Yes, I think this is indisputable proof that we're frugal to our core! To be honest, we really didn't expect our daily total to be that low... one of the MANY benefits of house and petsitting! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Wow guys that is incredible! What a great way to experience an amazing country like Portugal too. And a lot of followers have shared your experiences as well, thank you.
Thank you, Cindy. It's been a real pleasure the whole experience and we are looking forward to sharing plenty more. Thanks for all your support. 👍😊 ~ Lee
Wow, under $5,000 for the year! That's just incredible. I also love that you keep track of your budget the "old school" way, Lee. I still prefer to write with pen and paper myself. Great video, thank you!
Thank you Priyanka. We're quite pleased with the way the year has panned out and would definitely recommend house sitting to others who would like to travel slowly and save money. I can't help using the good old pen and paper to do things but at least I'm backing up information digitally too. 😊. One day I'll sort that spreadsheet out. 😆😆 ~ Lee
TrustedHouseSitters is great! We’ve been using them since January this year so we can definitely vouch for it. We only had positive experiences and we’ve been enjoying this slower way of travelling. All the best, frugal travellers! Micha & Justina
Hi Micha & Justina. That's great that you have had such a positive experience with TrustedHouseSitters. We were thinking of signing up with them but we had so many lined up privately we have decided to wait. We'd like to house sit elsewhere whilst travelling in the future so will definitely consider signing up with them. We'll check out your awesome channel for some ideas. Thank you. 😊👍 ~ Lee & Mandy
Oh my goodness guys! This video is incredible! YOU are incredible! Such a great example of to live abroad within a budget or…less! 😉. As always, so appreciate you taking the time to teach us Frugal Travelers wannabes how its done! Thanks so much Mandy and Lee!
Thank you so much for your lovely support, Caryn. We love your positive energy and zest for life. It's a real pleasure to help others find a way to see the world and is so fulfilling when we get positive input back. We really appreciate your support. 😍
Great savings indeed! Of course let us know when you'll be hitting Italy ,we would love for you to meet Chimay! Love the tip on finding house sits on social media, the annual membership to THS is a bit steep! Great video guys, and of course we miss you both loads💞 Debbie and Stijn
Aww... Thanks guys. We'd love to get a chance to visit you and see your amazing life in Italy and to possibly look after beautiful Chimay. 😻 It's been so much fun house sitting over here and we're really looking forward to continuing to do it occasionally as we travel on to take much needed time out between travels. 😍 Sending hugs 🤗
I recognise some of those pets 🥰 You really are the king and queen of frugal. I can conform what you say about house sitting. As well as cost savings another big bonus we (as house sitters) get out if it is our animal fix. It's like a free rent-a-pet when you cannot commit to having one of your own!
Hi Luise. Yes it is so wonderful to not only get some free accommodation but to have that beautiful connection with the animals we all care for. Being constantly on the road makes it too difficult to have your own pets but the next best thing is to have this lovely rent-a-pet opportunity. 😆 The only downside is the difficult goodbyes when you really connect and they win your heart. 🤗 We're so pleased we searched for Alcobaça videos on UA-cam before we went there and discovered your excellent channel. We'd definitely recommend you to anyone who wants to learn about house sitting and living in Portugal. 👍 ~ Lee
Unfriggin’ believable! And my favorite animals are the lovely ginger & black cats of Nazaré!! Haha! Good job guys. You are well loved by Sofie and Deja and their staff.
You know how much we love Sofie and Deja... such gorgeous, talkative overlords, and their staff are pretty cool as well 😁😻 Thank you for giving us the opportunity to look after them! ~ Mandy 😀🙏
Awe, that Mishka! She and Zeus are such beauties... all of them are though!! I've done a lot of pet sitting in the past... and house-sitting. A few older dogs with very particular routines and special needs. Please.... please don't leave before I get there! i hope to meet you both in person, if you can wait until January. I've had visions of you taking care of my cat while I do some traveling... LOL Thanks for a great video Mandy & Lee xx
Hello Jen, and thank you so much for your lovely comment! How wonderful that you've also had loads of experience with house and petsitting... isn't it so rewarding! We love Mishka and Zeus! They are gorgeous, and have such beautiful personalities 🐶❤ We have been truly blessed with all of the animals we've looked after, and have become good friends with many of the owners. I thought you were coming over in September, and was so looking forward to meeting you! I'm really not too sure about January... we're well overdue a trip back to NZ! ~ Mandy 😀😁
@@FrugalTravellers Oh, no... I'm house-sitting right now and the owner won't be back until the beginning of November... and now I've committed to another, dog-sit, back in the US from mid-November until end of December. Then I can find my way to Portugal. We will just have to meet up some other place, some other time. xx
I’ll be sad when you guys leave Portugal because you’ve given me educational insights for my upcoming move, but I guess your future countries can be travel inspiration for me too.
