I couldn’t afford rent on my home – so I moved into the shed
Explorer Laura Bingham took drastic steps after a break-up...
LAURA Bingham was once so poor she slept in a shed. Now the 29-year-old explorer, who led the first ever descent of the Essequibo River in South America and sailed across the Atlantic in a 38ft Trimaran, commands speaking fees of up to £5,000 a day and lives in a £2 million Grade II-listed house in Leicestershire.
But she misses her time in the jungle so much, she tells DONNA FERGUSON, that she’s filled her home with 150 house plants and a menagerie of animals. She is married to fellow explorer Ed Stafford, 47, and they have three children: Ranulph, five, and one-year-old twins Molly and Milly. Her beautifully illustrated children’s book about her exploration of the world, Lands Of Courage, has just been published.
Q What did your parents teach you about money?
A
TO work hard for it. There wasn’t a lot of money around when I was a child. My mum was a cleaner, my father a painter-decorator, and we lived in an excouncil house. But my parents made sure we had nice holidays and I never wanted for anything.
Have you ever struggled Q to make ends meet?
A
YES. There was a time in my
early twenties when I couldn’t afford my rent. In effect, I was homeless and ended up sleeping in a shed.
I was living in London with my boyfriend who then split up with me really suddenly. I was doing two jobs at the time – in a clothes shop and a pub – but I couldn’t afford the £800 a month rent by myself, so I had to leave the property. And I didn’t have anywhere to go.
It was winter and cold – but there was a little shed in the garden. So I hid my suitcase there and would sneak in after dark and sleep in a chair. Every few days, I would stay in a hostel and have a shower.
I used the money I saved on rent to move to Spain and become an au pair. To this day, the person who moved in after me doesn’t know I was sleeping in that shed.
Q Have you ever been paid silly money?
A
ABOUT three years ago, I was
paid £10,000 by drinks manufacturer Metaxa for two days’ work. They flew me to Belgium for a one-day photo and film shoot, and then to Greece where I did a day of press interviews. I felt like a movie star.
Computer games giant Playstation also paid me £6,500 for a day of my time recently. I sat on a panel session at the launch of one of its games.
Q What was the best year of your financial life?
A
IT was 2018, the year that I did an expedition to locate the source of the Essequibo River in Guyana. Afterwards, I did lots of work for different brands and was involved in loads of marketing campaigns, especially on social media, which meant I was getting paid quite a lot.
Q The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
A
I ONCE spent £75 on a leaf of a
houseplant. It came with a couple of roots, but I had to grow those roots on, to propagate and plant it.
It’s a rare plant called a variegated Monstera. It’s now got three leaves and if it gets to six feet high, I can sell it for £4,000. So it’s an investment. Or at least, that’s how I justified the purchase to my husband.
I have more than 150 house plants at home. I hate living in a sterile environment where there’s no greenery or oxygen. It makes me feel stifled. I really liked the jungle. I miss it. Q
What is your biggest money mistake?
A
I BOUGHT a secondhand Jaguar that was being sold below its market price. I thought I was being very clever when I bought it for £1,500. Two weeks later, the car died on me.
I also paid £1,000 for a horse just as we were going into lockdown, which went lame after a few months. We’ve got a two-acre paddock in our garden and I bought it for my teenage niece who was living with us.
I knew she would be on her phone indoors the whole time. I thought a horse would get her outside. And it did, until it started bucking her off because it was in so much pain.
Q The best money decision you have made?
A FOUR years ago, I bought
a two-bedroom buy-to-let property in Sheffield for £40,000 with a £15,000 deposit. The rent from the property is equivalent to an annual return of 10 per cent and I think it’s also appreciated in value during that time.
Q Do you save into a pension?
A I USED to. I think I’ve got around £5,000 saved in a pension,
but I stopped about a year ago because I prefer to put my money into bricks and mortar.
My husband and I are hoping to build a buy-to-let property portfolio on an interest-only mortgage basis and then, in 30 years’ time, sell off a third of them to pay off all the mortgages and retire on the income from the remaining properties.
Q Do you invest directly in the stock market?
A YES, I’ve got a few shares in Mama Bamboo, a company that makes eco-nappies. But I’d like to have four or five buy-to-let properties before I start really investing in stocks and shares.
Q Do you own any property?
A ONLY my property in Sheffield. My husband owns our home, a four-bedroom Grade IIlisted house with six acres and three holiday lets in the surrounding woodland which he bought in 2016 for £1.12million. It’s probably worth about £2million now.
Q What little luxury do you treat yourself to?
A I ENJOY a spa day every month when my husband goes away. He works for Discovery
Channel and sometimes is away for up to two months at a stretch. I manage the holiday lets and we’ve got three children and a menagerie of animals, so life can be extremely busy.
The spa day gives me space to recharge so that I’m not burning out. I spend anything between £120 and £180.
If you were Chancellor Q what would you do?
A
I WOULD put more funding into paying NHS staff what they’re truly worth. The value that they add to our country far outweighs the wages they’re currently receiving in return.
Q Do you donate money to charity?
A
YES, quite a few, but just between £5 and £20 a month to each one. I also donate my time and books to underprivileged schools. I believe in karma. The more you give, the more you get.
Q What is your number one financial priority?
A
TO make sure my children always have everything they need: food in their mouths, a roof over their heads and the care that they need to feel safe and secure and become the best versions of themselves.