I was recently interviewed by Libelle magazine, one of the most well-known and widely read women’s magazines in the Netherlands. Every week, Libelle inspires hundreds of thousands of readers with real-life stories, lifestyle tips, and personal reflections. In the popular recurring column called “De portemonnee van” – which literally translates to “The Wallet of…” women open up about their finances: how they earn, spend, save, and think about money. It’s a raw, honest, and incredibly refreshing look at personal finance, Dutch style. I had the chance to share my story – from life in a self-built camper to my evolving relationship with money, freedom, and security. A peek into my wallet – and my life on the road.

Below you can find the full translated interview. If you’d like to read the original article (in Dutch) click here to view it on Libelle.nl.

I’ve been roaming Europe in my camper for years.

Every week we take a look inside the wallet of one of our readers. This time it’s Fleur. She’s 44 years old, works as a property owner and entrepreneur, and has been traveling through Europe for 2.5 years. With Libelle, she discusses what she earns and where she spends her money.

Text: Lisette Gerbrands
Photo: Josselin Bijl

The wallet of…

Name: Fleur Pullen
Age: 44
Residence: Helmond, the Netherlands
Profession: Property owner and entrepreneur
Weekly working hours: 4–8
Salary (net): €0
Other income: €3,500

Monthly expenses

Mortgage: n/a
Gas, water, electricity: n/a
Municipal taxes: n/a
Insurance: €183.47 (travel, health, life, liability, and camper)
Groceries: €260
Car (incl. fuel) and public transport: €255 (camper maintenance), €227 (diesel), €107 (other transport, such as plane tickets, train tickets, bus and ferries)

Phone: €70
Internet and TV: n/a
Other subscriptions: €31.76 (Netflix, NPO Start, bol select, Park4night, Spotify)
Sports: n/a
Pets: n/a
Excursions: €60
Charity: n/a
Debt repayment: n/a
Dining out: €332
Campsites: €75
Other: €426 (including dentist, hairdresser, e-sim cards, hotel stays, gas bottle, personal purchases like books and electronics, clothing, gifts, souvenirs)

Total expenses: €2,031.43
Savings per month: €1,468.57
Savings account balance: €58,000
Debts (e.g., student loan): n/a

You work about 4 to 8 hours a week, what exactly do you do?

“I rent out an apartment in Rotterdam. After eight years of saving with my ex, we had enough money to invest. That became an apartment in Rotterdam to rent out. I also founded a company in the Netherlands, of which I’m still a shareholder. My ex and I also had a boat. When that relationship ended, we sold it and I used that money to buy an apartment in Spain to rent out. I also earn money from a brand license and receive royalties for a book I wrote. These days I also coach people on achieving financial freedom. I love doing that!”

Have you always wanted to be a property owner and entrepreneur, or did you just end up in the field?

“From a young age I knew I wanted to travel and live a different kind of life. For example, I also never wanted children. I studied and worked for an employer, but when everyone around me started taking out mortgages because they were moving from student housing into ‘real’ houses, I clearly felt I didn’t want that. I didn’t want to be tied down every month to such a big financial commitment. I had entrepreneurial ambitions and decided to focus on saving to make my dreams come true.”

How did you do that?

“We kept living small, in our rented home at the time. That allowed us to save well. Around age thirty, we bought our first property—a top-floor apartment from the housing corporation—for €100,000. We were able to buy it with our savings, no mortgage needed. So I didn’t have any fixed housing costs, just gas, water, electricity, and waste charges. Because I worked full time, I could save a lot.”

Were you saving for something specific at the time?

“Absolutely. At some point, we developed the plan to go traveling in a few years. So we worked backward. We calculated what we would need to travel, and it turned out we needed to rent out two properties to have a sufficient basic income for the two of us to live on without working.”

How did you make that plan concrete?

“Financial freedom is about making conscious choices and setting priorities. I did that maybe even to the extreme. I lived very frugally. That started with gas, water, and electricity. Then I canceled subscriptions. I no longer had a TV subscription, just Netflix and NPO. Eventually, the variable costs were addressed too.”

Is life still fun when you live so frugally?

“I love eating out and doing fun things. I always kept doing that, but for as little money as possible. We worked with a weekly budget, for example. At some point, I was down to €100 per week; the rest went into savings. It became a game to spend less and less. It helped that the money in the savings account grew quickly. Because vacations are an expensive item, we did home exchanges. People stayed in our house, and we stayed in theirs. The fact that we were saving for a goal—not being dependent on money anymore, and being able to travel—helped a lot. I knew I would eventually be free to go wherever I wanted.”

Do you experience that now?

“Absolutely. I’ve been traveling through Europe for years. First by boat with my ex, and for the past few years alone in a camper. Sometimes I join friends on a boat trip. Looking back, I sometimes think: if only I had started paying attention to my spending and saving when I was 20. I’m not a millionaire, but I am living my dream life. It’s about making choices and clearly knowing what you want. Only then can you make a plan to get there. And that always works out, really.”

 

You spend €255 a month on camper maintenance. Do you travel with it a lot?

“After being in a relationship for seventeen years, I started traveling solo two and a half years ago. So far just in Europe. I’ve been to Scotland and traveled through Scandinavia up to the North Cape. I also did a trip through Balkan countries like Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania, heading toward Greece. Now I’m thinking about my next trip. Ireland is still high on my list, and I’d also like to ship the camper and drive through Canada for a few months. New Zealand and Australia are still on my bucket list too.”

You have quite a sum in your savings account. What do you want to do with it?

“In the long term, I’m saving for an extra permanent place for myself. Something like a tiny house or a cabin somewhere in the mountains. I could live in Spain, in the apartment I’m currently renting out, but in the past year I’ve done a lot of hiking and I’m really in love with the mountains. Traveling has made me used to living in small spaces. It’s so calming. I don’t need stuff or big houses. That goes for my future house too. It means more to me to be in nature. The lower my fixed expenses, the more space I have to do other things—like travel. I’ve learned that I don’t need much in life. A cup of coffee already makes me more than a satisfied person.”

If you’d like to read the original article (in Dutch):
📖 Click here to view it on Libelle.nl