Best Tips For Working From Home

Work From Home

Working from home is not as easy as it sounds, and many people are suddenly learning this the hard way. Here are some tips that I hope will make it easier for you!

With the Coronavirus pandemic taking an economic, physical, and emotional toll around the world, millions of professionals have unexpectedly been forced to work from home and telecommute for the first time.

I’ve been working remotely (from home or in foreign countries) for the last 10 years while running my travel blogging business, and my wife Anna also works from home. We have a 1 year old son to look after too.

So I know from personal experience that it can be stressful & takes practice!

Working from home can be tricky when you have no coworkers or bosses nearby to keep you on track. It’s easy to get distracted, feel lonely, become overwhelmed, or stay unproductive!

So here are my best tips for working from home to help you tackle this new normal — who knows, you may never want to return to the office again!

My Best Working From Home Tips

My Home Office in Italy

1. Create A Home Office Or Workspace

Working from home doesn’t mean typing on your laptop from a beach hammock. Photos like that are usually staged and it just isn’t practical. Have you ever tried to read your laptop outside in the glaring sun?

One of the biggest challenges to working from home according to Stanford economics professor Nicholas Bloom is keeping work separate from the rest of your life. Building a dedicated workspace helps.

I highly recommend investing in things like a standing desk, ergonomic office chair, an external monitor for your laptop, hanging artwork on the walls, placing potted plants around (real or fake), and creating a workspace that helps YOU feel calm and productive. Whatever that may look like.

While working from your couch or the kitchen counter is possible, in my experience it’s much easier to get distracted if you don’t use a dedicated room or corner that you’ve designed specifically as a workspace. Here are some gift ideas for people who work from home too.

Anna’s Home Workspace

2. Stick To A Work Schedule

When I first started working from home many years ago, I would just work whenever I felt like it. Why not sleep until noon and work after that? Well, after a few months of this, I realized I wasn’t really getting much done. I kept putting off work because I could — there was no boss breathing down my neck.

Eventually you realize you’ll need a regular routine, much like when you were working from the office. A dedicated start time, an end time, and maybe even some kind of “commute” to act as a transition between your work day and home time.

Pick any hours you’d like of course, but then stick with them. Some people, like myself, work best in the mornings. Others, like my wife, prefer evenings.

Normally my morning “commute” consists of driving our son Dylan to daycare, then grabbing a coffee. Returning home to sit at my desk officially starts my workday.

3. Put Some Pants On!

I’ve certainly worked from home in my underwear on more than one occasion — with a glass of wine in one hand and a bag of cookies in the other. It can be fun, but generally the day ends up being pretty unproductive.

So now I tend to get dressed up for “work” just like when I had a typical 9 to 5 job, even while working from home.

You can definitely dress more relaxed, but working from your home computer without pants is probably best saved for causal Fridays.

Plus, with all the video conferencing going on these days, you probably want to appear presentable on camera. That also means taking a shower, shaving, hair, makeup, etc. Whatever your routine used to be — keep most of it.

Noise Canceling Headphones are Key…

4. Avoid Common Distractions

It’s so very easy to get distracted these days — in fact companies are making billions trying to figure out new ways to fight for your limited attention. These challenges are especially difficult for people who work from home.

I recommend completely logging out of social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter when you don’t need to access them for work purposes. Turn off certain notifications on your smartphone too.

If that’s still not enough, you can use software like Apple’s Screen Time that limits when you can even access these programs.

To keep from getting distracted by other things going on in your home, try picking up a pair of noise canceling headphones and listen to your favorite tunes.

You need to step it up and police yourself! Otherwise you’ll suddenly look at the clock realizing the day is over — with nothing to show for it.

5. Communicate With Loved Ones

When you start working from home, other people may not understand what it means. Family and friends may assume you have nothing to do all day, or can just postpone your work indefinitely to help them with random chores and errands.

That’s not how this works. Kindly explain that working from home doesn’t actually change too much — you still need to be strict with when work-time starts and ends. Don’t let them take advantage of the fact that you’re home.

Set boundaries and let people know there will be blocks of time when you need to focus on work and nothing else. Because if you’re not working, you’re not earning money! Working from home is not an extended vacation.

6. Get Some Exercise

Don’t neglect your body while working from home. Even if you sit at a desk all day, there are ways to exercise and stay healthy. Remember that in a normal office environment you’re moving around the building — so do the same at home.

Take a break and go for a walk down the street. Experiment with using a standing desk so you’re not sitting in a chair all day. Practice office stretching routines every few hours.

Maybe hit the gym or go for a run before/after work. Exercising on a regular basis will help you feel healthy and stay focused on the work at hand. You’ll be more productive.

7. Remember To Socialize

Working in a home office 5 days a week can be lonely. In a regular office setting you have coworkers to joke with or catch up on the latest gossip at the water cooler. Try to keep up with these types of social interactions — and find new ones.

Connect with other people through messaging programs like Slack or video calls like Zoom. Even text messaging works. Check up on coworkers, see how they’re doing, get book recommendations, or ask what they’ve been watching lately (I’m loving Hunters on Amazon Prime right now!)

You can also join online communities made up of others who work from home like you do. Because I’m a blogger, I’m part of some Facebook mastermind groups with others in the same field. We often share tips, struggles, and funny anecdotes that we can all relate to.

