35-year-old lives rent-free by pet sitting full time

This story is part of CNBC Make It’s Millennial Money series, which examines how people earn, spend and save their money.

Charly Stoever is staying put. Well, sort of.

The 35-year-old financial coach has lived in Portland, Oregon, since August — but you’re unlikely to find them at a particular address for more than a few weeks.

Stoever, who uses they/them pronouns (but also answers to he and “papi”), has spent the past 18 months working remotely while booking a steady string of in-home pet-sitting gigs in lieu of renting their own place.

For someone like Stoever — an animal lover who has had their share of tricky roommate experiences — the lifestyle comes with some obvious upsides, a major one being not having to pay for housing costs, including rent.

But more importantly, Stoever says it affords them the ability to do what they want, when they want. In April, when they picked up and embarked on a monthslong tour of Europe, working and pet sitting along the way, there was no manager to report to or time off to ask for.

“I am my own boss. I am the first trans, Latinx boss I’ve ever had and will ever have,” Stoever tells CNBC Make It. “So that’s the best part, being able to call the shots and have the freedom that I’m already accessing.”

In 2025, Stoever traveled to 10 countries while running their business, Traveler Charly Money Coaching, through which they provide clients guidance for paying down debt, building credit and saving for retirement. Six months of private money coaching, which includes biweekly hourlong calls, costs $6,000.

Last year, the business brought in a little less than $60,000. Stoever takes home less than that after business expenses and taxes, but supplements their income with the occasional paid pet-sitting gig (most of the ones they take are in exchange for free accommodation) and performances at a queer burlesque.

Stoever says that working as a pet sitter in exchange for living rent-free allows them to treat themselves now while working toward a secure financial future. It’s the same balance they hope to help clients achieve through their coaching.

“I wanted to give back to my community and help people like me who were LGBT, BIPOC, first-gen, trans people [and] estranged from family,” they say, using an acronym for Black, Indigenous and people of color. “I wanted them all to feel that sense of relief that future me is set up. Future me is good.”

Stoever first looked into pet sitting in 2022, when they had moved back to the U.S. from Mexico (they hold dual citizenship) and were crashing with friends.

“I said, ‘Well, I don’t have to stay with my friend. I’m not tied to this place. So let me just start pet sitting and seeing what happens,'” Stoever says. “And in 2022, I made $4,000 in three months pet sitting through Rover,” an app that connects pet owners with professional sitters and walkers.

At the time, it felt like a win-win, says Stoever. They got paid, and families taking long trips away from home knew their pet was being cared for.

Stoever started to consider full-time pet sitting when they relocated to the Pacific Northwest in 2024.

“I just started looking at apartment prices as a single person who has had horrible roommate experiences over and over, and I was like, ‘I need my own space, but I hate living alone. I love the companionship of animals.'”

Paid gigs were difficult to come by on a consistent basis, though, they found. So Stoever signed up with TrustedHousesitters, a networking site where pet owners and sitters pay an annual fee to list a profile. Other than that, little to no money changes hands.

Stoever spends a couple hours a week managing upcoming pet sits, generally booking stays one or two months in advance.

“Usually I’ll look out for one-week, two-week, three-week … six-month-long sits are chef’s kiss because I don’t have to move around as much,” Stoever says.

For the few days in a given month when they don’t have a pet-sitting gig, Stoever says they will typically travel to see friends, book a local hotel room or plan a quick getaway, such as a weekend ski trip in the winter.

Of course, some travels are more intentional. Last February, Stoever found a pet-sitting gig in Alaska during the Iditarod. Their spring travels in Europe included a 10-day stay with a “bougie” orange cat in downtown Paris — a gig that Stoever says was so competitive it felt like applying to Harvard.

“It was unpaid, but it was still worth it because I got to save thousands of dollars on an Airbnb,” Stoever says. “And the cherry on top of that was that I got to see Beyoncé perform in Paris on Jay-Z night at the Stade de France. Pet sitting has allowed me to unlock so many core memories that I’m so grateful for.”

