By: Michelle Laurey
Enriching your life with varied experiences can add new depths of happiness and joy to it, and traveling is an exceptional way to achieve that. Yet, many people can only afford to take one vacation per year, and this only occurs through a considerable amount of skimping and saving.
As enjoyable as a vacation can be, you do not want to be cash-poor before or after your trip. The reality is that, in addition to traveling frugally, you can actually earn money while on trips. In fact, you can travel as much as you may desire when you have an excellent money-making strategy.
1. Become a Digital Nomad
If you have a regular job that allows you to work remotely, consider taking to the road while working on a daily basis. You can spend your mornings working and dedicate the rest of the day to exploring new areas.
Freelancing can be an even better option: you can use your skills for social media consulting, copywriting, web design and other related tasks. There are many websites and digital tools that you can use to work while on the road.
Upwork is probably the most famous among them: you can submit proposals on paying job assignments for writing, programming, tutoring, and much more. Another example is TakeLessons, an excellent site that connects those willing to teach with people eager to learn, whether it’s speaking Italian or gaining expert skills at Halo. Fiverr is perhaps the most interesting one: you can actually earn by sending people postcards from every place you visit. The money isn’t big, but several dollars can go a long way in some countries. Also, if you manage to line up more jobs to fit your itinerary, it could be enough to pay for your ticket home.
2. Teach
If you plan to be in one location for several weeks or longer, a smart idea is to find a teaching gig. Many foreign countries look for native speakers to teach English to local residents. This is a money-making opportunity that works well in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. If you’re going to Europe, though, it might be a bit more difficult when you’re not an EU resident. Also, you may have to earn an accreditation from an organization such as Premier TEFL or others.
Remember that you can also teach English online from any location where you have an Internet location. In addition to the above-mentioned platform TakeLessons, you can use Skype to share your knowledge. It might be an even better option since Skype doesn’t take a commission for connecting you with students.
3. Find a Sponsor
When you think about sponsorships and spokespeople, you may think about celebrities. However, many companies hire regular people to be spokespeople because they appeal to the everyday customer. Plus, sponsoring ordinary people isn’t as costly.
If you find a sponsor for your trips, you may only need to take a few videos or pictures, write a blog or take other steps throughout your trip to get paid for your efforts.
4. Use Your Vehicle
If you own a vehicle, you can consider leasing it out to other travelers through Turo, Flight Car and others. You may be able to make potentially hundreds of dollars per week.
On the other hand, if you plan to travel by car or rent one, you can get paid to make money as a courier or a driver. WorldCraze is an excellent way to make money by delivering goods to the door. It is also a fantastic way to meet locals – who knows, maybe somebody will invite you in for a lunch.
You should also consider other options like ZimRide and BlaBlaCar, which make it possible to link up with other travelers who need a ride to areas you are traveling to.
5. Rent Your Apartment
You can also make money leasing out your home while you are traveling. With VRBO, Airbnb and other similar websites, it can’t be easier. You simply have to decide what dates you will be gone and post a listing for your space to be leased to other travelers for those dates.
An alternative is to take part in Couchsurfing. Since this won’t actually make you money, you will still have to save up before the trip. However, this way you will save on accommodation – someone will sleep on your couch and you can sleep on theirs for free – so you won’t have splurge on accommodation.
6. Share Your Traveling Experience
Another excellent idea to consider if you are planning to travel to a new location is to participate in contests, such as those for photos, videos and more. For example, GoPro regularly runs contests for everything you record using their action cameras. If you don’t feel competitive, you can upload your photos to Shutterstock and sell them for a small amount of money per download.
If you are more of a writer than a photographer, you can write travel articles and submit them to websites like Matador Network and Boots n All. Depending on your writing skills and the number of words, you can earn $25 to $50 per article. An alternative is to write your own travel blog. It takes more time and preparation, but you may be able to earn several hundred dollars or more as a result.
7. Get Physical
When you’re in a new place, you probably spend most of your time walking and sightseeing. Why not earn some money off of it? If you download the Pact app, you will get paid for meeting a walking goal for every person who doesn’t achieve their goal. There are apps that pay you up to 25 cents for each mile that you travel on foot.
In a related area, you can find seasonal or part-time work, such as farm work, summer camps, seasonal resorts and more.
Hit the Road, Jack
As you can see, there are multiple ways for you to make money on the road. If you are interested in fully funding all aspects of your trips and in enjoying travelling through much of the year, you can consider implementing several of these ideas together.
You do not have to feel as though your traveling plans are limited by the amount of money that you have available or even by the need to get back to your regular job. Explore some of these money-making ideas and begin enjoying life on your own terms.
About the author:
Michelle Laurey is a freelance writer who enjoys speed walking, smell of the woods, and Chopin. She is often daydreaming about visiting new places (and actually visiting them). She simply likes being at airports and bus stations. The feeling of a movement excites her. She likes binge watching “Billions” episodes with her long-time boyfriend when they find the time. You can reach her on Twitter.
