To live in a Travelodge

[oakkiln]

Inspired by the other poster who started a threads about liquidating their assets and living in luxury hotels in their old age (but, for us, sadly without the assets!)

My husband and I are in a desperate situation. We are both late middle age and still rent. We are doing everything we can to save for a deposit for a house and live very frugally.

Rent, rates and all house costs etc come to £21k a year. But we could live in a Travelodge for £11k. Storage for furniture etc would be £2k

Are we crazy to consider it for just a year or two?

That is very unkind of you to say. The OP has preferences, just like you and me, and is now weighing her possibilities. Not exactly as if she looks down on a modest flat.

Yeah this is a great idea. And then at the end you would have the holiday home AND would be able to rent it out to people for a bit of extra income!

Are you sure that would be the cost? 11K a year is around £30 per night which is very much cheaper than most hotels in most areas. Then you'd spend more on food because of having no kitchen, and have quite miserable evenings probably if you are saving hard.
How about signing up to one of the house or pet sitting sites? There are long term arrangements where you have the use of a nice home in return for feeding the cat or chickens or whatever and watering the garden. You could put your stuff in storage and use the Travelodge for periods between lets.

If your husband has all those years experience of caring for your son, have a look into caring jobs for similar young people. My friend works in an assisted living facility and they are crying out for people. Another friend works as a classroom support worker for young people with varying levels of disability.

Its the sort of thing that agencies are always advertising for and the money can be quite good especially if he is willing to do overnights.

I would find a caravan instead and save that way.

What is late middle age? If you look into councils and Housing associations they often have separate shorter waiting lists for independent living schemes with social housing rent - even if your not from the area. For over 60s

Have you ever thought of being a site assistant for one of the well known clubs? As long as you have your own caravan / motorhome the pitch is free and the wages are fair. You can use laundry facilities free of charge. If no winter season jobs are available you can site sit.

Very similar situation to you OP. I'm 53, partner 63 and we rent. We have no savings and will never get a mortgage because of our ages and could never afford anything in Oxfordshire even if we did!
I worry every day that the phone will ring one day and our lovely landlord will want his house back. We have been here for ten years and have a dog. Things were so much easier ten years ago to get a rental. I have no idea what on earth we'd do now.

Find cheaper smaller accommodation. If you are prepared to stay in a hotel room then move to a bedsit, move further out of travel costs aren’t worse.

you could also look at lodging- some take couples and you might still be s/c. Would save a lot on bills especially. Look in the Lady magazine- some people offer accommodation in return for chores.

there is also an organisation where you can stay in return for looking after buildings - something angels.

loys of options better than a travel lodge.🫣

I haven't read full thread so this might have already been mentioned

Might your husband consider looking for a job as a carer or care taker with a live-in facility for you both? Boarding schools, care homes, places with gate lodges or large gardens sometimes are looking for couples where one of them is always on hand 24/7 and accommodation is thrown in to compensate for low annual rate - but would be totally worth it in your situation and I could see your DH being excellent.

I appreciate there may be nothing in the area you need to live for your work and to be beside your son, but worth just investigating that as well. There are companies which specialise in it this type of employment, including nanny agencies...nothing to say a nanny needs to be female, especially if extra care required, nobody better qualified than your DH by experience.

PS you come across as having a fantastic attitude and appreciation for the things which are truly important in life. Wishing you all the very best.

Most hotels don’t let you stay longer than 30 days

A one bed council flat would probably cost you £300 a month depending on area, with £300 bills. £7,200. As you're older there is dedicated properties for the over 55s in nicer areas, usually in your current council borough. Also try a housing association for assistance.
PS if you end up living in a hotel, sell your possessions instead of spending money for storage. You'll never get them out and you'll save £2k a year and raise funds by selling them

What about renting a studio flat. Small and cheap. Less cramped than a hotel room, fixed address and kitchenette. It would also mean using bed, wardrobe and sofa, so renting a smaller unit.

Are u near a canal or similar.
You could buy a boat and use the mooring address for legal purposes then sell the boat when you’ve bought

Good to read your contribution, coming from someone who knows this subject really well is very useful.
Whatever the OP's intentions, it just wouldn't be viable in the long term.

Article is from 2007 but I vaguely remembered the story....

22 years living in a Travelodge!

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/sep/11/longtermcare.travel

Can you sneak an air fryer, a microwave or a crock pot in? If not it’s a boring diet of cold or kettle food. That’s ok if you’re happy living on ploughman’s lunches and pot noodles. The launderette is a fact of life for lots of people so I guess that’s no big deal. It would be a change of scenery too. Bear in mind youre basically living like a refugee though.

I think it’s worth looking into in more detail. In the finer months you could bbq on your way home or at a local beauty spot, ready roast chicken/french bread/salad type supermarket meals/ supermarket cafe meal/ community cafe meals if there’s one near you.
In the winter where I live holiday cottages are often let out cheaply from new year to just before Easter to cover the winter bills for the owner and to prevent burst pipe or similar cold weather issues that occur in empty houses.
Pet sitting is a good idea as well

As well as the van life groups on Facebook there are also traveller groups (some people in the groups come from traveller backgrounds; others are New Age travellers or just starting out). Lots of advice and many people living in different situations (vans, buses, camping, caravans, horse drawn, hand carts and more), quite a few pitch up on farms/small holdings etc in exchange for a bit work.

A combination of different accommodation could work well but I’d sell all but my most treasured possessions first.

Look at house sitting. I know someone who did this for a year and saved a fortune. There are websites you can sign up to and some properties are for say 6 months and you have to feed the cat. Im not sure i could stomach a travel lodge for more than one night. It would be very depressing. There are better options.

Have you looked at shared ownership?

I would seriously think of renting a one bed flat or studio apartment. That way you'd have permanent address, privacy, kitchen, washing facilities. In any hotel, it's like renting a room in a shared home. No cooking facilities, visits to launderette, then things need ironing. In summer no fridge. I'd look at renting as I say 1 bed or even studio apartment. If you did go down hotel route I don't think it would be as cheap as you think, plus postal address, maybe a relative or friend would let you use their address but don't think it would be ideal for 2 years, hotel prices will rise and so will storage prices.

It would be hugely expensive and repeating when it comes to food, laundry and other costs.

Also, it will probably trash your credit raring as you wouldn't have a fixed address for credit checks.

I remember reading an article a few years back about a couple who lived in a Travel Lodge, I think they had a microwave in their room for heating food up. And yes local authorities do use travel lodges for housing homeless families, although this is intended to be short term.

I don't think you would get the £30 room rate all year round unless they were prepared to do you a special deal.

I agree with the poster who is suggesting looking for properties aimed specifically at the over 55s. Often can be cheaper than other housing, whether to rent or to buy (although there is often a high management fee with buying).

I don't think the OP is looking to travel around in the UK or move to Europe - she has a job in an office which presumably she needs to keep in order to pay the rent / mortgage / savings.