How Living in a Van Made Me Rich (in Time, Not Money)

So, I was lying here, wondering what I should talk about in the next video, when this question popped up. Why living in a van? No job? And this person is not the only one asking similar questions. No man, no job, should have studied better, paying for your crack habits. I have heard it all, but I'm trying not to roll my eyes too hard, because I used to think quite similarly. I thought that success was having fixed address and having a stable job and a mortgage, but then I actually tried living differently and I realized how much lighter life can get, when you stop following other people's definitions of success. And so, if you want to hear the story, come spend the day with me and I will tell you all about it. Yes, I have a job. Although, there are long stretches of time, when I don't. And here is the twist. It's not because I don't have a job, that I live in a van. It's because I live in a van, that I can enjoy the privilege and luxury of only working 6 months out of 12. I get to take time off without panic, without debt, without asking anyone's permission. That's what freedom looks like to me. And besides, I love van life. I just celebrated my 7th anniversary, two weeks ago, and I'm still not tired of it. And no, I'm not making a virtue out of necessity. You know, like those people who say, they love their job, but if they won the lottery, they would quit in 3 seconds. Yeah, not me. If I won the lottery, I would still be living in a vehicle, probably just a slightly shinier one. I have been admiring campers like this one. 4x4 capability, more space, maybe even a shower. If money wasn't an issue, I would probably stay at caravan parks more often, for comfort's sake. But honestly, that's it. The core of my life would not change. Oh, but Jana, you could afford a house. Sure, I could. But I said it before, and I will say it again, I'm not domesticated. Even if I had a cleaner and a gardener, and didn't have to do all those endless chores, I would still feel trapped in one place. I would still be longing for the open road. You can't cage this bird. So let's talk about living below your means. Usually, when people start earning more, they instantly upgrade. A fancier apartment, a newer car, more expensive restaurants, a watch that costs as much as a holiday. That's what success looks like, right? But every upgrade comes with new chains attached. Bigger apartment means bigger rent, more furniture, more cleaning. A newer car means higher insurance, and more anxiety when parking it. Each upgrade adds weight, not freedom. After a point, you are not buying comfort anymore. You are buying complexity, maintenance, and obligations. We really need to redesign what it means to be rich. A person earning half a million dollars per year isn't rich if they are spending seven hundred thousand. Wealth isn't the number in your bank account. It's the fact that the number in your account doesn't control your choices. And here is what nobody tells you about living below your means. It's not actually sacrifice. Once you stop trying to impress others, once you stop measuring success by what you own, life gets lighter. You are no longer working for possessions. You are working for optionality. For the ability to say no, to change your plans, to take a breath. People often picture luxury as a huge house with an ocean view. To me, luxury is waking up on a remote beach without an alarm clock. It's being able to spend Tuesday afternoon reading because I feel like it. That's real luxury. Time and freedom. I have watched people try to buy happiness, another subscription, another gadget, another investment piece. But satisfaction never comes that way. Because they are trying to fill an internal void with external stuff. Meanwhile, I wake up in my van, make coffee on my little stove, and feel genuinely wealthy. Not because I'm pretending to be happy with less, but because I genuinely prefer this. The simplicity, the mobility, the lack of clutter, both physical and mental. Now I know some people will watch this and think I am being dismissive or judging. I'm not. If you love your house and your lifestyle, that's great. My friend Hanna lives in a beautiful apartment and I totally get why they love it. I love staying there too, for a few weeks. Then I can't wait to get back on the road. This isn't about right or wrong. It's about choosing your life, instead of defaulting into one. Most people never really ask themselves what they want. They just follow the script. Get the apartment, buy the car, fill it with furniture, repeat. And maybe that works for them. But I think a lot of people are living lifestyles they never chose. They just accumulated them through social pressure and habit. Kinda like having kids. All I am saying is, there is another way. You can have an income and still live simply. You can be financially stable and still choose minimalism. Success doesn't have to look like a two-story house with a pool. I once got a comment saying, look at her cooking in the open. That's a nightmare and a huge hassle. Are people really that naive to believe that? Well, not everything about van life is convenient, sure. But you can have van with hot water, a shower, a heater, aircon, an internal kitchen. I had most of that in my big van back in New Zealand. But there is the thing. Convenience always comes with a price tag. You want endless water from your tap? Totally fair. But that usually means rent, bills and working an extra 20 hours a week to cover it. I would rather drive to the gym for a shower or spend 10 minutes setting up my stove, than spend two and a half extra days a week working to pay for what I don't really need. Some people want convenience and I want control. And maybe it's different if you have a dream job. Something you would still do even after winning the lottery. But I haven't found mine yet. Mostly because I don't dream about working. So yeah, I have a job and I live in a van anyway. Because I don't look at my paycheck and think, oh, $2,000. I could afford 1,200 rent. Yay. Let's get a three-bedroom and make those teachers who once told me that I will never achieve anything, envious. Lots of people have the wrong motivation for keeping themselves in the red race. But at the end of the day, no one cares. They are too busy worrying about their own life. I don't want to be trapped working forever just to maintain a lifestyle that doesn't even make me happy. And if that's you, if you are stuck in that loop, please take a moment and think about what you actually need, not just what you can afford. You might be surprised how much lighter life feels when you start living below your means. When you start saving and investing instead of spending it all. Because true wealth rarely comes from living at or above your means. So let me ask you, if you had all the money in the world, would you still live the life you are living now? And if the answer is no, maybe it's time to start designing a life that feels more like you. If this video made you think, give it a thumbs up, it really helps the channel. And tell me in the comments, what does freedom mean to you? Thanks for watching and I will see you next time.