Thank you Cheryl. We are really pleased that the videos we have made have been of help to you and you'll be pleased to know that we still have some more lined up showing other parts of Portugal too. We've had such a wonderful time here and Portugal will remain in our hearts long after we've moved on. We hope your move goes smoothly to Portugal and we wish you all the very best for the future. 😍😊👍 ~ Lee
Thank you Cheryl. We are really pleased that the videos we have made have been of help to you and you'll be pleased to know that we still have some more lined up showing other parts of Portugal too. We've had such a wonderful time here and Portugal will remain in our hearts long after we've moved on. We hope your move goes smoothly to Portugal and we wish you all the very best for the future. 😍😊👍 ~ Lee
Thank you so much Renae. It's nice that you recognise how much work that goes into editing these videos. We're fortunate that we've been house sitting so have had some time to put in to trying to make these videos look good. We wanted to try to explain it clearly how we have managed to live on a low travel budget for this year. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍😊 ~ Lee
That is absolutely insane! You're definitely living up to your name! That's just so impressive. Obviously a lot of hard work has gone into the housesitting responsibilities, but it looks like it's been a perfect experience for you guys. And the places you've stayed at look so nice as well. We're envious of that pool!
Thanks so much guys. It certainly was a shock to us when we did the maths and worked out how little we'd lived on this year. It's been so much fun and we've had some wonderful pet experiences and stayed in some beautiful places. You can see why it will be so difficult for us to move on from this life. We are really looking forward to getting back on the road properly though. This has been the perfect way for us to have some down time from travelling whilst waiting for the pandemic to blow over. We realise we'll be back to a much more realistic travel budget when we do move on which will be 3 or 4X what this last year was. Still looking forward to many more adventures though! 😊 ~ Lee
@@FrugalTravellers 3-4x is still very impressive! Yes, it seemed a dream life. All the best with your upcoming travels and fingers crossed we can meet up when you get back to Oz!🤞🤞
Hey guys, I got a little behind on your videos 😊 but I loved watching this 😊😊 I did however, sit down with a bottle of wine last night and spent an hour or so watching some of your recent videos. I had a great night, love watching you guys 😊 my favourite travel channel for sure. If your ever in England. You are both invited to stay. I’m Essex based. My daughter and I would love to have you stay 😊
Hi Stephen. Great to hear from you. So glad you are still enjoying our videos. Thank you so much for the kind invite and if we do make it down Essex way we'll be sure to look you up. 👍. Best wishes, Lee & Mandy 😊
Hello Dougie. Thank you for the great question. We'll be doing our first ever Q&A soon, and this is one of the questions already on the list ~ Mandy 😀😁
Hi Lee and Mandy, I have watched this video three times. I often watch you more than once, but this film.was full of content. I think you were wise to treat the house sitting as a job and fully commit to it. Those animals have been so lucky. Yes, hilarious that you took annual leave and a holiday. You guys are really going to miss Portugal. Maybe you will return, when have any of us seen 'everything'. Valuable advice given too. The annual spending... incredible. A bit of breathing space too I expect. You both present to camera really well now. I can see you both really believe in what you are doing. Which is so important.
Hi Julie. Glad you got some value out of this video. We had so much fun making it because we got to look back on our year and realise how fortunate we were to have the opportunity to know so many beautiful animals. 💕. So we were all very lucky to have had these pet sits. 😍 It's going to be so hard for us to leave Portugal and this wonderful life we've created for ourselves. We're excited about moving on though. The money we've saved by doing this will mean we can go over budget on future travels and it will even out. We recommend this lifestyle to anyone! Thanks for your lovely comments and support. We really appreciate it. 👍😊 ~ Lee and Mandy
Thank you for another great and helpful video. Both of you inspire me in ways to travel without spending much on accommodation by doing house sitting. I hope Mandy will get the nerve on her neck fixed. I will watch the other videos that you made about Tomar. That city is on my bucket list.
Thank you so much, Sue. Lovely to hear from you. We're so glad you enjoy our videos. Tomar was really lovely and we'd definitely recommend it. Evora and Faro coming up next in the following instalments of our frugal travels. Best wishes 😃 L&M
We had an amazing time looking after all of these beautiful pets! Which was YOUR favourite?!? Let us know in the comments below 😀😁 Links mentioned in the video: 🐈🐕🦺 TRUSTED HOUSESITTERS If you're interested in housesitting around the globe, click on this link for a 10% DISCOUNT on a yearly subscription with the world's largest housesitting site. No coupon required: trustedhousesitters.pxf.io/c/4133414/1664462/18144 Workaway: frugaltravellers.com/Workaway
The fear of doing something wrong, breaking a vase, or being accused of stealing if something is misplaced does not appeal to me. So I am wary of house sitting.
