A MAN has revealed how he has travelled the world for free and stayed in Mexico and Portugal without spending a penny.
Keith Baker, 65, started travelling the world 15 years ago and has lived in Mexico, Hawaii, Panama and Portugal without spending a penny on hotels and other accommodation options.
Aged 50, he'd left his career at an American tech company and was trying to figure out his next move.
The retiree took to the house-sitting lifestyle after looking sitting for some friends in Panama and Hawaii.
He said: "Then some homeowners in Lisbon asked me to stay in their property for a whole summer – they even paid for my plane ticket.
"After my friend Kelly took me to a house-sit she was doing in Cardiff, she started recommending me to people and the offers came rolling in."
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From there, Keith house-sat in Edinburgh where he spent barely a penny.
In the Scottish capital his bills were free and he hopped around on public transport without buying a ticket thanks to his over 60s travel pass.
In the last 12 months, Keith has been on five housesits through Housesit Match and is regularly invited back to the same properties by the homeowners.
He added: "When you compare this to standard travelling, you definitely get to stay in much nicer houses.
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"I always keep the house in good condition and take the time to get to know the homeowners and communicate with them openly and honestly.
"They can be apprehensive about letting someone into their home, especially if they have pets, but once you have their trust they’d always rather you come back than having to go and find someone new."
Keith is currently living in a 5-bedroom mansion with a heated swimming pool and two dogs.
But Keith isn't the only person to use house-sitting as a way of travelling the world.
Another couple who are professional house and pet sitters in the UK save themselves £1,000 each month by living in other people's homes for free.
Claire Goodall and Michael Ashfield ditched the traditional nine-to-five to travel the world before returning to the UK and making the most of the free stays.
Another couple Austin Andrews and Jori Kerr have used pet sitting service and have since visited Germany, Gibraltar, Grenada, and the US.
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