We quit our three-bedroom house to live on a BUS with our four kids – we’ve saved £20k & I’ve cut back on work
A COUPLE converted a double-decker bus into a home for their family-of-six – and have saved £20,000 since they moved in.
Conrad Kirk, 32, and his partner, Nicole McCarthy, 32, bought their 1978 Rod-Bodied Daimler Fleetline double-decker bus in September 2021 for £2,000.
Originally, the couple converted the bus into a luxury holiday home so they wouldn’t need to pay for a hotel while they were on family breaks.
But after they completed the renovations, Conrad and Nicole decided to leave their £1,300 a month three-bedroom rental house in Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
They moved into the bus full-time with their four daughters – Luna, six, Poppy, eight, Summer, eight and Phoebe, 10.
Since moving in full-time in October 2021, Conrad said the family have saved £20k in total – not having to pay for gas, electric, water and council tax.
The couple use the money for family trips in the bus and has just bought a double-decker coach for £5,000.
It belonged to the band The Darkness and they plan to renovate it and move in for more space.
Conrad, a media business owner, said: “We have saved a lot of money in terms of not having to pay gas, electric, water, council tax and rent.
“We have been saving around £2,000 a month, which has allowed us to improve our family lifestyle and give us financial freedom.
“Since moving onto the bus full time we have saved £20k.”
Conrad said living on the bus has allowed him and his family to improve their lifestyle.
Instead of living from paycheck to paycheck, the family have extra money to treat the family.
Conrad said: “We have been able to improve our family lifestyle.
“It has given us financial freedom, I am not having to work a million hours to pay the bills.
“I don’t feel like I am working for nothing now.”
Conrad says the family’s lifestyle has improved since moving onto the double-decker bus.
The family now have a pot of savings which they didn’t have when they lived in their three-bedroom rental house.
He said: “I feel healthier, my kids are happier, and I am not as stressed as I used to be.
“I don’t have to worry about bills. I am self-employed, if I have a bad month I used to worry about bills but now if I have a bad month it doesn’t matter.
“We’ve built up a bank of money now, we have reserves.
“We used to live day to day and now we’re not.”
Conrad and Nicole have used some of their savings to buy the Darkness bus in July 2024.
The couple hope they will be able to renovate the coach for under £5k and live on it while they are renovating.
Conrad said: “The new coach will be 45ft which is 15ft longer than what we have now.
“We spoke to the girls about how they are finding it and if they want to go back into the house.
“Four girls getting to a certain age – there needs to be more space.
“It’s a nice coach but we’re going to do it up.
“We think we can do it in a year and we want to get it to a stage where we can live on and convert it whilst we’re moving.”