House Sitting Magazine Issue 6: December 2016

FULL CIRCLE - BACK TO MEXICO!

by Ian Usher and Vanessa Anderson

For a change, we've had quite a low key month. We published last month's issue from a lovely AirBnB apartment in Puerto Vallarta on Mexico's west coast.

From there we took a bus to Guadalajara, where we spent two nights, allowing us to explore the trendy centre of Tlaquepaque, filled with galleries, museums, restaurants and bars (see feature image).

One more bus journey brought us "full circle" back to San Miguel de Allende, where we returned to our previous house sit location for a repeat assignment.

Our home until the end of the year is a short walk to the city centre, and within easy distance of the fantastic local market. We also have a shopping mall nearby with a good supermarket, tenpin bowling, and a modern cinema which costs just 22 pesos (US $1) on a Wednesday afternoon to see the latest releases.

Our household charges are six easy-going cats, along with a couple of strays that wander through the garden every now and then.

We have a third assignment lined up here too, mid-March to mid-April. San Miguel de Allende (often referred to as SMA) really does feel like it is becoming something of a temporary home town for us now.

At the moment we are at a bit of a loose end for the first two weeks of January, having a hole in our house sitting calendar, so if anyone knows of a house sit possibility in Mexico please do get in touch.

WHAT'S IN THIS MONTH'S CHRISTMAS ISSUE? So, on to this month's edition. We hope you'll find plenty of inspiration, entertainment and information in our first Christmas issue.

Faith Coates offers a variety of entertainment options in her article "12 days of Christmas in Dublin", and Ian has already written his "Letter to Santa".

Angela Laws has a touching story about volunteering at a rescue centre while house sitting in Spain, and I've listed some ideas on "How to secure back-to-back house sits" - something we've managed to do for most of this year.

We've introduced a new feature, "What the platforms say", where each month different platforms will give their thoughts and advice on a house sitting topic.

House sitting isn't all about cats and dogs, as we discover from Del Lloyd and Eden Rudin, who introduce to us some of the considerations of "Looking after lizards".

"Embracing change" is key to living a stress free nomadic lifestyle, and Ian talks about how this can be a positive factor in our lives. He also introduces some creative ways to make International Currency Transfers, and reviews a great budgeting app called Trail Wallet.

There's also more this month on teaching English online, with Chinese company VIPKID. Donna Carvell, founder of the Facebook Group HouseSittingCafe, walks us through what it's like to be a teacher for this online school who focus on teaching kids.

There's more too, so take a look through the topics - you are sure to find something that interests you.

All that remains for us this month, is to wish you a very happy Christmas and New Year and we look forward to bringing you more fresh topics in January 2018!

This banner was provided courtesy of "DrawerFullofGiants.com"

You'll find extra news, reviews and snippets throughout the magazine!

Volunteering the house sitting way Angela Laws How to secure back-to-back house sits Vanessa Anderson What the platforms say Various contributors My letter to Santa A little boy in Mexico Embracing change Ian Usher

12 Rescue Dogs of Christmas Andrea Jordan Photography Looking after lizards Del Lloyd and Eden Rudin

The 12 days of Christmas in Dublin Faith Coates

Budgeting with Trail Wallet Ian Usher Living in the lap of luxury Carrie Trip

Beat the banks at their own game Ian Usher This way to paradise Valen Dawson Teaching online with VIPKID Donna Carvell

Christmas stocking filler - house sitting video course Ian Usher Platform news - latest Vanessa Anderson House Sitting Summit - reviewed Vanessa Anderson Some of our favorites from the House Sitting Summit Vanessa Anderson Meet, greet, eat - chicken enchilada soup Jen Evans

In the next issue...

VOLUNTEERING... THE HOUSE SITTING WAY

by Angela Laws

If volunteers were a nation, they would be at least the ninth most populous country in the world” (source unknown)

Our 10 year house sitting journey has been full of wonderful fulfilling experiences, none more so than the one we embarked on back in October 2013.

Leaving our lovely Canadian home in the hands of TrustedHousesitters, we flew to Southern Spain for a six month house and pet sit - our longest to date.

Long assignments really are the ultimate opportunity to become fully immersed in the culture and lifestyle of a country. For us this one was special. In our younger days my husband John and I had both visited Spain many times, but only as traditional vacationers.

This time we did not stay in over-crowded resorts, but instead lived temporarily in a beautiful villa overlooking the Mediterranean in Benalmadena, close to Malaga. We looked after Bruno, a 13 year old rescued Doberman, while his "parents" returned to Dubai on business.

Volunteering - Getting started Opportunities to get involved in a community are only as limited as one’s imagination.

Prior to leaving for Spain I had decided that while I was there I would volunteer with an animal charity. For me this is one of the most rewarding ways of connecting with any local community.

Getting involved with small, locally run charities on a temporary basis is very easy, as they are not normally restricted by ‘hiring’ protocols. Unlike larger charities, they are often so understaffed and under-funded that any help, no matter how small, is received with huge gratitude.

Home owners and local residents are usually the best resource for reliable knowledge on volunteering projects, and our home owner was no exception. She kindly made some inquiries and gave me the contact details for ARCH - The Andalucian Rescue Centre for Horses.

My decision to work with horses and not dogs or cats (even though the need in Spain is huge), was purely self preservation.

Why? It wouldn't be easy to take a horse home… famous last words!

Our first visit to ARCH Saturday is visitor’s day at ARCH and we drove the 30 miles inland on the second weekend we were there.

Three days before our visit, two young Welsh Ponies, now named Hope (a filly) and Valiente (a colt), had been rescued.

Imported from Holland, they had been confined to a small shed, unable to lay down or turn around, and were then abandoned. Hope was almost impossible to handle - her fear of humans was heartbreaking, while Valiente had no fight left in him at all.

Both were malnourished with terribly overgrown feet. Horses' hooves need Farrier attention at least once every six weeks. Imagine your own nails with 18 months growth! Of the two, Valiente was in the worst condition.

But Hope had her fair share of problems with an abscess on one foot, another in her right eye, and was blind in her left as a result of an injury.

Even if they both survived, each would have a long and difficult road ahead.

Dedicated volunteers At the time ARCH had seventeen other residents, including donkeys, Shetland ponies and horses. All had varying degrees of health issues due mainly to abuse and neglect.

The founders of ARCH, Jill and Claire, are long term residents of Spain. Jill speaks fluent Spanish having lived there 55 years, and both are extremely knowledgeable in every aspect of equine care and stable management.

They do amazing work, in spite of the often difficult circumstances. As with all charities, fund raising and volunteers are vital to their immediate and long term existence.

From that very first visit I became absolutely committed to helping in any way I could. Even John, who "doesn't do" horses, volunteered. Admittedly he doesn't know one end of a horse from the other… actually strike that, he knows one has the potential to bite and the other to kick!

In any case, although ordinarily he doesn't feel the need to get up close and personal to a horse, to shovel muck, or haul bales of hay and straw, he surprisingly felt compelled to help.

Aside from my horse fix three times a week, the social connection was a delight - friendships were forged that will last a lifetime.

Help from a distance Through our involvement, and by spreading the TrustedHousesitters word, we were able to secure other house sits to extend our stay. We hoped to be there long enough to see little Valiente walk, free of pain. This was of course, everyone's wish!

After leaving Spain, my commitment to ARCH has continued. There is much that can be done remotely. Thanks to modern communication you really don’t need to be sitting on the doorstep of a charity to be able to help. For example:   

Charli Moore of Wanderlusters volunteered her time and skills to update ARCH’s website … a huge thank you to Charli.

Another big thank you to Andy and Rachel of TrustedHousesitters. They gave a very generous donation to ARCH. A talented young artist named Sarah Nicolls kindly donated her time and creativity to produce a wonderful portrait of Hope and Valiente, that was auctioned to raise funds (see featured image).

Finally, let me take you back to the beginning of this story and why I decided to volunteer with horses and not small animals.

I couldn’t take a horse home, right?

Well... house sitting changes lives, and in this case both mine and the lives of two Welsh Ponies.

You see I'm adopting Hope and Valiente, which will involve huge decisions and huge changes!

After all, I can't keep two ponies in a Vancouver Town House!

The story continues…

Angela Laws and her husband John have lived around the globe as Expats for the past 40 years.

Angela has also been with Trusted Housesitters since the very beginning, and is now their Social Media Manager. She continues to travel the world, house and pet sitting.

You could say she very much LIVES her work.

HOW TO SECURE BACK-TO-BACK HOUSE SITS

by Vanessa Anderson

If house sitting has become your way of life, then you'll have noticed that more and more people are joining our community.

Home owners are recognizing the benefits of using house sitters to look after their precious homes and pets, while house sitters use this as a way to travel the world with vastly reduced accommodation costs.

This means more and more competition!

So, as our industry grows and becomes more mainstream, what can we do to improve our chances of continually securing assignments?

IT'S ALL ABOUT MARKETING You are the commodity, the product if you like, and whilst for some this doesn't come naturally, if does help if you can market yourself and your services to potential home owners.

We don't get luxury house sits in beautiful locations just by answering a few platform advertisements. We network a lot!

And, over the past three years, we have positioned ourselves as house sitters in the niche of luxury properties - often off-grid and with swimming pools.

PROMOTE YOUR SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE We have a comprehensive skill-set related to property maintenance. We've built an excellent reference base, and have cared for many types of pets.

For us house sitting is a professional job that is done in exchange for free accommodation and utilities. This allows us to live our transient semi-retired lifestyle continuously.

Some people find it really difficult to "sell themselves", but in my experience these house sitters, have in fact, done a great job of networking in a very natural way. This IS a form of marketing.

I haven't met anyone yet who simply sits back and lets the house sits roll in with no effort whatsoever. Of if they do, it's due to years of sitting and a stack of great references.

I'm all for trusting in, and going along with the flow of life. However, I know too that both Ian and I have made a lot of positive effort, given generously to others, and learned to value our house sitting skills. Not in a monetary sense, but by being confident about what we can offer to an assignment.

We are now always booked up at least a year ahead. What follows here, are a some of methods we have used to make this happen.

Keep your profile and references up-to-date Make the most of your subscriptions on house sitting platforms. Take a look at your profile on a monthly basis and see if there is anything that needs updating.

Try changing your images. If someone has become familiar with your profile, they may just scan past it inadvertently while searching for house sitters.

