'I moved from Manchester to Australia and have saved almost £30,000 in five months living off $1 meals'

A woman from Tameside who moved to Australia has managed to save $50,000 (£27,151.50) in five months alongside her partner by living off $1 meals. The couple have been travelling the country since July 2021 after buying a van together for $15,000 (£8,145.51).

Dominique Nuttall upped sticks when she was 18. She made the move Down Under alone after finishing college and its there that she met Aussie native Jesse Coleman, 30.

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The pair are currently based in Pilbara, Western Australia but have travelled up the east coast, along the entire north of Australia and down the west coast.

Over the last two years, the 23-year-old and and Jessie have been alternating between stints working to save money, then setting off travelling and living in their van.

Last year they decided to work for the whole of 2023 to save up enough to fund a whole year of travel in 2024.

They shared how they have saved $50,000 (£27,151.50) by since they started saving in October 2022 - and have a saving goal of $200k (£108,614.46).

Dominique, originally from Stalybridge, works an admin role and a hospitality role, at $35 (£19.01) per hour and $37 (£20.09) per hour respectively, while Jesse works as a labourer earning $36.50 (£19.82) per hour.

Both working 60 hour weeks, this allows them each to put away $1,500 (£814.62) a week in savings to work towards their goal.

Dominique said: "We are paid weekly and put $3k into our joint account each week. Since doing the van life we’re both good at living off a budget - one-dollar meals.

"We love living cheap, living simply, just saving all our money and not spending on unnecessary things."

The couple's routine involves working full-time for