@@TheOracleofWhimsy They are totally understandable concerns, which is why we ensure we have numerous chats with owners beforehand to ascertain if we will be a good fit. If we were to break anything, we would replace it. Thankfully we have always had very good experiences and would happily go back to every one of our housesits. Thank you for taking the time to comment and for sharing another point of view ~ Mandy 😀😁
Hi Team MandyLee.. Great video (as usual), it's hard to believe how cheap that year in Portugal was. That said, it has a counter part, meaning you guys didn't travel much the country itself. The house sitting is quite appealing as I would probably house sit just for the animals. I Hope you guys are enjoying your time with your visitors from NZ & Wishing you a lovely weekend 😎
Thank you Sergio. We've just had an epic day together in Lisbon and are currently on a Rede Expressos bus heading back up north. 😊 It has been a truly epic year house sitting. We haven't travelled as much as we'd have liked but still got to see plenty of new places. We are looking forward to moving on eventually and exploring farther and wider as travel starts to become easier. Thanks for supporting us and we hope you'll stick around even after we leave Portugal. 👍😊 ~ Lee
Great info. Would love to house/animal sit as a way of experiencing a country. Portugal is definitely on my travel list, thanks to your videos. Look forward to seeing you both back in NZ. Xox
I know you would be a great house & pet sitter... and it is such a wonderful way to travel slowly and to see the world! Portugal is a beautiful country and it's STILL my favourite of the 101 countries I've visited, so I'm really pleased our videos have inspired you to visit! It will be wonderful to catch up with you back home... I can't wait! Big hugs from the four of us, all tired after a huge day trip to Lisbon! xxx❤ ~ Mandy 😀😁
Thanks Imo. We wanted to share this as a lot of people often ask us how we can afford to travel full time. This might explain some of the sacrifices we make to stick to a tight budget. It's been so much fun for us also. 😊 ~ Lee
Thank you, Carol! We were pretty gobsmacked ourselves as knew our daily expenditure would be low, but never thought it would be THAT low! Petsitting has been perfect for us! ~ Mandy 😀😁
I thought I was frugal until I started following you! I’m so impressed with your life and what feels like genuine enthusiasm. I would like to know how you shop and plan plan meals to keep your costs down. Thank you!
You don’t need to reply. I’m looking back at your previous videos and see now how you use mostly fresh veggies and cook your own meals. You are so inspiring,
Hello Summer! Thank you so much for your lovely comments, and for your question. Yes, we often make our own meals, especially if we're in more expensive cities/countries, which is why we always look for accommodation with cooking facilities, even if it's just a microwave and kettle! We feel so blessed to be living this amazing life on the road, and all those years of frugal living back in our home countries were well worth the sacrifice! Thank you for taking the time to write, as it was lovely to hear from you! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Just found you via Louise from Solo 50 plus. I do housesitting with Trusted Housesitters so really interested in your experience. I'm hoping to get out to Portugal early next year and do some travelling in this way... love living on a budget. Will be doing a bit of 'binge watching' 😜
That is so lovely, Alice! It was very kind of Luise to mention us on her latest video, and to share the Rede Expressos magazine cover as well! 😀👍 We have been so fortunate to have found excellent housesits here through Facebook groups and then word of mouth, and we now have lovely regular sits. I hope you have as wonderful a time in Portugal as we have had. This is such an amazing country, and we love it here! I also hope you enjoy your binge watching, and we look forward to hearing from you again soon! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Ola good to see you’ll here again …! This its so awesome that you all have all this time to travel all cities in Portugal 🇵🇹 where was you all favorite city in there ? Also how do you manage to be able to stay there in longer them 90 days with out a visa ? We wnt to that but I heard was not aloud over 90 days u less we get a residence from Portugal 🇵🇹? Love you all videos well solai. Everything thanks again for all your Videos !❤
Hello Silvana, it's lovely to hear from you again. Thank you for your great comment. We're planning to do a Q&A on Portugal very soon, so will add your first question to the list. Re: your second question... we arrived before December 2020 so were eligible for residency under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. There is a new Digital Nomad Visa that started in October, so you could always look at that. Thank you again for your positivity and kindness, we really appreciate it! ~ Mandy 🙏😁😀
We love your channel! You've got a new subscriber and we're looking forward to more. We were recommended to you from a couple you are house sitting for! Sandy and Roy. We met them on the Camino and had a pleasant conversation. If you can - point them towards our channel so they can see our Portugal adventure when we put it up in a few weeks. - Scott and Holly
Hi Scott and Holly. That's so awesome that you met Roy and Sandy on the camino and found us through them. We'll be sure to check out your channel and point them in your direction when they return. They have the coolest cats which made an appearance on this video. 😻 Good luck on your journey and safe travels to you both. Lee & Mandy 😊
My question isn't about the house sitting. The video clarity and audio while you sat by the pool is superb. What camera, mic and other equipment do you use? Cheers, Roger
Hello Roger! Thank you so much for the compliment - it's always great to receive such positive feedback on the quality of our videos. It's not a very technical or perhaps typical vlogger answer... we use a GoPro Hero9 on a small GoPro tripod, with no microphone or mods or anything else! It would be great to have a mic but as we're planning to travel with just carry on luggage in the future, we have to keep everything as compact and light as possible... and we like to keep things simple with vlogging and life 😀😁 ~ Mandy
Hello Ponkelina! We're pleased you enjoyed seeing the breakdown of our costs for one year of housesitting in Portugal! We couldn't believe the final figures... we never imagined they'd be that low! Fortunately for us, we were able to apply for residency under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. This is certainly an amazing country and we love it here 🇵🇹 ~ Mandy 😀😁
My trip to the hostel in North Macedonia was simply brilliant. My highlights of the job were meeting so many interesting travellers, spending time with amazing Natasha who runs the hostel (sometimes you just click) and leading the sunset boat tours. Swim, wine, sunset..yes please! I helped out a lot but that was through choice. But I also explored more of Ohrid. I didn't spend on accomodation, saving 11 euros 50 per night. I was given some free food and drinks too. Natasha made the best coffee. Favourite free activities... walking around the beautiful area, swimming in the lake, visiting smaller churches and seeing the amazing Balkan Dance Festival. But of course plenty of the best free activity... local people. I went to the patriot village of Verchani. I met the Mayor who presented me with their passport and money. Then was invited to spend time with a local family in the afternoon watching the sheep return to fold in the evening. Unforgettable. Thanks for continuing to inspire me and many others.