Remember to add your most recent references as soon as you receive them.

Update your email alerts Many of the house sitting websites have email alerts with filters for your specific requirements.

If you are like us and have a long list of countries in which you are happy to house sit, scale this down once you have decided on a region.

This way you won't be overwhelmed with alerts.

Review this list occasionally and update as necessary, along with any other filters that you have set.

Write to friends, family and other contacts If you have a list of email contacts, send them a bi-annual or quarterly update on your adventures. Remind your friends, family and business colleagues that you are a house and pet sitter. Prompt them to mention this to their friends. Something like ….

"You may not need a house or pet sitter right now, but please don't forget to mention us to friends and work colleagues. We might be able to help them enjoy a well earned break especially if they have pets."

If you have a big mailing list, you could use the Mailchimp FREE service which allows up to 1000 email addresses, and encourages you to be more creative with your newsletter design.

Email home owners from previous house sits Stay in touch with your home owners and let them know where will be well in advance. This is a great way of getting repeat sits. We've had two requests this month alone.

Again you might ask them to mention your availability to others in their circle of friends or among other expats.

Setup a personal house sitting website One of our greatest assets has been our website: http://LongTermHouseSitters.com

It's full of information about us and our house sitting lifestyle. Essentially it has become our house sitting CV. We've also included an introductory video and a calendar to show our current availability.

Many of our home owners say that it was the professionalism of our website that made them choose us. A few have even said they didn't bother checking references after seeing it.

You can easily create your own website using a free theme in Wordpress, for example. But, if this is something you'd like help with, we can make you a striking 5 page website and even provide inexpensive hosting.

Simply provide the images and the text and we'll do the rest for just $99.00 USD. We've plenty of past experience creating websites, copy writing, and marketing, so drop us a line at this link if you'd like help.

Print business cards How often have you been out and about and found yourself telling people you meet about your house sitting lifestyle? Whenever we meet someone, they are fascinated by our lifestyle and want to know more.

A simple business card can provide a link to your house sitting website, where they can get more information, or even contact you if they decide they need your services.

Worried about design? Then check out Creative Market They have an amazing selection of inexpensive creative material - templates, fonts, themes, and much, much more. I've been using them for a while now, and once you sign up you get FREE downloads each month too.

Join expat groups on Facebook and online forums This is the source of many house sits is in expat communities. We've discovered that in some areas, house sit assignments don't ever make it to the house sitting platforms. Many are filled via referrals or word of mouth networking.

We know this happens for a fact in our old stomping ground of Bocas del Toro, in Panama.

Use social sites to search for expat groups and introduce yourselves into the community.

Blatant advertising is often frowned upon, so ease yourself in gradually by contributing relevant information to the group.

Ask moderators if they are OK with you offering your services. Often expats don't even know that house sitters exist (especially for free), so you are offering a genuine resource and service.

You just need to approach this in a softly-softly manner.

Network in expat communities while house sitting Once you have found an assignment in an active expat environment, start networking. Talk to everyone you meet. Introduce yourself to neighbours and property owners in your local area.

This is where your business card will come in useful Check out expat meetups in your area - often advertised in Facebook groups and local newspapers. When we were in Granada recently, there was a "Mojito Friday" at a local restaurant - this is a great way to personally introduce your services and make new friends.

Make human and pet friends at dog parks and beaches While we were house sitting in Perth, Australia, we found one of the most prolific sources of house sits was at the local dog park or beach.

Again, network, chat and hand out your business cards.

Print flyers This is an extension of the business card, but with the ability to include more information. We are currently in San Miguel de Allende, in Mexico and due to changes in our travel plans, have found ourselves with a few spare weeks in January.

We are living in a huge community of expats, rich Mexicans and holidaymakers. Our plan is to create an A5 flyer, have them inexpensively copied in town, and then just walk around the houses in our local community. We will pop a flyer through the letter boxes of close by properties - especially those where a dog barks at our arrival!

The great benefit to this is that we are in the area already, so can pop along to meet anyone that might be interested. This could also create interest for a future visit. A secondary advantage is that you'll likely make more new friends in the local area.

Again, if you need help with creativity and design, take a look at the FLYER templates on Creative market

Join more than one house sitting platform This may sound obvious, but some house sitters balk at the idea of spending money on more than one site. But the plain fact is, that as the market becomes more competitive, this may be necessary.

We subscribe to TrustedHousesitters as our international platform, and then depending on where we are in the world, we also subscribe to a smaller platform that focuses on the area where we want to house sit.

We'd also highly recommend Nomador, HouseSitMatch and HouseCarers for international sits.

When we were in Australia we used TrustedHousesitters, HouseCarers, and AussieHouseSitters.

These three sites cost less than $150 in total (2015 prices), but secured us back-to-back house sits (literally with no gaps) for 4 months. A small price to pay for 4 months of free accommodation.

Join meet-up groups In many towns and cities around the world you will find a variety of social groups on Meetup.com. These range from business groups, to social, outdoor activities, and many others.

While we were in Austin, Texas we used Meetup.com extensively as a networking tool. We made contacts and through these even made short presentations about our lifestyle to a number of organizations. We spoke at the local Rotary Club and the Hostelling Association.

Do a short presentation Do you enjoy public speaking? Is it a skill you want to improve? Then offer to speak at local groups and spread the word about house sitting. If you have a remote income stream, this is a great way to promote that too.

Ian talks about our lifestyle to 900 people at TEDx Vienna

Ian has spoken at TEDx Vienna, and a number of house sitters we know have also spoken at TBEX events. But you can start much smaller, as mentioned above - try the local Rotary Club, or regional travel organizations.

Whenever we did our talks in Austin, Texas, at more intimate venues, we also sold copies of both of Ian's books - every time!

Make a YouTube video We've left this till last, but in fact it's probably one of the most efficient ways to promote yourself, both on a house sitting platform (if you can upload videos), and on the YouTube channel.

Videos give home owners a better "feel" about you, whether you are single, a couple or a family. A two minute video is ideal, but if you have more to say (like we did!), then 4 minutes should be around your maximum length.

You will need a Google account (YouTube is now owned by Google). Once your video is uploaded, you use an "embed" code to place this video into your website, or on a house sitting platform. You can also attach a link to it within an email application letter.

Check out YouTube for examples before getting started.

We will be covering this in more detail in a future issue of House Sitting Magazine.

Have we forgotten anything?

We've included plenty of ideas to get you thinking about ways to market yourself. But, have we forgotten anything?

If you've got a great tip for marketing yourself that you'd like to share - please send us an email.

We'll post these in the House Sitting Magazine Facebook group - LIKE or FOLLOW us now to stay up-to-date with all things house sitting throughout the month!

QUESTION - What's the most effective piece of advice you would give long term house sitters, to help them get regular back-toback assignments?

I would say plan far ahead for long term house sits by setting email or text alerts on one or more platforms.

Then fill in the gaps, if any, by applying to urgent and short notice assignments while on the road.

These receive far less applications, so your chances are much higher. New online resources can also help find multiple last minute sits, such as the new "Sit Alert" launched recently by HouseSittingWorld.

Mariannig Ferrari - Nomador

Flexibility with both dates and destinations is one of the greatest assets a sitter can have when looking to secure back-to-back house and pet sitting stays.

Taking inspiration from the opportunities that are listed daily, you could plan 12 months of bucket-list worthy sits and see parts of the world you'd never thought you'd see, all because you were flexible in your approach.

Rachel Martin - TrustedHousesitters

Two strategies for job hunting, which I think are relevant, have been described as a “shotgun approach” vs a “rifle approach”.

The first sprays out a whole lot of resumes - or in our context, house sit applications. The second is focused on a series of selected targets.

I believe that the thoughtfulness and the sincerity applicants show in the more selective approach comes through, and makes these applicants more desirable candidates.

Alex - HouseSitMexico

I recommend you try some different approaches to increase your response rate.

It's important to identify with the needs of the homeowner and show them how you can help.

Don't Initially talk too much about your own requirements or overload them with questions that can come later.

And don't just say "see my profile, I'm interested".

You need to put effort into creating an excellent standout profile – and make excellent applications. You put a lot of effort into creating excellence for a job application – the same applies for an application to housesit.

It is also important to keep all aspects of your profile, preferences (such as favoured towns and cities), and calendar up-to-date. We offer a "keyword" facility - so make sure you select all the keywords that apply to you. You can update these in the left menu after you login.

Ian White - HouseCarers

House sitters can do a number of things to improve their chances of continuously securing assignments: 1. Care for the home and pets in your charge to the best of your ability - following the written instructions carefully if any were left for you. It seems obvious, but these details are important to the owner and so should be managed with care.

2. Keep the owner informed of the pets well-being at home. Many owners like to have photos and news shared via Facebook or email, but check this with them before they leave.

3. Welcome the owners back with a tidy organized home, and a comforting meal or drink as they arrive. Make sure that any household foods or items you have used such as milk, eggs or laundry soap have been replenished. Personally, If I'm house sitting, I always cook a lovely meal to welcome the owner back home, and I have usually spring cleaned ahead of their return. I also like to leave the owner a small gift as a token of thanks for my stay.

Lamia Walker - HouseSitMatch

MY LETTER TO SANTA

by Ian Usher

Dear Santa, My name is Ian and this year I think I have been a very good boy.

You may have some trouble finding me, as I am a house sitter, and I live in different houses at different times.

I will be in Mexico this Christmas. I am a bit worried, because we don't have a chimney.

But Vanessa says you will still be able to leave us some presents.

So here is my list.

Please note, it is in reverse order, so if you can't get me everything it would be great if you could start at #1. Thanks.

5. One (or more!) 128Gb microSD cards.

These are great for carrying movies and TV shows around, or for using in my phone, or in Vanessa's camera.

The one I like best comes with a tiny adapter that fits both USB and micro USB ports. http://amzn.to/2h6LYeg

4. A new Kindle ebook reader.

Mine still works, but it is quite old and looks very worn. It doesn't have a light either, so it is hard to read at night sometimes. This new one looks great.

http://amzn.to/2h6MWqN

3. A Tortuga 45 litre backpack http://www.tortugabackpacks.com/products/outbreaker-travel-backpack

My current backpack is pretty good, but many people have told me the Tortuga backpack is the best available for travelling with carry-on luggage only.

