say "need you in the office Tuesday" so you'll have a massively long drive to get there?  Or will you have a tow along car/scooter?

Biggest issues I've heard about with vans is cold and damp.  But not tried it myself even short term.  Obviously if you are going to stay with family occasionally you'll be able escape the confines for a bit.

How will you deal with the mortgage if you are renting out?  And how will you deal with the tenants if you aren't nearby?

All the things I was thinking are in Brie’s post.

Not sure how relevant Nomadland is regarding van life in the UK. Very different to the USA where it’s a more widely accepted lifestyle. 

subjecttocontract

Living in a van or motor home is not something I have ever thought of doing on a permanent basis. Thinking about it now I don't think it would be particularly comfortable at this time of year with sub zero temperatures.I

I'd also be concerned that I wouldn't receive my post but, could get a PO box somewhere which I'd need to keep returning to. That alone wouldn't suit my lifestyle but may be ok for you.

Lack of washing machine, dishwasher and other creature comforts might be ok for a holiday somewhere in the summer but certainly not even semi permanantly.

I'm not a great cook, I have someone that does that stuff for me, so producing meals for myself would just result in me doing convenience food all the time and I'd probably not eat very healthily.

I'd be concerned that most of my time would be taken up with everyday stuff without the usual creature comforts that I'm used to.

No, definitely not for me although a camper van just for a few weeks in summer, touring around the countryside does sound quite appealing.

strawb_shortcake

Bristol has a number of areas where van life has become more prevalent, bit it appears the council is trying to make it harder - certainly in the more affluent areas, and the home dwelling residents don't seem to thrilled either. So a warm welcome may not always be found 

ShinyStarlight1

I think it’s worth investigating where you can park your campervan overnight - I believe many places have restrictions.

ZeroSum

If you're 100% working remotely just move out of London. On that income, can easily afford to buy a 4 bed detached house elsewhere rather than living in a flat or a van

pecunianonolet

Great position to be in and wondering what industry you are in with that salary. Does 100% remote mean only UK or would you be able to work remote also from outside the UK as that would open up a lot more possibilities. 

On finances, use up your ISA allowance each year. Pension is always recommended and one of the most tax generous options out there and nobody knows for how long that will be the case. For me always a trade off, more disposable income now that is available to live vs. money locked away you might never see again (death, accidents, illness, etc. and speaking from own experience in my family so perspectives shifted).

Keep a healthy emergency fund, depending on your industry, things could always go south so I would make sure I have at least 6 months worth of mortgage contributions available to keep the payments going should you ever need to find a new job, which may or may not takes more time as planned and general living expenses on top. 

You also haven't given us any indication if your van life would be just for yourself and for how long are you planning to be on the road, any family plans, etc. and will you be touring all year round and need a base camp over the winter (or abroad if the job permits)?

On the mortgage POV, what % rate are you on and for how long. If you are on a fix and have one of the ultra low rates we had a few years ago, it is better to keep the money in high rate interest accounts (arbitrage). If you are on a high rate, my aim would be to pay it down, interest payments are lost money, only the lender wins long term.

Crypto, a difficult topic and comes down to how risk averse you generally are as opinions about it are very diverse. I don't think it is a bad idea for long term investment and you could do some DCA and apportion some funds into Bitcoin and/or other more "stable" projects, which have been around for some time. Stay away from meme coins and other sketchy things in that space. 

On the flat, be prepared for unexpected expenses or rubbish tenants running down the place and you require budget to renovate, loss of rent if payments stop, etc. and keep in mind that upkeep does cost a bit too, insurances, taxes, etc. 

Van or motorhome isn't mine at all. In fact, I hate camping. I like my things, my space and no restrictions on when and where or for how long I take a shower so personally would always go for a hotel but it can be an excellent experience for those made for this lifestyle. Good luck!