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Field notes · Est. 2026
Surviving — and occasionally thriving — in Britain on a budget.
Honest, practical writing on benefits, bills, housing, food, and the small moves that add up when money is tight.
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Living in a van or car in the UK: the real costs, where you can legally sleep, and the free-vehicle myth
A van can drop your housing cost to under £300 a month — but "free van living" is mostly a myth, and the cheap version runs on a thin line of legality most people only learn after a 2am knock on the window. Here's what it actually costs, where you can sleep, and the rules that keep it legal.
13 Jun 20265 min
Living on a boat in the UK: the real costs, the free moorings myth, and how people do it for £400 a month
A narrowboat can house you for a third of London rent — but "free living afloat" is mostly a myth, and the cheap version has rules most people learn the hard way. Here's what it actually costs, where the free bits genuinely exist, and the licence that makes or breaks the budget.
13 Jun 20264 minCamping in the UK for free: where it's legal, where it's tolerated, and the apps that find a pitch
A campsite pitch runs £15–£40 a night in 2026. Most of Britain still lets you sleep outdoors for nothing — if you know where the law is on your side, where it's merely tolerated, and where a free roof comes with the deal. Here's the map, country by country.
13 Jun 20264 min
Where UK voucher codes actually still work in 2026
Most voucher-code sites are graveyards of expired offers. But the codes that still work — student discounts, Blue Light, browser auto-appliers, and first-order tricks — reliably knock 10–20% off, if you know where to look.
6 Jun 20262 min
Free rent house-sitting in the UK: TrustedHousesitters and how it actually works
House-sitting trades pet care for rent-free stays — a £130-a-year membership against accommodation that would cost thousands. It's real, it's competitive, and it's a lifestyle more than a hack. Here's the honest version.
2 Jun 20262 min
Paid surveys in the UK: the ones worth your time, and the ones that waste it
Most survey sites pay below £2 an hour and exist to harvest your data. A small handful — and user-research panels in particular — pay £30–£150 an hour. Here's how to tell them apart.
30 May 20262 min
Free software, courses, and streaming in the UK that stays free
Not a free trial that auto-renews — genuinely free, indefinitely. The office suite, the £2,000-of-courses-for-nothing, the streaming you already pay for through your council tax, and the tools that quietly replace paid apps.
26 May 20262 min
Hospitality jobs where the tips actually reach you
Two waiters on the same hourly rate can take home £4,000 a year apart, entirely on how the tip pool works. Since the 2024 Tipping Act, every penny is legally yours — here's how to find the venues that honour it.
21 May 20263 min