It's coming. The day for you to do something rare; perhaps you've thought about it but never had the time or the money or the courage. Your chance will arrive on Friday Aug. 31. It will be your once in a blue moon opportunity to get serious about whatever is most important to you.
What will you do with your once in a blue moon?
I write a lot about home exchange vacations because they've changed my family's life; I know they can change yours too. The world will land at your home swap doorstep and you'll wonder why it's taken you so long to try it!
My friends at Love Home Swap tell me that 82% of their members have never home swapped before. So I know there are a bunch of you who are intrigued with this idea of traveling the world and staying for free, but are now ready take a few baby steps.
- Research home swap agencies: There are more than 70 home exchange companies. Go online, enter the words home exchange or home swap and invest at least one hour reading. Compare and contrast. Make notes on your discoveries.
- Discuss the idea with your family or travel partner: Once you've gathered a bit of information, discuss the idea of home swap with your travel partner, preferably while taking a walk. Through a park. He or she will have lots of questions and you'll want quiet, uninterrupted time. It was 1999 when my husband first suggested the idea of home exchange. We dropped off the kids at school and he took me out for breakfast -- at a nice restaurant.
- Select your top 3 home swap destination cities: If your partner is open to the idea of home swap, begin to brainstorm places where you want to travel. This step is SO much fun. Let your thoughts run wild. Dream vacations can come true with home exchange.
- Look up your dream destinations on two home swap websites and discover what homes are available: Most home exchange companies allow you to look around their website at no charge. Enter the name of a destination, click the search button and voila, your dreams are now close to becoming reality.
- Join a home swap agency: You've arrived at the final step. You've done the research, you've had the discussions and you've dreamed. Now is the time to commit. The annual fee to join a home swap agency is about $100, less than one night for most hotel rooms! You can do this. Just for grins, join the agency on Friday Aug. 31, once in a blue moon.
The moon is the brightest object in the night sky; it symbolizes change and growth. Take advantage of this blue moon opportunity to seeing the world in an authentic and affordable way. Home swap. It will change you and you will grow.
For more home swap tips check out my blog at Home Exchange Expert or follow along on Facebook.