Latest news with #CharlotteBradman
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I had the perfect life after buying a three bedroom townhouse with my partner in my 20s - here's why I traded it all at 42 to in to live a £6,500 van with no shower
A woman who was left stressed out about money before her house was repossessed has finally found peace after deciding to live by the coast in a £6,500 van. Charlotte Bradman, 42, who now lives in Cornwall, had to drastically downsize and uproot her life after two failed relationships scuppered her plans for a stable home. She bought a three-bedroom townhouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire, with her former partner more than two decades ago, but hefty mortgage repayments on her interest only loan meant she was left needing three tenants and a full-time job just to get by. The lack of financial stability led to her being too scared to even check her bank balance and eventually, the home was repossessed. She told MailOnline: 'I used to bury my head in the sand about bills and money because it upset me, it stressed me out, it gave me anxiety. 'Instead of checking my bank account, I would just take cash out of the ATM and knew there was a problem when it stopped coming out.' Charlotte finally snapped after she was dumped over the phone at the same time as working for the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic and having to support her heartbroken friend whose husband had died of terminal lung cancer. She 'ran away' and hit the road in a grey Citroën Relay van which she had bought for £3,000 in her twenties. She spent an additional £1,000 converting it so she could live with just the basics - a portaloo and a hob - before later upgrading to a £6,500 white Vauxhall Movano. Now, Charlotte works for a sauna company and only has to pay around £200 a month for her portable home, adding that she finally feels free after years of experiencing burn out. Her van-life journey started when she had to foot very large bills each month to keep a house running with her ex-partner. The pair had shelled out on a £114,000 three-bedroom with an interest-only mortgage, which tends to cost more in the long run. Their relationship shortly broke down and her ex decided that he no longer wanted to pay for a mortgage and moved in with his mother, leaving Charlotte to come up with creative ways to help fund their house. She decided to rent out rooms to tenants, but rising energy costs meant that she was still shelling out around £1,000 in bills each month and the property was still in negative equity. Charlotte's former partner wanted to put the house on the market eight years after they bought it but because of the outstanding mortgage cost, they could not sell it. She said: 'I just rang him because it was cheaper than instructing solicitors and said "Listen, we can't really sell it, I understand you want to get the name off the mortgage but it's in negative equity and we would owe the bank a lot of money. 'We bought at the wrong time and that's unfortunate".' Her ex stayed in the house and moved in with his ex-partner, but the house got repossessed after just three months and the bank sent her a bill for £30,000 - despite the couple paying £60,000 in interest over the years. Charlotte was forced to sell all of the belongings she had collected over the years such as vintage furniture, books, art and clothes. She then moved to Lancaster to pursue a Master's degree in creative writing and moved in with her new flame who happened to live in a caravan at the time. Things seemed to be looking up until he ended things with Charlotte and over the phone right before they were due to move down to Dorset. The 'out of the blue' break up also came three days before one of her close friends lost their husband to terminal lung cancer, which led to her helping arrange a funeral and supporting her during her darkest days. Charlotte's top tips for saving money The two-year rule Charlotte says that if you haven't used or worn anything in two years, you probably don't need it anymore and you should consider giving it away or selling it. 5L water bottle hack Charlotte believes that people who live in houses often waste a lot of money on water by wasting it. Instead, she said you should try measuring your use by filling up one 5L water bottle and try and stick to using that for the entire day. Stop valuing success with material things Charlotte says people should stop valuing their successes with material items such as the brand of clothes that they wear, the cars they have or the watches they wear. Instead, they should try to see the value in happiness, time in nature and time spent with loved ones. She said: 'That's real success, isn't it?' 'There was no space to look at the breakdown of my relationship because I had to be fully present for my friend who was experiencing such tremendous grief,' Charlotte said. She was working for community nurses at time when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its height and she added: 'It became too much for me, I just couldn't do it,' later describing this time as 'one of the hardest periods in my life'. Charlotte headed for the coast in her grey Citroën Relay van which she had bought for £3,000 in her twenties and decided to convert it to a living space, costing an additional £1,000. She currently pays £200 a month for living costs which includes van insurance, road tax and fuel. She added: 'Because I had been under so much stress for such a long time, supporting my friend while she was going through her grief, which is fine because it was a privilege that I could do that for her, but after two or three months that was it, I thought "I've got to get out of here". I packed the van with the essentials, got rid of everything and hit the road. I ran away!' It only had basic necessities for living with a portaloo and a hob and Charlotte had to go without a shower, oven, power sockets or fridge when she first started out. She would often shower wherever she could in gyms, leisure centres or at her friend's house. Trips to Wetherspoons allowed her to charge her phone and laptop while occasionally tucking into a curry as a treat. But while the uncertainty would scare some, Charlotte never worried about her lack of amenities. 