Relaxing in the Mountains

8. Find Time To Decompress

While the introverts among us (like me!) will thrive working from home, others might experience strong feelings of loneliness and depression without the normal office setting they’re used to.

This is one reason why it’s so important to decompress after work.

Go for a walk. Take a hike (if pandemic restrictions allow). Play with your pets or kids in the backyard. Do some yoga or meditation. Listen to music or a podcast. Jump on a video call with friends.

Whatever you need to relax and “turn off” work mode for the day, do it.

9. Take Sick Days

Just because you’re working from home doesn’t mean you should work if you’re feeling sick. If you work for yourself, it can be tempting to work in bed from your laptop. Don’t do this — it’s better to rest and get healthy again as soon as possible.

If you’re employed by another company, do they offer paid sick leave while you’re working remotely? What kinds of guidelines are in place for this scenario? Ask questions and talk to human resources to find out.

No one should be forced to work while sick, whether they’re working in a typical office setting or telecommuting from home. Get answers now so there are no misunderstandings. With so many people forced to work remotely for the first time — there are bound to be some problems.

Joking with my Coworker!

10. Working From Home With Kids

One benefit to working from home is the ability to spend more time with your family. But this can also be a headache, as I’m sure many are experiencing with schools shut down during the pandemic.

Trying to juggle parenting while working from home is difficult.

When we have to work at home with Dylan around, my wife and I try to take turns watching him while the other one works. Luckily he still takes afternoon naps, so we both get a 2 hour break in the afternoon.

Sometimes I’ll get up extra early to work while he’s sleeping, and Anna works late in the evening after he’s gone to bed. It can be tough — but manageable with good communication and planning.

Obviously this becomes much more difficult if there’s no one else to help you watch them. Sending your kids to daycare makes things easier, but it’s not an option for everyone.

Try to stock up on books, games, and puzzles to keep them entertained. Don’t be afraid to fire up Netflix Kids and let them watch shows or movies too. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures!

Work From Home Tools & Resources

Great Software For Working From Home

• Asana
• Slack
• Dropbox
• Zoom
• Evernote
• Sanebox

Useful Work From Home Products

• Noise Canceling Headphones
• Adjustable Standing Desk
• Ergonomic Office Chair
• Wireless Mechanical Keyboard

Happy Remote Working!

So there you go, a few of my best tips for working from home after 10 years as a professional remote worker.

It can be a jarring experience in the beginning, but eventually you’ll become a pro. Good luck, stay safe out there, and don’t forget your pants!

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Have any questions about working from home? Do you have other suggestions to add? Let me know in the comments below!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

Nomadic Living

Looking to make some extra money this year? Afraid of a recession? Check out my guide to unconventional side hustles for earning extra income from home.

Ten years ago I quit my job to travel the world.

It was a crazy idea at the time, but my wild experiment paid off. What began as a side-gig became a successful travel blog that pays me 6-figures a year.

I’m sure we’ve all seen how income from traditional jobs is no longer keeping up with inflation and cost of living expenses anyway. The new American dream is working for yourself, and 50% of the millennial American workforce is freelancing.

But before I left my job to travel, I was working paycheck-to-paycheck.

I needed to learn how to make extra money online while still working a day job so I could afford to chase my dream.

While I’ve shared many examples of travel-friendly jobs, some of you are asking about OTHER ways to make extra money from home.

Maybe you already have a day job. Or you’re a college student. Or stay-at-home parent. Or a recent retiree. Or you are afraid of losing your current job soon. Or you just want to work from home.

You want to learn about “side-hustles” to make some extra cash in 2023.

Extra money to supplement your current income, to invest in a small business, to work on a book, or whatever your goals are. This post is for you!

I’ve put together a list of unique ways to make extra money on the side, and you won’t believe what’s working for some people!

How To Earn Extra Money In 2023

1. Rent Your Car Out

The gig economy is always coming up with creative ideas for regular people to earn some extra money. If you own a car, you can make some easy cash by renting it out through an app called Turo.com.

Don’t worry, every car gets a $1 million insurance policy, plus they pre-screen drivers, so your car will be in good hands.

How much money can you make? It depends on the car, where it’s located, and how much you decide to charge.

This guy makes over $1000 per month, per car (he has a fleet now).

➜ Start Renting Your Car On Turo

2. Become A Virtual Bookkeeper

Every small business needs a bookkeeper. I’ve got one too. Basically, they organize and track income and expenses, so a business owner can spend time on the things they’re good at — running the business.

And you don’t need to be a professional accountant in order to become a bookkeeper either!

Competent bookkeepers can handle multiple clients, and make a good side income for themselves while working from home, as almost all financial information can be tracked online these days. With only 3-4 clients, a part-time (10 hours per week) bookkeeper can make an extra $10,000 a year. Being good with numbers helps!

➜ Learn How To Start A Bookkeeping Business

3. Dress Up Like Jesus?!

This guy records videos of himself dressed as Jesus, praising whatever you want him to. Your company. Your song. Anything! And he’s making bank… charging at least $10 with over 10,000 sales so far. I’m not saying you should copy him, just get creative!

Now I know what you’re thinking. But this is a totally legitimate way to work-from-home! Sure, it’s a bit oddball, but that’s what makes it great. People will pay you to do the strangest things over on the website Fiverr.

