Chris Bourne, 40, from Lancashire, made the bold decision to quit a six-figure job for less than a tenth of what he was making before – and he's never been happier.
“I worked in banking for 15 years, making six figures, but left it all four years ago and now I live on less than minimum wage.
I've gone from never having to worry about money to making my own honey and taking on lodgers to pay the mortgage, and I couldn't be more happy and fulfilled.
After studying Business Finance at Durham University I started my career at Bank of Scotland before moving to Clydesdale Bank where I set up a new business providing funding to loss making technology companies.
Seven years later, at 29, I was the youngest director in the bank's history, earning £90,000 a year. Chasing the money, the success and climbing the corporate ladder was fun, but it was also really tough at times – I was working 12+ hour days as well as weekends when I was working on deals.
Although my work-life balance was pretty poor, I never had a problem with money: I put a lot of money into my pension and could take lavish holidays whenever I wanted, like climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, followed by a beach holiday in Zanzibar.
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Perhaps it was an ego thing, but I unconsciously fell into the trap of chasing a high-flying career and in 2016, aged 37, I took up a new role at a venture capital firm in London. I was building a new business and under the daily pressure of closing deals. The stress was high and the expectations were incredibly high, but I loved the work. By that time, I was earning £120,000 a year.
I was living in Mayfair, the wealthiest district of London. I was paying exorbitant rent of over £2000 a month just for a room in a shared house. I lived in an upmarket neighborhood, had a comfortable lifestyle with fancy restaurants like Sexy Fish and Novikov's and garages for Ferraris and Bentleys. Walking down Piccadilly to and from work was fun, but it had no soul, no community.
On a date shortly after I moved in, he insisted we go to a nearby celebrity-friendly restaurant called Nobu and asked me to pay for everything, as if I was some kind of millionaire. I didn't like that.
The company took me on exotic trips to posh mansions and manors, our Christmas party was held on the top floor of the famous Gherkin building, and I can't admit how much I spent on a welcome lunch at one French restaurant because it would make me sick. The bill was in the thousands.
I didn't grow up in a wealthy family, both of my parents were working class. The expenses from my job were life-changing for people. I felt embarrassed and uncomfortable with my excesses. Looking back, that day was a lightbulb moment.
Deep down I knew I didn't want to continue living like this so a year later I started making plans to leave London and saved up for a down payment on a house in the North West where I grew up.
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In 2019 I bought a big 3 bedroom house in Lancashire, close to my family and the Lake District, and continued to work in London during the week for 6 months. It just didn't work out – I didn't want to take a late night train on a Friday night and then another one early on a Monday morning, so I quit my job.
My family and friends knew I'd been planning this for a few years, but they were used to me just jumping into things and doing it. Plus, I don't have a partner or any connections, so when I decide to do something, I can just do it. But it still felt like a big decision.
I was so worried about ending my career and what others would think, that my old coworkers would judge me and think I was leaving because I couldn't handle it.
Some of my bosses couldn't understand my decision and told me I was making a mistake: 'What on earth are you doing?' and 'Why would you want to live in the North of England?'
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I was also worried about the risk of failure, of my old boss coming back with his hat on and saying, “I told you that was a stupid idea.” I was also worried that giving up my position wouldn't give me any new status, that I'd just fade into obscurity and be forgotten. And I think there was a bit of a void for a while.
I was happy to come home and be free from my corporate job but I didn't have any particular plans. I was lucky to have £60,000 left in savings so I spent the next nine months renovating my house. Then when I finished and ran out of money I thought: 'Now what do I do now?'
To help pay the mortgage and bills, I rent out two of my rooms to boarders, which means I only have to pay for food and gas. I'm a big fan of boarders – it's nice to have company and I try to rent to people I have something in common with, who are around my age, polite, clean and tidy.
Before the pandemic, I was trying to start an adventure company while learning how to run my own business, but then COVID hit and I ended up working minimum wage.
I did shift work in a local pub for less than £10 an hour and then took a job at Tesco sorting online shopping orders from 3am – a big change for me compared to my previous jobs. I also worked as a delivery driver and as a stonemason repairing houses in Kirkby Lonsdale.
As the world opened up again, I started organising expeditions for small groups and now I run a company called Adventure Solos, providing experiences and multi-activity weekends for single people in their 30s, 40s and 50s who have often been through a life change, such as a relationship break-up, and are finding their footing and rediscovering themselves.
I've been running my own business since 2019 and earn just £9,000 a year myself. I haven't travelled abroad for five years and I've had to stop paying into my pension. I'm probably working more than I ever have, but at least I'm doing it all at my own pace. I have a lot more freedom than I used to.
One afternoon a week, I visit my mom, spend time with my nieces, and have family dinners. If I had stayed in my old job, they wouldn't know who I am now. Sure, I'd have more money and a lower mortgage, but I would have missed out on spending time with my family growing up.
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I've also had time to learn new skills. We had some ruins in our garden, which we rebuilt and roofed with slate, a disappearing technology. We have egg-laying chickens in the garden and last year we started beekeeping, producing our own honey.
I now have a new identity and status and I know what my values are: community, healthy living and being in nature. This life makes me much happier than when I was living in Mayfair and earning £120,000 a year.”
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