2. A lightweight computer I really like the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, but it seems a bit expensive. I'd also need a keyboard too. http://amzn.to/2gkZKLz

If you can't afford this one Santa, I would be happy with the Acer Switch One instead. http://amzn.to/2gV6gJy

1. DJI Mavic Pro drone http://amzn.to/2h6Aw2f I used to have a DJI Phantom, which was great fun. This new one folds up very small, so it would fit in my Tortuga backpack, and I could take some great aerial pictures as I travel around.

If possible, could I also have some goggles like the guys in this video?

Thank you Santa, Love from Ian

PS. Obviously I would like to ask for peace for the whole world too. Thanks.

Editor's note: If you are looking for further inspiration for Christmas stocking fillers Dave and Deb at ThePlanetD have a great list of ideas: The 45 best gifts for travelers this year It looks like Ian and Dave (or is it Deb?) may have similar interests. They both have the DJI Mavic Pro at the top of their list.

Have a great Christmas, everyone.

Vanessa.

EMBRACING CHANGE

by Ian Usher

I don't use Facebook very often. To be honest, I'm not much of a Facebook fan at all. I leave all of our social media accounts in Vanessa's capable hands.

However, I do have an occasional quick scroll through my feed every now and then when I find myself with phone in hand and a few minutes to fill.

A couple of days ago I took a quick peek to see what friends have been up to recently. At the top of the page Facebook now shows images from the past, along the lines of "3 years ago today".

This usually prompts the response, "Good grief! Was that three years ago. How time flies."

But yesterday I was fed an image under the tag line, "You have memories to look back on - one year ago today".

This is what Facebook wanted to remind me about:

The picture was taken high up on the side of Huashan Mountain in China. Vanessa and I were approaching the end of our year teaching English in China, and had taken our final month off to do some exploring. One of the things we both wanted to do was walk the "Plank Road in the Sky".

I laughed, showing the picture to Vanessa. "One year ago today," I said.

"Was that just one year ago?" Vanessa asked, sounding a little shocked. "It seems so much longer. Think of everything we have done since then."

So I did. And my thinking, coupled with a reading a blog post I received recently from author and entrepreneur James Altucher, prompted some thoughts on the idea of embracing change.

A year full of change Since leaving China at the end of November last year we have lived a life filled with change: 

We spent two months in the mountains of Victoria in Australia, enjoying a beautiful summer, house sitting with a couple of cats in a magnificent house with a large pool.

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We looked after a boutique holiday resort during off-season, right on the beach in Fiji. This included having to batten down the hatches for Cyclone Winston, the most powerful storm to ever hit the southern Pacific region.

We looked after three different homes and an assortment of pets in my old home town of Perth in Western Australia. It was great to catch up with old friends there too.

We visited my brother in New Delhi, where he currently lives and works. This included a trip to see the Taj Mahal.

We looked after two beautiful properties in England. The first was on the South Downs, with swimming pool, tennis court and twenty sheep. The second was right by the coast in beautiful Devon.

We enjoyed a couple of weeks exploring the Cancun region, Merida and Mexico City in Mexico, before heading to our next house sit.

One month house sitting in expat favourite city San Miguel de Allende was enough to convince us that Mexico would feature highly in our future travel plans.

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Next we flew down to Panama. We re-visited the Caribbean archipelago where we used to live. Once again, it was great to catch up with friends we hadn't seen for over two years.

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Nicaragua was our next port of call, where we had a short "holiday-from-our-holiday", as Vanessa often calls our mini-breaks. We had a few days on the beach at San Juan del Sur before heading to Granada for a month-long assignment.

We had scheduled some travel time next, and took three weeks to meander from Nicaragua back to Mexico, spending quite a bit of time around Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

Back in Mexico we stayed in a beautiful AirBnB apartment in lovely Puerto Vallarta, where we worked on completing the November issue of House Sitting Magazine.

Once the mag was published we headed back to San Miguel de Allende for a repeat assignment looking after six cats. It is here that my Facebook reminder of where we were a year ago just appeared.

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I had to agree with Vanessa. That day on the misty mountainside seems so long ago. Which isn't surprising when we look back at all the experiences we have packed into the past twelve months.

A change is as good as a rest!

This realization made me think about the importance of regular change in our lives.

Many bloggers write about the value of habits and routines if you want to be successful. If you want to write a book, they might suggest you get up at the same time and dedicate a couple of hours to writing. Want to get fit? A regular gym routine is what you need.

Maybe there is some value in these suggestions, but I think sometimes routines make life less colourful.

Imagine yourself driving on a beautiful scenic mountain highway. You take in each new vista as you round the next curve. The journey is filled with surprise and wonder.

You could drive the same route the next day, but of course you'd know what to expect. On the third day the route would be a little more familiar.

Now imagine you drive this same route every day to get to work.

Within a couple of weeks you would hardly notice the scenery. You'd be busy thinking about work problems, what to have for dinner, or worrying about the credit card bills.

I'm sure we have all experienced that sensation of arrival with no memory at all of the journey.

The drive has been done on auto-pilot while our mind has been mulling over something else.

Multiply this simple example up into a career of forty years working in the same job, climbing the corporate ladder one slippery rung at a time, longing for the day retirement arrives, so you can finally enjoy your "golden years".

Without change one day just merges into the next. With nothing to differentiate the days, they soon become months, then years. Before long you are looking back wondering what happened to the last five years, ten years, twenty years, with nothing much to show for it in terms of experiences.

Without any significant degree of change you might finally find yourself retiring, wondering what on earth happened to your life.

We can't cheat time - we are all rationed to a certain amount of it - but we can certainly try to squeeze the most out of what we have.

For us, and I'm sure for those of you who already live a life filled with change and adventure, change is one of the greatest benefits that house sitting provides.

For those considering starting out on a house sitting adventure, don't underestimate the value of the change that this lifestyle can offer.

12 RESCUE DOGS OF CHRISTMAS This little puppy was looking for a home last month in Guatemala. Let's hope he's going to experience Christmas in a welcoming new home.

by Andrea Jordan Photography

Andrea Jordan is a digital nomad who has made a commitment to support the communities she lives in by volunteering at animal shelters as she travels in Latin America.

She's a keen dog walker and champion bell scratcher but it's when she picks up her camera that magic happens. She creates stunning images that capture the personalities of the wonderful creatures she cares for.

As a Christmas treat she's created a series called "12 Rescue Dogs Of Christmas" to showcase some of her favorite rescue dogs that she met this year while volunteering at:  

Playa Animal Rescue Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and Mayan Families, Hope For The Animals Lake Atitlan, Guatemala

You can see the series on her Facebook page where she regularly shares images of rescue animals. And if you miss this for any reason, you'll be able to see all 12 images in our January issue!

When Andrea's not creating beautiful photos, you can find her using her business strategy skills to support entrepreneurs, creatives and adventurers to create the business they've dreamed of.

With a rare combination of expertise in corporate law and business coaching, together with a degree in accounting, this woman knows her stuff!

If you'd like to discuss your business, or what volunteering is really like, contact her via her website - LearnDiscoverBeFree.com

LOOKING AFTER LIZARDS

by Del Lloyd

House sitting always offers me unique opportunities to grow my skills.

Whether it's sitting in a new foreign location where I have to learn get around and perhaps fix things in a new language, or the opportunity to sit for new types of pets.

My first experience of looking after exotic pets was on a sit in California. This assignment included a Boxer dog, a Bearded Dragon called “Beardy”, and a Corn Snake. I was not at all familiar with reptiles as pets and figured this would be a good way to get acquainted.

Since my first lizard experience, I have gone on to sit other types of lizards as well. I found this is a great way to ‘specialize’ as a sitter.

Cornsnake image (courtesy of TheCornsnake.co.uk)

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW AS A HOUSE SITTER Live feeding Caring for lizards requires live feeding of bugs. Typically this includes crickets or meal worms, but it depends on the type of lizard and their particular diet.

Snakes – well yes, they do like mice! You need to be able to put aside any squeamishness to provide proper care and nutrition!

Talk to the owner about what and how they feed their reptiles. You don’t really want to deviate from the prescribed diet since certain types of fruits and veggies are toxic to reptiles.

Food supplies For short term sits, make sure that you have enough insects or other live feed for the period of your assignment. For longer sits, make sure the owner has left you money and the name of the local reptile shop to pick up more live food.

Please don’t feed the lizards dead bugs, they won’t eat them.

Water and hydration Because of their physiological makeup, reptiles don’t so much "drink water" as they do "soak it up" through their skin in order to stay hydrated. Always make sure you check the enclo sure every day to make sure the water bowl is full.

Since Beardy was quite large, he required some handling. I gave him a "bath" every other day to make sure he was hydrated. I filled a 14 gallon Tupperware container with warm water and placed him in it for 15 minutes. He used this time to both "play" in the water and absorb it in to his body. Then after a quick toweling off, he'd happily return to his enclosure.

How to handle a live feed The first thing to note is that not all lizards are alike and they require different types of live food. Please allow enough time to go over this carefully with the owners. Beardy's main diet was meal worms, but Sasha ate live crickets.

Before removing the heat lamp from the enclosure and carefully placing it on its side, I would make sure I had already prepared and made accessible the bag of Vitamin D/Calcium Supplement Powder, and the meal worm container.

Then with forceps, I would individually remove a live meal worm from its container, dip it in the white powder, and then place it on a shallow feeding dish. Beardy gobbled it up, and simply I repeated this process until he was full.

After eating his fill, I took any remaining live meal worms and placed them back in their storage container. Don’t leave any live insects behind as they have been known to bite lizards.

I also fed Beardy some fresh greens, replacing any leftovers from the day before.

And finally – make sure you return the heat lamp to the "warm" side of the cage and re-secure the enclosure so your new reptile friend doesn’t escape. You don’t want to be hunting for a loose reptile in the house, or even worse, in a neighbour's house!

DEL LLOYD: Del and husband Lee are extremely happy to have learned about house sitting while travelling around the world on their sabbatical. They have house sat for dogs, cats, lizards, snakes and birds in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, Mexico and the United States.

For more information go to their Trusted House Sitter's profile here at this link

CONSIDERATIONS FOR HOME OWNERS WITH REPTILIAN PETS

by Eden Rudin

As an owner of reptiles there are specific things you need to consider when planning to use a house sitter to watch over your pets.

