We've spent the last 3 years using Airbnb to live in 50 countries — here's how we afford it

Since July 2013, retirees Michael and Debbie Campbell of Senior Nomads have consecutively lived in 109 different homes around the world, all booked through room and apartment rental service Airbnb. Later this summer, a visit to Poland will mark country No. 50.

Here, they share their tips for traveling the world on a budget.

We’ve lived for a short time in 50 countries. In order to stay within our budget, we have to spread “the wealth” over expensive and less expensive destinations so it evens out.

Scandinavia, Israel and the UK are expensive. Mexico, Poland, and Estonia are not.

If you are not sure which countries are expensive and which are affordable you can start with the Economist Big Mac Currency Index.

SEE ALSO: Meet the traveling retirees who have spent 3 years living in Airbnbs around the world

Use budget travel options

We use the app Rome2Rio when traveling from one city to another because it shows the comparative costs and time between traveling by train, bus, airplane or (if appropriate) ferry boat. It is accurate and easy to use.

We use Skyscanner when purchasing airplane tickets to find the cheapest flights and often use a feature we love called “Fly Everywhere.” You just pick your departure city and travel date and then instead of entering an arrival city, you click “Everywhere” and it gives you a list of all the cities you can fly to from that airport, on that date starting with the least expensive. So, if you are not sure where you want to go next, and you are adventuresome travelers, just click “everywhere” and let your imagination run wild.

Find affordable entertainment in every city

We look for a free walking tour in every city we visit and try to take it on the second day if possible to get oriented. We also visit the Tourist Information office looking for free and low-cost events.

Finally, we poke our nose into churches as we walk the city to acknowledge our good fortune, and lo and behold, many times we spot posters for free concerts in the very church we are visiting.

Track your spending

The only way for us to live our Senior Nomad lifestyle is to stay within our monthly budget. That is easier said than done because there are choices every day between “wants and needs.” Fortunately, we often find ways to blend the two. But we also take time to record our spending in a daily journal along with the day’s activities.

Then at the end of each month we transfer the totals onto an Excel worksheet so we can track spending on a monthly and now annual basis. We can see trends — and pull back when we need to, but also find opportunities for a well-deserved splurge.