That idea was worth floating! Cash-strapped family save fortune by selling house and moving on to NARROWBOAT (2024)

• Lawrence family sold £249,000 home in West Midlands and now live on £80,000 boat in Stratford-upon-Avon
• Have seen bills drop from £11,000 per year to £3,000
• Duncan Lawrence, 41, pays no council tax as his boat isn't permanently moored in one place, nor does he pay water rates - and spends just £60 a month on diesel which propels the boat and provides central heating
  

By Nick Enoch

Published: 06:08 EDT, 24 July 2013 | Updated: 15:41 EDT, 24 July 2013

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A family sold their four-bedroom house for life on a narrowboat - because they could no longer afford the cost of living.

Now, the Lawrences make savings of £8,000 per year on household bills.

After their property went under the hammer for £249,000, they moved on to the 65ft boat, worth £80,000, in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire.

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Debra, mother to Jake, seven, and Phoebe, 12, who attend local schools, said: 'It was a big jump, but we were trapped and bored in our life.

'I didn't want the mortgage - it was a huge weight on our shoulders. The boat was our ticket to freedom.'

Mrs Lawrence has even been stripped of her title as housewife and husband Duncan, 41, who was a lorry driver, has taken over the duties while she goes to work in a cafe.

She said: 'In the past, I was always left at home while Duncan went off to work. Now he gets to spend more time with the kids.'

But she admits it's not for everyone.

She said: 'It's freezing in winter, and if you're the sort of person who likes their home comforts, you're not going to get along with living on a boat.'

Mrs Lawrence, who admits she was 'a bit of a shopaholic', now has to share a wardrobe with her husband.

She said: 'I've always been one to go out and buy clothes - I never liked wearing the same thing twice.

'But I've really had to cut down - there just isn't space for everything on the boat.'

But the biggest economy of space has been shouldered by the children.

She said: 'They now have to share a room, and that does make me feel guilty, but they don't seem to be suffering in any way.'

In fact, the couple said life on the boat has made the family stronger.

Mr Lawrence said: 'I was clocking up 60 hours a week on the road and I never got to spend any time with my wife and kids.

'Not only that, but at the end of the month, when I'd paid all the bills, I was ending up with nothing.

'I just got fed up with being a slave to the wage and having no life.'

The final straw came in February this year when thousands of Britons were hit with enormous fuel bills following a harsh winter.

Mr Lawrence, who earned £26,000 per year, said: 'I shelled out £1,600 in electricity bills for two quarters. Unless I continued to put in the hours, I knew I'd never be able to afford it.'

Furthermore, the mortgage on their four-bed house in Quinton, West Midlands, was costing him £370 a month, along with a council tax bill of £2,000 a year and water bills at £190 per quarter.

Then there was the insurance on two cars - a Volkswagen Beetle and a Nissan Qashqai at £800 per year.

Now he's seen his bills drop from around £11,000 per year to £3,000.

Mr Lawrence spends just £60 a month on diesel which propels the boat and provides central heating.

Meanwhile electricity, which is powered by the generator, comes to around £50 a month.

Insurance is £360 per year and the biggest hit comes from the boat licensing fees at £860.

But Mr Lawrence pays no council tax as his boat isn't permanently moored in one place, neither does he pay water rates.

The family has also sold both their cars for a Golf, meaning they just pay £300 per year instead of £800.

Mr Lawrence said: 'Everyone thought we were mad when we said we were going to sell up and move on to a boat.

'But it's the best thing we've ever done. We love it and we only wish we'd done it years ago.'