➜ Launch Your Jesus Career On Fiverr

4. Recharge Electric Scooters

Renting electric scooters has become big business in cities like San Diego, Los Angeles, Austin, Paris, and Nashville. Companies like Bird & Lime hire regular people to pick them up and recharge overnight in their homes, dropping the scooters off on the street the next morning.

The reward for finding and charging each scooter is between $5-$20, and it’s like a fun GPS scavenger hunt, playing to win against other “bird hunters” or “lime juicers”. If you have a truck or van, and can grab 10 each night, that’s an extra $50-$100+ per day!

➜ Earn Extra Money As A Bird Hunter

5. List Your Room (Or House)

I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the online marketplace Airbnb.com, which allows regular people to list their homes or spare rooms to traveling guests. I’ve been using it for years to find good cheap accommodation on my trips around the world.

Well, all those people I’m renting from are making extra income by listing their space. Some have turned it into a regular side business, buying up properties in order to list them out to tourists. If you have your own place, you can do the same.

➜ Start Listing Your Space On Airbnb

6. Teach Cooking Classes

Are you a good cook? I’m not, except that one time I took an Italian cooking class! Have you ever thought about training others to cook? You could earn extra income teaching kids, retirees, or clueless husbands like me how to put together a healthy meal.

Back in 2012 Jan Pinnington was teaching her kids how to cook. Word got around, and other parents brought their kids, paying for her time. She saw an opportunity, moved her classes to a local community center and started a successful business.

➜ Learn How To Teach Cooking Classes

7. Become A Freelance Proofreader

This one is for you grammar fanatics! Proofreading entails going over each word of someone else’s writing — correcting it for punctuation, formatting, and any other errors that may occur. My mom is my proofreader (thanks Mom!).

Proofreading court transcripts is in especially high demand, as it allows court reporters to focus on what they’re good at, typing fast during legal proceedings. By hiring others to proofread, these reporters can book more gigs, and make more money.

Before she started a blog, Caitlin Pyle was earning $43k a year working 20-30 hour weeks as a freelance proofreader. But you can work as much or as little as you want to.

➜ Learn To Proofread Professionally

8. Make Extra Money As A Tutor

You’d be surprised how many people are looking for a professional tutor. For example, foreign students trying to improve their English. Or high-school kids that need help with college exams like the SAT or ACT. Or even the traditional homework tutor.

Businessmen in Hong Kong and the Middle East pay up to $25 an hour for someone to talk to them in English, helping them improve their skills. All you need is a wifi connection and Skype for this type of remote job, allowing you to work from anywhere in the world.

➜ Start Tutoring Students Online With Preply

How To Make Extra Money Online

9. Start A Blog (Like This One!)

Ok, I might be a bit biased here. Blogging is how I’ve been making a living for the past 10-years. It gives me the freedom to travel and work on my computer from anywhere.

If you want to share your knowledge with the world, and maybe entertain people, there’s no better way than starting a blog (and make some extra income).

Maybe your passion is travel, food, fashion, home-improvement, hiking, fitness — blogging allows you to turn your hobby into an online business.

How do you make money from a blog?

• Selling advertising space
• Promoting affiliate products and earning commissions
• Selling your own products and courses
• Launchpad for book deals and speaking gigs

Starting a blog is easy, but turning your blog into a successful business takes time.

As someone who’s learned how to build a successful blog from scratch, I’ve put together a free guide to help get you started:

➜ Learn How To Start Your First Blog

10. Teaching English Online

English is the default international language of business around the world, and because of this, foreigners often start learning it at a young age.

Because the demand for learning English is so high, particularly in China, some companies have popped up offering English language tutoring services online. One of the most popular is called VIPKID.

Basically, you can get paid to teach basic English language classes to Chinese kids through a webcam. For just 90 minutes a day, it’s possible to earn over $500 per month.

You do need a Bachelor’s degree and some basic teaching/tutoring experience.

➜ Earn Money Teaching English Online

11. Write & Sell An Ebook

Before I quit my job to travel the world, I built a small online business selling ebooks. I had one about nightclub photography and one about event promoting, two topics I was experienced with.

Basically, packaging knowledge into a useful handbook, and selling it online in a digital format. Either as a PDF, or maybe on the Amazon Marketplace. Writing the ebook is only the first step though, you also have to learn how to promote it using advertising, content marketing, blogging, social media, etc.

➜ Learn How To Launch A Profitable Ebook

12. Work As A Freelance Writer

Do you enjoy writing? Freelance writers and copywriters make money crafting text for others, and if you’re good, you can earn a decent income on the side. I’ve written for online publications like the Travel Channel and Weather.com in the past.

Freelance writing can pay $0.10 – $1 per word, or $50 – $1000 per article. You not only need to be a good writer, but you should also know how to craft a proper pitch. Here’s a huge list of companies that hire freelance writers.

➜ Learn How To Become A Travel Writer

13. Transcribe & Caption Videos

If you haven’t noticed, online video has exploded in the last few years. YouTube alone is the 2nd biggest site on the internet. Facebook is #3, with their own huge video platform.

Video creators know that to get their uploads noticed, transcribing the audio into text helps. I do it with my YouTube videos. Many people also watch videos with the sound off, so captions become very important.