'I think less is more,' she said. 'The less clutter we surround ourselves with, the freer we are. It just clears your mind. 'Living in the van reduced my financial outgoings to a bare minimum so suddenly I didn't have this pressure on me to work full time in a job I didn't necessarily want to do or that interested me,' she added. 'Suddenly, I didn't have to do these meaningless jobs because I didn't have a mortgage to pay, I didn't have council tax or bills, or gas or utilities, just van insurance and road tax. Having that level of financial freedom is immense, it's massive, and so few of us have it these days.' Charlotte grew up in a household that valued material goods. Her parents - who divorced when she was 14 - would work six days a week with the goal of buying material things like Range Rovers and speedboats but she said it was all an illusion of wealth because it was 'all loans'. The former mortgage advisor says she had a difficult childhood and felt as though she 'never had a safe space' growing up, especially when she watched the house she had worked so hard to keep in her twenties get repossessed by the bank. 'There was nowhere safe that was all mine that I owned that nobody could take away from me,' she said. 'I just wanted somewhere safe I could lock the door, nobody could hurt me and that nobody could take away from me.' Charlotte added: 'It's not financially viable in this day and age for someone who is in a minimum wage job who is working 40 hours a week, they cannot run a household on a single wage. When you're paying for your car, your internet, your phone, all of the utilities and council tax, it can't be done. 'You would just be existing, not actually living. You'd be working to exist for a roof over your head. I'd done that for so many years working jobs that made me ill. The stress of trying to make ends meet was making me ill.' She currently funds her lifestyle by working a minimum wage job at a sauna company in Cornwall, but admits she does not often check her bank account as it brings back emotional thoughts. 'That is from the days when I would be terrified to check my bank because I didn't want to know what was in there because I knew it would be bad,' she said. 'There's been times where I've had to smash up the dining room table to put in the living room because the gas had run out and we were in the middle of winter and we were freezing. Hand to bl**** mouth. ' A year and a half ago, Charlotte decided to upgrade her trusty Citroën for a newer £6,500 white Vauxhall Movano. She spent £3,000 on converting it to have solar panels, diesel heater, a composting loo and a fridge - but she still has no shower. Instead, Charlotte says after a long shift she will 'throw herself in the sea' and have a paddle around before having a cold shower at work. But if the weather is challenging, she will use the water she has taken from a local tap to wash herself the old fashioned way - with a flannel and a bucket inside her van. 'I probably have a shower, a proper hot shower, every two weeks at my friend's house. She lives in a cabin on some land, completely off-grid and has a nice gas shower.' To keep warm in the winter, she will sometimes use a diesel heater or layer up with 100 per cent wool jumper that she picked up at a charity shop for £5. However, she checked into her local Travelodge while spending her winter in Yorkshire where temperatures dropped to as low as minus 14 degrees last year in the fear that she might freeze to death. Her low living costs mean that Charlotte can afford the little luxuries in life that she would not have been able to afford otherwise. The vegetarian spends £80 a week on her food shop because she buys all organic produce. She prioritises wanting to 'look after her body' and eating an anti-inflammatory diet after medics suspected she had endometriosis. 'That is where my money goes on really good quality food, fresh whole foods,' she said. Charlotte can also afford to pay for a private health policy, which means that she can be seen by doctors quicker, as she has seen first hand how much strain the NHS is under. She said: 'I'm not on a drain on the NHS so that people that have less money than me that are in the same position I was however many years ago [can be seen]. They are the people that need the NHS. 'It didn't feel right to use those services when I can support my own health outside of the NHS.' When asked what advice she would give to people wanting to quit the rat race for a freer life living in a van, Charlotte said: 'Get rid of everything that is not essential for your survival or essential for you to thrive. Get a van, look at YouTube vans on how to convert it, get excited and get on the road. 'There are so many ways other ways that people can live and we have no idea what options are open to us until we look.' She has since authored the book 'The Happy Nomad: Live with less and find what really matters' to help others embrace living a fuller life with less belongings.