You know that each reptilian pet, although not "cute and cuddly" by most people’s standards, has its own unique personality. Be sure to convey that personality to the sitter, so if they handle them they know what to expect.

If your pet is not used to being handled often, make sure you make this known. Sho w them, don't just tell them, the best way to approach your pets.

If your sitters will need to purchase and feed live food, it is best to let your supplier know you will be out of town. If possible take the sitters to the shop that you use, make an intro duction and show them exactly which type and size of food you buy.

This introduction could prove invaluable should the house sitters experience any feeding issues while you are away.

Temperature control Controlling the temperature of a reptile is crucial, and failure to provide heat could be disastrous. Firstly make sure your sitters really understand the importance of this aspect of reptilian care. Secondly, make sure you leave backup heating elements (light bulbs or hot stones) for emergency situations.

Don’t just assume the sitter has had to purchase these items before. It could be just as well to leave instructions for buying replacements, in case of further problems.

Leave specific details and the probable cost - you don’t want them running off to the hardware store to buy a decorative red bulb instead of a specialized heating bulb! Perhaps leave an emergency fund to cover any unexpected expenses. And, don't forget to leave details of your local vet.

Are your heating devices on timers?

Be sure to show the sitter how to set and reset the timer in case of power outage. It's a good idea to also leave an easy to follow procedure in your home book that can be followed if the power fails.

Supplements You probably have an "eye" for how much you administer, but it would be best to establish an exact measurement before the sitter arrives.

Show them the measurement rather than use terms like "just a pinch" or "about this much".

These phrases can have very different meanings to different people.

Sitters are often travel weary when they arrive and are given the 12-24hr whirlwind "this is how we do it" tour. With so much to remember something simple like "1 teaspoon" would be easier to remember than a visual example.

Again this is good information to leave in your home book.

Handling time If your reptilian pets are used to being handled - make sure you disclose this in your assignment advert and re-state it in your communications with any potential house sitters. Be sure to allow ample time from when the house sitter arrives to your departure to experience handling time together. This will make sure everyone is comfortable with the handling procedures, especially if it’s the first time for the sitters with reptiles.

EDEN RUDIN: As experienced global house-sitters and travelers, Eden, alongside her husband Denny, explore the world in search of new cultures, locations and fascinating ways of living.

Eden is also the founder of ForSittersbySitters.com - a house sitter only community, and a place where conversations go more in-depth amongst house sitters.

Editor's note: This has been a brief insight into what might be expected of you when looking after reptiles, and in particular lizards.

If it has sparked your interest, then take a look at this article from PBS Specialist Pet Travel on "Easy to keep lizards" If you have your own story to tell about looking after exotic pets, please let us know. We'd love to feature your story in a future issue!

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS... IN DUBLIN

by Faith Coates

We have house sat and visited family and friends in Ireland a great deal over the past few years, and this year we plan to spend Christmas in Dublin, house sitting.

Celebrating Christmas in another country is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in another culture or atmosphere, get stuck into new traditions, and experience things that may well be beyond your own "normal".

In Ireland, it's all about the "craic", (pronounced "crack" and sort of defined here) being with family, having fun and simply enjoying the energy of the season.

GETTING AROUND House sitting in Ireland can be difficult.

Many sits require transportation of some kind as much of Ireland is very rural. In some cases the homeowner may allow you to use their vehicle, but you must have an International Driver's License and good experience of driving standard (manual/stick-shift) vehicles. In Ireland as in the UK, most cars are stick-shift and these manual vehicles cost more to insure than automatics.

Dublin, however, is a very well connected city with very good transportation links, so you won't need a vehicle here. From Dublin you can also get out to see other areas with Bus Eireann.

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS Ireland is a very family orientated country. They like to take their time and celebrate well. Like most countries on Christmas Eve (December 24th), virtually everything shuts down and then starts up again on December 26 when the sales set in.

There are varying traditions for folk living in Dublin that help set the mood for the Christmas season. Some of these are very budget friendly (meaning free!), but others do have a cost involved.

So if you do get a chance to house sit in Dublin, here for your pleasure are The 12 Days of Christmas - Irish Style!

Day #1 - The 12 Pubs of Christmas One of the newest traditions is the "12 Pubs of Christmas". This "tradition" has been developing steadily over the past few years. It may appear to be a party for millennials, but in Ireland, everyone joins in "for the craic".

Young and old alike select their ugliest Christmas Jumper (also known as sweater, cardigan or sweatshirt). We are talking jumpers that are simply hideous, with lights, velcroed Santas, real candy canes and the like. The idea is to hike between 12 different pubs in your area and drink a full round in each pub.

There are strict rules to abide by when visiting each pub. You can check out the rules here and pick-up your jumpers from online retailer, Deadly Christmas Jumpers.

A couple of the jumpers available at Deadly Jumpers

Day #2 - The lights go on in Dublin Christmas lights go on in various places around Dublin. The Grafton Street Lights are switched on around the middle of November. There is usually a special guest and lots of family based entertainment.

The lights themselves are simply gorgeous chandeliers and swags designed by the same team that creates the lights at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Day #3 - Christmas markets Dublin has been growing as a popular destination for Christmas markets over the past few years, and one of the best is the Dublin Docklands Christmas Festival. This market is generally held around the 12th of December until the 23rd, at George's Quay.

It is a magical market reminiscent of those held in Vienna, Austria. With a Victorian fairground as the backdrop, Ireland's finest craft and artisan producers gather to display their wares. You'll find homemade jumpers, hand-woven blankets and throws, incredible Celtic jewelry, handbound books and so much more.

Day #4 - Cathedral choirs St Patrick's Cathedral is a stunning vaulted cathedral in the heart of Dublin. The Cathedral was founded on what was believed to be the site of a well used by St. Patrick himself. The current cathedral dates from around 1220, where it was built on the remains of an old wooden church.

For something truly special at Christmas time, catch a heavenly performance of Christmas carols, held several days before Christmas Eve. Mass of Christmas Night will follow the carols at 10pm, which is generally known as "Midnight Mass".

Day #5 - Hot chocolate while shopping Butler's chocolate has been around in Dublin since 1932, and there are several outlets throughout Ireland. If you are in Dublin however, you must go to one of their Chocolate Cafes in Grafton Street or Henry Street, and have the mind altering White Hot Chocolate. If ever a drink was made for Christmas this is it. You can even buy some to take home with you.

Day #6 - Some traditional Irish grub Not much is actually open on Christmas day so your best bet for a good Christmas dinner (if you want traditional), will be one of the many hotels in Dublin.

For those on a budget a number of the better Chinese, Korean and Asian restaurants will be open. They serve everything from "all you can eat buffets", to authentic spicy Sichuan food.

In the run up to Christmas, check out some local Irish favourites. Gallagher’s Boxty House for the local hearty potato pancakes served in myriad ways; The Bakehouse, that offers great traditional Irish baked goods and foods; and the award winning Gogarty's where you'll have some trad music served up with your Guinness stew!

There's a hell of a lot to choose from in Dublin and prices will range from affordable to extreme.

Gogarty's courtesy of Wikipedia

Day #7 - Soul inspiring carols Go to Christ Church Cathedral. Even if you aren't religious or Anglican (yes this is a protestant church), it is a soul lifting experience to listen to a choir sing in a cathedral, and Christmas is a special time to listen to beautiful music.

This year visit on Tuesday Night, December 6 - "Carols by Candlelight Christmas Concert" sung by the Choir of Christ Church.

Day #8 - Dame district market and music One of the liveliest places to be this Christmas will be down in the Dame district where the market seems to be all about people drinking, listening to music, and simply getting in the spirit of Christmas.

For 10 days leading up to Christmas, the district transforms into a Christmas wonderland with all the very best of crafts, music, arts, food, drinks, a vintage carousel and a Santa’s Grotto, with live entertainment every night!

Picture courtesy of the Dame Street Market website

Day #9 - Taking in a Panto Pantomime is a long-standing tradition in the British Isles and Ireland is no exception when it comes to putting on a great theatrical Christmas show!

There are usually a few to choose from and they are definitely a "get stuck in" type of entertainment where audience participation is key. You will be expected to yell, shout warnings and sing along with all the action on stage.

The Gaiety Panto is a Dublin institution. It's a tradition for local children and folk from farther afield to descend on the Gaiety Theater to enjoy the annual performance. This year they are presenting Robin Hood and his Merry Men and they guarantee you'll be on the edge of your seat as Robin Hood attempts to evade the evil Sheriff of Nottingham.

The Helix this Christmas is presenting their hilarious adaptation of Aladdin. A mystical story involving a genie, a flying carpet, an old lamp, a beautiful princess, irresistible baddies and an exotic trip to the Far East.

Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen is being presented at the Smock Alley Theater. A wintery wonderland of a show this tells the tale of Kai and his sister Gerda trying to outwit the Snow Queen.

Day #10 - Nativity scenes Another institution is the Moving Nativity, held at the Apostolate’s premises in Parnell Square.

This is a perfect spot for children and adults, to watch the animatronic figures enliven this nativity play. It includes over 100 handcrafted figurines, beautiful hand painted backdrops, and sets that depict the "biblical life." For over 50 years, this delightful display has fascinated generations of Irish children.

This picture is credited to St. Martin's Moving Cribhttp://www.stmartin.ie/moving-crib-gallery/

Another alternative is to visit the live animal crib. For 21 years the Irish Farmer's Association has been presenting this Nativity Crib in collaboration with Dublin City Council. Outside The Mansion on Dawson Street they host a live animal crib with donkeys, goats, sheep and other animals to create a life size stable.

The animals are brought to the crib every morning and returned to the farm to rest in the evening. The launch of the crib includes choral performances, face painting, street entertainment and much more.

Day #11 - Carols by candlelight Christmas carols in a candlelit setting, together with full period costume, makes for a grand evening or enjoyable afternoon matinee. The Carols by Candlelight at the National Concert Hall event is one to attend.

Brilliant sopranos, some time honored carols and uplifting music - what could make for a better Christmas treat?

Day #12 - Busking on Grafton Street Glen Hansard (The Frames) and Bono (U2) are expected every year on Christmas Eve in Grafton Street.

Bono doesn't show up every year unless he's in town, but Glen is usually there with a host of other musicians who turn-up for the cause.

Last year Bono, Hozier, Glen Hansard, The Script, The Coronas and Kodaline were among the artists who performed.

