One of the things we spend a lot of money on while traveling the world is accommodation. And although some countries are cheaper than others, it’s still a big chunk of our daily budget. We started looking into other possibilities to afford long-term travel and found a way to save money while traveling by housesitting.
Cutting the cost of accommodation is great because we can either spend that money on more things we want to do, but at the same time, we have an opportunity to stay in countries that would otherwise be too expensive. While doing a road trip in Australia we spent more than we budgeted for but by combining it with two months of housesitting the overall budget is right on track.
House sitting or pet sitting is perfect for you if you want to stay in one place for a longer period, don’t want to spend a whole lot of money on accommodation, or just love animals. Of course, no solution is without drawbacks, so let’s dive right into how you can save money while traveling by housesitting.
House sitting or pet sitting
There are basically two flavors to choose from. House sitting means just that, people are going away and want somebody to take care of their home. Often it’s the thought of an empty home and the fear of burglary. But if you’re traveling for a longer period it is also nice to know that somebody is watering the plants, vacuuming, or cleaning the house.
Pet sitting is basically an addition to house sitting. People with pets need someone to take care of them while they are on vacation. We’ve heard stories of people not being able to book a spot at a kennel for example. But sometimes the animals are quite nervous and just do better in their own environment. While you’re taking care of the pets you’re taking care of the home as well.
Some people get paid for their services, but we chose to work with TrustedHousesitters and are just happy with the fact that we save money while traveling by housesitting. We just started doing this, so we might change our minds in the future.
Getting your first house sit
We signed up for TrustedHousesitters a long time ago. We had a free account just to see what it was all about. You can’t respond to actual housesits but we just wanted to make sure this would be worth the annual fee they charge. Their prices range from € 119,- per year to € 239,- per year. We usually pay around € 45,- per night, so we just needed a 3-day sit to make this worth the effort.
If you sign up for TrustedHousesitters you will get a 25% discount on your membership and we will get 2 free months. It’s a win-win!
Once you signed up make sure to fill out your profile. Add as much detail as possible and don’t forget to add pictures of yourself and animals you’ve had in the past. This is your business card and what homeowners will look at when deciding whom to pick. We wrote about what we are currently doing but also about the animals we had in the past and added some pictures of animals we encountered during our travels.
Now it’s time to start searching for suitable housesits and respond to the requests of the homeowners. If you’re just starting and you have no reviews to share, yet, it might take a while before someone picks you. Make sure to add reviews from Airbnb for example or ask people around you to write a reference to have a better shot.
Pros of house sitting
The biggest pro of house sitting for us is that we save money while traveling by house sitting. Especially with longer sits this is great for our budget. We get to explore the area and spend money on activities or tours. Having those days where you spend no money at all is great for the overall budget.
Another great benefit is that it gets easier to stay in countries that are more expensive. Australia, New Zealand, and even the United States have lots of options to choose from. Not having to worry about finding affordable accommodation or stretching the budget is a game-changer.
The other part of housesitting, especially with longer sits, is that you get to experience what it’s like to live in that particular country. You go from being a traveler or tourist to being someone who lives here and gets to experience the country differently. And you get insider information as to what there is to see and do around your area.
And last but not least, you get to cuddle with cute animals all day long! There is nothing better than taking a break from working behind the laptop and cuddling a cat or dog or whatever animal your house sitting with. At our current housesit we take the dog to the park and throw a ball until the dog is too tired.
Cons of house sitting
It’s hard to get your first housesit if you have no experience. We applied a million times and didn’t hear back from the homeowners or got the basic rejection email. This will make you doubt your decision to housesit, but just remember to be persistent. Someone will take a chance on you if they like your profile.
You lose some of your freedom when housesitting because you are taking care of animals. Maybe this isn’t the case when it’s just a housesit or if you’re sitting fish or cats that entertain themselves. We’ve had two housesits with dogs and you have to keep in mind that you need to be back in time to walk them or feed them. They are only used to being by themselves for this long.
Some of the things we wanted to leave behind, like doing groceries or cooking dinner, or cleaning the house, are back while housesitting. This is all about balance for us where we travel around and enjoy the freedom and go back to a steady spot for a while. We know that if we travel too long this will be something we are craving, but right now it feels like a downside.
Our Experience with House sitting
During our first world trip, we hadn’t even thought of this option and we just spent the money we saved up before we left. It’s one of the ways to afford long-term travel that takes a lot of preparation. Once the money is gone the trip is over, so this time we decided we wanted to stretch our budget as much as possible.
We started looking for housesits in Asia, but it’s not that popular there. But it is very popular in Australia so we decided this would be a good option after our road trip. We responded to a couple of requests and didn’t hear back. But our first response back was for a 5-week housesit, so that was great. We would have to take care of 2 dogs and 3 chickens, which sounded perfect.
When we met the owners and talked for a bit about what they were looking for we decided it was a match. For 5 weeks we would get up, feed the dogs and the chickens, do some work or go out for the day and feed the dogs at night. With the holidays coming up we kept looking for house sits and this time we would have to take care of a big dog with lots of energy.
So now we would wake up, take the dog to the park and let him run until he was tired. We’d feed him back at the house and then we could do our thing. At night we would let him run in the park once more before feeding him. With both sits we made sure the dogs could be by themselves for a day, otherwise, we wouldn’t get a chance to do some of the things on our list.
Combine traveling and house sitting
Now that we’ve done a couple of housesits we sort of feel like we should follow a rhythm of traveling and house sitting. We love doing both and this combination will make sure that we can afford to travel long-term for a long time and that we don’t burn out.
While traveling for a longer period there will be moments when you just want to be at home and housesitting is a perfect substitute for that. You have your own little space and the bonus is amazing animals to cuddle or play with. Once you’re recharged it’s time to hit the road again until the next time you feel like this.
If you sign up for TrustedHousesitters you will get a 25% discount on your membership and we will get 2 free months. It’s a win-win!
Have you thought about house sitting or pet sitting when traveling long-term? Share your thoughts in the comments. And if you’re looking for a housesitter, feel free to reach out to us. We’d love to chat and see if there’s a match!
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