Woman saves $20,000 by living in her nan’s backyard

A British woman has come up with an unusual hack for saving money during a rental crisis. 

Elise Holt, 22, lives with her partner in a one-bedroom granny flat in her grandmother Beverly’s backyard. 

Since moving in four years ago, the Manchester-based real estate agent estimates she has saved £10,000 ($20,000).

Holt first moved into her grandmother’s property during the COVID-19 pandemic while her childhood home was being renovated. 

“It was meant to just be for a week or two whilst it was being decorated. Basically I never returned home and the rest is history,” she shared in a recent TikTok video. 

The granny flat was originally built for Holt’s great-grandmother, Winnie, who passed away when Holt was a baby. 

It was used as a games room, a kids’ den and was rented to other family members before Holt finally moved in.

“I am so glad that they have this for me to now live in, because if they didn’t, I’d still be in my family home – which is a madhouse,” she said. 

“Eighteen-year-old me was so buzzing to be able to have this independence without the financial pressures, and I am so lucky.” 

Holt now lives in the flat with her fiancé Lucas, their two cats Kalvin and Simba and their pet hamster. 

“We’re basically a full family of five,” she joked. 

Beverly does not charge the pair rent. Instead, Holt contributes towards bills and council tax.

She said people “look at [her] very odd” when she tells them she lives in her “nan’s garden”, imagining that she camps out in a shed. 

But the granny flat has everything you would expect in a one-bedroom apartment, including a lounge, kitchen, bedroom and ensuite bathroom. 

Holt estimates she saves about £19,000 ($39,000) per year in rental costs. 

She plans to put the money towards a deposit for her first home. 

“I think it’s fair for me to move on so my siblings can have their turn,” she told The Sun. 

“My brother, Stuart, is about to just turn 18, so it would be nice for him to have that independence.”