Ok....hear me out.

Hotels and even Airbnb's can quickly become super expensive if you are trying to stay for longer than a week. There are thousands of people all over the world who want to go on vacation but desperately need someone to care for their beloved pets and plants while they are away. And in exchange, they offer their house sitter a place to stay....for free!!!

I tested this out with TrustedHouseSitters.com while exploring various parts of Portugal with my 6-month old. House sitting with a baby can seem scary, but what made me trust this company was that each homeowner and house sitter has to undergo a full background check and conduct an in-person meeting prior to each home stay. There are also reviews and ratings from previous house sitters so you can see what you're getting into beforehand.

I met with the host family before our stay and both felt comfortable with each other. So after 10 days in Lisbon, we traveled to the Silver Coast and stayed for two weeks caring for their 3 dogs, 2 birds, and 1 cat. This really only involved taking the dogs for walks through the beautiful Eucalyptus forests, making sure all the animals were well fed and played with, and watering the various plants. I checked in regularly with the host family (as well as my own family) and everyone was satisfied in the end. Having been around my own dog back home, my daughter was well accustomed to animals and loved crawling behind them throughout the house. She was very curious about the birds as well, and would watch how I carefully tended each one. And because she was small, it was easy to put her in the carrier and complete the tasks with her on my back.

It was an unusual, but a completely unforgettable experience that I wouldn't trade for the world.