HOW TO MAKE MONEY TO TRAVEL
When we started travelling in search of inspiration for the next phase of our lives, one question always came up, “How to make money to travel?”.
People wanted to know how we did it and how we were financing our travel lifestyle.
To address this question, we made a short video with some basics which I complete here with additional insight.
First, things first…
Having a Master Plan is fundamental if you are going to be on the road for a long time. This does not mean you take away the spontaneity of the experience, it just means you have guidelines. Having a contingency plan can be very useful.
3 Important considerations
When considering how to make money to travel, it is wise to think of it in three stages: before, during and after your trip.
First, you need to make a cost assessment to calculate how much you need for your trip. Then you need to make sure you have enough money for the duration of your travels. Lastly, you must think about your financial needs when you return.
BEFORE THE TRIP – Estimate how much you need
When defining your budget, here are some questions to consider:
- Where are you planning to go?
- How long are you going to be away?
- How long do you intend to stay in each place?
- When do you wish to travel?
- Consider visa costs for the countries you want to visit.
- Find out costs of accommodation, food and transport and maybe of a cowork space, in case you want to work while you travel.
- You will need travel insurance. This is a must! (Find out why.)
- Consider extra money for emergencies.
After you make an estimate, unless money is no issue for you, you will need to start saving and organizing your personal finances.
Here are some of the things we did to save in preparation for our trip:
– Cut back on superfluous costs such as restaurants, entertainment, clothes, short trips, and unnecessary extras.
– When possible, use public transport instead of using a car.
– If you have two or more cars in the family, consider selling or not using one of them. By doing this, you may save on insurance, taxes and fuel costs.
– Rent your home short or long term, depending on your travel objectives.
DURING THE TRIP: working while travelling
If you are planning to make money while you travel there are many options out there. Depending on your skills, you can find freelance, temporary or location free jobs.
Here are 12 places to find freelance work online.
Additionally, you can run your own online business while you travel. Affiliate marketing, drop shipping, starting a blog or a YouTube channel are some of the most common options. If your offer services such as coaching, counselling, consulting and even teaching, you may use video conference tools to work while you travel.
However, be aware! If you are new to the online business world get ready for a steep and often overwhelming learning curve. Especially, if you are going to do everything yourself! I went through this process and can assure you that it will not take just a month or two to set up an online money stream.
No matter which road you choose to take, it takes time and if anyone tells you otherwise don’t believe them!
There are no miracles, so the key is to be patient and prepared to learn, try, fail, and try again until you get it right.
Here are some of the resources I used to get started with the blog
– Efficient blogging
– Blogging tools from renowed Nomadic Matt
WHEN YOU RETURN: the hangover!
Out of the many things that can happen when you return home, most likely you will go through what I call a general hangover.
By that I mean, mental, physical and, possibly, financial hangover. That means you will need time to adjust, regroup your thoughts and plan your next steps, in case you have not done that prior to returning.
I hope to have shed some light on the question “How to make money to travel”.
In our case, it took three years to organize our lives and finances to go travelling. Then again, it was a very big move that involved a total lifestyle makeover!
If there are any specific questions you would like to ask, please let me know in the comments below. I will be happy to share our experiences to help you travel more.
In the meantime, you can get some additional ideas from this article by Bruno, a Portuguese travel aficionado. He asked 24 travel bloggers how they fund their lifestyle.
Happy travels!
May The Bliss be with you.
P.S – Have you booked your next trip yet? Check out our travel resources page for the best deals on flights, accommodation, travel insurance, car rentals, tours and anything you need for a memorable vacation.
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