All proceeds from this massively popular street show go to The Simon Community, a charity that works to end homelessness. Busking usually begins around 7pm.

Hang around, keep checking Twitter @DublinCity for the location and join the throngs of people on this special night. Or check out this official YouTube video:

With so much to do in Dublin, we know we are going to have one special Christmas this year!

We hope you enjoy yourselves too, wherever you may be house sitting!

BUDGETING WITH TRAIL WALLET Track your expenses as you travel

by Ian Usher

Vanessa often asks me, "How much do you think we have spent this month?", or "What do you think our average daily costs are?"

My usual response is, "I have no idea!"

Normally I just keep an overall eye on our bank balances, and see if they are going up or down.

If balances are steady or rising we're in good shape. If balances drop too low it is time to do a few more hours of online teaching.

But maybe it would be good to pay a little bit more attention to what we spend. Then we can cross-reference that with what we earn each month, making it much easier to see if we are within our budget.

But how do you do this, without ending up with a wallet full of receipts and scraps of paper covered in miscellaneous financial scribblings?

Did you visit the online House Sitting Summit over Thanksgiving Weekend?

The very first pre-recorded interview on the first day was with Aussie house sitters and travel experts, Jane and Duncan Dempster-Smith of ToTravelToo.com Duncan is very keen on tracking their travel budget, as they want to make sure they are able to get by comfortably on less than the pension they will eventually receive from the government.

They gave lots of fascinating insight into costs, budgets and their spending habits. I was encouraged to see that beer figured quite prominently in their costings!

They mentioned a budgeting app they use, and showed a couple of screen shots of the information it provides.

The app, Trail Wallet, is built "for travellers by travellers", so it is all ready set up for monitoring your expenditure on your journey. There are plenty of options to customize the app to suit your own circumstances.

You can find the TrailWallet app here: http://voyagetravelapps.com/trail-wallet/ Vanessa immediately installed the app on her iPhone - it is currently only available for Apple devices - and soon had it set up in Mexican Pesos, ready to start inputting our purchases.

I think she even set up a category for "Hair and Beauty". I guess that is where my 40 peso (USD $2) haircut, and her 400 peso (USD $20) cut and blow dry will get recorded!

The app is intuitive and easy to use.

The quickest and easiest way to get started is with the simple "how to" video that app developer, Simon Fairbairn, provides.

Take a look here:

Simon and his partner Erin McNeaney sold everything and left the UK in March 2010 to travel the world forever. You can find out more about them, and why they created the Trail Wallet app, on their website: http://www.neverendingvoyage.com/

NOTE: Erin has also published an ebook - The Carry-On Traveller: The Ultimate Guide to Packing Light I currently manage to travel carry-on only, which is pretty easy in Central America, as clothing requirements are pretty minimal. Vanessa has a few more items, and her bag is a little too big for carry-on, but is still pretty lightweight.

I've often considered writing a "travelling carry-on only" guide, but Erin's book has it all covered. 4.9 stars out of 5 on Amazon from 50 customer reviews.

Well worth checking out if you want to trim down on what you take on your travels.

You can buy Erin's book by CLICKING HERE

We'll tell you about another great resource next month.

In the meantime, for links to house sitting platforms, comparison articles, books, websites, downloadable forms, and lots of other useful house sitting resources, take a look at our "Resources" page on the House Sitting Magazine website

LIVING IN THE LAP OF LUXURY Negotiating a long term rental for between house sits

by Carrie Trip

There's no doubt that house sitting is an amazing way to see the world. But have you ever wanted to travel somewhere where house sitting opportunities simply don't yet exist?

Or have you found yourself with a gap between assignments and need a place to hang your hat.

Of course, you may simply want to take a break from looking after other people's homes and pets.

House sitters make perfect renters As a couple who travels to a new destination for five to six months at a time, we've found that the longer you stay in one place, the better rental rate you can negotiate. Many rental home owners are looking for people just like you and me.

These owners may be tired of short, weekly turnovers and the wear and tear this takes on their property. Trust me, they are happy to have someone like you renting their home, even at a reduced rate.

After all you have the experience, the references and the track record. Therefore they can be assured that you will care for and respect their home.

Without any responsibilities or a schedule - your focus can be on you and the adventures you will have exploring your new destination.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

It may be difficult to secure a house sit in the Caribbean, Columbia, Thailand or Hawaii for example, where opportunities are few and far between. And in countries like Cuba, The Maldives, and some areas of Asia, the concept of house sitting just hasn't yet taken off.

We are currently looking at long term rentals in the Seychelles and Mauritius. Ever seen a house sit there? I bet any that have been advertised got snapped up pretty quickly!

So, how do you find a longer term rental at a reasonable price?

The first step is to choose several destinations that you've always dreamed of visiting. It could be a place not far from your current house sit and/or on the way to your next assignment.

Consider the logistics, travel time and expense. Planning strategically will save transportation time and money.

Isn't it better to focus on one area?

No not really. It's like putting all your eggs in one basket. The chances you'll find something amazing at a great price will be greater if you broaden your search.

Leverage - It doesn't hurt for a landlord to be aware that you are negotiating on other rentals.

Supply and demand We find we are in a better position to negotiate in the off-season or "shoulder" season as it's sometimes called. Owners dream of renting their home outside of peak times and are more willing to negotiate because of this.

For example, twice we rented in Fiji during their hot, muggy summer from October to April. It got us out of cold Canada and the owner was ecstatic to have his villa occupied during the slow time. We were able to negotiate an outstanding rate because their busy season is April to October.

Consider your budget We like to start big! Meaning we look for accommodations that are beyond our budget by up to 300%. We can always go down from there, but we've been very successful at negotiating stellar accommodations at a fraction of their nightly advertised rate.

This is especially true when we can find owners who don't make their living renting out vacation homes. Instead these owners just want to cover their costs and have someone responsible living in their home.

A set price is never set!

2-bedroom penthouse unit in the Caribbean, ocean view, 1 minute walk to the beach. Advertised nightly rate: $300 USD We paid: $100 USD per night including utilities and weekly housekeeping.

Start your search on rental sites such as...

Vrbo.com also known as HomeAway.com – these sites don't charge the renter a booking fee, although both advertise the same homes. The search filters are slightly different on each site, so it's a matter of your preference.

Airbnb.com - many owners of independent properties offer substantial discounts for long term rentals. But there's always room to negotiate further. Airbnb now charges the renter a service charge.

Flipkey.com and Holidaylettings.com are both Trip Advisor companies and there is no fee for the renter.

Consult the rental home's calendar Make sure the home is available for your dates. And keep in mind a sparse calendar is another key negotiating point to use to your advantage. Many owners would rather have their home occupied, even at a reduced rate, than leave it empty. This means they can book your dates in the calendar making their rental look more attractive to future renters.

Don't stop the search there Many real estate agencies and property management companies are also a great source for rentals. In fact you could talk to them about the possibility of house sitting at the same time. A home for sale shows better when it's lived in.

We've negotiated amazing deals simply by allowing viewings, even on short notice and keeping the home in show condition.

Sell, sell, sell ..... yourself Even though you aren't applying for a house sit, use your credentials to your benefit and advantage!

Stress the fact that you, as a single person or a couple, will care for their home as if it were your own. Since it's not a large group rental there will be less wear and tear on furniture, appliances and whatever else the home comes equipped with.

And… you don't have pets!

2 master suites plus guest bure, South Pacific. Advertised nightly rate: $480 USD We paid: $100 USD including daily housekeeper/cook, gardener and all utilities.

Negotiate to the very end Many vacation rental homes advertise ‘housekeeping included'. If daily or bi-weekly housekeeping is included, we can use this as a negotiating tool too.

Since it's just the two of us, neat and tidy people, we don't need daily housekeeping. Heck, even once a week is a treat, so if the landlord doesn't have to pay a cleaner, he or she may reduce the rent even further.

However, if we are using this tactic we do always ask how this will affect the housekeeper. We wouldn't want someone to lose their job or be without this income, especially in poorer countries.

Finally done negotiating? Of course not!

Another typical inclusion is the utilities: water, electricity, television service and internet.

Weekly renters tend to overuse these services, and not be concerned about leaving the windows open while the air conditioning is on, for example.

Not only is this bad for the environment but it's extremely expensive. Landlords know this so they rack up the nightly rate to compensate.

Once we've negotiated to what we believe is the owner's bottom line, we mention that we would like to cover the cost of electricity and water ourselves.

We can (and will) be conscientious about our consumption. This typically results in shaving off another portion of the rental rate.

Excited? Don't forget to check the fine print As with any legally binding contract it's important to thoroughly look over the agreement and ask questions. Make certain that what you agreed verbally or via email, is actually what's in the contract.

RESEARCH, NEGOTIATE, ENJOY! Just like you plan your house sitting assignments, we too put a lot of research and effort into finding our next awesome rental. If you have a question for us just send us an email. anothercocktailplease@gmail.com You can learn more about the art of negotiating, money saving tips, how we find the perfect rental, and much more in our book: Another Cocktail Please – the Essential Guide to Long Term Vacationing

Villa on the beach, 2 master suites plus rooftop plunge pool. Advertised nightly rate: $210 USD. We paid: $60 USD including weekly housekeeping.

Carrie Trip and her husband Jack Janssen are seasonal nomads, luxuriously wintering somewhere new for five to six months at a time.

They share their knowledge, insight and money saving tips in Another Cocktail Please – the Essential Guide to Long Term Vacationing. Their goal is to help others achieve an exotic lifestyle of leisure, travel and adventure.

Take a look at Carrie and Jack's book by TAPPING HERE These experienced vacationers are happiest exploring new destinations and cultures. They love to snorkel, exercise and stay healthy while travelling so they can enjoy life to the fullest.

Check out their completed, and ever growing, bucket list of travel, exploration and adventure on EvolvingBucketList.com

BEAT THE BANKS AT THEIR OWN GAME! International Currency Transfers

by Ian Usher

Do you have bank accounts in more than one country?

Do you often use different currencies?

As long-term global nomads who don't have any real sort of home base, Vanessa and I have learned to become very flexible in our approach to money.

In 2001 I left my native England to live in Australia. I opened an Australian bank account, but of course kept my original UK account that I had used for around 30 years. I have always returned to England for regular visits to see friends and family, so it made sense to have a bank account there with some funds in the local currency, Pounds Sterling.

