I bought my home for £5.6k & did it up using bargain buys from Facebook Marketplace…I’m saving over £3k a month in rent
A WOMAN has revealed that she bought her home for just £5,600 and has saved herself thousands of pounds every single month on renting.
The young woman explained that she lives in a van and managed to do it up on the cheap, using Facebook Marketplace bargain buys and freebies that she scavenged.
Posting on TikTok under the username @abbeminor, Abbe opened up about living on the road and revealed why she loves her unique lifestyle.
In one video, Abbe outlined the costs of her van makeover.
She revealed: “This is exactly how much money it took me to build this sprinter van that I live in.
“The van itself was an unbelievable deal.
“It even came pre-insulated so I didn’t have to spend money on that.
“I kept the cost super low on electricals, using Facebook Marketplace to get package deals.
“Three years of use and not a single problem.
“I managed to find a lot of free plumbing supplies and I also scavenged hardware and scrap wood from old trailers.
“Wood was still the most expensive category though and I’m including the floors in that.
“All of these cabinets were built from scratch with pine wood and same with the ceiling.
“Fixtures definitely added up quickly but Facebook Marketplace is a great place to find good deals.
“I managed to keep other plumbing costs low too because I am a thrifty lady.
“This van is so homely to me and it’s kinda amazing I was able to do it for only $14,000 [£11,225].”
Abbe then shared a breakdown of her van costs – she spent $7,000 [£5.6k] on the van itself, $2,000 [£1.6k] on the wood, $600 [£480] on hardware, $1,200 [£960] on electricals, $800 [£640] on plumbing and $800 [£640] on fixtures.
She also splashed $200 [£160] on soft goods, $1,200 [£960] on exterior modifications and then another $200 [£160] on miscellaneous costs.
In another clip, Abbe revealed the three reasons why she loves living on the road.
She said: “Here are three reasons why living in a van just makes sense.
“For one I get to live rent free next to the ocean in one of the most expensive US cities.
“I mean, look at the prices for single bedrooms in my area – I’ll pass.”
Abbe then shared a clip of the rent prices in the area she is currently living in, with some places costing a whopping $4k [£3.2k] a month.
She then added: “Reason two is you can literally move wherever you want, whenever you want.
“The deassert, the forest, the beach, or just your favourite local park.
“Which brings me to my last reason – this lifestyle opens the door to complete control over your own time.
“Without the financial pressure of a house, you can pretty much do whatever you want and all of the alone time is nice too.”
Abbe’s clip has clearly impressed many, as it has quickly gone viral and has amassed a whopping 1.3million likes.
It has racked up 220.5k likes, 1,554 comments and 782 shares.
Many social media users were left open-mouthed at Abbe’s cheap lifestyle, which many took to the comments to express.
One person said: “I’m sold.”
Another added: “Love it.”
A third commented: “I literally want this life so bad.”