Nottingham couple's genius housesitting plan

Martin and his wife Kristine took to pet sitting after the loss of their beloved West Highland Terrier

Martin and Kristine wanted the company of a dog without the commitment and so became professional house sitters

Here at Nottingham World, we love to shine a spotlight on the people in the city who are doing things a bit differently.

And that's exactly what Martin Bell and his wife Kristine are doing, as they put a fresh spin on retirement.

Many people struggle to occupy themselves after giving up work for good, but the same can't be said for this Nottingham couple who have come up with a genius plan to fill their time and keep their costs low!

READ MORE: Your Nottingham

Martin and Kristine became professional pet and home sitters in 2017 after losing their beloved 14-year-old West Highland Terrier. The pair decided they wanted the company of a dog but without the long-term commitment - and so, housesitting felt like a good compromise.

Martin said: "We do around ten sits a year – ranging from a weekend stay to a couple of weeks. We could do more, but we like to do other things now we are retired and have the time.

"The main reason we homesit is because of our love of animals, but it can be an incredibly good way to boost a state pension and make savings on utility bills too – particularly during the winter months."

This Nottingham couple have come up with a genius way to keep their costs low throughout the winter - stay at someone else's house!

"Over the past eighteen months, we have done more homesits in the winter as we worked out, we save around £50 a week on our energy bills, as we turn our thermostat down when we are away - which is a big saving!

"On a typical assignment when we are looking after a couple of dogs, and factoring in the daily food allowance and travel to and from an assignment, we can earn around £25-£30 a day, which is roughly the same as the current state pension and a welcome boost to our retirement income.

"There is the opportunity to earn more depending on the number of assignments you do, and the number of pets you take care of on the job. We love looking after dogs, but we have looked after horses, cats, geese, and Koi carp during our homesitting career!"

Martin added: "On a recent homesit in Peterborough we were looking after two lively Labradors. The client was in the process of rewilding a quarry area and had a Range Rover Discovery we could use.

"Every morning we popped the dogs in the back, headed off to the quarry for an hour or so and the dogs had a wonderful time running around the area and having a swim in the lake."

*Martin and Kristine organise their home and pet sitting adventures through Homesitters Ltd.

Nottingham couple's genius plan to keep energy bills low during the winter - stay at someone else's house