'I bought a narrowboat to live in - and it saves me £3k a month in bills'

A dad-of-five has claimed to have found a way to BEAT the cost of living crisis - after moving into a 50-year-old narrowboat. James Posner, 44, had been looking at London bedsits after his divorce and now says he now saves more than £3,000 a month.

The commercial property sector surveyor also has the freedom to have his children come and stay after renovating the boat. He said the narrowboat lifestyle is “London’s best kept secret” and documents his life through YouTube videos.

James, who has five children - Ava, 15, Arthur, 10, Florence, 10, Matilda, five, and Ivy, four - was unable to find accommodation suitable for them to visit after splitting from his wife of eight years.

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After beginning his property hunting in London in 2020, he could only afford to rent either a room in a houseshare or a bedsit. James eventually bought a narrowboat for £12,000 and spent a year making it ready for the water.

Overcoming some obstacles, including his floating home sinking at one point, James now lives in Hertfordshire on the Grand Union canal between Cow Roast and Rickmansworth.

“With the cost-of-living crisis, narrowboat living was the best decision I could have made,” he said.

“Property prices in London are massively expensive but I have so much financial freedom on the boat. It has been a learning curve, with the boat even sinking at one point while I was fixing it up, but I wouldn’t change my lifestyle.

“I plan to live on my boat for many years to come.”

When James’ relationship ended in 2020, he said he was struggling to find a place to live in London.

Having recently bought a family home just outside of Richmond, James had