Financial Freedom: how to quit the commute and embrace remote living
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There are many ways to experience remote living and you can make it happen in a way that works for you and your circumstances. Start small and go from there.
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Stacey Lowman, Pachira Money
With the advent of lockdown, a huge majority of working women in the UK were pressed to embrace a new remote form of work. For some, working from home and checking in with the office via Zoom has allowed time to focus on passion projects, to make money plans and use the new-found flexibility to achieve financial freedom.
The option to work remotely has also confirmed what many women were already thinking – Is the commute worth it? Am I happy in my job? Is the financial trajectory I’m on right for me? What are my options?
Prior to the pandemic, these thoughts certainly seemed riskier than they might have when working from home. However, plenty of women have traded the rat-race for a more flexible and freeing way of life. We caught up with Stacey Lowman, owner of Pachira Money, to discuss her decision to follow financial freedom by way of a nomadic life on the road.
What made you decide to seek financial freedom and choose a more flexible lifestyle?
The inspiration for this adventure started when I bought my first home in 2015 and I was working a stressful corporate job in London. I love my flat and I am proud to own property, but I felt trapped by an expensive mortgage and big outgoings, and I spent most of my time at a job I didn’t love, or commuting to it.
I craved a lifestyle that gave me more flexibility and freedom, to spend time with friends and family and work more creatively. I’ve always loved to travel and am fascinated by people who choose an alternative lifestyle. I often found myself watching documentaries or YouTube videos about van life, and I eventually let myself believe it was possible.
I bought my van – her name is Maya – in June 2018, and my Dad and I spent weekends converting her. The conversion was finished in March 2020, just before lockdown. By this time, I had quit the corporate world and was working as a freelancer for Escape The City and building my own business Pachira Money. I was working from my flat day after day, whilst Maya was parked outside, ready to go.
Lockdown has shown many of us, as well as our employers and clients, that if we can work from home, we can work from anywhere. And I realised that nothing was really stopping me from becoming a van-lifer. I just needed to make it happen.
What did you do that allowed you to make the leap?
So much – importantly, I wanted to feel confident that I had the financial resources to do it. I needed to know that the costs of the flat would be covered and that I had enough in savings to feel comfortable, just in case something went wrong.
Then I wanted to make sure I could earn enough money on the road to cover my van-life expenses. So I had conversations with Escape The City about working for them remotely, and with my Pachira clients about moving all of my work online.
I designed lots of budgets with different estimates for my income, expenses and taxes for the year ahead. I put my flat up for rent and learned about becoming a landlord.
I did lots of research about the ongoing and unexpected costs of living in a van and the tax implications of renting my home and working remotely – thank you to Lagom Finance for that. I made a wall planner and Google Doc to keep me organised for the six weeks leading up to my one-way ferry to France. And I had lots of help from friends and family too.
How did you feel about making this decision?
Once I had decided to go for it, I honestly didn’t think about it too much along the way. A friend mentioned in conversation that she had a ferry booked to France on 7 August for a family holiday. I asked on the spot if I could join them, then booked myself onto the same ferry and went straight into ‘doing mode’.
I also told lots of people it was happening, so the intention was out there in the universe, and my friends and family were just really excited for me. If it doesn’t feel right or I want to come back, I am fortunate to have places I can stay until my tenancy agreement expires and I can move back home. It’s always a great idea to establish a strong support network so you have people you can rely on if the worst should happen.
What concerns did you have about your financial freedom?
There weren’t too many doubts or fears in my mind. Financially, it’s cheaper for me to live in the van than at home, and my income remains largely the same giving me the financial freedom I was craving back in 2015. I’m really excited about the learning and the experiences ahead, and the memories I will make. It just feels like a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and do something different in these strange times.
But I do have moments of vulnerability. When I’m sleeping in the wild and missing friends and family, some concerns do cross my mind. Is it safe for a woman to live alone in a campervan? Will COVID restrictions stop my friends coming to visit? Will I get home for Christmas? What if my work dries up?
What advice would you give to someone considering a remote lifestyle?
There are many ways to experience remote living and you can make it happen in a way that works for you and your circumstances. Start small and go from there. I’m conscious that a lot had to fall into place for me to do this. I have a flat that I could rent out, supportive clients and employers to pay me on the road, and very few responsibilities in terms of a partner or children to think about.
If you do decide to give it a go, research the details and plan for potential outcomes, so you feel prepared for challenges along the way. Speak to people already doing it to learn from their experiences. Here are a few costly lessons I have learned so far, and I’m sure there are more to come.
Advice to potential nomads and flexible workers –
Storage is expensive. Thankfully I have friends who have saved me more than £120 a month to store my things with them whilst I’m away.
As a landlord, I needed to have various safety certificates. I found out two days before my tenants were moving in that I needed to upgrade my fuse box to meet new electricity regulations for a cost of over £500.
I didn’t get around to sorting breakdown cover before I left for France. I assumed I could do it along the way. UK providers won’t cover me now my trip has already started, so I’m researching other options and hoping I don’t break down before I’m back in the UK.
If you are fortunate enough to still have a job or income during the pandemic, this is an opportune time to reflect on changing how you are living and working, and prioritise what really matters to you. Let yourself play out some of those dreams or ideas and see if they might be possible.
What does it mean to you to be able to have this sort of flexibility and freedom?
I’ve been living in the van for a month now. It’s been really exciting, but a big transition too. I’m learning how to live alone in a small space and move to new places most nights. Learning how to shop, cook and clean differently. Learning how to balance remote work with the temptation to explore every day. Finding the confidence to visit new places and try new things on my own. And I’m regularly stressing over dodgy wifi connections depending on where I go.
I thought I would have lots of free time to write to friends, read, be creative and ponder life, but I’m still finding my feet and spend a lot of time on daily chores like everyone else. I’ve done some awesome things and have some great and embarrassing stories to tell already. I’m just really grateful to myself and to my family, friends and network who helped me make this happen. And I’m open and excited for whatever lies ahead.
Financial implications of life on the road –
You need to ensure you get advice on tax residency. You’re automatically resident if either: you spent 183 or more days in the UK in the tax year OR your only home was in the UK – you must have owned, rented or lived in it for at least 91 days in total and spent at least 30 days there in the tax year.
If you’re resident in the UK you’ll need to declare your worldwide income. If you’re not resident in the UK you may need to pay tax in other countries.
If you’re going to rent out your home you will need to declare your profits on your self assessment. The rules change regularly in terms of what you can claim so make sure you’re up to date or get professional help to calculate your rental profits.
Make sure you’ve chosen the right bank account that lets you make and receive payments outside of the UK without costing you the earth. We recommend Transferwise for the best rates abroad.
Find out more about Stacey and follow her travels on Instagram here.
