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NB: that's vacation, not vocation! (Though some people may feel they've "had the call!")

If you think about it, there are plenty of good reasons to become a house sitter. A big one for some people is to save the money they'd otherwise be paying for rent, and put it towards a deposit on their own home. This, of course, requires a sit - preferably for a few months or even longer - within travelling distance of their workplace.

Others just want to get away from their customary, and possibly crowded or noisy, environment to write, paint or sculpt without interruption.

Still others sit houses as a way of visiting family members or friends in another city or town, while enjoying free accommodation. Or they do it every so often simply for a change of pace and scene.But more and more singles and families are seeing house sitting as a way to enjoy an affordable holiday, compared to the ruinous costs of spending two or three weeks at a resort, or a beachside hotel, motel or apartments. And accommodation is usually the single most expensive element in the cost of a family vacation, unless you happen to be going overseas, when airfares might just top the bill.

And even then, accommodation is a huge slug.

Whereas for the average family or working single planning a vacation in America, house sitting can provide if not a completely free holiday, then certainly a hugely less expensive one.

Imagine, for example, a family of four wanting to enjoy a west coast holiday, say San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego etc., during one of the school holiday periods.

Suppose they live in Chicago, Washington or New York and decide to fly. Depending on the cost of flights, they're probably looking at $400 - $500 per person, a total of $1600 - $2000. It sounds like a lot of money and it is but you will be saving around the same amount again, if not more, on the accommodation costs!

So instead of handing over their credit card at Reception with fingers crossed, or a voucher for their stay which took more than half their holiday pay to purchase, they pull up outside a sunny beach house, or a smart, architect-designed residence in a pleasant boulevard, or even a comfy apartment in the city, knowing there's no more to pay than their normal, everyday expenses.

For the average one or two income family, house-sitting can literally be the difference between a memorable and refreshing holiday wherever they choose to go - be it city, country, mountain or beachside - and staying at home, with all the usual chores to do, then returning to work feeling like they had no break at all.

Then, of course, there are the retirees who can afford to travel and see the country, and have time on their hands, but don't want to tow a van or drive a lumbering motor home. Nor do they want to spend their retirement nest egg unnecessarily. A house sit - or even a series of sits - makes perfect sense for people like this.

If you've never considered it before, it's definitely worth some thought!

• Free Pet Care at Home

If you're a homeowner with pets, then whenever you contemplate going away, you have to decide what you're going to do about your little friends.

For a short absence, like overnight or a weekend, you'll probably arrange with a neighbor or friend to look in on your pets, feed them, and if your pet is a dog, take him or her for a walk.

Annual vacations, overseas trips, and really anything longer than going away for the weekend, generally mean one of three things. You'll either drop off your pet/s to a minder, book them into a pet resort (i.e. a kennel or cattery), or engage a professional feeder/walker to come in for half an hour each day so your pet can stay at home.

(We omit friends, neighbors and neighbors' children as an option for extended absences, for a number of reasons. Firstly, it's an imposition, especially if it's a friend who has to drive to your place every day. Secondly, children can be irresponsible, or simply forget. Moreover, what happens if your pet gets stuck, becomes ill, or strays during the 23½ hours each day when nobody is there to notice?)

All of the "genuine" options can be expensive. What's more, the first two alternatives entail taking the pets out of their familiar environment, which can be quite stressful for them, especially on top of your absence. The third means leaving them alone nearly all day every day.

In fact, the only advantage it has over asking a friend or neighbor to feed your pets is that a professional is likely to be more reliable! (And you don't need to feel you're imposing.)

Of course, there's another alternative. It not only dovetails in perfectly with increased security for your home, it allows the pets to remain in their own surroundings, with the care and company of pet-loving people - and it costs you nothing!

Of course, we're talking here about engaging the services of a house sitter. Someone you can trust to keep your house occupied, keep the lawns and garden trim, water your plants, attend to any emergencies, take messages, collect the mail, pick up any junk mail and newspapers - and perhaps most importantly of all, take great care of your fourlegged friends.

Now you may be thinking, how can I be sure a sitter will do what they promise to do? Can I really trust my treasured pet to a stranger? It's a fair question, and the answer is this.

Firstly, make sure your sitter comes from a listing company that is reputable, ethical and concentrates on specific locations eg. housesittersamerica.com deals with the USA market, aussiehousesitters.com.au is dedicated to the Australia and New Zealand market etc. While companies cannot vet or guarantee their sitters, good ones very quickly look into any complaints, and if they're borne out, remove the sitter from their list. In practice, this is a rare occurrence.

