Looking for ideas to self-finance a trip or in other words how to make money traveling? Today we are going to tell you about it! Well, we have to give you two news, a good one and a bad one (how original, eh ?!):
- The bad: we have lied! We are not going to tell you a thousand ways to self-finance a trip, but Jolin is that we wanted to get your attention.
- The good one: what do you want a thousand if we're going to give you the best 14? Yes: self-financing your trip around the world is possible, so if your dream is to travel but you do not have much money saved or if you are directly pelao, this post will make you see that living traveling is possible ...
There are many options to make a decent living wherever you are (well, you have to clarify, if you are in the middle of the desert, this phrase may not be true ... but I think it can be if you are in any city / town in the world). Now, if you are looking for the recipe to earn money without sticking a stick to the water ... well keep looking, since we do not have it (hey, if in the end you find it it would not hurt to leave it to us in a comment).
Let's see some of the options we can think of to live traveling (Some are paid and others offer food and accommodation allowing you to reduce costs), or in other words, we will answer the big questions: How to earn money traveling? How to self-finance a trip?
1) Woofing / workaway
If you are not afraid of getting your hands dirty, woofing is done for you: it is about voluntary work on farms / hostels / restaurants where you will receive food and accommodation in exchange for your services. It is a form of work widely used in Australia and New Zealand, and considering the cost of living in these countries, the savings in food and accommodation will be considerable ... Apart from that you will gain a new life experience without a doubt very enriching. We did workaway in Japan where we worked a month in a hostel in exchange for free accommodation. Highly recommended!
You can see many offers on the Woldpackers website, you will have to subscribe, if you do it through this link you have a $ 10 discount! And be careful not to be fooled, do not accept a job of 8 hours a day in the field or things like that, dignity above all!
We have written an article on how to get free accommodation during travel, check it out!
Any day of work in Tokyo XD
2) Take out your art
If you know how to dance, play an instrument, do magic, giant soap bubbles or have some other ability, you can set up your own street show: it is not suitable for the shy ones but it can be entertaining, fun and give you many satisfactions. Eye: Look carefully at the legislation of the country where you are since it may be prohibited
If you are embarrassed and do not see yourself as a street artist but would like to “take advantage” of your art you can propose to give private lessons in dance / singing / creative writing / drawing… and even create online courses to sell on platforms such as Skillshare
3) Professional (semi) photographer
We already know that with the arrival of reflexes, with instagram and photoshop, we all believe ourselves as photographers. And nothing is further from reality ... but you can always try to sell your humble jobs on the internet or make yourself the beach chulillo (never better said) and propose to kite or surf schools your services as a sports photographer (we assume that you are not Professional photographer, but you know what the subject is about!). Or offer photography services at weddings or baby shower parties (“maternity” parties that are becoming very fashionable). If you look at pinterest there are millions of ideas! You can also sell your travel photos on sites likewww.shareapic.net /www.istockphoto.com
4) Buy / sell
In Asia you can buy clothes, jewelry, notebooks and many precious objects at bargain prices: in Thailand for example you will find very beautiful dresses for € 5 that in Europe you can quietly sell at € 20 in street markets, or jewelry! You can also sell online through ebay or etsy!
5) Housesitting
It is about taking care of the houses of the owners, usually while they are on vacation, but it may be the case of a second house. The main tasks are to take care of possible pets and the maintenance of the house (taking care of the garden, cleaning, fixing damages ...) in return you have accommodation and in some cases a small salary. We did it 3 times in New Zealand, once in Portugal and once in Australia, these have been our experiences. It is one of the ways of traveling that we like the most 🙂
Info: www.mindmyhouse.com /www.luxuryhousesitting.com /www.housecarers.com /www.trustedhousesitters.com
Here with our dear Dusty ,. Australia's best and sweetest dog
6) Crewing
If you do not suffer from dizziness with the sway of the waves this is a very interesting option: it is about working on tourist cruises, the good thing is that there is an option to opt for more accessible jobs as a waiter, cleaning, cook, tour guide and you can take out good tips, or work on freight ships where the work will be tougher, you will need nautical knowledge and the routes will be less touristy, but maybe you can know special corners outside the routes known to ordinary mortals and feel like A true pirate ... of the good ones, huh!
Info: www.crewseekers.net /www.globalcrewnetwork.com
7) Craft
Take out the creative soul that is in you: bracelets, earrings, necklaces, postcards, paintings, t-shirts, souvenirs and everything you can think of ... if you can do something, do it, and try to sell it! You can do it both at street level (always inform yourself about local regulations) or create a website (or a section in your blog). I know several bloggers who made craft books, such as the boys from Marcando el Polo.
