What’s the biggest consideration that holds you back from – well, from almost anything that you want to do? I’m guessing it’s money. Or rather lack of money?
So it’s no surprise that money is one of the top factors stopping people traveling the world. I mean, a trip around South America might sound delightful, but it feels like it’s not really on the cards for most of us. We live under the impression that in order to see the world, we need more than a few pink piggy banks worth of cash saved up.
But in reality, there are plenty of viable options to make side cash to keep you going while smashing your travel goals. In most cases, regardless of where you go, there are a plethora of odd jobs or temp work opportunities to help you get by. If the travel bug has already taken hold, but you don’t know how to make your exploration dreams a reality, here are several great ways you can travel and get paid at the same time.
How to Travel and Get Paid Tip #1
Photography
Photography and travel go hand-in-hand. If you’re really passionate about seeing the world, investing in a high-quality camera and learning the basics is almost a requirement – not least for your own memories. If you’re totally new to this form of art, there are plenty of online course options to get you up to speed.
Alternatively, have a browse on the internet to find helpful articles from professional photography bloggers. Read through the ultimate travel photography guide for beginners all the way until advanced levels here.
If you’re one of the lucky ones who has a natural eye for amazing photos, then it won’t take you long to pick up the skills you need.
Once you have some good material under your belt and a decent portfolio put together, you can begin reaching out to all kinds of places like restaurants, accommodations, leisure organizations, media outlets, and more to assist them with their marketing content. Or, you can take pictures as you go and sell them to relevant, interested organizations.
Another route you can take with this tactic is leveraging social media. If you’re brand new to photography, this one might take a while to build up a decent following. Once you get past a certain number, businesses will offer to pay you to post pictures of their products or services to your profile. This is what’s known as influencer marketing and is a fantastic way to to make money. Here are some Instagram lifestyle influencers doing it right.
The bottom line is people love beautiful pictures. If you can reach a respectable level of professionalism, photography is one of the best ways to travel and earn money.
How to Travel and Get Paid Tip #2
Blogging
The beauty of blogging is you can do it from just about anywhere with an internet connection. If you love to write, you can combine this with your love of travel and start your own platform that talks about things like travel tips, recommendations, guides, ect.
Like photography, this approach will require you to have a good following or traffic flow to begin making money. If your numbers are impressive, resorts, hotels, or any other travel-related establishment might offer you free services to write about them. The more traffic your website receives, the better your bargaining chips. Take a look at some of the successful travel blogs for insight on how to create your own.
Businesses always need fresh content. Therefore, you can consider looking for a full-time job as a blogger/copywriter – as many companies let their writers work remote. You can also try your hand at freelance. As this route is a little riskier, it would be wise to wait until you have steady work coming in before leaving on your adventure.
If you need some top blogger inspiration, we’ve put together some of the absolute best travel blogs of all time. So have a browse and find your niche…
How to Travel and Get Paid Tip #3
House Sitting
House sitting while you travel is a win-win-win situation for everyone involved. Firstly – and most importantly – you have a free place to stay. Secondly, your host gets to travel while they know their home is being taken care of. And third, you can make money from it!
However, there is a catch. For obvious reasons, no one wants to let a stranger stay in their home on a whim. You need to prove yourself to be reliable and trustworthy. Luckily, there are plenty of networking websites out there designed for this purpose. Platforms like Trusted Housesitters allow you to create a profile and connect with people who are going out of town and need their home/pet taken care of.
If you are able to build a good relationship with your hosts, you can create your own network and never have to pay for accommodations again!
How to Travel and Get Paid Tip #4
Teach English
English is one of the top three most-spoken languages on the planet. If you are fluent, finding teaching gigs around the world is not difficult. Some countries will pay more than others for a native speaker.
If you plan to go this route, try not to go into it empty-handed. Think about it. There is a myriad of grammar rules in the English language which don’t seem to make much sense, even to people who have been speaking it their entire life. You want to have at least some teaching experience going in. This will make you more marketable than the rest of the people using this strategy to earn money while traveling. It will also put you in a better position to ask for a higher rate.
Start by looking into ESL volunteer/student teaching opportunities in your area. Even if it’s just an hour or so every week, this will put you at a huge advantage. Alternatively, take a TEFL course. Many courses are predominantly completed online which means you can set off straight away and take your course while on the move.
No one should be hindered from seeing the world because of monetary restraints. As great as a relaxing vacation is, finding opportunities to make it more feasible is a great thing to do. You never know, you might even come home with more money than when you left!
Want to get started right now? Here are the top ten budget travel destinations in Europe.
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