We bought 'tatty' static caravan for £6,000 to live mortgage-free - it's helped us save 90% of our income

Inspirational video shows how a couple of supersavers have managed to given their bank balance a massive boost - after moving into a ‘tatty’ caravan that cost them £6k.

Rudi Smith, 27, and his partner, Lauren Smith, 28, found themselves struggling with rent for their £750-a-month home in Leeds - despite both working full time. They decided to look for an alternative and decided to buy a 25m by 100m plot of land for £8,000 and a second-hand caravan for £6,000 - and now Rudi manages to put 90% of his monthly salary into a joint savings account.

The couple spent around £2,000 ripping out and renovating the caravan but now live mortgage and rent free - spending less than £100-a-month on bills. They say they save £13.8k-a-year on rent by living in their caravan.

Rudi, a stone mason, from Leeds, Yorkshire, said: "I save 90 per cent of my wage a month. There is so much breathing space financially. It's less stressful."

Rudi and Lauren, who works in hospitality, struggled to pay their £750-a-month-rent when the living cost crisis hit, and said it put them ‘in a real hole’. "It was £500 on top for bills. We had a couple of hundred left a month.”

So they bought the plot of land which was ‘rough and overgrown’ with ‘10ft high’ brambles, and found a second hand static caravan for £6,000 and have spent the last two years ripping it out and decorating it.

Rudi said: "We bought it second-hand at a scrapyard for older caravans. It was a little tatty and just needed updating. The couple have been able to afford nicer materials - including herringbone wood flooring - as it's such as small space. It looks old on the outside and lush on the inside.”

The couple spend just £48 on a gas bottle to warm their home - and say it lasts three to four months. They have solar panels and off-grid electricity and pay just £30 for Wi-Fi. Lauren uses her wages to pay for bills and outgoings so that Rudi can put 90 per cent of his into a saving pot.

The couple have spent the last two years being in "militant savings mode" but are looking forward to travelling more in a campervan they bought in November 2022.

He said: "It's definitely not been easy. The winters are cold. It takes a lot of work at the beginning."