Sounds like you had a really awesome time in North Macedonia. It's great to hear about those special travel moments when you meet people and have amazing experiences by just sampling a taste of other people's lives. This is what travel is really all about. Not just ticking off the big tourist sites and the Instagram spots. We're so glad you are enjoying travelling this way and wish you many, many more of these beautiful travel moments in the future. 😍
Thank you so much, Ruth! We are so happy you enjoy our videos, and you always write such lovely comments! 🙏😍 We really want our videos to provide practical information and prices, so are pleased to hear you find them helpful! ~ Mandy 😀😁
@@FrugalTravellers I shall be sad when you leave Portugal, but it really has bern the best place to live and thrive during covid. I'll be guided by your tips and joys when i revisit Portugal some day 💖.
@@ruthconstantino6861 That is wonderful to hear, Ruth. I completely agree, Portugal has been an amazing place to be during these times and we absolutely love it here! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Hi Adam. I don't know if either would be suitable for a busy remote worker. Workaway is 4-5 hours per day, 5 days per week, and even just one cat can take up a lot of our time! We're there to ensure that the pets are happy and well looked after - it's not just about saving money on accommodation. Happy pets equals referrals and recommendations, and many repeat housesits! ~ Mandy
Good for you guys. ❓ How do you stay more than 90 days out of 180? Did you get the D7. If so ❓ was it part of your costs? Great way to afford a lot of travel. TY from Vancouver
Hi William. Good question. We were able to apply for residency under the Brexit withdrawal agreement on our UK passports as we were resident before 31.12.20. It's a slow process but we started it before this travel year began. 😊
Was it easy to get a residency visa for Portugal so you could stay a year? Here in France you need a fixed address and must prove income - perhaps it is easier in Portugal. What about health cover too?
@@FrugalTravellers Hi Mandy It appears that it is not easy to get the Brexit residency card in Portugal because the Portuguese immigration service is not up to the mark - according to the British press -so looks as if you have been lucky all the best
@@malcolmgale9747 We are still waiting for that ourselves, but hopefully it will happen soon. Thank you for your lovely comments, and wishing you all the best. ~ Mandy
25 euros a night for accomodation?! What type of places can you get for that price? I can't imagine anything other than a low end hostel for that money.
Thank you for the great question, Tony R. We knew this would be of interest to many viewers, so made a video about the accommodation and transport bargains we booked for our two week holiday, as seen in the link below: ua-cam.com/video/IwkJ2uD_kxM/v-deo.html We hope you find this helpful! ~ Mandy 😀😁
How would you feel about looking after tarantulas or snakes? I don’t suppose anyone would trust Lee to look after their pet scorpion if they had watched the earlier videos from your back catalogue. Hee Hee Hee
Haha... I am rather fond of scorpions. 😉. We'd have no trouble with handling snakes or spiders although we haven't been asked to yet. Never say never. 😁🐍🕷️😁
Cheers Ben. Thanks for watching. Glad it's helped Inspire you. 😊. Where are you in Kyrgyzstan? We spent a few months there in 2018 and loved it. I wish we'd have made more videos. We'd love to return. 😊
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
#Goals, you guys are the best example of "where there's a will, there's a way." Inspired by you both!
That's wonderful to hear, Jessica. Thank you 🙏🥰❤️
Wow! That is incredibly cheap! You really ARE frugal travelers! 👍👍👍
Yes, I think this is indisputable proof that we're frugal to our core! To be honest, we really didn't expect our daily total to be that low... one of the MANY benefits of house and petsitting! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Wow guys that is incredible! What a great way to experience an amazing country like Portugal too. And a lot of followers have shared your experiences as well, thank you.
Thank you, Cindy. It's been a real pleasure the whole experience and we are looking forward to sharing plenty more. Thanks for all your support. 👍😊 ~ Lee
That's amazing they do say Portugal you get good value for money. But that is fantastic effort 👏.
Thanks so much. House sitting has been a great way for us to see the country and live like locals do while saving plenty on accommodation. 👍 ~ Lee
Wow, under $5,000 for the year! That's just incredible. I also love that you keep track of your budget the "old school" way, Lee. I still prefer to write with pen and paper myself. Great video, thank you!