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
I live in a van, shower at the gym and shelter in Wetherspoons – and I feel totally free
The stats tell their own story: in the UK, the average household has £58,000 worth of possessions, including 118 pieces of clothing. In the States, the average home has 300,000 items in total. So what happens when you have to dramatically downsize? Charlotte Bradman knows all about that: after a relationship ended and her house was repossessed, she was forced to find an alternative way of living. It was only after getting rid of the clutter in her life – both physical and mental – that she found her way again. Her solution? Moving into a van with only life's essentials. 'Getting rid of everything was really hard initially because you feel like a failure,' says Bradman, 42. 'You've had your house repossessed and society teaches us that we are successful if we own our own home. I had suddenly lost my sense of self and self-worth. 'I'd bought the three-bedroom townhouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire, with an ex-partner in my 20s. After a while he didn't want the responsibility of a mortgage any more and the relationship broke down. He left and I was on my own paying the mortgage. I rented all the rooms out in order to keep the house. 'After eight years, he wanted to sell the property,' says Bradman, who was working as a housing litigation consultant at the time. 'We couldn't sell it as it was in negative equity, so I gave the keys to him, he moved back in, and after two months it got repossessed. 'Once I had come to terms with it [the repossession], I started getting rid of all the things that I had collected over the years: vintage furniture, clothes, books and art. It was the most liberating experience I have ever had.' Then, just over four years ago, fine art graduate Bradman upped sticks and moved to Cornwall, a place she'd holidayed in and loved as a child. She drove down in a grey Citroën Relay van, which she customised herself. It had the basics of just a portaloo and hob – with no shower, oven or fridge. And she took to life on the road with gusto, moving around and working along the Cornish coast. Growing up in Keighley, Bradman says she watched her parents – mum Julie, a medical secretary, and dad Stuart, a builder – work six days a week so they could buy material things. 'My dad very much subscribed to your worth as a human being measured by material things. He wanted to keep up with his peers. He had a Range Rover, a speedboat and a big detached house. But we didn't really own any of it. It was all loans, none of it was real.' Bradman's parents split up when she was 14. But she too succumbed to the idea of material things equalling success, getting herself into debt buying designer clothes and cars. 'Was I happy? No. Because I was working hard to try and keep up with the payments for all these things.' Now everything she owns has its place in her van. Recently, Charlotte has upgraded and treated herself to a white Vauxhall Movano but in her Citroën Relay, she had just a hob to cook on. 'I had a lot of one pot stews then,' says Bradman. 'And I've got this really brilliant contraption called a Bright Spark, it toasts bread really well on a single hob. But I probably wasn't eating as varied a diet as I should have been.' Breakfast would be granola, and meals would be dishes like chickpea curry. In winter she'd sometimes go to a Wetherspoons for a treat. 'They would often have an open fire and I could get a hot chocolate or a refillable coffee. I could charge my phone and my laptop. In my first van I didn't have anywhere to do that.' In the Vauxhall, she has an oven and a small fridge, but still no shower. The van is insulated and thankfully Cornish winters are not as harsh as Yorkshire ones, she says. 'I've expanded my diet and eat much more healthily now. But I've never had a shower in any of my vans, because they take up too much space. And you can get a shower anywhere – leisure centres, gyms, friends. 'I swim in the sea most days. It's so good for you. The sea is full of minerals and magnesium, which your skin absorbs.' Her clothes are all kept in three IKEA baskets under her bed. 'There's one with trousers, jeans, leggings and jumpers; one with knickers, socks, T-shirts and long-sleeved tops; and one with skirts, dresses and what I class as my fancy clothes. Those are the things with sequins that I never get to wear, but I keep them because I have had them years. 'Even now when I am shopping in a charity shop, I never get anything new. I stand there and think: 'Will I still be wearing this in five years' time?' And if I don't think I will, I won't get it.' Bradman's story is captured in her book The Happy Nomad, which has been described as Raynor Winn's The Salt Path on wheels. 'I like that analogy,' smiles Bradman. 'I met Raynor at the Bude Literary Festival. It's a wonderful book.' Bradman is currently working for the company Saunas By The Sea, mainly around Harlyn Bay, near Padstow. When we talk, she is parked at Fistral Beach, outside Newquay, and the birds are singing in the background. 