If you’re a fast typer, you can make extra money typing out what people are saying in these videos through a few companies that specialize in providing this service. The pay is around $10 an hour.

Popular transcription companies:

• Rev
• 3Play Media

14. Sell Your Teaching Plans

Are you a grade school or high school teacher? If you are, thank you for your service! Maybe you’ve already heard about TeachersPayTeachers.com. If not, this site lets you sell your amazing lesson plans to other teachers around the country.

Created by a New York City public school teacher who saw his class performed best when he mixed in unique lesson plans & ideas from other teachers with his own, the site offers full curriculums, assignments, and videos for sale to fellow teachers, tutors, and homeschoolers.

➜ Sell Your Lesson Plans For Cash

15. Become A Virtual Assistant

As the world becomes increasingly connected online, more and more tasks can be accomplished without meeting face-to-face. This has opened up a whole new job demand for “virtual assistants”, or online personal assistants who help business owners with mundane work they can’t do themselves.

What kinds of work? Data entry. Social media management. Formatting. Editing. Online research. Email management. Graphic design. Booking travel. The list is endless! My own virtual assistant, Jess, makes my life easier by allowing me to focus on what I do best. Virtual assistants can earn between $15 – $35 an hour.

➜ How To Become A Virtual Assistant

16. Create An Online Course

If you are an expert on a particular topic, there’s probably an audience out there willing to pay for your knowledge. I already mentioned turning your skills into an ebook, but there’s another, more lucrative way to teach some topics. Selling an online course.

I’m a huge fan of courses and tutorials, and I’ve learned so much about online business and photography with their help. While there’s a lot of free information on the internet these days, having someone organize all the best of it into an easy-to-follow format (with video!) is often worth the investment.

➜ Create Online Courses With Teachable

17. Language Translation Jobs

Are you fluent in another language? Online translation is one of the best careers for working from home. You can work as little or as much as you want, earning extra money translating websites, books, presentations, and more from your computer.

My friend Alexandra earns up to six-figures as a freelance translator from English to Spanish, allowing her the freedom to travel while she works. To make good money you need to build up some experience first though.

➜ How To Find Online Language Translation Jobs

18. Start A YouTube Channel

Do you have any favorite YouTubers you like to watch? Millions of people tune into YouTube each day to be entertained or to learn something new. And there’s lots of money to be made.

Making money with YouTube isn’t “get rich quick” though, it takes time & practice. I have my own YouTube channel about adventure travel. If you’re passionate about a certain topic, (video games, travel, cooking, science, parenting, sports, etc) and can put together creative videos, you may have a chance to earn money on YouTube.

Ways to make extra money on YouTube:

• Display advertising
• Affiliate marketing
• Brand sponsorships
• Patreon donations

➜ How To Create Amazing YouTube Videos

19. Online Coaching & Consulting

What do consultants do? They share their knowledge with others, in exchange for a fee. It’s that simple. I used to do some travel consulting, charging $75 an hour for a Skype call to help strangers plan their next trip.

But you can become a consultant for all sorts of topics. Online dating is a big one. Life coaches. Financial advice. What are you really good at? There may be a market for your knowledge and advice!

As a working professional, like a doctor, lawyer, or car mechanic, you can get paid to answer people’s questions on JustAnswer.com.

20. Become A Social Media Influencer

Making money on Instagram? Sure it happens! I work on social media “influencer” projects from time to time. Now, I don’t want to mislead you. It can take years to build a following large enough to make this possible. But maybe you already have a large social following, and aren’t monetizing it yet?

Companies pay influencers to be the face of their brand, promoting certain products or even destinations. It may start with free stuff, but over time can lead to making thousands of dollars per post on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and blogs.

Ways to earn extra income on social media:

• Amazon Influencers Program
• ShopStyle Collective
• Izea Creators

Making Extra Money From Home

21. Pet Sitting & House Sitting

Getting paid to take care of other people’s cute dogs & cats? Sign me up! As a cat owner myself, we hire pet sitters when we need to travel for work, and can’t bring Poofy (but sometimes we do). We often use the pet sitting app Rover.

At an average of $16 per 30 minute visit, that’s about $32 an hour to hang out with pets. There are other sites too, like Wag (for dog walking) and Trusted House Sitters where you actually house-sit for people, in exotic foreign countries if you want to, in exchange for taking care of their pets.

➜ Get Paid To Cuddle Pets With Rover

22. Amazon Furniture Assembly

Amazon charges an extra fee for “assembly” and farms the work to independent contractors nearby. Like you! A typical build takes about an hour. Earning $2000 – $6000 a month is possible, and you can set your schedule to only work evenings or weekends if you have a day job.

A business license and business insurance are needed to get started, and depending on your state, those might cost a few hundred dollars.

➜ Earn Extra Money Assembling Amazon Furniture

23. Become A Local Tour Guide

Do love your hometown or city, and want to show others the best parts of it? There’s a market for local tour guides in different tourist hot-spots around the world. One of the coolest ways to do this is by offering free walking tours… wait, but how do you make money if they’re free?! TIPS.

As a GuRuWalk city guide, you take people on free walks around the city, and if they enjoy it, you collect (and keep) any tips afterward. Let’s say you have 10 guests, and they each tip $5 after an hour-long tour. That’s $50 an hour! Or, you can try offering unique travel experience through AirBnB Experiences.