Stoever’s itinerant lifestyle means that they have to keep some things pretty simple. Pretty much everything they own fits in a 50-pound suitcase and another carry-on suitcase, which typically houses work stuff, like their laptop, tablet, notebooks, keyboard and other tech.

Stoever travels with clothes for all climates, from booty shorts to ski jackets. And because they like to dress stylishly, given the space limitations, adding cool new clothes often means that something else has to go.

“If there’s something that I haven’t touched or worn, bye bye. We don’t have time to wonder about if I should donate this old pair of jeans,” Stoever says. “If they don’t fit me anymore because I’m eating too many delicious croissants in France, then we’re donating those jeans and moving on.”

With no rent and little space for things, what does Stoever spend money on? Here’s how things broke down in November 2025.

• Dining: $618 on food, coffee and drinks out
• Health and wellness: $550 on massage, nail, salon and pharmacy costs
• Groceries: $338
• Discretionary: $328 on apparel, travel, entertainment and miscellaneous expenses
• Hotels: $222
• Transportation: $203 on ridesharing and public transport
• Subscriptions and memberships: $55 for Spotify, Netflix and a gym membership
• Phone: $25

The biggest piece of the budget is food. Stoever says they typically cook most of their meals, sticking to an organic and “vegan-ish” diet to help keep some chronic health issues at bay.

Stoever is happy to go out too, either to grab a bite with friends or to partake in Portland’s rich queer scene.

“I’ll meet up with friends, go to salsa classes, perform at burlesque strip nights, take a transmasc pole dancing class,” Stoever says. “There’s so much to do all the time in Portland, which is why I love sitting out here.”

Another major line item: self-care. Stoever tends to get at least one massage a week — two or three if things are particularly stressful.

One expense that’s conspicuously missing is insurance. Stoever let coverage lapse when they went abroad, and had failed to pick up a policy in November. Soon after, a blood clot sent them to the emergency room — an incident that was personally and financially stressful, but that could have been worse.

“Immediately after this happened, I got back on health insurance,” in the form of Medicaid, they say. “That was just a very hard lesson for me to learn that I feel like more people should know about, because there is a lot of shame in saying, ‘I’m uninsured right now,’ and there shouldn’t be.”

Stoever is keenly aware of the balance between present and future health and happiness. Despite having many irons in the fire — in addition to coaching and pet sitting, they host a podcast and promote their business on social media — Stoever generally works 40 to 50 hours a week and tries to wrap up each workday by about 2 p.m.

“It’s more self-care. I like to get massages every week. I cook most of my meals, I might go out to dinner, and since I’m single and with no dependents, it’s really up to me to take care of my emotional and mental health,” they say.

The future version of Stoever is getting taken care of, too.

“Not having to pay tens of thousands of dollars in rent a year has allowed me to put my retirement savings into overdrive,” Stoever says. “As somebody who still pays myself less than $45,000 this year alone, I’ve invested about $13,500.”

Stoever’s net worth currently stands at about $225,000, the vast majority of which is held in a mix of tax-advantaged and taxable investment accounts.

Each January, Stoever makes a maximum contribution to a Roth IRA and plunks another chunk of cash in a solo 401(k). A brokerage account acts as a hybrid retirement and cash account, with Stoever occasionally selling stocks to raise cash. They also maintain an emergency fund worth about $15,000.

The goal, eventually, is to get to “work optional” — a lifestyle with the flexibility to put investment income toward funding some or all expenses.

“The more you invest, the more you can say no to things and decide, ‘Do I want to work because it fills my cup or because I physically need the money to pay for my bills now, or to fund my retirement?'” Stoever says. “For me, being work optional and being on the trajectory of retiring early means doing a lot more outsourcing than I am now.”

In the meantime, Stoever is focusing on building their financial coaching business. Eventually, they say they’d like to add multiple coaches to their team and teach group classes. They could even see themselves having a TV show, like “Queer Eye” but for personal finance.

And while Portland feels like home for now, don’t expect to see Stoever signing a lease anytime soon.

“I keep waiting until the moment where I just say, ‘I’m so tired of living out of a suitcase and having so many options, and the world being my oyster,'” Stoever says. “Right now, it doesn’t feel urgent or romantic to be stuck in an apartment.”

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