'After meeting all these wonderful people at the sauna and on the beach, I go for a hike on the coast path and nearly every day I'm overwhelmed with where I am in my life, to have access to all this beauty. I have the sea about 100 yards from the van and all the pink sea thrift flowers covering the rocks. Yesterday I went for a swim, the sea was warm, beautiful and clear. I kept thinking, 'Oh my god, this is my life', but it can be anyone's, that's the thing.' Has anyone been rude about her unconventional lifestyle? 'No one ever does it to my face. I'm working and I'm still spending in the local economy, in the independent shops. I'm contributing.' And does she ever get lonely? 'No. When I was younger, I couldn't bear being on my own because that meant confronting a lot of difficult thoughts and feelings that were quite traumatising. But now I've had therapy, and because of the lifestyle I lead, I don't have the same, if any, level of stress at all. I don't have financial stress. I'm really happy on my own.' At night, she parks in public spaces. 'Maybe twice I have felt a little bit uncomfortable. It's always when I have been parked in lay-bys or away from built-up areas. I usually park in a built-up area for safety, so you are never far away from another human being. I really like industrial estates because there are things going on 24 hours a day.' Her van has a full solar panel system which powers her lithium battery. And when she drives, a split charge relay powers up the battery too. 'It's really efficient for my laptop, phone and lights,' says Bradman. 'I don't have a television – even when I lived conventionally, I didn't have one in a visible space.' What about trips to the loo? 'I've got a little compact composting toilet by Boxio. It's brilliant for disposing of your waste in a way that is environmentally friendly. It's just under the bed and has got two compartments. There's a compostable bag for solids, and I use sawdust as it's really hygienic and there are no bad smells. If I'm out and about I make use of public toilets, or supermarkets and cafés. 'I've learnt where I can park next to toilets. It's usually in little villages, more out of the way of touristy areas. In places like Newquay, St Ives and Falmouth, you have to pay for a lot of the facilities, some places it's 50p, and the public toilets in Looe are card only. It's a bit of a bone of contention for me that public toilets aren't free.' Bradman also knows the best places to fill up her water bottles. She reckons she uses up to four litres a day. 'I fill up where I can – as I'm based on the coast, harbours are really good as there are always fresh drinking water taps. And, it's a bit macabre, but graveyards have them too.' Bradman's enthusiasm about her peripatetic lifestyle even stretches to the launderette, which she visits every fortnight with her bedding, towels and clothes. 'The launderette is like a mini meditation retreat. All you can do is sit there and watch your clothes go around! 'I don't think I would ever go back to living in a house. But if you are ill, it can be difficult. Recently, I had an operation and I went to a campsite in Keighley while I recovered. My mum, who lives in Keighley, had to come and empty my portaloo. I was there for a few months and there were wild deer roaming around. Being surrounded by nature helped with my healing.' It's clear she relishes the freedom life in a van brings her. Her evenings are spent swimming in the sea, doing yoga or hiking. Bradman, who is currently not in a relationship, will sometimes park the van in a lay-by and walk into town to meet people or go for a coffee. 'I don't really drink – a plant-based chocolate milkshake is my addiction at the moment.' Bradman's outgoings are very low. She has no council tax or mortgage, but does pay for road tax, insurance, fuel and MOTs. What's the main lesson she has learnt? 'That material things weigh you down. It's a burden... and when you start getting rid of these things, you are not just freeing up space physically, you are freeing up space mentally, as well.' 'I remember being close to breakdowns so many times in my life because I didn't know how I was going to pay the bills,' she says. 'I didn't have a penny to rub together. Now I need to make a fraction of that, not just to survive but to really thrive. 'Anyone can lighten the burden of financial stress just by being happier with less, by recognising that things are not going to make you happy. I realised how little you need.' 'Think about what you really need. Ask: 'Is it useful, will I use it?' My rule of thumb is if you haven't used something or worn something in two years, then get rid. 'Similarly with books – I have two in the van. One that I'm reading, one to come after. Once I've read that one, it goes to a charity shop and I buy the next book. 'When it comes to food, buy what you need. We over-consume. Have a store cupboard of basics. When you have got a small space, and you don't have a lot of storage, you are more aware of the resources that you are using. 'That goes for water, too. I don't have a tap that I can leave running. I only fill the kettle up for one cup of tea. 'You don't need to own a lot of paintings or art to appreciate it. I can go into a gallery, exhibition or even a local craft shop to inspire me. 'Get out, go for a walk and live in the moment. Own the moment, not the thing.' The Happy Nomad by Charlotte Bradman is out in paperback on June 19, £10.99, Yellow Kite Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
