Most Millennials dream of traveling the world while making money, but few actually know how to make it happen. Fortunately for you, we’ve done some research and spoken to some people who’ve cracked the code to traveling and making money at the same time.
We’ve compiled the list below to help make your travel dreams come true—check it out below, and you’re welcome.
The gig economy is in full swing. So whether you’re a writer, web designer, digital marketer, illustrator or content creator, freelancing will have your back (and your wallet) covered no matter where in the world you are.
The profession you freelance in will determine how much you earn. A freelance writer, for example, can earn from $31,000 - $120,000 annually.
But don’t expect freelancing to be an easy ride. To be successful, you’ll need passion and drive, according to Johnny Hoy from the Fulltime Nomad.
Johnny and his wife, Radhika, have been traveling full-time since 2013, and have literally been all over the world. They initially supported themselves financially by freelancing in digital marketing, and have since built their own remote digital marketing agency.
“This life sounds glamorous but it takes a lot of discipline to sustain long-term,” says Johnny.
“Successful ‘work while travel’ is different from regular travel. Always prioritize your work because once that is done and out of the way, you can enjoy your travels and not feel anxious about looming deadlines.”
Do you own a house or an apartment? Become an Airbnb host and rent your place out while you travel (and make money while you’re at it).
There’s a little bit of process involved here. You’ll need to set up your Airbnb host profile, hire a cleaning company to keep you place clean between guests and arrange for a rental-company or close friend or family member to oversee your property.
Once that’s sorted, you can pack your bags and head out to explore the world knowing you’ll be able to fund your travels. The average Airbnb host earns around $924 per month, though some hosts have reportedly earned around $10,000 a month! It’ll depend on the size and location of your property, obviously.
If you don’t own your place but are renting a house or bedroom, we suggest talking to your landlord about subletting your place while you travel. You may not be making money while traveling in this scenario, but you won’t have to pay rent while you’re away and you’ll have a place to come back to. So that’s a win.
Have a camera and love taking photos? Here’s your way to make money while traveling.
Travel photographers are sent on assignments all over the world by publications and companies wanting epic visual content. In addition to having things like flights and accommodation generally covered, travel photographers earn an average of $34,000 annually, with those at the top end of the scale earning around $76,000.
Connor Vaughn, a travel photographer from Melbourne, Australia, has been able to work and travel across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong and the USA to name a few. “I'm still beyond stoked that travel is a part of what I do. It's taken me to incredible places,” he says.
So how can a budding photographer work and travel at the same time? “Go out and shoot as much as is physically and mentally possible,” says Vaughn. “If you want to be a travel photographer, great, but you really need to live and breathe photography as well as travel.”
Anyone who has started a blog will tell you that it takes a lot of time and effort to build up an engaged audience and to generate revenue from your blog. So you’ll need to be dedicated.
However, using affiliate marketing can help you generate money from your blog. How does it work?
Basically, you sign up to an affiliate program which generates a link with a unique tracking code. Anytime you recommend a product on your blog, use your affiliate link to direct your readers to the product.
Every time one of your readers makes a purchase using your link, you get a commission thanks to the tracking code in your affiliate link.
Depending on the size and level of engagement of your audience, you could make around $50,000 annually using affiliate links, which is plenty to travel here, there and everywhere!
Teaching is a great way to share your passions, meet a ton of people, earn money and travel the world.
Whether you want to teach a language, yoga or maybe be a surf instructor, you’ll be able to do these things across so many different countries.
What you are teaching and where in the world you are will determine how much you earn. For example, if you’re teaching English in Japan you could earn around $1500 a month, compared to someone teaching English in Mexico for around $500 a month.
Michael James Wong, the founder of Just Breathe, travels all over the world to teach people about his passions of yoga, meditation and mindfulness.
“Everyday I get to wake up and work towards bringing people together for the better, through our online platform of mindful media, our daily meditation app and more importantly our community and culture events and mass meditations that take place all over the world,” says Michael.
His advice for traveling the world while making money? “The best advice I was ever given was ‘just go’. If you want to travel, if you want to see more of the world, if you want it to be part of your life and job, then you need to go and see what’s out there. From there, it’s about building community, connecting and establishing your relationships.”
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