A woman who spent £20,000 renovating a Ford Transit van into a ‘bougie’ pink apartment has revealed how she can live on just £600 a month.
Heidi Elliott, 26, bought her small high top van for £15,000 and has spent the last year renovating the small vehicle into her dream ‘apartment on wheels’.
Purchased in a desperate bid to avoid getting ‘stuck’ with mortgage payments, Heidi’s smart pink conversion is complete with a separate bed, lounge area, oven, shower area, skylight and dresser.
The stylish motorhome also boasts with pink and white walls, whilst the outside has a rhino roof rack and 300 watts of solar panels attached.
According to Heidi, purchasing the van outright has allowed her to ‘massively save’ on bills and outgoings each month.
Her monthly food shop sets her back £200, fuel is an average of £250, and her Wifi comes at a cost of £95 a month. Combined with £130 for van insurance and tax, Heidi’s monthly outgoings come to an impressive total of £675.
Heidi, who shares her travels up and down the UK on social media while also working a freelance photography job, said: ‘I wanted to make a dream girl apartment on wheels.
‘I wanted a lovely big seating area. I’ve got an oven, an indoor shower and wet room which is a dresser during the day. I shower every day – I’m a very bougie van-lifer!
‘For me, I would so much rather do this than be stuck paying a £2,000 mortgage a month.’
Prior to living the van life, Heidi lived at home with her family and paid a smaller amount of rent.
However, she is adamant that she now saves ‘a lot more’ cash and firmly believes that opting to live in a van is ‘a lot cheaper than any other lifestyle’.
‘I’ve always tried to keep my outgoings as low as possible. But now living in a van I don’t need to be swamped with work five days a week as a freelancer,’ she said.
‘Doing my content work as long as I can make £600 a month to pay for my bills, I’m happy.’
Heidi first began to embrace the nomadic lifestyle in 2020 when she bought her first home on wheels with her ex partner and, later, a narrowboat.
When the pair went their separate ways and sold their boat, Heidi lived in a Peugeot Boxer for a year before purchasing her current mobile home at a cost of £15,000.
‘I bought this van in lockdown as well for £15,000 at the time and I’ve probably spent £15 to £20k on the conversion,’ she explained.
‘I originally got the van on finance, and I was living in it and working full time. It wasn’t all glitz and glamour initially.
‘Working then allowed me to pay it off. My first van we didn’t have a fixed bed, so I knew I wanted that in this one.
‘I took lots of idea from the previous van and then it all came together on this one.’
While Heidi still hopes to make changes to the van’s tyres, she is incredibly pleased with the design of her van. In particular, the ability to transform such a small space into what feels like a separate living room and bedroom.
She explained: ‘Aesthetically I love my seating area because I have the option of being there or being in bed in a separate space – you feel like you’re in a different room
‘For convenience – I’ve done really high specs for my plumbing systems and electrics.
‘Also, I work online so the Starlink (Wifi) is a game changer.’
For those looking to follow in Heidi’s footsteps, her advice is to take your time with the renovation and consider how best to craft a space that suits your individual needs.
‘I would say get a bog-standard van that’s not converted and start living straight away,’ she said.
‘I feel like I’ve got more time to talk to people and it makes you – build it as you go.
‘I know mine is very bougie and expensive, but it doesn’t need to be that.’
