Of course one of the first things you have to figure out if you are going to embark on such a life changing journey is ‘how can we fund this new lifestyle’. As previously mentioned, we will have to be careful with our budgeting so that we can make the most of our time away while still enjoying the experiences this nomadic life has to offer. Can House and Pet sitting be the answer?
We’ve researched the different budgeting apps out there and we have found one which was created by a couple who are doing exactly what we’ll be doing. Trail Wallet is an easy travel expense tracker for iPhone.
We have been also researching what we can realistically expect to be able to live on in South East Asia on a daily/weekly bases. This will need to incorporate our accommodation, meals, beverages (of course), sight seeing and transportation. Some days will be cheaper than others. We need to be able to save enough to make sure our transport to our next destination is covered. The simple fact is, the more we go over budget, the less time we have away. We want to make sure we are going to make a go of this lifestyle for at least 2 years. There is an emergency fund set aside for any trips we will have to make back to New Zealand. With us both leaving behind elderly parents, we are realistic about the fact that there will be times that we will need to make the trip home at short notice. You can never completely run away from life as you know it. Home responsibilities will always remain with you but you can just find a different way to manage them.
This is where House and Pet Sitting comes into it. We’ve registered our profile with Trusted House Sitters for the overseas listings 
and also Kiwi House Sitters for New Zealand listings. It’s difficult to start with as we have been home owners all our adult lives so we are starting off without being able to prove just how trustworthy we are. However, someone has liked us and we have out first assignment – yay. We will be spending out Christmas Day in Mangawhai, north of Auckland, on a 5 acre block of land, looking after two adorable looking silky terriers, a cat and some ducks (what could possibly go wrong). It’s just for 4 days but it is a start towards building up some references for when we are travelling. Living and looking after animals for free accommodation will be a great way towards meeting our monthly budget and who knows – maybe we can book ourselves into a resort after that and splurge out for a treat.
Are we doing the right thing? This is a question that we have asked ourselves hundreds of times. Not so much now that we are so far down the track of change. We’ve grabbed the ball, now we just have to run with it.
There is a safety net in place case we fall. Things are in place for whenever we return. We have more than a lot of people do who have decided to take this road. The great support network of friends and family has made it easier. We have so much more than many others and that is what makes the difference.