How to Make Money While Traveling

How to Make Money While Traveling:

A common misconception is that living on the road indefinitely is for the selected few who win the lottery or receive a large inheritance. However, some jobs can allow you to choose a life of freedom as you decide where you want your office to be every day.

If you have a desire to explore beyond a standard beach holiday or weekend break, it’s worth finding out how to make money while traveling the world. Fortunately, opportunities to earn while on the road have never been better.

1. Do Freelance Work Online

All you need to get into freelancing is a passion, a skill, an internet connection, and a portable laptop. It is a career that is in high demand, with plenty of skill sets to choose from. They range from Graphic design and web development to writing and virtual assistance.

There are tons of general freelance websites loaded with opportunities for freelancers such as Upwork, Fiverr, and Guru. The average salary of a freelancer varies depending on the experience level and expertise. Freelancing opportunities can be endless if you’re willing to seek them out.

2. Start a Travel Blog

If you’re a travel enthusiast, blogging can be a suitable line of work. Although starting your blog requires time, persistence, and hard work, it can be a worthwhile endeavor. The best blogs tend to provide epic content that is beneficial to the readers. 

Bloggers who successfully build an audience earn online through affiliate marketing, advertising, or producing digital content such as eBooks or online courses. According to indeed.com, the average salary for a blogger is $14.75/hr in the United States. A bonus is that it can be a form of passive income even when you decide to take some days off.

3. Become a Vlogger/YouTuber

You can jump on the YouTube wagon by creating how-to video courses. YouTube is the biggest platform for vloggers, with over two billion users worldwide. You can tap into this resource by sharing tips and tricks you’ve learned on your journey. 

Once you create a loyal and engaged following, you partner with brands that will pay you a fee to mention or review their products. Vloggers earn about $1-10 per 1000 views with ads. Be sure to deliver unique and entertaining content to your audience to encourage them to subscribe.

4. Venture into Day Trading

If you’re a stock market expert, it’s possible to live-off day trading, which can be done anywhere in the world. Whilst day trading may be a perfectly viable career, it shouldn’t be confused with a get-rich-quick scheme. 

You can start day trading with as little as $1,000 in your account. You’ll also need to decide what securities you’re going to buy and sell. Stocks are the most popular securities for traders since the market is big and active and commissions are relatively low or non-existent.

Next, you’ll need to determine the best trading strategy to maximize your chances of trading profitably. If you’re not interested in manually picking stocks, search for the best stock trading app you can find to help you set up to automatically invest. Day trading for a living will present its challenges, all of which point to the need for effective risk management.

5. Sell Photos/Art

A dream job for many would be to travel the world while making money taking pictures. If you’re great at it, why not give it a shot! Literally. You can earn through photography by selling your photos as stock images to sites like Shutterstock.com and istockphoto.com in exchange for a decent commission. With an outstanding portfolio, one can either get photo jobs in the travel industry or offer workshops and photography tours to teach people the best techniques.

Creatives who can make jewelry, draw portraits, or paint can also monetize their art. Sites like Amazon Handmade and Etsy could help jump-start your art career. You can also sell your arts and crafts in independent stores or at local festivals and fairs to locals and tourists.

6. Start a Travel Podcast that Pays

According to Statista.com, the global number of podcast listeners reached a new high in 2020 at 485 million consumers worldwide. There couldn’t be a better time to make and monetize your podcast.

The tools you need to get it up and running are a laptop and a good microphone. You can increase your chances of success by picking a niche and focusing on what people are already looking for. Topics can range from travel destinations and low-cost traveling to traveling with kids and traveling for seniors/Millennials, the list is endless.

The best way to build an audience can be through working with other podcasters, either by having them on your show or by pitching content for their show. There are many ways to monetize your podcast, including commercial sponsorship, or advertising products/services.

7. Consulting, Coaching & Tutoring

This is a great way to earn income through your expertise. Nowadays, there are plenty of sites where teachers and tutors can sign up and offer consulting and lessons to students at a fee. Online platforms such as GoOverseas.com provide video chatting and conferencing tools to facilitate online learning. You can sustain your travel lifestyle by teaching languages with an average rate of $18/hr for beginners.

8. Get Seasonal Work

Short-term jobs are ideal for making long-term travel sustainable. They aren’t the kind of jobs that build a career but, they open new avenues for life experience. On average, these jobs can last up to 3 months, and they can also allow you to hang on long enough to save up money to continue your travel. 

WWOOF, Worldpackers, and Workaway are some sites you can find seasonal work. Remember to look for jobs that are marked as “temporary” or “casual”. Some job ideas to get you started are Hotel waitstaff, working in ski resorts/summer camp, working on a cruise ship, bartending, Au pair/Childcare, scuba-diving instructor, the possibilities are endless. Be sure to get to your destination well before the season starts to secure a job.

Summing Up

Hopefully, this article helps you see that you don’t need to win the lottery to explore the world, and you now have a lot of inspiration regarding how to make some money while you travel. When you’re flexible with what you do, there are opportunities to help you increase your travel funds and get you to the next destination. Whether you’re going to teach English or land a high-paying job in your field, working overseas can be a great experience that you can’t afford to miss.