Thank you Priyanka. We're quite pleased with the way the year has panned out and would definitely recommend house sitting to others who would like to travel slowly and save money. I can't help using the good old pen and paper to do things but at least I'm backing up information digitally too. 😊. One day I'll sort that spreadsheet out. 😆😆 ~ Lee
Same here☺️
@@hownwen Hopefully Lee will have that spreadsheet up and running soon, even if it's just as backup in case we have more paper-eating pets 🤣😀
TrustedHouseSitters is great! We’ve been using them since January this year so we can definitely vouch for it. We only had positive experiences and we’ve been enjoying this slower way of travelling. All the best, frugal travellers! Micha & Justina
Hi Micha & Justina. That's great that you have had such a positive experience with TrustedHouseSitters. We were thinking of signing up with them but we had so many lined up privately we have decided to wait. We'd like to house sit elsewhere whilst travelling in the future so will definitely consider signing up with them. We'll check out your awesome channel for some ideas. Thank you. 😊👍 ~ Lee & Mandy
Oh my goodness guys! This video is incredible! YOU are incredible! Such a great example of to live abroad within a budget or…less! 😉. As always, so appreciate you taking the time to teach us Frugal Travelers wannabes how its done! Thanks so much Mandy and Lee!
Thank you so much for your lovely support, Caryn. We love your positive energy and zest for life. It's a real pleasure to help others find a way to see the world and is so fulfilling when we get positive input back. We really appreciate your support. 😍
Great savings indeed! Of course let us know when you'll be hitting Italy ,we would love for you to meet Chimay! Love the tip on finding house sits on social media, the annual membership to THS is a bit steep! Great video guys, and of course we miss you both loads💞
Debbie and Stijn
Aww... Thanks guys. We'd love to get a chance to visit you and see your amazing life in Italy and to possibly look after beautiful Chimay. 😻 It's been so much fun house sitting over here and we're really looking forward to continuing to do it occasionally as we travel on to take much needed time out between travels. 😍 Sending hugs 🤗
I recognise some of those pets 🥰
You really are the king and queen of frugal. I can conform what you say about house sitting. As well as cost savings another big bonus we (as house sitters) get out if it is our animal fix. It's like a free rent-a-pet when you cannot commit to having one of your own!
Hi Luise. Yes it is so wonderful to not only get some free accommodation but to have that beautiful connection with the animals we all care for. Being constantly on the road makes it too difficult to have your own pets but the next best thing is to have this lovely rent-a-pet opportunity. 😆 The only downside is the difficult goodbyes when you really connect and they win your heart. 🤗
We're so pleased we searched for Alcobaça videos on UA-cam before we went there and discovered your excellent channel. We'd definitely recommend you to anyone who wants to learn about house sitting and living in Portugal. 👍 ~ Lee
Unfriggin’ believable! And my favorite animals are the lovely ginger & black cats of Nazaré!! Haha! Good job guys. You are well loved by Sofie and Deja and their staff.
You know how much we love Sofie and Deja... such gorgeous, talkative overlords, and their staff are pretty cool as well 😁😻 Thank you for giving us the opportunity to look after them! ~ Mandy 😀🙏
Awe, that Mishka! She and Zeus are such beauties... all of them are though!! I've done a lot of pet sitting in the past... and house-sitting. A few older dogs with very particular routines and special needs.
Please.... please don't leave before I get there! i hope to meet you both in person, if you can wait until January. I've had visions of you taking care of my cat while I do some traveling... LOL
Thanks for a great video Mandy & Lee xx
Hello Jen, and thank you so much for your lovely comment! How wonderful that you've also had loads of experience with house and petsitting... isn't it so rewarding! We love Mishka and Zeus! They are gorgeous, and have such beautiful personalities 🐶❤ We have been truly blessed with all of the animals we've looked after, and have become good friends with many of the owners. I thought you were coming over in September, and was so looking forward to meeting you! I'm really not too sure about January... we're well overdue a trip back to NZ! ~ Mandy 😀😁
@@FrugalTravellers Oh, no... I'm house-sitting right now and the owner won't be back until the beginning of November... and now I've committed to another, dog-sit, back in the US from mid-November until end of December. Then I can find my way to Portugal. We will just have to meet up some other place, some other time. xx
I’ll be sad when you guys leave Portugal because you’ve given me educational insights for my upcoming move, but I guess your future countries can be travel inspiration for me too.
Thank you Cheryl. We are really pleased that the videos we have made have been of help to you and you'll be pleased to know that we still have some more lined up showing other parts of Portugal too.
We've had such a wonderful time here and Portugal will remain in our hearts long after we've moved on. We hope your move goes smoothly to Portugal and we wish you all the very best for the future. 😍😊👍 ~ Lee
Thank you Cheryl. We are really pleased that the videos we have made have been of help to you and you'll be pleased to know that we still have some more lined up showing other parts of Portugal too.
We've had such a wonderful time here and Portugal will remain in our hearts long after we've moved on. We hope your move goes smoothly to Portugal and we wish you all the very best for the future. 😍😊👍 ~ Lee
My goodness. There was a lot of editing that went into this video. Great job! Also it was incredible to see the total. Very impressive 👍
Thank you so much Renae. It's nice that you recognise how much work that goes into editing these videos. We're fortunate that we've been house sitting so have had some time to put in to trying to make these videos look good. We wanted to try to explain it clearly how we have managed to live on a low travel budget for this year. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍😊 ~ Lee
That is absolutely insane! You're definitely living up to your name! That's just so impressive. Obviously a lot of hard work has gone into the housesitting responsibilities, but it looks like it's been a perfect experience for you guys. And the places you've stayed at look so nice as well. We're envious of that pool!
