Tools that add life to your life.
Welcome to SilverTrekkers tested and trusted resources. David or I have personally used every recommendation on this page. They have helped us plan, saved us valuable time and money, inspired us and allowed us to continue living fully.
Please be aware that some of these are affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we make a small commission, at no additional cost to you. This income allows us to continue sharing our experiences with you. We only recommend what we have found to be truly useful. Please use your best judgement to decide if your benefit is worth the cost.
That said, many of the resources are completely free. Libraries are our favorite resource – free books for learning, free movies for entertainment, and free internet for research. Support your local library!
Travel
Lodging
Trusted Housesitters
We joined in 2017, while we were living in Chile. In our first year, we completed three sits for a total of 26 days. At a modest $50 a night we’ve saved $1211 on lodging, in one year. But the biggest reward has been six new two-legged friends and four new four-legged friends.
So far in 2019 we’ve added nine new friends – including “Spikey” the bearded lizard. We’ll spend the entire month of July at a sit in Austin, Texas while we check out the possibility of moving back to our home state. In addition to two wonderful dogs – it has a swimming pool!
Hotels.com
When we’re flying down the highway and need a place to stay the night we use Hotels.com to find the best value. I love the flexibility of waiting until we know how far we’ll drive that day and the security of knowing we have a bed waiting.
Check out “Road Trip USA” for tips on planning the perfect summer vacation and discover our new favorite classic road trip motel we found in northern California using Hotel.com.
For SilverTrekkers traveling in California this year, enjoy Hotel.coms great rates and service – and get up to a $100 rebate.
Airbnb
Our first stay was in Austin, Texas in 2012. With over five million listing there’s a bed for every budget, in over 81,000 cities around the world. We appreciate getting a glimpse behind the curtain, seeing how people really live – and being able to cook our own meals.
Join Airbnb today and get a $55 discount on your first trip!
Information
Lonely Planet
Transportation
Southwest Airlines
Jo Ann’s first flight on SW was in 1971 when the stews wore short-shorts and white go-go boots. While some of the same stews are still flying, they’ve dropped the boots. Their top notch service and common sense cancellation policies make them our go to airline whenever possible. And two bags fly free so bring the camping gear!
Health
Health, with a capital H, didn’t come into focus for me until I was in my 30’s. Do you remember that moment, when your mind makes a promise your body can’t keep? Starting with Fit for Life I began exploring what works for me and my loved ones. Health is an inside job, one you must take full responsibility for. Here are some of my favorite tools to help you find your way.
Ayurveda
Translated as the science of life, Ayurveda’s comprehensive, holistic approach can be overwhelming at first but I’m certain it will help you live more fully. Give it a shot.
Joyful Belly
Cookbooks
Learning
Life long learning is a SilverTrekker cornerstone. It keeps your brain young and engages you with the world. Thank you, Miss Anderson, my first grade teacher, who infected me with the love of learning!
Making Money
SmartPassiveIncome
Pat Flynn is the most inspiring online teacher we’ve found. His knowledge is only surpassed by his generosity. His awesome free course, Build Your Own Brand, taught two old dogs like us enough new tricks to create SilverTrekkers. Thanks Pat!
Grants English
If you want to teach English in Santiago, this is the place. You won’t get rich but you’ll work with fun folks – and you just might make lasting friendships. Give our best to JoAnne (aka No Space), Erin and the rest of the gang.
Nolo
When we need help with legal issues, we turn to Nolo products. With their clear explanations and thorough guidelines, we can often do it ourselves, without needing an attorney. We’ve bought and sold houses, set up businesses and written wills – saving thousands in legal fees.
It’s time to update our wills so we’ll be using Quicken Willmaker Pro to make it easy and legal.
A New Skill
ITTT TEFL Online
Want to teach English? Teaching English is a great way to support yourself while living in another culture. ITTT has some great courses and is an easy way to get the training you need.
If you are a native English speaker and have a college degree that’s all you need in many countries. But since we had never formally taught, we decided to take a 120 hour self-paced ITTT online TEFL course. We got a 2 for $599 package, with tutor support (which we never used). And two printed certificates, suitable for framing!
Check out our About page for a description of our teaching English in Chile.
A New Language
Learning a foreign language enhances your travels. Brush up before your trip and expect regional differences in pronunciation and vocabulary.
iwillteachyoualanguage.com
Olly Richards runs a number of great courses that can help you learn a foreign language. His approach is very intuitive and useful. I joined his Fluent Spanish Academy and found it very helpful and easy to use. Of the many language courses out there, this one is worth checking out first.
Read more about Olly in our Learn a New Language blog post.
Pimsleur.com
An effective, scientifically based approach to learning language. We both used Pimsleur to brush up and expand our high school Spanish and prepare for South America.
Reading
I’ve never met a book I didn’t like. True, there are some I didn’t finish, but the enchantment of reading remains. I wish I’d kept count. Whether it’s an actual, printed book or on my phone, words educate, entertain, and inform. Thanks to all those hard working authors out there!
Fiction
Sebastian Barry, The Secret Scriptures
Margaret Atwood, Hagseed
Non-fiction
Buddhism Today
Give and Take, Adam Grant