➜ Lead Walking Tours With GuruWalk

24. Sell Freelance Photography

Are you passionate about photography? Why not try to make a living shooting portraits, weddings, or stock photography for some spare cash on the side. You’ll need to build up your portfolio first, but once you have a solid one, you can start applying to freelance photography sites to sell your work.

There’s even a market for travel photographers to help tourists get the perfect Instagram photo. Basically, if someone is traveling to Miami (or any town) for vacation, and you live nearby, they can hire you to be their personal travel photographer for a few hours.

Freelance photography websites:

• Cheese (freelance travel photography site)
• Flytographer (Get hired to shoot vacation photos)
• Stocksy (Sell stock photography)
• Shutterstock (Sell stock photography)

25. Drive For Uber And Lyft

Now anyone can become a taxi driver! Uber and Lyft are the leading rideshare companies and have changed local transportation forever. Working for them as a driver can help you make some extra money on nights and weekends, even if you already have a day job.

To drive for them, you need to be at least 21 years old, have a few years of driving experience under your belt, and own your own decent 4-door car (it can’t be a beater). Many drivers I’ve met work for both companies at the same time.

➜ Start Driving With Uber

26. Work Odd Jobs & Chores

Got a knack for odd jobs around the house? Platforms like TaskRabbit connect you to people who are in need of a hero and are willing to pay you to help them get through their everyday to-dos.

From cleaning and moving to deliveries and home improvements, it offers a win-win solution for everyone. All you have to do to get started is register online, attend an info session in your city and start tasking! You can set your own hours and rate of pay.

I’ve hired people through TaskRabbit many times, and have always been happy with the results. The system is very easy to use too.

➜ Make Money Doing Chores On TaskRabbit

27. Sell Arts & Crafts

If you’ve got ‘the eye’ for art, why not sell your artwork online. You can ship your creations (paintings, custom furniture, knitting patterns, etc.), or simply email a digital copy to your customers if you’re not in the position to manage the postage.

Tools like Etsy give you access to customers around the world (33 million customers to be exact). They also provide their sellers with powerful marketing tools to help you grow your following and online income.

➜ Sell Your Art With Etsy

28. Deliver Packages For Flex

Never heard of Amazon Flex? It’s an package delivery platform that allows you to be your own boss, set your own schedule and make between $18-$25 per hour!

Once you’ve registered online, you let them know which times work best for you, then you head off to pick up other people’s packages. As soon as you’ve scanned them, the app shows you where to go and suggests directions for the quickest route.

Want to see how much you’ve made at the end of the day? In true Amazon style, it couldn’t be easier to monitor your earnings through their app.

➜ Deliver Packages For Amazon With Flex

29. Food Delivery Side Job

Instead of driving people around, what about bringing them food? There’s been an explosion in the popularity of restaurant takeout delivery apps like UberEats and GrubHub.com, and these companies are all hiring drivers.

Obviously you need your own form of transportation, but it doesn’t have to be as nice as if you were shuttling people around for Uber’s taxi service.

➜ Earn Extra Income Delivering Food

30. Become A Substitute Teacher

This won’t be for everyone, but if you enjoy teaching, it could be the perfect side hustle for you. Substitute teachers are required in many schools across the country to carry out a class for teachers who are absent for a day or extended periods of time.

Depending on the school district, you may be required to obtain a certification or complete training courses in order to become a substitute teacher. However sometimes all you need is a high school diploma.

To apply for a sub position, you can call on the phone or visit your local school district’s website and look for specific instructions.

31. Pick Up Parking Lot Trash

Sounds crazy, right? Meet Brian Winch, who turned $200 into a $650,000 a year business picking up other people’s trash in business parking lots. The great thing about this small business idea is that you don’t have to quit your day job to get started.

Basically, you offer to clean up litter around commercial properties. You don’t need expensive equipment, just a broom and a litter collection tool. You don’t need a college degree. You’d work with property management companies, retail stores, offices, and warehouses.

➜ Start Your Own Litter Removal Business

Easy Ways To Make Money Fast

Ok, these next few options don’t pay a lot, maybe a few hundred dollars a month. But they’re easy and fast ways to earn extra cash. They really don’t require any experience to get started either.

32. Donate Blood Plasma

Blood plasma is a yellowish liquid that holds your blood cells in suspension. It’s the key ingredient for medical products that treat many life-threatening conditions. Unlike donating blood, you are actually paid for plasma donations, because it’s used by big pharmaceutical companies.

You can donate plasma up to twice per week, earning up to $400 a month. The process takes about 90 minutes. There are a couple of risks though. If the large needle used bursts your vein, it can turn your whole arm black & blue for a while. And if you donate a lot, it can leave a small permanent scar.

Popular plasma donation centers:

• Nu Plasma
• BioLife
• CSL Plasma

33. Participate In Market Research

Market research companies are paid to collect data on consumer interests and spending habits, so big brands can learn how to improve their marketing efforts. They do this research using online questionnaires, and they’re always on the lookout for new survey participants.

Basically, you can make an extra $100 per month filling out surveys on your phone sitting in your underwear if you want to. Granted, the money isn’t amazing (because answering mindless questions is pretty easy). But if you’re looking for a simple way to earn extra money, participating in surveys while you surf Netflix doesn’t get any easier.

