A couple travelling around Australia in a van revealed how they saved $50k in five months to fund their next trip - by living off $1 meals.<br /><br />Dominique Nuttall, 23, moved to Australia from her hometown of Stalybridge, Manchester, UK, to travel - and met Aussie native Jesse Coleman, 30, out there.<br /><br />The couple - who are currently based in the Pilbara, Western Australia - started their journey together in July 2021.<br /><br />Since then, they have travelled up the east coast, along the entire north of Australia and down the west coast.<br /><br />The couple bought a van together for $15,000 and have spent the last two years alternating between stints working to save money, then setting off travelling and living in their van.<br /><br />Last year they decided to work for the whole of 2023 to save up enough to fund a whole year of travel in 2024.<br /><br />They shared how they have saved $50,000 by since they started saving in October 2022 - and have a saving goal of $200k.<br /><br />Dominique works an admin role and a hospitality role, at $35 per hour and $37 per hour respectively, while Jesse works as a labourer earning $36.50 per hour.<br /><br />Both working 60 hour weeks, this allows them each to put away $1,500 a week in savings to work towards their goal.<br /><br />Dominique said: "2024 will be the year of just travelling.<br /><br />"When I first moved to Australia, I realised I could work for a short time then I can enjoy myself with the money I saved.<br /><br />"I know I'll enjoy it then because I worked to create the money. That's what we want to do."<br /><br />Aged 18, Dominique moved to Australia alone to travel after finishing college.<br /><br />While working on farms to get visa extensions 18 months later, she met Jesse, from Port Macquarie, New South Wales, and they hit it off.<br /><br />Jesse quit his nine to five job with a door manufacturing company so he and Dominique could travel the enormous country's coasts together.<br /><br />Since then, they have travelled 70,000km together.<br /><br />Jesse said: "I was always going to go, I'm pretty adventurous.<br /><br />"I wanted to leave my hometown - that's when Dominique suggested we do the travelling life."<br /><br />Dominique added: "At the start I didn’t think Jesse would drop everything to travel with me, but he did."<br /><br />They bought a van in July 2021 and began their journey from Port Macquarie, in New South Wales, and headed north.<br /><br />The couple's routine involves working full-time for a few months to save up, then quitting their jobs and travelling in their van until they run out of funds, then repeating the process.<br /><br />Some of Dominique's jobs include marketing, a barista, waitressing, bartending, solar farming, agricultural work, tractor driving, retail, admin work and housekeeping.<br /><br />Some of Jesse's have been working at a door manufacturing warehouse and at an air conditioning company.<br /><br />Currently, Dominique is juggling hospitality and admin jobs, while Jesse is currently working as a process technician at an industrial waste facility.
