We live in a three-bed dream house a stone's throw from picturesque beaches for just £166 a MONTH | The Sun

A COUPLE have told how they pay just £166 a month to live in their dream three-bedroom house just a stone's throw from the beach.

Matt Dearing, 36, and his partner Carlie Donnelley, 35, ditched Manchester for Bali so their family could be "financially free".

The pair upped sticks and moved their three children – Lincoln, seven, Delilah, four and Adelaide, one – across the world in March this year.

But as well as adding a dose of adventure to their kids' lives, the relocation has also bolstered the parent's bank balance.

Matt and Carlie had grown tired of "living to work" and spending their cash on constantly soaring bills, so found the perfect solution.

They sold their three-bed home in Denton for £365,000 to "escape the rat race" in favour of life on the idyllic Indonesian island.

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The family found the perfect pad to live in for just £2,000 a year while they build their perfect property from scratch on their 1,200-square-foot plot of land.

Even after purchasing the estate for £100,000, the couple says it will cost them £263,000 less to construct than it would in the UK.

Matt, who now works as a joiner in Ubud, said: "This was something we have wanted to do for years.

"A couple of times we would go over to Spain, and I was looking for cave houses as I wanted to go off grid.

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"In the UK it got to the point where I wasn't spending much time with my kids, I would spend about an hour with them before bedtime.

"I was constantly chasing bills and working. I did a lot of research into Bali as it has all-year-round tourism, and the weather is great."

The dad booked one-way flights to the Indonesian paradise in November last year, despite their relatives saying they were "mad."

But Matt – who claims he sometimes worked ten hours a day, seven days a week in the UK – says his family have "struck gold" in Bali.

He continued: "The return on your investment here is amazing. We sold the house we were living in [in the UK] for £365,000.

"With that money, we were able to buy a 1,200 square foot plot of land to build two four or five-bedroom villas on.

"We have struck gold – this is everything we want. For us, being financially free is literally freedom to do whatever we want with the kids, compared to working 10 hours, seven days a week sometime.

"I have always dreamed of dropping the kids off at school and picking them up – I can do that here.

"The people here are lovely and show a lot of gratitude – it ticked all the right boxes."

The dad, who previously owned five houses in Manchester, also says the cheap cost of living in Bali will also help him save a lot of cash.

He continued: "I was working so hard at home, I didn't have much of a social life. I didn't really go out partying – my main goal was that I wanted to be financially free.

'LOVING LIFE'

"It was something I have been pushing for the last ten years. Because of the cost of living in Bali, it is something we will achieve quicker."

Carlie echoed her partner's comments, saying she and her three children are "loving life" after escaping the stresses of life in the UK.

The beautician added: "I spent more time with the kids while he was at work, we were missing out on having Mark with us.

"It is great, I am loving life, the weather and just exploring different things. We are outdoorsy."

Matt said he can now take his kids on epic adventures to waterfalls and beaches each weekend – whereas in Manchester, he was scared to let them "out of the garden."

He continued: "For me, the world is so big, and life is so short, I hate the fact kids are indoors so much.

"When I was a kid, I would be out all the time, you don't get much of that in the UK.

"Now they are out all the time, they are playing in rice fields – they had never experienced that before."

The family's first three months in Bali were spent touring the sights and visiting Canggu and Lovina Beach, before they settled in Ubud.

But the couple admit there is one drawback to their incredible new life – that they had to leave their loved ones behind.

Matt explained: "The only thing about being out in Bali is you don't have that support network anymore.

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"We are hoping we get to the point where we can fly our family here and we are planning on coming back to the UK for two to three months at a time."

The couple are sharing their journey on their TikTok – @serenitylivingbali – in the hopes that they will inspire other people to take the same leap.

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