➜ Take Online Surveys In Your Spare Time

34. Join Clinical Trials

If you have a body, you’re good to go! By joining a clinical trial, not only will you be paid for your time and support, but you will also be helping medical, surgical or behavioral research studies, which are hugely beneficial for researchers who are trying to find out if a new treatment or drug etc, is safe and effective for use.

Although the payment rates change from trial to trial, you will be reaping in the good karma at the same time. Clinical trials pay between $50-$300 per day, and it depends on the length of the time required as well as the procedures performed.

➜ Find Clinical Trials Going On Near You

35. Earn Extra Money Testing Websites

Website owners, like me, want to know what regular readers think about the site. How they use it, move through the menus, what they look at, if they’re confused about anything, etc. We’ll pay for that information because it’s useful for creating a better user experience, and leads to more readers.

More readers result in more money. So there are some companies out there that arrange this testing for website owners, by hiring regular people to visit the websites and report on their experience. You can earn around $8-$10 for 15 minutes of your time. Some sites require a webcam and microphone.

Some of the most popular ones are:

• UserTesting
• WhatUsersDo
• UserTest

36. Sell Your Hair (If You Have Some!)

If you are lucky enough to have a thick head of hair, I really don’t want to know about it, because I’ll get jealous. Haha just kidding! Kinda… :-)

Selling your hair can be a creative solution to earn more money! How much? It depends on the length, thickness and color of your locks, but nonetheless, it’s certainly an easy way to make a buck.

You’re not a hair-factory, so it’s not a consistent flow of income, but it could give your bank balance a nice boost once in a while, with most people earning a couple of hundred dollars each time. You can get a rough estimate of how much your hair is worth here.

➜ How To Sell Your Hair

37. Grocery Shopping For Others

For those of you that get excited when you see an empty fridge and know that it’s time to do the food shopping all over again, this one’s for you. You could be earning extra income by simply doing other peoples food shopping with InstaCart.

Choose between their Full-time Shopper or In-store Shopper positions, giving you complete flexibility, you don’t even need a car to sign up. You can work during the hours that are best for you, but if you are available during peak times, you can really maximize your earnings.

➜ Start Shopping For Others With InstaCart

38. “Wrap” Your Car With Advertisements

It doesn’t get much easier than this. No skills or brain power needed, as long as you have four wheels that get you from A to B, you could be making money while you drive.

Companies such as Wrapify are always on the hunt for drivers who will wrap their cars in certain locations for brand campaigns. According to Carvertise, you could be earning between $300 – $1200 per campaign, simply by doing what you already do every day. Drive!

Ready To Earn Some Extra Money This Year?

In a world where income from our traditional jobs is not keeping up with inflation and cost of living expenses, everyone’s looking for ways to make extra money on the side from home or online.

I know what it’s like living paycheck to paycheck! I was there once too — but I managed to break free of that cycle with help from a side-hustle that allowed me to make (and save!) some extra money on top of my day job.

I hope you learned of a few new options available for you to do the same. ★

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READ MORE TRAVEL TIPS

I hope you enjoyed my guide on creative hustle ideas! Hopefully you found it useful. Here are a few more wanderlust-inducing articles that I recommend you read next:

• What’s In My Travel Backpack?
• Useful Travel Photography Tips
• Travel Scams You Need To Avoid
• This Is How I Get Paid To Travel

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Have any questions about ways to make extra money or do you have recommendations to add to the list? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to share!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

Travel Tips

Want to travel the world for a while? Or just take an epic vacation? You don’t need to be rich, but you’ll need to get creative about saving money for travel. Here’s how I did it.

There’s a popular myth floating around that travel is an expensive hobby. Certainly people who travel a lot must have rich parents, lucrative lottery winnings, or work high paying jobs?

Normal people can’t afford to travel! It’s far too expensive for the rest of us… right?

Don’t worry, I understand where you’re coming from. I used to think that way too. As an American who didn’t even know what a hostel or GAP year was, I thought international travel was only for the rich and privileged.

But after traveling the world extensively for the past 10-years, I’m here to tell you world travel is possible for the rest of us too.

After countless emails from readers asking about how I’m able to travel the world constantly, I wanted to share some useful tips about how I learned to save money for traveling.

Here’s everything we’re going to cover (if you want to skip around).

Saving Money For Travel In 2022

First, a little background. before I was earning a living as a blogger like I am now, I had to save up on my own so I could afford to travel.

It didn’t come naturally either. In fact I used to be horrible at saving money.

When I quit my job in 2010 to embark on a year long adventure in Central America, I wasn’t rich. I was living in South Florida earning $28,000 a year working as a photographer for used car dealerships and nightclubs in Miami.

Incredibly glamorous, I know!

Even with my very average (American) income, and living in a pretty expensive area of the country, I managed to save about $7000 in 12 months by transforming my lifestyle and living below my means.

I learned how to spend less, save more, and earned extra cash on the side.

It wasn’t easy, and required plenty of hard work and sacrifice, but if I could do it, I’m confident you can too. It doesn’t matter if you want to travel for two weeks or two years, the process is the same.

Here’s my simple formula that will help you save money for your next trip.

1. Become Financially Responsible

This isn’t intended to sound judgmental, and I understand this advice has turned into a bit of a cliche these days. But, be honest with yourself.

What did school really teach you about financial planning? For many of us, not much.

