I’ve lived rent-free for a decade — and saved £300,000 in the process

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Over the past decade, 34-year-old Bianca Rappaport hasn’t had to worry about handing over rent to a landlord each month.

Since she started house-sitting on a permanent basis in June 2016, she’s managed to cobble together £300,000 in savings – and is even planning on retiring before she’s 45.

Together with her husband, 45-year-old Paolo, the pair have ticked 20 countries and five continents off their travel bucket list by helping out strangers across the globe, typically staying in one home for at least two months.

It’s no mean feat, either, as Bianca tends to plan their itineraries between three and nine months in advance – and have stashed away an average of £30,000 per year, which they’d otherwise be spending on rent and bills.

‘Here’s what most people don’t realise, you don’t have to wait until retirement to be free, you can design your life around freedom,’ says Bianca, who is originally from New York.

‘I’ve stayed in so many random places. I once even stayed in a former old 18th-century winery, where all the rooms were carved into volcanic rock.’

Their house-sitting experiences have opened them up to further opportunities across the globe, too, as Bianca recalls a holiday where she looked after a cat in Bangkok, and when the owner later told her she’d moved to Rome, she ended up looking after ‘the same cat in Italy.’

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Maintaining this lifestyle hasn’t always been easy, though. When Bianca first started, she was trying to err on the more ‘frugal’ side of things, being ‘mindful’ with her spending.

She reflects: ‘Now I have more breathing room, I’ve really become aware of the impact my spending can have on the local community.

‘Including all our personal stuff – health insurance, flights, transport, food, between the two [of us] we spent around $10,000 (£7,599.36) in the first six months of 2025 – and that’s without depriving ourselves in any way.’

As part of Bianca’s previous job, she was given the opportunity to travel the world, working for a Brooklyn-based company that organises gap years for those looking to take a career break.

Back in 2010, when she was working in that same role, she recalls reading a book that offered up tips on ways to travel the world for free. Since then, that mentality has always been at the forefront of her mind.

The pair started off using Trusted House Sitters, but over the years, they’ve encountered plenty of other services connecting people like them with those looking for someone to keep their humble abodes warm.

Since Bianca first jetted off, she’s travelled to more than 20 countries, including Mexico, Morocco, and Malaysia, and has experienced everything from visiting local tribes to learn more about their culture to road-tripping around the US and even visiting coffee farms.

It’s not just dogs and cats that Bianca and Paolo look after: the list they’ve previously supervised includes chickens, turkeys, and fish, and sometimes, they even revisit the ones they’ve particularly bonded with.

When it comes to packing, Bianca travels light, fitting everything she needs – and owns – into a 40-litre carry-on backpack.

She hasn’t just used the experience to travel the globe, either: she’s even made a business out of it, as in 2024, she set up the Wanderwell Club to help others ‘sustainably travel’ their way to ‘financial freedom while doing good along the way.’

‘I feel like I have discovered the ultimate life hack. I don’t have to pay rent, and I am working to have the option to retire by the time I am 45,’ she says.

‘I worked out that compared to if I stayed in Brooklyn, I’m going to retire two decades before I thought I would.’

When it comes to the ethical tenet of her business, Bianca operates under one crucial belief: that housesitting is one answer to combating overtourism.

In her view, it represents a way that ‘tourists and locals can work together’ through a ‘sharing economy.’

She says: ‘They need someone to look after their pet and make sure the house is okay while they’re gone, and you have somewhere wonderful to explore.

‘People often show you to their best farmers’ markets and shops in the area, and introduce you to their neighbours, so you have a community and a good idea of the area and inside knowledge.’

Bianca gets more from staying in local homes than she would from a hotel, too, as she has access to the likes of gyms, cars and even pools for free.

‘It really helps you slow down travelling and get to know a place from a local’s perspective,’ she concludes.

‘I wouldn’t ever change the way that I live, and I am grateful for the trust that people put in me.’

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