Years later I spent a significant period of time in the United States, and while there was paid a cheque from Walt Disney Pictures - that's another story for another time!

This was a US $ cheque, of course, so I needed a US bank account in which to deposit that payment. While passing through Chicago I managed to open a current account with Chase bank.

Over the years my US account has been invaluable when travelling in the States and Central America.

A convenient way to move money I have PayPal accounts in these three countries, each attached to the corresponding bank account, so I can very easily make online payments for flights, accommodation and other associated travel costs, using the currency the bill has to be paid in.

For example, a British Airways flight is usually charged in GBP, but if bought on Expedia.com, will have to be paid in USD. Using the appropriate account means we avoid currency exchange fees and other bank costs.

However, sometimes we still need to transfer money from one country to another to cover payments.

Recently we have had a few big flight tickets to buy in UK pounds. With our bank account running very low in England, we needed to transfer approximately USD $3,000 to our UK account.

The usual way to do this is a regular international wire transfer from one bank in one country. to the recipient account in another country.

But the modern connected world of the internet offers a much better, and much cheaper way to do this. Because international wire transfers via banks are EXPENSIVE. Here is a screengrab from my US account, dated 15th November 2016.

It shows that for US $3,000, out of which the bank takes a $40 fee, I will receive GBP £2,303.18.

At the receiving end of the transfer my UK bank will also deduct an "incoming wire transfer fee".

As you can see from the image the bank is offering a very poor exchange rate of 0.7781 Pounds for each US Dollar.

Surely there has to be a better way?

Introducing TransferWise Allow me to introduce you to TransferWise

I have been using TransferWise for my international transfers since July 2015, and have been very happy with their service. I've been even happier with the significant sums of money I have saved.

When I wanted to transfer money from the sale of my property in Panama to my Australian account, the savings on $25,000 transfers were huge.

Across two $25,000 transfers I made, I saved a total of over USD $1,500.

Let's take a look at our current example:

      

TransferWise can transfer my US $3,000 to the UK, giving me a total of GBP £2378.47.

They use a much better exchange rate of 0.80075, compared to the bank's 0.7781.

They charge a smaller fee, $29.70, compared to $40.

And the incoming funds to my UK account won't incur any incoming fee, as it will be a local payment to my account in local currency.

I will end up with £75.29 extra, the difference between £2378.47 and £2303.18.

That's a $100 bonus, or 3.33% of the original $3,000.

I'll also save the cost of the incoming foreign wire fee. I can't remember what this is, as I haven't used a wire transfer for so long, but knowing my UK bank, it would be quite hefty!

Significant savings So how does it work?

It's really simple and quite brilliant. TransferWise hold accounts in currencies in all the countries they deal in. When you transfer from USD to GBP, you simply transfer your money from your US account to TransferWise's US account. Then, from their UK account they make an equivalent transfer in GBP to your UK account.

Nothing is actually transferred internationally - money is simply deposited in one account in one currency, and withdrawn from a different account in a different currency.

Currency options with TransferWise Transfers are available in many currencies. Those currently offered are as follows, although new currencies are regularly being added:                  

GBP British Pound EUR Euro USD US Dollar AUD Australian Dollar JPY Japanese Yen PLN Polish Zloty SEK Swedish Krona DKK Danish Krone CHF Swiss Franc NOK Norwegian Krone CAD Canadian Dollar HUF Hungarian Forint RON New Romanian Leu CZK Czech Koruna BGN Bulgarian Lev BRL Brazilian Real NZD New Zealand Dollar SGD Singapore Dollar

As TransferWise say themselves: "TransferWise. Finally, money without borders" Of course they offer apps for both Apple and Android devices.

I also like their real-time map of completed transfers and money saved - it's halfway down the home page

If you need to transfer money internationally, don't pay hefty fees to your bank, check out TransferWise here at this link and make some BIG savings!

MAKING MONEY IN PARADISE intro by Ian Usher, feature by Valen Dawson

Valen and I met initially on the Roaming Income for House Sitters Facebook group (1,300 members and growing). I was looking for people to share their stories about how they make a location-independent income.

As we chatted online we realised that our paths kept crossing in the real world, and that we would all be in San Miguel de Allende in Mexico at the same time Of course, this was an opportunity not to be missed. Much of what Valen writes on her blogs is about food, and she had a great recommendation for a fine Italian restaurant in the heart of the city. Sunday night is pizza night at "Mi Vida".

Valen had a lot to share about travel blogging, food blogging, online income, and lifestyle choices She also chose a delicious bottle of Sicilian red to share.

THIS WAY TO PARADISE

by Valen Dawson

I've always had a nomadic spirit. For the first part of my life, I worked in sales and voluntarily transferred with the company often, living in Little Rock, Atlanta; Honolulu; San Francisco; and Portland in Oregon.

However, I always had a dream of becoming an expat and living internationally. I finally made that happen over three years ago. During the past three years I have based myself out of San Miguel de Allende (Mexico) and Chiang Mai (Thailand).

At the moment, I’m not living anywhere and am about to go volunteer for a month at an organic farm hostel in Costa Rica. I am able to make choices to do things like this, about which I am passionate, because I consciously created a way to make money that doesn't require me to be in any particular location.

Starting out as a travel blogger I got started with blogging when I was researching a three-month trip to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. At the time, I wasn’t even thinking of creating a remote business, but came across Nomadic Matt’s course on travel blogging, and thought, “I can do this!

I was so excited. I didn’t even know you could make money travel blogging.

After producing my first blog, I later improved my skills with Nomadic Matt's Travel Blog Success Course I went on to create my first travel blog nine months before moving outside of the US. My goal was to be making money before living as an expat, so I could do a lot more traveling. I've since created a total of three travel blogs and one inspirational blog from which I offer life coaching.

Now I've been blogging for almost four years. It took me about a year to meet my basic expenses of living in Mexico.

Party time in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Multiple income streams I make most of my income from sponsored posts on my blogs and from my life coaching. The rest comes from doing website and social media work for people, usually in the areas that I've based myself from. I also do freelance writing assignments to make ends meet. All of these income streams combine to help me provide for my needs.

My average monthly income is between $1200 and $1500 USD, which means that I do still have to budget my money carefully - especially if I add in travel expenses.

Freedom to live anywhere The biggest benefit of my blogging lifestyle is that I can work anywhere in the world.

I love that I can travel at any time for as long as I want, and that I can still work and make money.

The view over Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. A perfect work space!

There are a few cons, but they are relatively small when measured against the main benefit:   

I usually now have to remain "plugged in" instead of traveling somewhere and disconnecting from the internet and relaxing.

I never know what my income stream will be since it fluctuates from month to month.

I can no longer afford to live in expensive areas with the income that I am making, and need to be quite careful with my budgeting.

Some skills are necessary to succeed In order to make a decent income in this way you do need to be self disciplined in order to work effectively on your own.

For blogging, you need to be a good writer and a decent photographer. Social media and marketing skills are also required.

Photography - an important part of blogging. (Spicy sugared mangoes)

For coaching, a willingness to listen, along with the ability to inspire and coach others, is vital. I would recommend that if someone has these gifts that they pursue it. Realize, you will work hard, but I think the payoff in freedom makes it all worthwhile.

At times it does feel like this particular field is a pretty saturated, so you really have to make yourself stand out if you want to succeed.

However, I wouldn’t trade the experience of getting out of my comfort zone for anything else.

Personal growth I have definitely grown as a person and can now see what I'm capable of. I've also grown as a writer and photographer as well.

On this journey I have learned so much, and I realize that all my experiences have contributed even more to the person I've become.

I encourage anyone wanting to escape the grind to find a way to create a lifestyle of freedom.

Another perfect workplace in paradise in the Dominican Republic

Valen Dawson believes that everyone should try living outside their comfort zone at least twice in their life. She has a passion for travel, food, life, and inspiring others.

You can find her at: www.ThisWayToParadise.com www.TravelScamming.com www.EatingTheGlobe.com and www.YourOwnLife.org If you’re interested in creating the life of your dreams, you can also read her book: Dream Catcher: The Magic of Living Your Dream Life

TEACHING ONLINE WITH VIPKID Vanessa Anderson talks to Donna Carvell

As more people discover that we fund our travel lifestyle by teaching English online, we are asked for advice about how to get started more frequently than ever before.

In Issue 4, I talked about how we began teaching English in China, after gaining our TEFL certificate.

We then progressed to teaching online, and can now work wherever we find ourselves house sitting.

Ian teaching a business English class in China

Like many of you, we'd tried many different ways to create a successful roaming income and were also looking at ways to secure a residual income for the future.

We know our pension won't support our traveling lifestyle long term. It's important that we have a part-time income to supplement the costs involved in living as travelling nomads.

Of course, house sitting helps with this tremendously. It makes the difference between needing a full-time job or a part-time job!

Don't underestimate the savings made on accommodation AND utilities like electricity, gas, water and WiFi. Quite often the use of a car represents a further saving against your annual expenditure.

We have tried many different avenues to make an income - with some success, but not enough:      

paid travel blogging self publishing books a house sitting video course on Udemy website design copy writing editing books

We earned a reasonable income and in fact still offer all of these services. But while they add ongoing incremental amounts to our income stream, none have the consistency of teaching English online.

We actually manage to SAVE money through our online teaching, while working just a few hours each week!

The shift to online learning Teaching online is a fast growing industry and options are springing up all around the world. In China alone, where the population is fast approaching 1.4 billion, 7 million students are said to have enrolled in online lessons last year alone (2015).

Native English speakers with a North American or British accent are in high demand, especially for these Chinese language learners. But If you are articulate in English, with a neutral accent, have a degree and a TEFL qualification, there are still many options available to teach students online from countries around the world.

Are you confused by the jargon?

You can qualify to teach English online by taking one of any number of different courses, either online or in a classroom. But an initial search on the internet may have you wondering what the difference is between TEFL, TESOL and CELTA for instance, and which of the many hundreds of courses advertised are best for you.

Let's start by understanding the terminology and then next month we will take a more in -depth look at each of these certifications, and which might be best for you.     

TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language TESOL - Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages CELTA - Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults DELTA - Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

The VIPKID team including founder Cindy Mi (left)

INTRODUCING VIPKID A Chinese online teaching platform This month however, we are going to look at a popular Chinese teaching platform called VIPKID, with the help of fellow house sitter Donna Carvell. Donna is also the founder and moderator of the Facebook group "House Sitting Café".