Thanks so much guys. It certainly was a shock to us when we did the maths and worked out how little we'd lived on this year. It's been so much fun and we've had some wonderful pet experiences and stayed in some beautiful places. You can see why it will be so difficult for us to move on from this life.
We are really looking forward to getting back on the road properly though. This has been the perfect way for us to have some down time from travelling whilst waiting for the pandemic to blow over. We realise we'll be back to a much more realistic travel budget when we do move on which will be 3 or 4X what this last year was. Still looking forward to many more adventures though! 😊 ~ Lee
@@FrugalTravellers 3-4x is still very impressive! Yes, it seemed a dream life. All the best with your upcoming travels and fingers crossed we can meet up when you get back to Oz!🤞🤞
@@BucketListTravellers All the best to you guys too, and it will be great to meet up, either in Oz or elsewhere on the road 😁😀
Can't wait until we can get over there and meet you guys :)
Hello Captain! That sounds like fun 😀😁 ~ Mandy
Hey guys, I got a little behind on your videos 😊 but I loved watching this 😊😊 I did however, sit down with a bottle of wine last night and spent an hour or so watching some of your recent videos. I had a great night, love watching you guys 😊 my favourite travel channel for sure.
If your ever in England. You are both invited to stay. I’m Essex based. My daughter and I would love to have you stay 😊
Hi Stephen. Great to hear from you. So glad you are still enjoying our videos. Thank you so much for the kind invite and if we do make it down Essex way we'll be sure to look you up. 👍. Best wishes, Lee & Mandy 😊
You talked about expenses, how do you generate revenue to offset the expenses.
Hello Dougie. Thank you for the great question. We'll be doing our first ever Q&A soon, and this is one of the questions already on the list ~ Mandy 😀😁
Hi Lee and Mandy,
I have watched this video three times. I often watch you more than once, but this film.was full of content.
I think you were wise to treat the house sitting as a job and fully commit to it. Those animals have been so lucky. Yes, hilarious that you took annual leave and a holiday. You guys are really going to miss Portugal. Maybe you will return, when have any of us seen 'everything'.
Valuable advice given too.
The annual spending... incredible. A bit of breathing space too I expect.
You both present to camera really well now. I can see you both really believe in what you are doing. Which is so important.
Hi Julie. Glad you got some value out of this video. We had so much fun making it because we got to look back on our year and realise how fortunate we were to have the opportunity to know so many beautiful animals. 💕. So we were all very lucky to have had these pet sits. 😍
It's going to be so hard for us to leave Portugal and this wonderful life we've created for ourselves. We're excited about moving on though. The money we've saved by doing this will mean we can go over budget on future travels and it will even out. We recommend this lifestyle to anyone!
Thanks for your lovely comments and support. We really appreciate it. 👍😊 ~ Lee and Mandy
Thank you for another great and helpful video. Both of you inspire me in ways to travel without spending much on accommodation by doing house sitting. I hope Mandy will get the nerve on her neck fixed. I will watch the other videos that you made about Tomar. That city is on my bucket list.
Thank you so much, Sue. Lovely to hear from you. We're so glad you enjoy our videos. Tomar was really lovely and we'd definitely recommend it. Evora and Faro coming up next in the following instalments of our frugal travels.
Best wishes 😃 L&M
We had an amazing time looking after all of these beautiful pets! Which was YOUR favourite?!? Let us know in the comments below 😀😁
Links mentioned in the video:
🐈🐕🦺 TRUSTED HOUSESITTERS
If you're interested in housesitting around the globe, click on this link for a 10% DISCOUNT on a yearly subscription with the world's largest housesitting site. No coupon required:
trustedhousesitters.pxf.io/c/4133414/1664462/18144
Workaway: frugaltravellers.com/Workaway
The fear of doing something wrong, breaking a vase, or being accused of stealing if something is misplaced does not appeal to me. So I am wary of house sitting.
@@TheOracleofWhimsy They are totally understandable concerns, which is why we ensure we have numerous chats with owners beforehand to ascertain if we will be a good fit. If we were to break anything, we would replace it. Thankfully we have always had very good experiences and would happily go back to every one of our housesits. Thank you for taking the time to comment and for sharing another point of view ~ Mandy 😀😁
Huskies. My favourite. What an honour.
@@julieeggleton9743 They are both so majestic. Such lovable doggies. 💕
No tax?
Hi Team MandyLee.. Great video (as usual), it's hard to believe how cheap that year in Portugal was.
That said, it has a counter part, meaning you guys didn't travel much the country itself.
The house sitting is quite appealing as I would probably house sit just for the animals.
I Hope you guys are enjoying your time with your visitors from NZ & Wishing you a lovely weekend 😎
Thank you Sergio. We've just had an epic day together in Lisbon and are currently on a Rede Expressos bus heading back up north. 😊
It has been a truly epic year house sitting. We haven't travelled as much as we'd have liked but still got to see plenty of new places.
