Couple, 70, share facet hustle making as much as £4,000 a yr
Brian and Barbara Kennedy have been home-sitters since June 2004. They have carried out virtually 300 home-sits and spent shut to three,000 days on assignments prior to now 16 years.
The couple determined to turn out to be home-sitters after taking early retirement.
Brian stated: “I decided to retire early as I wanted a more relaxed way of life, free from the daily grind of commuting. We’d been mortgage free for almost 10 years so the potential was there to think about doing something more interesting and my pension could be taken, albeit at a reduced rate due to my age.
“We reviewed our finances and realised we would be OK. We didn’t need to contemplate downsizing to a smaller house or making any other lifestyle changes. At that stage, we had no firm plans for what we might do to fill our time.”
The couple knew nothing about home-sitting till they attended a pre-retirement course organized by Brian’s employer and determined it regarded like the perfect part-time versatile position for them post-retirement.
They researched a number of completely different corporations and had been most impressed by Home-sitters’ thorough method to choice, which included a head workplace interview, and the actual fact they’d be employed immediately by the corporate. The couple had been taken on quickly after their interview.
Brian stated: “We left the interview thinking it might be nice if we were accepted and offered four or five weeks of home-sitting each year. However, the demand for home-sitters is much greater than we’d thought and we carried out 14 assignments in the first six months!”
The couple tackle roughly 200 days of home-sitting annually on round 20 assignments. The size of assignments varies from as little as two days upwards to their longest single project of seven weeks.
He stated: “There is no pressure on us to accept assignments. We do the home sits because we enjoy them and in our breaks at home we catch up on jobs in the house and garden or helping our adult children, so we are never at a loss for things to do.”
They additionally make appreciable financial savings on their gasoline and water payments as they’re away from their very own house.
However, they stress that they do it for selection and to get pleasure from their retirement. They love going to new locations.
Whilst home-sitting, the pair have a tendency to satisfy the wants of the pets, ensuring they’re nicely cared for, fed the right meals at applicable instances and, within the case of canines, that they’ve their walks.
The couple have stayed in additional than 80 completely different properties, some very modest like their very own and others veering in the direction of stately.
Brian defined they earn about £300 a month or £4,000 a yr which relies on the funds. However, the meals allowance they get and the journey to and from assignments means additionally they spend much less while they’re away – making the entire expertise very value whereas.
Brian defined one home was surrounded by a moat. Many have had superbly saved and intensive gardens. They say strolling on the grounds with the canines can really feel like being in their very own non-public park.
They have cared for greater than 140 completely different canines of many breeds from Rottweilers to Chihuahuas, Labradors to working Cocker Spaniels. Assignments have coated many areas together with Northamptonshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and areas of London together with Hampstead, Kensington and Chelsea, Barnes, Putney and Wimbledon.
Brian stated: “Home-sitting has been for us like having lots of small holidays; up to 20 times each year we pack our bags, load the car and set off on a new adventure.
“For us, the payment we receive isn’t a strong motivation, but it is nice to have. It means we
can enjoy occasional pub lunches during our stays in different areas while not putting a strain on the budget.
“An unexpected bonus has been the significant reduction in our home heating bill too.”