Donna, her husband Simon, and daughter Araya have been house sitting full time for 3 years while traveling around the US, Asia and Europe. They gave up their jobs and hit the road so that they could spend the first few precious years of their daughter's life together as a family.

Most of their income is derived from property investments, but VIPKID now provides extra income that helps maintain their nomadic lifestyle.

Donna told me that she came across VIPKID on a Facebook group for online teachers. There are many forums on the internet for foreign language teachers. This is a great way to get referrals and learn about the experiences of other teachers.

TEFL English Teacher's Networking Group on Facebook has almost 9,000 members. I found the discussions and links to resources particularly useful while teaching in China.

Of course in China I had to penetrate "The Great Chinese Firewall" by using a VPN - our choice was PureVPN. Before joining VIPKID, Donna had not worked for any other online language school. She explained:

“This was my first experience of teaching for an online school, although I had taught via Skype, but I had to prepare my own lessons. One of the things I love about VIPKID is that all the teaching material is prepared for you. The teachers only have to prepare props etc., and then deliver the lessons.”

It obviously helps if you have some teaching experience. For me that was corporate education, but the TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualification covers everything you need to know about how to teach English as a foreign language. It's a full immersion system, so there's no need to know the native language of the students you are teaching, in fact it's actively discouraged.

Donna's background was a little different, as is her experience with VIPKID who don't require a TEFL qualification, only a Bachelor Degree.

“I was a private music teacher in the US and had also taught private English lessons in France.

My Bachelor of Science degrees are in Music and Business Management, however I have a CELTA which has been very useful.”

Donna went on to explain: “VIPKID currently only employs US or Canadian native speakers, and along with the Bachelor's degree, you need to demonstrate a year of teaching experience.

The students are all Chinese and range in age from 5 to 13, with varying levels of English.

Sometimes I just teach "Hello!" and other times we have conversations about things such as Chinese landmarks. I love the fact that the classes are so varied.”

Ian and I teach mainly teenagers and adults, but when we were in China we often had youngsters that could barely stay awake in their extra-curricular lessons. So I asked Donna about keeping kids of this age focused: “Sometimes the students get distracted, but not very often. Chinese children are generally very well disciplined and the parents are never far away during the lesson. I find if they are distracted though, it's easy to refocus them.

One thing kids love to do is write all over the power point display. I find that if I join in with them they are so shocked that the teacher is being naughty too! We giggle together, and then move back onto the topic :)”

That leads nicely into the teaching platform, how does that work?

“VIPKID have their own teaching platform. Classes are booked in 30 minute slots, but teaching lasts just 25 minutes. They are all taught one-to-one. It's very like using Skype - the student has a screen, as does the teacher. There is something similar to a power point presentation that we can both write on and interact with. The power points are colorful and entertaining, yet very educational too. I LOVE the teaching materials.

At the end of lesson, teachers leave feedback for the parents discussing what the student did well and what they need to review. Every few lessons students are also given further assessments on what they have learned in a particular unit.”

What about any special equipment?

“A computer or laptop, a strong internet connection, headphones, an orange t shirt, and a big smile are all that's needed!”

We've occasionally experienced problems getting a decent internet connection while traveling in some countries. This has now become more important to us when selecting house sitting assignments. Technical problems can negatively impact the lessons you give and the subsequent payment. I asked Donna about her own experiences with the internet:

“Yes, there are sometimes technical difficulties. However, VIPKID can generally determine if it is a problem with the student, teacher, or teaching system. They are very fair. In a year and a half of working with VIPKID, I have only had 2 classes cancelled due to teacher IT issues. Those you do not get paid for.

VIPKID has excellent management, and although they have experienced a lot of growth since I began working with them, they have maintained a personal touch. More importantly they have not turned the company into a large money hungry venture. They are very generous with incentives and the kids we are teaching are always the first priority!”

I wanted to know more about how teaching fits in with Donna's travelling, house sitting lifestyle.

“Teaching for VIPKID has been an amazing addition to our traveling lifestyle! It is flexible and requires only a minimum of seven and a half hours of teaching a week.

When we first arrive at a house sit I being scoping out my teaching space and where to get the strongest internet connection. This was important in the US as I often had to teach at 4 and 5 am.

The peak teaching hours are the evening in China, which is 12 to 14 hours behind the US. Try doing that without waking up a 3 year old! Now that we are in Europe, it has been much easier.

As I mentioned, I have to teach a minimum of 7.5 hours a week during Beijing peak time (6pm10pm), or most of the weekend. A teacher opens their availability 2 weeks in advance and the classes are filled by head office at VIPKID. We are given 2 weeks off (unpaid) for each 6 month contract. But teachers are not employees, they work instead as self employed contractors.

I generally teach the minimum required which is sufficient for our lifestyle. However, there is no maximum for someone who might want to earn full time wages.”

Donna has done so well with VIPKID she's now been promoted to a new role where she "trains the teachers". She told me more about how this came about.

“I was very lucky to be invited to this role after a year of teaching with VIPKID. Before being offered a position with the company, all teachers have to pass mock lessons.

I facilitate some of these lessons, give feedback and share the knowledge and experience I have gained. I love the variety this role gives me. I now get to work with adults and children through VIPKID.” And what does Donna enjoy most about online teaching with VIPKID? “I love the kids. They are so cute and often we have repeat students. It is fun to get to know their likes and dislikes and then surprise them with little things.

I have one student who loves playing the piano and singing. I always make a big deal of singing a song together with her at the end of lesson. Little things like this make a big difference and the parents love it too.

I also really like that I don't have to prepare my own lessons. It is a huge time saver!

I would highly recommend VIPKID if you have a few extra hours a week and love being silly with kids. It is highly rewarding! The company is growing fast as well and are always recruiting.”

For those interested in learning more about teaching at VIPKID please follow this link You never know, you could end up meeting Donna one day while she trains you to be a new teacher!

VIPKID teaching images courtesy of the VIPKID website.

Donna Carvell and her family have been house sitting full time for the past 3 years around Europe, Asia and the US. While traveling, she teaches English to Chinese students with an online company called VIPKID which is based in Beijing.

With the flexibility of location and scheduling to teach, this has been a perfect addition to a house sitting lifestyle.

CHRISTMAS STOCKING FILLER House Sitting video course on Udemy Introduce your friends and relatives to the wonderful world of house sitting for just $10 USD.

by Ian Usher

We have never offered this course at a price this low!

Our video course is currently the only online course about "House Sitting" on the well -known video teaching platform - Udemy.

We have over 70 satisfied students, with an average star rating of 4.98.

Our course usually sells for $45, but until Christmas we are offering it at just $10 To sign up simply use the link above (or go to Udemy.com) and type in the special promo code when asked for it: HSM-XMAS-2016

House Sitters - learn how to get the best pet and house sitting jobs and save on your global travel.

If you are new to house sitting, then you will be discovering that it is now a popular mainstream alternative to a regular vacation. It's also a great option for longer term travel accommodation.

Simply put, house sitting involves looking after someone's home and pets while they're away. In return you'll get to live rent free in a comfortable home in a worldwide location of your choice!

No rent, no utility bills (in most cases), and no property tax or insurance.

Our "House Sitting" video course has a total of 67 videos, 3 hours of content, and is secured by Udemy's 100% money-back guarantee

This course provides all the information necessary to make house sitting a reality – even with no previous experience.

Our step-by-step process gives you the head start you'll need to secure the house sit of your dreams      

Learn to save money on accommodation, house sitting anywhere in the world Take practical steps to register with the most successful house sitting websites Discover how to build credibility Prepare a profile that sets you apart from other applicants Create a professional and relevant set of interview questions Make a great impression right from the start

Imagine traveling the world, visiting new and exciting places and staying as long as you want.

You can live like a local, experiencing the region's culture, whilst providing an invaluable service to home owners.

But, it's not quite as simple as an introduction to the pets and a quick handover of keys.

There are many things to consider and this course covers everything you'll need to know, from website registration through to managing your ideal house sit.

Contents and overview You'll progress organically, step-by-step through this interactive course of 50+ lectures.

First we'll figure out exactly what type of house sit will be best for you. We'll get started together by registering online with some of the most successful house sitting websites. We'll build your credibility and produce a compelling profile to attract the best assignments.

We'll look at all the practical issues including how to create a set of relevant, personalized questions for an interview.

You'll learn how to handle your house sit from handover to completion, develop your skills and guarantee a great reference at the end of your assignment. All the tools and resources are provided for you to become a successful house sitter.

By the end of this course you'll know how to present yourself as a professional house sitter so that home owners are reassured of your ability to look after their home and pets.

You won't find a better option to live an exciting life full of travel and adventure. House sitting gives you the freedom and choice to live anywhere in the world, virtually rent free.

TAP HERE for BIG Christmas savings on our "House Sitting" video course - only $10 instead of $45 - the perfect "stocking filler" gift for Christmas

*NEW* For Sitters by Sitters

Social media expert and international house sitter, Eden Rudin, is attempting to fill a gap in the house sitting community, by launching her new membership only, platform and forum: www.ForSittersbySitters.com

Eden says: "This is the first ever "house sitter to house sitter" platform - a private membership community of house sitters! As a member you can freely share and discuss your experiences, without the scrutiny of a home owner.

This is especially important when it clearly benefits fellow sitters. Members are verified as house sitters before being accepted and the platform is focused on location based conversations. Why go at it alone, when there is a whole community waiting to help you."

*RELAUNCH* HOUSE SITTING WORLD Tim and Lou, popped up at various times throughout the House Sitting Summit, and we were really pleased to hear that they have just re-launched HouseSittingWorld.com with a fantastic new feature - Sit Wishes. This is an extension of the original Sit Alert option.

This option now features up to to 10 custom searches, which can be edited, and turned on or off anytime you want. You can also get text notifications on your mobile device.

As Lou pointed out, "When a wish comes true, we contact you!"

* RELAUNCH* HOUSE SIT MEXICO Since 2008 HouseSitMexico.com has been connecting people who'd like to house sit in Mexico, with people who have homes in Mexico.

However, the platform went offline earlier this year while the owners prepared for a major relaunch of the website.

We are happy to see that HouseSitMexico.com has returned with a fresh new style and functionality that includes search tools, easy private messaging and some great new resources, including a Member's Blog.

