'We sold our £170k house, all our belongings and retired - now we've travelled to 75 countries in 10 years'

Retired couple Richard and Jane Weighman have been ticking countries off their bucket list, having explored an incredible 75 countries over the past decade.

After calling it quits on their careers in February 2015, Richard, 66, and Jane, 64, sold their three-bedroom property in Leicester for £170,000, along with all of their possessions, to set off travelling the world.

The adventurous pair, with a relationship spanning nearly four decades, chose backpacks over belongings, each carrying a mere 10kg as they have journeyed through nations from Uganda to India and crisscrossed Europe.

READ MORE: 'I can afford to buy a house but I'll rent forever - I'd rather go on holidays than save'

The duo say they have 'no intention of slowing down' and are now planning their next trip to South America for the end of the year. Richard, a former sergeant and police constable, said: "You can do wonderful things for not a lot of money.

"We didn't want to sit around in our retirement. I didn't want to be the guy that went to the shop for the paper and sat at home with a cup of tea all day. Travel seemed like a good way to keep going."

Richard and Jane met while serving in the armed forces and moved around a lot as they raised their two children - Mathew, 36, and Rebecca, 35. The family enjoyed a few holidays a year but the couple knew they always wanted to travel the world.

Richard revealed their longstanding itch for adventure: "We've always enjoyed moving about - we never really wanted to settle anywhere.

"When we retired, we sold everything so that we could live out our dream of travelling. We put our house on the market on the Thursday and by the Saturday it was sold. We only kept a few personal items and some clothes."

The couple then booked a one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, from their holiday apartment in Bulgaria. They had a two-night hotel stay arranged before embarking on a year-long journey through Southeast Asia.

Their travels then took them to New Zealand, followed by a trip back across Europe. Richard shared: "Laos was our favourite country that we've been to, we felt so free and it was less touristy than other parts of southeast Asia. During our time in Asia we trekked through jungles, rode motorbikes up mountains and swam in waterfalls."

Despite being in their sixties, Richard and Jane don't let age deter them from engaging in extreme adventures. Richard recounted: "We've climbed 5,200 metres up the last glacier on the equator in Uganda, and we swam with Manta rays in Indonesia. We're very adventurous and like to give everything a go."

Over the past decade, Jane and Richard have visited Asia, Africa, and Europe, aiming to keep their spending under £2k per month. They fund their travels with pensions and savings, employing savvy financial strategies to make their globetrotting lifestyle sustainable.

Richard added: "People think that travel is expensive and they can't do it - but that's not true. The key is research - we always look for the cheapest flights and hotels and make sure we're spending our money on the right things.

"We don't splash out on anything expensive, as long as the room is safe and clean that's all you need. Long-term travel isn't always easy and sometimes you get down in the dumps. But it's worth it to keep persevering and we've made so many amazing memories as a result."