Money management is a learned skill – but most of us don’t master the basics until we’re adults — if ever. I was clueless for a long time.

If you want to save money for travel, now is a good time to revisit those basics, and maybe iron out a few of those bad financial habits we all acquire along the way.

Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint.

You are making a significant long-term commitment that’s sometimes going to be really hard to stick to. Saving up enough money for travel, or anything for that matter is tough on the soul and demands sacrifice, which is why so few people succeed. The right mindset is everything!

How much do you want this? Because nobody else will make it happen for you.

It’s YOUR responsibility the whole way.

Equally importantly — how many times are you willing to try and fail until you’ve successfully learned all the habits and strategies that will put the required amount in the bank to get you traveling?

Good. I think you’re ready for this then! (Just don’t expect it to be easy.)

“You don’t have to be rich to travel well.”

Eugene FodorFounder of Fodor Travel Guides

2. Start Tracking Your Spending

Money itself isn’t stressful. Neither is effective money management. Not knowing what your money is doing? Being afraid to check your bank balance? That’s where all the stress happens.

The solution to this is simple.

Put aside a day this weekend, buy your favorite bottle of wine (you’ll need it), and go through all your accounts to find out EXACTLY what your finances look like, down to the dollar.

Tracking expenses is an important part of learning where you can cut back, or even eliminate your spending.

I know, you’ve probably heard this before. But have you actually done it? On a regular basis? It’s a powerful way to identify how much money you piss away every month on random crap you don’t need.

Write it ALL down. How much do you spend on food each week? Don’t forget to include groceries, eating out, bottled water, and snacks. How much do you spend on entertainment? Movies, books, music, sports tickets, dates, etc.

What about vices like alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee?

What are your monthly bills? Rent, mortgage, utilities, car payment, insurance, credit card interest, cell phone service, gym membership, student loans, etc. Don’t forget miscellaneous shopping either. Video games, clothes, pet toys, etc.

Now, grit your teeth and look it all in the face. You may be surprised at how much you’re spending. Little things tend to add up. This isn’t an easy thing to do, I know.

That’s why you might need that wine.

But it becomes a lot easier if you approach saving with the right attitude. You’re not here to judge yourself or wallow in regret. Take your feelings out of the equation because they’re not needed.

This is simply about awareness. You’re looking your financial situation right in the eye and saying, “OK – this is where I am. This is where I need to be.”

If you’re like me, building this kind of awareness, and tracking everything, takes time. That’s the nature of habits – you don’t suddenly change your behavior overnight.

USEFUL TIP: Track your spending like a pro with this free expense tracking app from Mint.

3. Budget Ruthlessly

There are two types of budgeting you need to do here. The first is budgeting your trip. The second is budgeting your life.

First, you need to work out how much your trip is going to cost you. If you know what you’re doing, your travel budget can be as low as $50 a day.

The amount is going to vary wildly depending on where you want to travel, and how thrifty you are. But for long-term budget travel, I usually recommend planning to spend at least $1500 per month.

So that means to backpack around the world for 6-months, you should have at least $9000 in your bank account before you leave. See my Travel Banking Tips & Guide for more info.

If you choose wisely, your accommodation can cost next to nothing. Cheap flights can be easy to find if you follow these simple tips – and so on.

If you want all my best advice for ways to save money on travel, start here.

You’ve got 16 months before you leave? Great! Your monthly savings goal is 1/16th of that total – and you need to budget successfully to put that amount aside every month, more or less, until you hit your target.

Now the big question becomes – how are you going to hit that target?

First step: create a running budget, assigning strict numbers to recurring expenses – and stick to it religiously. Some expenses are fixed, for example, your rent (although, keep reading below for one way to lower it).

Other expenses are flexible, like the money you spend on food every month, or socializing. The trick with these is to make sure you always know how much of your budget is left, so you’re not a victim of “phantom expenses” that nibble away your hard-earned savings without you being aware of them.

Going shopping? Decide in advance how much you can afford to spend, and use the calculator on your phone to total everything up as you walk round the aisles. Going out with friends? Withdraw cash, and leave your cards at home so you can’t blow your budget.

Budgeting effectively isn’t scary. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. When you have complete control of your money (and not the other way round), your confidence will soar. Now you will have a way to go travel and you’ll work even harder towards your goal.

USEFUL TIP: Check out this set of free online budgeting classes to master the basics.

4. Reduce Unnecessary Spending

Grab a piece of paper and draw a vertical line down the middle of it. At the top left, write “NEEDS” – and at the top right, write “WANTS”.

Now place everything you spend money on into one of these two columns.

Be as brutally honest as possible. Do you need Netflix right now? Do you need that cappuccino you always have on your lunch break? What about those beers on Friday night? How about new clothes?

Consult the spending diary that you’ve hopefully been using. How many of those daily entries were things you actually needed? Will your life end without them?

Once you’re finished, look at the “WANTS” column – and write down how much they cost, next to each item. Now total them up. That’s how much you can instantly start saving every month if you cut all these out.

The final step here is simply to stop buying those things you don’t need. I know, it’s harder than it sounds.

Our extremely effective and profitable marketing industry will try its best to convince you to buy that Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino. Don’t let them win.

It’s time to take control of your finances right now!

