He couldn’t bear to pay the rent, he recycled an old van and his life changed forever

Age doesn’t matter. When there’s talent, energy, and a long-term vision, success comes by itself. Of them he can attest Chris Buxton and Reanna Mash, who have demonstrated an uncanny ability to see an opportunity where few others see it. What have you done? Fed up with paying high rent to live in a nice little room, she convinced him buy an old van for little money. They recycled it again and are now saving 80% of what they used to spend.

It all started when in March of this year the couple Devon, in the south of England, decided to end the ordeal of his monthly income for a living. The first option was a modest house in the suburbs, but the idea immediately arose: stop paying the rent, buy an old van and completely recycle it by spending little more the cost of two rentals. So, everything would be savings and fun.

“Since we took the leap in March of this year, we’ve had the financial freedom and the freedom to live. I was so sick of pay £1,200 a month in rent (about $1,600) and bills to greedy landowners who never looked after our interests,” Buxton said.

“We believe that this perception of living to access property, working all your life and paying a mortgage or throwing money away on rent, it just wasn’t for us” said the man.

Chris and Reanna work with people with learning disabilities. After buying the van Mercedes 308D Luton at £2,800, they got to work. He knew mechanics and handled all kinds of home repairs. To realize the new engine, the suspensions, the bodywork and all the interiors they invested another £13,000.

“It took me a long time to get the wasp nests and ceiling spiders from the van that had built up over time,” he said. The only monthly cost is now £20 a month at a park designed for motorhomes. With that they have electricity. For gas they have another £35. Thus, they save around £1,100 each month.

“The rest of the money we used to spend on rent and more expensive utilities is now we save for the trips we want to take together in the future,” says Reanna, who also lived in an RV before moving in with her boyfriend. The couple share their van, which they called Rubywith their dog Rupert and they love the ability to travel wherever they want.

The pair now plan to take Ruby on trips to explore different countries. Chris adds, “In the future, we’d love to buy a plot of land somewhere like Portugal where we can leave the truck running and enjoy the warmer weather.

And there are already immediate plans for 2022: “We will be taking a year off from work to travel, which we both are looking forward to. We want to explore places like Sweden, Morocco and much of Eastern Europe,” he says.