And now you can "Be a Sitter", "Find a Sitter"or "Do Both" – all within your basic membership there are NO extra fees!

HOUSE SITTING SUMMIT REVIEWED!

by Vanessa Anderson

Well, it's been quite a month in the world of house sitting. The big event was the world's first House Sitting Summit, which took place over four days of Thanksgiving Weekend, 25th to 28th November.

Did you find time to attend?

It was a virtual event, so you didn't even need to leave the comfort of your living room to benefit from the wealth of knowledge that was presented.

Nat and Jodie from House Sitting Academy did a fantastic job of bringing together over thirty experts in the field of house sitting, presenting eleven recorded interviews each day of the summit.

This wasn't just about getting started in house sitting. Some of the other topics covered included:         

Travel Hacking and Planning Travel Budgeting How to get paid as a house sitter Travelling and house sitting as a family Dealing with cancellations Exotic and remote locations How to sell all your stuff Creating a roaming income Health and well-being

We were proud to be featured on the second day, talking about remote and exotic house sits, and to join in with some of the real time webinars, where we were able to answer some of the live questions!

The image at the top of the page is our interview being recorded, feet in the swimming pool at our house sit in Nicaragua, earlier this year.

We particularly enjoyed listening to Mike & Anne of Honeytrek.com - who have been on what's become known as the "World's longest honeymoon". They set out in 2012 and have now visited 7 continents, 47 countries, and 416 regions! An amazing story!

As you might imagine, they also have a lot of travel wisdom and now offer coaching courses check their website for more information Topics covered were wide and varied, and we've featured links to more of our favorites on the following page. You may have missed some of these useful resources with so much to take in, so be sure to take a look.

We are often asked questions by newcomers to the house sitting fraternity:     

"How do I get started?"

"How do I get a first sit when I have no experience?"

"I don't know much about this. Where can I find more reliable info?"

"How do I make money when travelling?"

"What if a pet becomes ill?"

The list of possible questions is endless. House sitting is a huge topic with many different options, possibilities and outcomes.

So, where does a newcomer start?

Well, the House Sitting Summit is the ideal place. If you are at all serious about becoming a house sitter, or if you are a home owner considering using house sitters to look after your home, possessions and pets, you'll probably find answers to all your questions within the interviews and live sessions that were presented over the weekend.

You can still access all of the interviews and other materials by signing up here: http://HouseSittingMagazine.com/HouseSittingAcademy

Trust me, it's worth it.

SOME OF OUR FAVORITES From the House Sitting Summit The House Sitting Summit was jam packed with relevant and often fascinating information.

Even as full-time house sitters, we gleaned SO much from the combined knowledge of our fellow traveling house sitters, and those who, like us, are supporting their lifestyle with remote incomes.

Here are some of our favorite webinars and resources. Check out the associated links and websites to get more information.

LIVE EXPERT PANEL & PRE-RECORDED VIDEO: "Travel Hacking & Planning" with Jane & Duncan Dempster-Smith Jane and husband Duncan, offer advice to Baby Boomers on how to get off the treadmill and make a dent in their travel bucket list.

They also offer a special bespoke travel planning service to travellers. They talk about a number of strategies to help Baby Boomers take the first step to travel longer term while on a budget.

Find out more here at ToTravelToo.com

PRE-RECORDED VIDEO: Laurie Sequana Stolmaker talked about "How to find house sits to suit your needs" Laurie has also created a journal for Kombucha brewers - something of a challenge for traveling house sitters! http://kombuchajournal.com They have a book too - just off the press and available on Amazon at: The Complete Kombucha Brewing Journal

PRE-RECORDED VIDEO: "Using your intuition in house sitting" with Intuitive Entrepreneur, Bernadine Devine.

Intuition plays a really important part in house sitting, so this video with Bernadine is well worth a watch. Bernadine also features in our January issue where she talks about creating a roaming income.

She is currently creating an online course as a resource for House Sitters and Digital Nomads.

Connect to the link below to subscribe for updates and to receive your free copy of “Hints and Tips for House Sitters and Digital Nomads.”

BernardineDevine.com

PRE-RECORDED VIDEO: "How do I get paid for house sitting?"

This is a commonly asked question and Susie & Bill Davidson do a great job of answering it in this video, and explain how they use the unique method of asking for "gratuities".

They also released a wonderful book last year, which would make an excellent stocking filler this Christmas: We Sleep Around, Homeless by Choice https://www.facebook.com/WeSleepAround

LIVE EXPERT PANEL - TRAVEL HACKING & PLANNING Beck Power introduces NomadFly Another contributor to this popular live webinar was Beck Power of NomadFly. She was a source of much inspiration for many viewers, as she openly shared her flight hacking wisdom.

House sitting saves on accommodation costs, but imagine if you could save on flight costs too!

Beck offers an online course showing you how to find cheaper flights. As a former travel agent turned digital nomad, she knows her stuff. The course covers tips, tricks and tools for finding flights - with and without using air points.

Find out more about NomadFly at this link

PRE-RECORDED VIDEO: Solo house sitter, Martin Gray talked about "Setting boundaries with home owners"

Another important topic for house sitters and home owners, and with many years of house sitting experience, Martin shared his experience and knowledge.

Martin featured in House Sitting Magazine Issue 5 - where he talked about his new business venture, making money with "Print-on-demand" Tee-shirts We also discovered that he has written a book - nothing to do with house sitting, but more about the broader picture of life and your place in it. It's called: "If You're a Dog, You Gotta Bark!?

It's available via http://dogbarkbook.weebly.com/ with a preview. Another good stocking filler!

Remember, if did you miss any of this great information, you can still access all of the interviews and other materials by signing up here: http://HouseSittingMagazine.com/HouseSittingAcademy

CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP

by Jen Evans

During winter I almost always have a pot of homemade soup in the refrigerator - especially during the hectic holiday season. It's always nice to have something quick on hand for lunch or dinner.

A good chicken or vegetable soup is always tasty. But, if you're looking for something a little more special to share with homeowners after they return from their vacation, then this could be the perfect recipe.

Best of all, you don't have to be an experienced cook to make it. No matter how good or bad your cooking skills are, this always ends up tasting absolutely sensational.

If you'd like to try a homemade enchilada sauce too, then check out this link for my own simple recipe.

WINE: A wine pairing suggestion that would work well, would be a light (unoaked) Chardonnay or a Pinot Noir.

Ingredients             

2 Chicken Breasts, chopped into small bite sized pieces 2 Tablespoons (28ml) Vegetable Oil 1 Medium Onion (Diced) 3 Cloves Garlic, Minced ½ Poblano Chile Pepper (see image above), Diced (Optional) 1 Teaspoon + (5g) Ground Cumin 1/2 Cup (64g) Corn Flour (Masa Harina) 3 Cups (709ml) Chicken Stock 1 Cup (235ml) Red Enchilada Sauce 1 Cup (180g) prepared black beans, rinsed and drained ½ Cup (90g) Sweet Corn 8 Ounces (100g) Grated Cheese (Cheddar, Jack, Manchego or Mozzarella) Salt and pepper to taste

Method 

Add the oil to a small stock pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot (sizzles when you sprinkle cold water (flick water from your fingers into the pan), add the chicken.

           

Season lightly with salt and a sprinkle of cumin and cook until lightly brown. Set aside.

(Note: 2 cups (250g) of shredded rotisserie chicken will also work well).

Add the onions to the pan and sauté until translucent (5 – 8 minutes).

Add the garlic and chili and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the ground cumin and stir for another minute until the cumin becomes aromatic.

Add the Masa Harina (corn flour) and cook for 1 – 2 minutes (to remove the raw flavour from the flour).

Add the chicken and enchilada sauce and sauté until the mixture begins to bubble.

Pour in the stock and stir until all of the ingredients are combined.

Add the black beans and corn.

Stir occasionally until the mixture returns to a simmer.

Add the cheese slowly until it is melted.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve with your favourite toppings.

Jennifer Evans is a freelance writer and co-publisher of Venturists.net - a travel and food blog.

She travels full-time with her husband Sean, and shares her stories about food, people and destinations along the way.

Her goal is to inspire others to explore destinations they may not have considered, or to embark on adventures they believed were beyond their grasp.

She's been living her dream to travel the world for 2 years, and counting.

EDITOR'S NOTE: When we first launched House Sitting Magazine, we asked Jen if she would like to supply a recipe. We never expected that she would so generously come up with further recipes over the following five months.

We've been very privileged to have her contributions, but sadly this will be her last for us, as she has new and exciting challenges to pursue.

To follow Jen and her ongoing adventures, check out her website at: http://www.Venturists.net A VERY BIG THANKS JEN and good luck for the future!

WHAT'S IN ISSUE 7 ?

Next month is a themed issue, featuring a number of articles that focus on house sitting and traveling in Mexico.

Faith Coates, Laurie Stolmaker, and "yours truly" will be writing about different house sitting locations around Mexico, and how much you can expect to pay in "living" expenses.

Of course, we'll also provide you with some of the best resources and platforms for finding house sits in Mexico.

Jane and Duncan of ToTravelToo.com show you how to save money when booking flights, and Bernardine Devine describes how she uses "intuition" as both an integral part of her lifestyle, and as a way to generate her remote income.

Where better than Mexico to learn Spanish? Ian looks at some of the best language options available for learning as you travel.

We'll also be looking at how you can "fill the gaps" between your house sits, with some creative ideas.

If you've a story to tell, please get in touch, but until next month, when we will be publishing Issue 7 from Lake Chapala in Mexico, we wish you happy travels wherever you happen to be in the world!

Vanessa and Ian (currently house sitting in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico for a repeat sit with six cats)

The small print Reproduction - Reproduction in whole or part without written permission of the publishers is prohibited.

Disclaimer - Information provided in this publication is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.

It should not be used as travel, lifestyle, financial or legal advice. You should always consult with your qualified and licensed professional practitioner. The publisher accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions, advice, representations or information contained within this publication. The publisher expressly disclaims responsibility for any adverse effect that may result from the use and application of the information contained in this magazine. Readers should rely on their own advice and enquiries when making decisions affecting their interests.

Publishers - The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers. House Sitting The ultimate lifestyle magazine is published by Ian Usher and Vanessa Anderson. Email: contact@HouseSittingMagazine.com. The publishers assume no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Copyright 2016 by Ian Usher. All rights reserved.

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