The captivating peaks of the Rocky Mountains surround a beautiful five bedroom house overlooking the charming town of Breckenridge.
Yeah, that Breckenridge.
The insanely popular ski destination.
The place with world class restaurants and amazing hiking and biking.
And oh, those views; some of the most majestic America has to offer.
Add it all up, and you’ve got one of the most expensive places in the US to stay.
So how did I, a frugal traveler known to walk a mile in the rain to save the $5 taxi fare, end up in a 5 bedroom mansion complete with a BMW and a hot tub?
The answer is simple (and is also your key to unlocking a world of amazing travel opportunities):
Housesitting!
Heather and I have been members of the popular and ever-growing site Trusted Housesitters for almost two years now (which was founded by our good friend Andy Peck, whose interview you can find here).
And for the last two years, I would open my email every single day and lust after the amazing options available for a free house in various countries.
From castles in Ireland to bucolic estates in the French countryside, I knew one thing for sure…
Someday we needed to housesit.
Enter Breckenridge.
When this opportunity came through my email, I jumped on it.
It just so happened that spending three weeks in the Colorado Rockies at the beginning of fall fit perfectly into our schedule.
Finally, we were going to housesit…
And wow, what a house it was!
We had an absolutely amazing experience housesitting and taking care of two labs, Gracie and Rufus. 
The house we stayed in was spacious and well decorated and the house owner provided every convenience we could need – including a car.
And not just any car – a BMW SUV!
There were plenty of rooms, and while every house sitting profile is different, this particular one did not mind if we had guests (within reason, of course). 
Heather’s sister and our friend came out to visit and we all enjoyed hiking and relaxing in the hot tub with the amazing view of Breckenridge.
We arrived in Breckenridge just as the temperature started to drop at night.
It was the perfect opportunity to enjoy a nice soak in the hot tub and for the leaves to begin changing.
So, How Do I Start Housesitting?
If you’re someone who is interested in housesitting, the first place you should start is with Trusted Housesitters.
Not only is it the world’s biggest housesitting website, but it’s also the easiest to use.
And because Andy is a friend of mine, I’ve even been able to work out a special discount code just for EPoP readers.
If you grab a 12-month subscription, you’ll get an additional 3 for free!
Here’s how to sign up and make sure you get the extra free months:
- Click this link to be taken to the Trusted Housesitters website.
- Hit “Join Now” in the top right-hand corner.
- Click on “Housesitter Membership and Pricing Plans” on the right-hand side.
- Scroll to the bottom and enter EPOP where it says “Have a Promotional Code?”.
- Hit Apply Code. Scroll back down to bottom and you should see a message that says “Promo code applied” as well as a checkmark.
- Now, pick your plan.
- Enter your info and create your account.
- When you get to the confirmation page, you will see that the length of your membership has been extended. Yeah!
Want even more information on how house sitting works? Check out our detailed guide.
Final Word(s)
I LOVE housesitting because it offers an incredible opportunity for all people involved.
For the homeowner, they know that they’ll have people taking care of and watching after their house while they are away (and in some cases, their pets as well).
For the traveler, it provides the unique ability to stay in some amazing places across the world while having all the conveniences of home – and sometimes even more – for free.
Housesitting is part of the new wave of accommodations opportunities that every traveler should look to take advantage of.
From short weekend stays in penthouses in Manhattan to long term opportunities on remote islands, Trusted Housesitters has a wide variety of options, and with new ones being posted every day, there’s always something for everyone!
So, what are you waiting for?
Sign up today (don’t forget the discount code) and let me know what amazing housesits you’ll be applying for in the comments below!
Travis, do you and Heather each have your own house sitters membership to be able to do this together? Or do you do one membership that includes you both? – Marilyn
@Marilyn- We just use one membership and have our profile listing both of us. No need to both have memberships, it’s not like we would housesit separately.
Is there any additional fee per house-sitting or is just a flat annual fee?
@HansGolden- You just pay the annual fee. After that, you can get as many or as little housesitting gigs as you want. It’s an incredible deal!
Hi, Looks like the promo code is still having issues. I just tried to sign up with the promo code EPOP and it didn’t work. Any ideas? I got the message….”The promotional code you entered has either expired, is incorrect or does not apply to the plan you’ve chosen”
@Scott- Promo code should be working now, just confirmed with the Trusted Housesitters team!
Do you have any advice for newbies? How do we convince house owners that we are trustworthy enough to take care of their house when we have no past experiences on the website?
@Megan- Yep, sure do. First, these two podcasts are great starting points; one with Dalene Heck who has been housesitting fulltime for 5 years and then the one with the founder of Trusted Housesitters, Andy Peck.
One thing that comes through in both of them is to get references. If you haven’t housesat before, have you looked after a friend or family members house before? Or have you looked after their pets before? If so, have them write a review. That’s what I did. I had housesat for two family friends before I even knew what the word was, I just thought I was “taking care of their house for a bit”. Have them write reviews.
If you haven’t done that at all, have other people write reviews. A landlord possibly, or even a college RA or RD if you are younger. Anyone who can speak to your character, really.
Also, always put on pictures. People want to see YOU, want to know who you are. Another good thing is to shoot a short video. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but since no one seems to do it, it really sticks out if you do.
Think about what you would want to read and see if you didn’t know someone. What helps tell you about them. And then do all that stuff!
Also having problems with the promo code…
I’m not able to use the promo code. Anyone else having problems?
Just tried the promo code EPOP and it says “The promotional code you entered has either expired, is incorrect or does not apply to the plan you’ve chosen.” I tried it with each plan to be sure it wasn’t an issue with only one of the plans.
@Ashley @Susan @CPrudhon- I’ll try to get a hold of the Trusted Housesitter crew. Hopefully it’s working soon, I’ll make sure to report back!
How much time do you actually have to stay at the home per day (i.e. how much time can we sight see while if we were to house sit)?
@Lively- Each situation is totally different and you can work out whatever you wish with the hosts. Some of them only want you there for a few days a week and will allow you to travel the other times. Some, with pets, need you there each day for the most part.
In this specific case, we came back to the house each night, but we were told that if we wanted to do an overnight trip or a weekend away, we could possibly have the neighbors look after the dogs for those times.
As far as the time we were home each day, it basically broke down like this:
Wake up at 8, take dogs for a hike for an hour.
Do whatever we wanted, sometimes go down in to town or for drives, sometimes hang out at the house.
Feed dogs around noon.
Afternoon/night, do as we pleased. Sometimes at house, sometimes out and about. Sometimes take dogs for another walk or to dog park.
Each night, we then slept at the house.
So really, it just totally depends but I would suggest talking about this PRIOR to accepting the housesit, as well as other logistics (such as can people come visit, use of the car, etc.)
When are you leaving CO?