19-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
I live in a van, shower at the gym and shelter in Wetherspoons – and I feel totally free
The stats tell their own story: in the UK, the average household has £58,000 worth of possessions, including 118 pieces of clothing. In the States, the average home has 300,000 items in total. So what happens when you have to dramatically downsize? Charlotte Bradman knows all about that: after a relationship ended and her house was repossessed, she was forced to find an alternative way of living. It was only after getting rid of the clutter in her life – both physical and mental – that she found her way again. Her solution? Moving into a van with only life's essentials. Relationship breakdown 'Getting rid of everything was really hard initially because you feel like a failure,' says Bradman, 42. 'You've had your house repossessed and society teaches us that we are successful if we own our own home. I had suddenly lost my sense of self and self-worth. 'I'd bought the three-bedroom townhouse in Keighley, West Yorkshire, with an ex-partner in my 20s. After a while he didn't want the responsibility of a mortgage any more and the relationship broke down. He left and I was on my own paying the mortgage. I rented all the rooms out in order to keep the house. 'After eight years, he wanted to sell the property,' says Bradman, who was working as a housing litigation consultant at the time. 'We couldn't sell it as it was in negative equity, so I gave the keys to him, he moved back in, and after two months it got repossessed. 'Once I had come to terms with it [the repossession], I started getting rid of all the things that I had collected over the years: vintage furniture, clothes, books and art. It was the most liberating experience I have ever had.' Then, just over four years ago, fine art graduate Bradman upped sticks and moved to Cornwall, a place she'd holidayed in and loved as a child. She drove down in a grey Citroën Relay van, which she customised herself. It had the basics of just a portaloo and hob – with no shower, oven or fridge. And she took to life on the road with gusto, moving around and working along the Cornish coast. Placing value in material things Growing up in Keighley, Bradman says she watched her parents – mum Julie, a medical secretary, and dad Stuart, a builder – work six days a week so they could buy material things. 'My dad very much subscribed to your worth as a human being measured by material things. He wanted to keep up with his peers. He had a Range Rover, a speedboat and a big detached house. But we didn't really own any of it. It was all loans, none of it was real.' Bradman's parents split up when she was 14. But she too succumbed to the idea of material things equalling success, getting herself into debt buying designer clothes and cars. 'Was I happy? No. Because I was working hard to try and keep up with the payments for all these things.' An unconventional lifestyle Now everything she owns has its place in her van. Recently, Charlotte has upgraded and treated herself to a white Vauxhall Movano but in her Citroën Relay, she had just a hob to cook on. 'I had a lot of one pot stews then,' says Bradman. 'And I've got this really brilliant contraption called a Bright Spark, it toasts bread really well on a single hob. But I probably wasn't eating as varied a diet as I should have been.' Breakfast would be granola, and meals would be dishes like chickpea curry. In winter she'd sometimes go to a Wetherspoons for a treat. 'They would often have an open fire and I could get a hot chocolate or a refillable coffee. I could charge my phone and my laptop. In my first van I didn't have anywhere to do that.' In the Vauxhall, she has an oven and a small fridge, but still no shower. The van is insulated and thankfully Cornish winters are not as harsh as Yorkshire ones, she says. 'I've expanded my diet and eat much more healthily now. But I've never had a shower in any of my vans, because they take up too much space. And you can get a shower anywhere – leisure centres, gyms, friends. 'I swim in the sea most days. It's so good for you. The sea is full of minerals and magnesium, which your skin absorbs.' 'The Salt Path' on wheels Her clothes are all kept in three IKEA baskets under her bed. 'There's one with trousers, jeans, leggings and jumpers; one with knickers, socks, T-shirts and long-sleeved tops; and one with skirts, dresses and what I class as my fancy clothes. Those are the things with sequins that I never get to wear, but I keep them because I have had them years. 'Even now when I am shopping in a charity shop, I never get anything new. I stand there and think: 'Will I still be wearing this in five years' time?' And if I don't think I will, I won't get it.' Bradman's story is captured in her book The Happy Nomad, which has been described as Raynor Winn's The Salt Path on wheels. 'I like that analogy,' smiles Bradman. 'I met Raynor at the Bude Literary Festival. It's a wonderful book.' Bradman is currently working for the company Saunas By The Sea, mainly around Harlyn Bay, near Padstow. When we talk, she is parked at Fistral Beach, outside Newquay, and the birds are singing in the background. 