We only spend £25 a month on bills by living in the woods with no TV, WiFi or bath
A COUPLE only spend £25 a month on bills by living off-grid in the woods.
Mathew Plumb and Lauren Youngs live in wooden huts in 15 acres of forest, with no WiFi, TV or bath.
Matthew, 43, first visited the forest plot in North Monmouthshire, Wales, when he was a child.
He explained how his dad had bought it for his younger sister, who was in the Brownies, and it has stayed in the family.
When he met his 28-year-old girlfriend Lauren he was living in his van and describes himself as "hidden homeless".
Matthew, a tree surgeon, told WalesOnline: "Before I came here I thought about buying a house.
"I had almost saved enough for a deposit on a small house in Merthyr, which was all I could afford at the time. Then it dawned on me: what am I going to do with a house?
"I cut trees for a living – that’s what I do and this is who I am. I want to do cool stuff."
Instead the couple live in huts in the forest, with a gaggle of chickens, four pigs and a cat - named Baby.
Their toilet is a wooden hut with a hole in the seat, their shower a bucket of cold water, and their lounge an outhouse with a curtain to keep out the wind.
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Freelance artist Lauren said they would never be able to rent a place because upkeep of their forest plot takes up so much of their time.
As well as raising animals, carving woody artwork from the nearby trees and renting out patches of the land to wild camping tourists, Matthew also works as a tree surgeon and sells firewood.
Lauren conducts art therapy sessions in the forest and "does the labour" while Matthew "does the cutting".
And the couple have barely any outgoings.
Matthew said: "It’s mental how much money you can save.
"I spend nothing on rent, zero on electric as we get all we need from solar panels, and about £25 every six weeks on propane gas."
The pair met at Glastonbury festival, with Lauren moving into the plot permanently after losing her job as an events planner in the pandemic, and having to give up her flat in Hackney, East London.
She said: "I have thought ‘I wish I was back’ and I miss London all the time.
"But I prefer it here and I always try to focus on the lovely things that we can have here."
And despite the cold conditions and lack of access to the outside world, the couple insist they love it.
Matthew said: "Mud, weather, cold, the general challenges nature presents to us – it’s all been there.
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"But it’s a definite buzz. It’s exhilarating – without a doubt.
“It’s all worth it in the spring – our favourite time of the year, watching the world waking up around us."
