Is your posh New York City apartment exhausting your travel budget? Is living in a cool neighborhood so expensive that you don’t have the money you need to travel the world? An easy solution is to do a home swap in your dream vacation spot for free.

This is how it works: you list your home on a housing swap website, such as LoveHomeSwap, HomeExchange, or Digsville . (Some are free, others require a nominal fee of $20-$150 US per year.) Post photos, information about your neighborhood, and details of your home on the site. List the locations/countries that you are interested in visiting.

Once you are finished posting your own details, search for people who are interested in visiting your city. Swaps can range anywhere from a week to months, depending on what you arrange with the other traveler.

You can directly swap with someone during a particular timeframe, or indirectly swap for points.  For example, if someone in Canada is interested in your home, and you want to go to Ireland, you can gain points by swapping with the person in Canada and redeem them for a home in Ireland. This is called an indirect swap or swapping points.

Most companies require both parties to pay a deposit before departure and this is returned after the swap is complete. This deposit will give you peace of mind while strangers are staying in your home, and vice versa.

I listed my 1 bedroom apartment in Florida and within 2 days, I had inquiries from people in Spain, France, Canada, Boston and New York. It really works and it is a nice way to fund a vacation on a budget.