Why I Live In A Self-Converted Camper-Van

Three years ago, my husband and I bit the bullet and bought a 30 seater school bus. Having had no experience at the time in converting a vehicle and no real plan, we successfully spent the following 18 months converting it into a comfortable living space.

In July 2017 we moved full time into our motorhome.

The strange thing is that in contrast to what many people may think, we did not originally create this vehicle of freedom to travel in. Our sole purpose in choosing to live this alternative lifestyle was to escape the money trap that is renting a property.

“Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.”

― Frank Zappa

Prior to becoming full-time camper dwellers, we both had very respectable jobs living in York. We were on very good money and had very good prospects, some would say that we were successful.

However, the reality of our situation is that we were spending 80% of our time at work making the money to pay for the house that we were living in, but that we were not really living at our rented house often, because we were spending the majority of our time at work…

We were both stuck in that catch 22 situation that I know many people are also victim to.

We decided that we did not want to get stuck in that trap.

Presently, although we have the ability to travel, travelling is not our priority. We feel like we have been gifted with this time of cheaper living with having lower overheads.

Instead of spending that precious time travelling, which I am sure would be incredibly fun. My husband and I have decided to use this time wisely investing in ourselves, educating ourselves to ways that can enable us to become financially independent.

We are not looking for job security, we want financial freedom and we believe that with intention of desire, dedication and determination, we will achieve it.

And so it is with that desire for financial Independence that I have set aside my guitar (most of the time), shelved books on foraging and philosophy, and I have dedicated my time to learning all about investing, personal development and day trading the stock market.

I feel very inspired when I discover successful known people who have created their wealth from nothing.

Here are some examples;

Oprah Winfrey was born into a poor family in Mississippi
WhatsApp founder Jan Koum was living off government assistance at 16 and swept floors at a local supermarket. After teaching himself computer skills, in 2009 he co-founded Whatsapp and is now worth $9.1 billion.
Whilst writing the famous series Harry Potter, JK Rowling was a single mother living on welfare. She was rejected several times before one publisher took a risk with her books – a risk that certainly paid off and made many children happy!
After dropping out of High School Richard Branson built his empire from nothing but his own determination.
When film director James Cameron was writing “The Terminator”, he was financially struggling and even living out of his car for a time.
Actor Jim Carrey dropped out of High School and lived in a VW bus for a time.
Before becoming the ‘Queen of Jazz’, Ella Fitzgerald was a homeless teenage runaway.

It seems to me that we all have the ability to create and manifest our dreams and our desires. Once we know what it is that we want to achieve, it merely takes persistence, dedication and determination to achieve it.

I hope that this post has inspired you if you have a greater purpose or a passion that you want to develop. Please let me know in the comments below!