'After meeting all these wonderful people at the sauna and on the beach, I go for a hike on the coast path and nearly every day I'm overwhelmed with where I am in my life, to have access to all this beauty. I have the sea about 100 yards from the van and all the pink sea thrift flowers covering the rocks. Yesterday I went for a swim, the sea was warm, beautiful and clear. I kept thinking, 'Oh my god, this is my life', but it can be anyone's, that's the thing.' Has anyone been rude about her unconventional lifestyle? 'No one ever does it to my face. I'm working and I'm still spending in the local economy, in the independent shops. I'm contributing.' Happy on her own And does she ever get lonely? 'No. When I was younger, I couldn't bear being on my own because that meant confronting a lot of difficult thoughts and feelings that were quite traumatising. But now I've had therapy, and because of the lifestyle I lead, I don't have the same, if any, level of stress at all. I don't have financial stress. I'm really happy on my own.' At night, she parks in public spaces. 'Maybe twice I have felt a little bit uncomfortable. It's always when I have been parked in lay-bys or away from built-up areas. I usually park in a built-up area for safety, so you are never far away from another human being. I really like industrial estates because there are things going on 24 hours a day.' Her van has a full solar panel system which powers her lithium battery. And when she drives, a split charge relay powers up the battery too. 'It's really efficient for my laptop, phone and lights,' says Bradman. 'I don't have a television – even when I lived conventionally, I didn't have one in a visible space.' What about trips to the loo? 'I've got a little compact composting toilet by Boxio. It's brilliant for disposing of your waste in a way that is environmentally friendly. It's just under the bed and has got two compartments. There's a compostable bag for solids, and I use sawdust as it's really hygienic and there are no bad smells. If I'm out and about I make use of public toilets, or supermarkets and cafés. 'I've learnt where I can park next to toilets. It's usually in little villages, more out of the way of touristy areas. In places like Newquay, St Ives and Falmouth, you have to pay for a lot of the facilities, some places it's 50p, and the public toilets in Looe are card only. It's a bit of a bone of contention for me that public toilets aren't free.' Fresh water and laundry facilities Bradman also knows the best places to fill up her water bottles. She reckons she uses up to four litres a day. 'I fill up where I can – as I'm based on the coast, harbours are really good as there are always fresh drinking water taps. And, it's a bit macabre, but graveyards have them too.' Bradman's enthusiasm about her peripatetic lifestyle even stretches to the launderette, which she visits every fortnight with her bedding, towels and clothes. 'The launderette is like a mini meditation retreat. All you can do is sit there and watch your clothes go around! 'I don't think I would ever go back to living in a house. But if you are ill, it can be difficult. Recently, I had an operation and I went to a campsite in Keighley while I recovered. My mum, who lives in Keighley, had to come and empty my portaloo. I was there for a few months and there were wild deer roaming around. Being surrounded by nature helped with my healing.' It's clear she relishes the freedom life in a van brings her. Her evenings are spent swimming in the sea, doing yoga or hiking. Bradman, who is currently not in a relationship, will sometimes park the van in a lay-by and walk into town to meet people or go for a coffee. 'I don't really drink – a plant-based chocolate milkshake is my addiction at the moment.' Bradman's outgoings are very low. She has no council tax or mortgage, but does pay for road tax, insurance, fuel and MOTs. What's the main lesson she has learnt? 'That material things weigh you down. It's a burden... and when you start getting rid of these things, you are not just freeing up space physically, you are freeing up space mentally, as well.' 'I remember being close to breakdowns so many times in my life because I didn't know how I was going to pay the bills,' she says. 'I didn't have a penny to rub together. Now I need to make a fraction of that, not just to survive but to really thrive. 'Anyone can lighten the burden of financial stress just by being happier with less, by recognising that things are not going to make you happy. I realised how little you need.' Charlotte Bradman's tips for a simpler life 'Think about what you really need. Ask: 'Is it useful, will I use it?' My rule of thumb is if you haven't used something or worn something in two years, then get rid. 'Similarly with books – I have two in the van. One that I'm reading, one to come after. Once I've read that one, it goes to a charity shop and I buy the next book. 'When it comes to food, buy what you need. We over-consume. Have a store cupboard of basics. When you have got a small space, and you don't have a lot of storage, you are more aware of the resources that you are using. 'That goes for water, too. I don't have a tap that I can leave running. I only fill the kettle up for one cup of tea. 'You don't need to own a lot of paintings or art to appreciate it. I can go into a gallery, exhibition or even a local craft shop to inspire me. 'Get out, go for a walk and live in the moment. Own the moment, not the thing.'