We are looking forward to moving on eventually and exploring farther and wider as travel starts to become easier. Thanks for supporting us and we hope you'll stick around even after we leave Portugal. 👍😊 ~ Lee
Great info. Would love to house/animal sit as a way of experiencing a country. Portugal is definitely on my travel list, thanks to your videos. Look forward to seeing you both back in NZ. Xox
I know you would be a great house & pet sitter... and it is such a wonderful way to travel slowly and to see the world! Portugal is a beautiful country and it's STILL my favourite of the 101 countries I've visited, so I'm really pleased our videos have inspired you to visit! It will be wonderful to catch up with you back home... I can't wait! Big hugs from the four of us, all tired after a huge day trip to Lisbon! xxx❤ ~ Mandy 😀😁
Your channel is so helpful 😍🥰😘 new sub and bell ❤
Thank you so much for following us. We really appreciate it. 😍👍😊
Wow great job to you both
That's so lovely, Nelson! Thank you for your kind comment! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Brilliant video, guys!!!
Thanks Imo. We wanted to share this as a lot of people often ask us how we can afford to travel full time. This might explain some of the sacrifices we make to stick to a tight budget. It's been so much fun for us also. 😊 ~ Lee
I'm gobsmacked! Well done!
Thank you, Carol! We were pretty gobsmacked ourselves as knew our daily expenditure would be low, but never thought it would be THAT low! Petsitting has been perfect for us! ~ Mandy 😀😁
I thought I was frugal until I started following you! I’m so impressed with your life and what feels like genuine enthusiasm. I would like to know how you shop and plan plan meals to keep your costs down. Thank you!
You don’t need to reply. I’m looking back at your previous videos and see now how you use mostly fresh veggies and cook your own meals. You are so inspiring,
Hello Summer! Thank you so much for your lovely comments, and for your question. Yes, we often make our own meals, especially if we're in more expensive cities/countries, which is why we always look for accommodation with cooking facilities, even if it's just a microwave and kettle!
We feel so blessed to be living this amazing life on the road, and all those years of frugal living back in our home countries were well worth the sacrifice! Thank you for taking the time to write, as it was lovely to hear from you! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Just found you via Louise from Solo 50 plus. I do housesitting with Trusted Housesitters so really interested in your experience. I'm hoping to get out to Portugal early next year and do some travelling in this way... love living on a budget. Will be doing a bit of 'binge watching' 😜
That is so lovely, Alice! It was very kind of Luise to mention us on her latest video, and to share the Rede Expressos magazine cover as well! 😀👍 We have been so fortunate to have found excellent housesits here through Facebook groups and then word of mouth, and we now have lovely regular sits.
I hope you have as wonderful a time in Portugal as we have had. This is such an amazing country, and we love it here!
I also hope you enjoy your binge watching, and we look forward to hearing from you again soon! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Ola good to see you’ll here again …! This its so awesome that you all have all this time to travel all cities in Portugal 🇵🇹 where was you all favorite city in there ? Also how do you manage to be able to stay there in longer them 90 days with out a visa ? We wnt to that but I heard was not aloud over 90 days u less we get a residence from Portugal 🇵🇹? Love you all videos well solai. Everything thanks again for all your Videos !❤
Hello Silvana, it's lovely to hear from you again. Thank you for your great comment. We're planning to do a Q&A on Portugal very soon, so will add your first question to the list.
Re: your second question... we arrived before December 2020 so were eligible for residency under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. There is a new Digital Nomad Visa that started in October, so you could always look at that. Thank you again for your positivity and kindness, we really appreciate it! ~ Mandy 🙏😁😀
We love your channel! You've got a new subscriber and we're looking forward to more. We were recommended to you from a couple you are house sitting for! Sandy and Roy. We met them on the Camino and had a pleasant conversation. If you can - point them towards our channel so they can see our Portugal adventure when we put it up in a few weeks.
- Scott and Holly
Hi Scott and Holly.
That's so awesome that you met Roy and Sandy on the camino and found us through them. We'll be sure to check out your channel and point them in your direction when they return. They have the coolest cats which made an appearance on this video. 😻
Good luck on your journey and safe travels to you both.
Lee & Mandy 😊
My question isn't about the house sitting. The video clarity and audio while you sat by the pool is superb. What camera, mic and other equipment do you use?
Cheers, Roger
Hello Roger! Thank you so much for the compliment - it's always great to receive such positive feedback on the quality of our videos. It's not a very technical or perhaps typical vlogger answer... we use a GoPro Hero9 on a small GoPro tripod, with no microphone or mods or anything else! It would be great to have a mic but as we're planning to travel with just carry on luggage in the future, we have to keep everything as compact and light as possible... and we like to keep things simple with vlogging and life 😀😁 ~ Mandy
Great frugal costs. I'm confused with Brexit how you have managed to stay in Portual for one year.
Hello Ponkelina! We're pleased you enjoyed seeing the breakdown of our costs for one year of housesitting in Portugal! We couldn't believe the final figures... we never imagined they'd be that low! Fortunately for us, we were able to apply for residency under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. This is certainly an amazing country and we love it here 🇵🇹 ~ Mandy 😀😁
My trip to the hostel in North Macedonia was simply brilliant. My highlights of the job were meeting so many interesting travellers, spending time with amazing Natasha who runs the hostel (sometimes you just click) and leading the sunset boat tours. Swim, wine, sunset..yes please!