8) Fruit picking
An easy and accessible option for everyone, although in many cases exhausting. I know what I am talking about: when I was 17, I got the idea, along with 2 other naive friends, to get some balls working on the harvest for 2 weeks. The worst of my life. I remember when I got home, after the first day, with swollen feet and blisters in both hands and I thought about killing myself so that I never had to see a vineyard and 10 happy and vital old ladies cut grapes while my friends and I wept. I finished both weeks and I was clear that I would never do it again.
You can do it easily in Canada, Australia and New Zealand (as long as you have the working holiday visa) or in vintage seasons in Switzerland, France and Italy (if you have the necessary documentation to work in Europe).
9) Work in hostels
It is a very common practice in South America and Oceania: you work a few hours in hostels at reception or cleaning, or both, and in return you have food and accommodation. To get a little money, in your free time, you can "work" as city tour guide (at a clear symbolic price) u organize common dinners (If there are 10 people participating and each person puts $ 5, we will have $ 50 that we will use to buy some drinks and food ... and we know that potato omelette, pizza, pasta, lasagna, noodles for 10 cost considerably less than $ 50: what is left over is for you, is it a curse for little money? Well, it depends on the points of view: you entertain yourself, meet people and save a little ... and a little today, a little tomorrow and you are still traveling!).
We lived such an experience in Japan: we lived a whole month in Tokyo, where we cleaned a hostel (from 11 to 14) and in return they gave us free accommodation in a building with other kids from every part of the world. It was a past experience, here we tell you more.
We were also living 9 months in New Zealand with the whv and we worked 3 months cleaning luxury apartments in Queenstown.
here with our coworkers in Queenstown
10) Freelance-Digital nomad
If you have specific knowledge of computer science / journalism / languages you can work anywhere in the world, at any time, being your own boss! You only need a laptop and a good internet connection: the most common examples are copywriter, webmarkenting, translator, web designer ...
For example, today, we are dedicated exclusively to the blog (although from time to time we write for other portals such as Hostelworld). Of course, do not think it is something easy to get: on the web there are many (too many) courses to succeed with your online business, but the truth is that we know very few fellow bloggers who live exclusively (and well) from the blog ... generate A few euritos is not complicated, the complicated thing is to have enough income to stay well on the route (and once back home).
11) Do you speak english?
Well, if your level of English is very good and you have TEFL, your financial problems may be over: finding a job as a teacher or teaching private lessons is very easy, especially in Asia and usually well paid. But not only English is worth it, if you speak Italian…. Well, you can expect some crazy person to want to learn something about the most useless language (although the most beautiful eh!) in the world. In addition, Spanish is becoming increasingly fashionable, so prove yourself as a private teacher.
How to find a job? Come to the language schools, put ads on board of hostels, restaurants and supermarkets, publish ads on the internet and spread the word: good luck, good fortune, good luck, boa sorte ... fuck how polyglot I am!
12) Under the sea
If you are not afraid of a shark coming to eat a ham you can take out the PADI and work as an instructor in different scuba diving centers in Asia and the world. If you like the sea, but prefer to stay on the surface ... you can learn surfing or kitesurfing and if you like it and you are good you can give private lessons.
Rare specimen of Italian shark
13) Beauty
I could never do it, because my ability with scissors is zero and it would seem more like Jack the ripper than a hairdresser, but I understand that it is an easy job and that it is quite successful: obviously the backpackers of the hostel where they are not going to ask you for a permanent and some Californians (I think so!) ... the most logical thing is that they ask you to cut the ends or cut the whole (the hair, not the ears ... do not become the ripper of the situation!).
You can put ads on the boards of the hostels and wait for them to call you ... although you will charge little ... better than nothing, right? (I think this idea may also apply to massage therapists / physiotherapists ... who doesn't fancy a good massage after a fucking trekking?)
14) Sell food
Well, the truth is that I think it is very unlawful somewhere in the world ... but other than that no policeman has to get you, and if he catches you, well ... "I didn't know I'm sorry ”, you cry a little and that's it (I think ?!). But many travelers prepare homemade food and sell it on beaches, markets, sporting events ... I found on Facebook a group of Argentines selling empanadas in New Zealand, and it seems that things are going quite well. During one of the many talks that Rober and I have about “how to travel the world by financing yourself”We have concluded that the most profitable business in the world is a hot dog cart, following the words of Master Boludito (followed by selling potato tortilla sandwiches)… maybe on the next trip we try! If they don't send us to jail, we'll tell you how we're doing ...
Surely there are many other options: work as a volunteer, as a tour guide or destination manager, work for fairs and festivals, write a book, look for punctual jobs, work as an au pair, as a dog sitter, as a waiter, help in house fudges in exchange for food and lodging and surely many more.
You just need to work and a little creativity to be able to live traveling as a backpacker! We in New Zealand worked as housekeepers, they even gave me a promotion and suddenly I was housekeeper's supervisor 🙂 We also wrote books as beautiful as this or super mega hyper cool travel guides.
Do you have more ideas for earn money traveling? Do you know other ways of self-finance a trip?
