One Hack to Travel the World on a Budget
Ever have lofty dreams of traveling but your budget doesn’t let you?
Although I grew up in an immigrant working-class family I had rich people’s goals. I wanted a brownstone in Manhattan and to travel the world.
I thought I would travel all through my 20s. I did somewhat, I went to Cuba (many times), Venezuela, the Netherlands, and Mexico.
I was unable to go further with my travel goals because I was not that great at planning or budgeting for these trips. Thank you undiagnosed ADHD!
When I got married in my mid-30s in the Bay Area, my very frugal ex-husband also wanted to travel, and live overseas. He knew how to save, I knew how to go down rabbit holes to find good deals.
I learned one great hack to travel that has taken us to different places in California, and cities like Salt Lake City, Bordeaux, and Lisbon.
I joined Trusted Housesitters in 2018.
Trusted Housesitters is a global pet-loving community that brings together pet owners and pet sitters through their mutual support, trust, and love for animals. It started in 2010 and since then it has saved its members over half a billion in accommodations and pet care costs.
My kids were 5 and 7 when we opened an account on Trusted Housesitters. This was a good practice run to see if we could really handle the traveling and living in different places.
We had our first housesit in Grass Valley, CA. We took care of a sweet big dog, China. It was nice to be somewhere else that was spacious and had all our needs and we did not have to pay for it!
Since then we have done over 20 housesits.
I have taken the kids on short trips to Half Moon Bay, week-long ones in Southern California, and spent a couple of weeks in Salt Lake City.
Since we were getting the experience and gaining great reviews we were able to secure some housesits locally while my ex-husband was remodeling our house to get ready for an international move.
We have formed special relationships with all the animals and it feels good to be part of a global part of community.
Become a Successful Housesitter
I first joined and set up my free account user. This was a good way to see if I actually wanted to do any of the house sits on the site. I learned right away that traveling through Trusted Housesitters was worth the basic yearly membership investment of $119 for unlimited worldwide housesits.
When I first started I believe this was the only membership. Now they have upgraded yearly memberships with Standard and Premium Plans.
The Standard Plan for $149 a year offers:
Unlimited worldwide house sits,
accident & third-party liability insurance,
free video calls & online chat with vets when pet sitting and
instant alerts for unlimited saved searches.
The $239 a year Premium Plan offers:
Everything in the Standard Plan
dedicated member support;
sit cancellation insurance (very important during Pandemic times) and
a Premium badge on your profile if you like that sort of thing.
Next
Create an honest profile with your experience with animals, list your skills, your hobbies and what makes you the person someone will trust with in their home with their furry friend.
Post authentic pictures. Be creative and make a video introducing yourself.
Search for a Sit
You can be as precise as searching for sits in a specific city or town or if you are adventurous you can search for Anywhere.
There are filters you can use. I always select family-friendly homes and occasionally high-speed wifi.
You can also select if you need disabled access or the use of a car included in the sit. I haven’t taken advantage of owners offering their cars but it is a nice option.
With the Basic Plan, you can save up to 7 searches and receive notifications for them. I like this feature because applying quickly is really important.
Some people just pick the first person who applied and do not read applications after receiving 4 or 5 of them.
Apply for a Sit
If you are a newbie to the site or housesitting please note it will take time to get your first sit. If you are traveling with children you have to have patience.
Some owners love families and others prefer a single person or couple. Sometimes it’s the pet that makes the decision. There are definitely animals that are not good with children.
Remember it’s not all about you. People who are searching for a petsitter want to make sure their furry family member is well cared for.
Read the listing fully including what the responsibilities are and information about the pets. Make sure it is the right fit for you before applying.
Let the owner know that you read their listing by using the names of the animals, how you will meet the needs listed and why you want to do this sit.
I also tell them a bit about my family and suggest they read my reviews for further consideration.
Ask the Right Questions
For the most part I’ve had wonderful housesits with great animals.
A few have been interesting. Taking those experiences I know I should ask certain questions before committing to a sit during the interview process.
1-Does your pet have accidents in the house or use a pee pad frequently?
2-How long can they be by themselves?
Taking dogs for long walks is a great perk but sometimes you have to do things on your own. It’s important to not cause the animal stress by staying away longer than they are used to.
3-How is your dog with other dogs on a walk or with people?
4-What commands do they know?
5-Where do they sleep?
Are you ok with sleeping with animals or do you prefer not to?
There are hosts that have told me they returned to having their dog wanting to sleep in their bed when they were not accustomed to it. Follow what the owner does if you feel comfortable.
6-Are there first aid kits for humans and animals?
After being selected you will receive a Welcome Guide from the host. This usually answers a lot of questions, such as wifi password, schedules and emergency contact information.
Asking the right questions will help you decide if it’s a good fit for you before you receive this guide.
Leave it Better than You Found It
We have a 5 star rating and many great reviews. Our motto has always been to treat each home with love and care, it is a privilege to have this experience.
These are things I have done that people take note of:
Send pics and videos throughout your stay of the animals.
Love on the animals so much that they are happy and relaxed when the owners come home.
Wash the sheets and put fresh ones on the beds. Who wants to change their bedding after a long trip home?
Make sure everything is clean. I have been known to clean out the silverware drawer. For some reason it is so difficult to do in my own home but not when I housesit!
Leave a small plant or a drawing as a thank you.
I just renewed my membership for another year and now that we live in Portugal I am looking for sits in London and Paris, two places we really want to go to. Flights are so inexpensive during the fall months and combining it with housesit through TrustedHousesitters will make it possible.
We have saved over $3K these past 4 years doing these housesits.
Are you ready to sign up and become a Trusted Housesitter?