I helped out a lot but that was through choice. But I also explored more of Ohrid.
I didn't spend on accomodation, saving 11 euros 50 per night. I was given some free food and drinks too. Natasha made the best coffee.
Favourite free activities... walking around the beautiful area, swimming in the lake, visiting smaller churches and seeing the amazing Balkan Dance Festival. But of course plenty of the best free activity... local people. I went to the patriot village of Verchani. I met the Mayor who presented me with their passport and money. Then was invited to spend time with a local family in the afternoon watching the sheep return to fold in the evening. Unforgettable.
Thanks for continuing to inspire me and many others.
Sounds like you had a really awesome time in North Macedonia. It's great to hear about those special travel moments when you meet people and have amazing experiences by just sampling a taste of other people's lives. This is what travel is really all about. Not just ticking off the big tourist sites and the Instagram spots. We're so glad you are enjoying travelling this way and wish you many, many more of these beautiful travel moments in the future. 😍
Great video, folks, very inspirational. Thsnk you for akways shating great tips and excellent info.
Thank you so much, Ruth! We are so happy you enjoy our videos, and you always write such lovely comments! 🙏😍 We really want our videos to provide practical information and prices, so are pleased to hear you find them helpful! ~ Mandy 😀😁
@@FrugalTravellers I shall be sad when you leave Portugal, but it really has bern the best place to live and thrive during covid. I'll be guided by your tips and joys when i revisit Portugal some day 💖.
@@ruthconstantino6861 That is wonderful to hear, Ruth. I completely agree, Portugal has been an amazing place to be during these times and we absolutely love it here! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Housesitting or workaway which requires the least time from your side asking this cz i have a remote job and i have to give most time to that😅
Hi Adam. I don't know if either would be suitable for a busy remote worker. Workaway is 4-5 hours per day, 5 days per week, and even just one cat can take up a lot of our time! We're there to ensure that the pets are happy and well looked after - it's not just about saving money on accommodation. Happy pets equals referrals and recommendations, and many repeat housesits! ~ Mandy
At least spreadsheets don’t get chewed, I guess. The dog ate your homework!!!
Hahhha... the look on Lee's face when he realised he'd tantalisingly left it within Mishka's reach 🤣😂 So lucky she only ate blank pages! ~ Mandy 😀😁
Let us know when you are in the US...we might need a sitter so we can spend more time in PT!
Oh, that sounds great! It might not be until 2026 though... but who knows! 😀😁 ~ Mandy
Good for you guys. ❓ How do you stay more than 90 days out of 180? Did you get the D7. If so ❓ was it part of your costs?
Great way to afford a lot of travel.
TY from Vancouver
Hi William. Good question. We were able to apply for residency under the Brexit withdrawal agreement on our UK passports as we were resident before 31.12.20. It's a slow process but we started it before this travel year began. 😊
Thank you! Am I right in thinking you guys are in the NHS for medical with no private premiums?
Hello Wendy. We're so pleased you enjoyed this video! Yes, that's correct re: healthcare 😀😁 ~ Mandy
Was it easy to get a residency visa for Portugal so you could stay a year? Here in France you need a fixed address and must prove income - perhaps it is easier in Portugal. What about health cover too?
Hello Malcolm. We applied for residency under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, so didn't have any of the other requirements. ~ Mandy
@@FrugalTravellers Hi Mandy It appears that it is not easy to get the Brexit residency card in Portugal because the Portuguese immigration service is not up to the mark - according to the British press -so looks as if you have been lucky all the best
@@malcolmgale9747 We are still waiting for that ourselves, but hopefully it will happen soon. Thank you for your lovely comments, and wishing you all the best. ~ Mandy
25 euros a night for accomodation?! What type of places can you get for that price? I can't imagine anything other than a low end hostel for that money.
Thank you for the great question, Tony R. We knew this would be of interest to many viewers, so made a video about the accommodation and transport bargains we booked for our two week holiday, as seen in the link below:
ua-cam.com/video/IwkJ2uD_kxM/v-deo.html
We hope you find this helpful! ~ Mandy 😀😁
How would you feel about looking after tarantulas or snakes? I don’t suppose anyone would trust Lee to look after their pet scorpion if they had watched the earlier videos from your back catalogue. Hee Hee Hee
Haha... I am rather fond of scorpions. 😉. We'd have no trouble with handling snakes or spiders although we haven't been asked to yet. Never say never. 😁🐍🕷️😁
How do you get around the 90/180 day visa rule?
We applied for residency under the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
Awesome. As a Brit, I wish I had done this :(
💯
Thank you. We're so pleased you enjoyed this video. ~ Mandy 😀😁
Dogs? Gag
Dogs. Love.
This is awesome guys! You are so inspiring! Have started making some videos too, check them out if you’re interested 👍🙏 Ben from Kyrgyzstan 😀
Cheers Ben. Thanks for watching. Glad it's helped Inspire you. 😊. Where are you in Kyrgyzstan? We spent a few months there in 2018 and loved it. I wish we'd have made more videos. We'd love to return. 😊
@@FrugalTravellers Back in karakol where I met you guys for the first time! 😀 yep it’s a beautiful place ☀️