Secondly, the house sitting equation depends entirely on mutual respect and trust between owner and sitter. You should be able to tell from your conversations with the sitter whether they're the right sort of person. Sometimes an owner will invite the sitter to visit before the sit, to meet them and weigh them up.

Furthermore, any sitter with even a modicum of experience will compile a list of referees - home owners they've sat for, not their uncle or first grade schoolteacher - whom you can contact and speak to before you engage their services.

That way, you can be sure you're dealing with an ethical, trustworthy person, and someone who will take very good care of your pet. Leaving you to enjoy your trip worry-free!

• Improved Home Security

Insurance companies are not renowned as philanthropists. If they see any added risk, they're very quick to exclude a particular situation, decline cover altogether, or charge a loaded premium.

This is exactly the case when homeowners leave their home unoccupied, especially for extended periods of time. And there's a good reason for this. Insurers have found that the risk of break-ins, burglaries and property damage through robbery and vandalism increases exponentially when owners are away.

Incidentally, an insurance policy is a contract, and for it to be binding on the insurer, the insured party must disclose any material changes in conditions. Leaving your house empty for 30 days or more would certainly fall into this area. Without notification, and acceptance of the risk, you could find yourself uninsured!

While some locations are worse than others, the break-in and vandalism situation has deteriorated all over in the last two or three decades - in fact, even in just the last five years.

Check with your local police, security company and insurance adviser, and they'll undoubtedly confirm this. Therefore it's very advisable NOT to leave your home empty for any length of time.

This is despite deadlocks - have you seen how easily they can be broken open with the right tool, and just a couple of taps with a piece of wood? - despite window locks, and despite alarm systems. (Though all of these things are of some value, and may save on your insurance premium.)

Sure you can have a friend or neighbor keep an eye on your place, remove newspapers, letters and junk mail, and even open up occasionally (if they have a key).

But if you want maximum protection, and to retain full cover, there's just no substitute for having somebody live in your home for as long as you're going to be away. There's absolutely no doubt about this. The first person you think of to ask may be a relation or friend. But do you really want people you know well nosing around your papers and things? And what if something unfortunate happened - like an expensive Lladró piece getting chipped? How would you both feel?

Besides, do you honestly want to impose on your friend to mow your lawn on their weekend, collect your mail and pick up the junk mail every couple of days, water your plants (indoor and out) - when all the time there are house sitters available who WANT to care for your home for free!

And here's something else to consider: God forbid it should happen, but how would the two of you feel if anything happened to your treasured pet while you were away?

Just as it's usually not a good idea to lend money to family members and friends, neither is it the best practice to ask someone you know well to move into your house while you're away.

The simple fact is that it's always easier when you're dealing with a person at arms' length. And while you can certainly expect a friendly relationship to develop between you and your sitter, they are, in essence, working for you. In return for rent-free accommodation, they agree to carry out certain tasks, take care of your home, and leave your house and garden in the same condition in which they found them. It's much easier to resolve any unfortunate incidents with an arms-length person, than with someone you're emotionally attached to.

On the other hand, imagine that you left your house empty - even for, say, three weeks. Now suppose in that time there's a blackout, and some of your electrical items need to be restarted, or even reset. For example, perhaps your TV needs to be switched on within a certain period, so it can save its own settings. Otherwise all the settings will be lost, and you may even need a technician to come and reset everything.

Or your freezer may not restart automatically, and you arrive home to a roomtemperature freezer full of furry, decomposing food! Or suppose a hail storm breaks a tile or a window, and it stays broken until you return. One smashed window may attract the local vandals, who generously decide to give you a few more. A broken tile left unfixed can result in your ceiling and wall needing major repairs and repainting.

And even if nothing untoward happened to your pets, suppose your bored or anxious dog began howling night and day, once his feeder/walker (whether a high-priced professional, or the neighbor's children) had spent their half-hour and left? Don't be surprised to find some very hot-under-the-collar neighbors lined up to tell you about it! Whereas with someone there, Rover would probably been perfectly content to drowse in the sun.

Obviously, we don't suggest all or any of these unpleasant things are bound to happen. But without a doubt, it's much less likely to end in tears if anything DOES happen and you've got a house sitter there to take care of things, keep your house and yard in good order and deal with any problems.