5. Develop Habits That Save You Money

How about getting up a little earlier, skipping the bus and walking/riding a bike to work instead? Ever heard of ride-sharing? What other daily expenses can you replace with money-saving habits?

What skills can you learn that will cut your daily costs?

I’ll give an example. By cooking your meals instead of buying them prepared, you can save thousands of dollars every year. Which is exactly what I did when I was saving money for my own travel adventures.

You don’t have to give up excellent coffee and tasty avocado toast — just prepare them yourself and save money.

Cooking for yourself, especially lunch & dinner, can save somewhere between $6 and $11 per meal – so if you previously spent all your time eating out, you’d save between $125 and $230 every week just by cooking.

It’s a skill that puts decent money in your pocket. Plus, it’s fun too!

6. Cut Accommodation Costs

This is extreme – but also extremely effective. If the place you are renting (or own) costs a lot of money, how about taking on a roommate to share the rent and bills? What about two roommates?

If that’s not an option, and you’ve got a year or more before you hit the road – why not move into a smaller apartment, or a cheaper neighborhood? This is one way I was able to save money for my trip.

By moving into a cheaper neighborhood on the outskirts of Fort Lauderdale in Florida, sharing a small house with 2 other roommates, I was able to save hundreds of dollars on accommodation every month rather than living in the much more expensive city of Miami.

Other travelers I know moved in with their parents for a few months to save money. Or they rent out their homes and move somewhere cheaper. Obviously, these aren’t ideal situations, and may not even be options for everyone, but I just want to open your eyes to the possibilities.

Sometimes you need to think outside the box to make your dreams come true. And drastic measures can be uncomfortable, but effective.

7. Sell Your Crap

If it’s worth good money and you can’t travel with it, then is it really worth hanging onto? In my case, I took a long, hard look at my car one day, decided to sell it, and bought a used folding bicycle to replace it.

Instant injection of much-needed cash! Not only from the sale, but also from canceling my auto insurance and no longer needing to buy gas.

Instead, I purchased a public bus pass. Sure, my commute was longer. Riding my bike to the bus stop in the rain kinda sucked. But you know what? I was dedicated. I was determined. Wearing a poncho and riding in the rain isn’t the end of the world. Other people do it, why can’t I?

In addition to my car, I also sold my DJ turntables, sports equipment, and some furniture I really didn’t need. Everyone’s “crap” will be different. But we all collect it in one form or another.

USEFUL TIP: Sites like Ebay & Craigslist, or even Amazon Trade-In can help you sell your stuff for extra cash to build up your travel fund.

8. Other Ways To Save

No, simply quitting avocado toast and frappuccinos isn’t going to pay for 6-months of international travel. But, when combined with other money-saving lifestyle changes, it CAN add up to make a big difference.

Stop Going Out

Instead of spending too much money at a club or movie theater, invite friends over to your place for a movie night. Get outside and go on a hike.

Cook More At Home

Now is a good time to learn the art of cooking. It’s entirely possible to buy low-cost, healthy ingredients, and cook your own tasty meals at home.

Shop Around

Did you compare prices while grocery shopping last week? Did you buy the cheapest toilet paper? Are you shopping at places like Costco & Amazon?

Cut Your Landline

I can’t remember the last time I used a landline. Cellphones work just fine. Switch to the cheapest provider, with the cheapest plan possible.

Ditch Your Cable

TV is a waste of time. Stop paying to live vicariously through shows, and make your own life more exciting. The internet is full of free entertainment!

Quit The Gym

No need for a gym membership when you can go running, hiking, or practice bodyweight exercise routines outside while enjoying nature!

Slash Your Shopping

No, you don’t need the latest smartphone. No, you don’t need new clothes every month. No, you don’t need the latest video game release. No, you don’t need 5 different shades of lipstick.

Reduce Your Utilities

Turn down your air conditioning and use a fan or wear a sweater. Unplug electronics when not in use. Take shorter showers.

9. Make Extra Money On The Side

Everyone wants to earn more money, right? Well, it doesn’t grow on trees, but there are opportunities to earn extra money even if you already have a full-time job.

Find a “side-hustle” that you can work part-time. Maybe as a waiter, bartender, supermarket cashier, etc.

For example, I worked as a nightclub photographer 4 nights a week, putting up with drunk entitled douchebags in Miami Beach.

I also built up a small online business selling ebooks about nightclub photography while working from home.

It doesn’t need to be an amazing job! Just something to boost your income a bit. Do some research, and figure out what kinds of part-time positions match your skillset & talents.

Selling arts & crafts on Etsy. Stalking garage sales & re-selling on eBay. Watching people’s pets on Rover.com. Tutoring English students online. Babysitting. Video transcription. Selling blood plasma.

The only limit is your imagination!

USEFUL TIP: Check out my complete guide for learning how to make extra money from home.

10. Review Your Current Employment

Not earning enough money from your current job? Maybe it’s time to ask for a raise (as long as you can prove you actually deserve it). What makes you an important asset to the company?

Alternately, why not attempt to re-negotiate? Ask if there’s any way you can cut back your hours, or work from home a few days a week, so you can use that time you would normally spend commuting… on your side job.

If those aren’t options, you can start looking for another employer who pays more. Train in your spare time for something that pays better.

You’re not a slave to your job — if you don’t make enough, shop around and find a better place to work.

I know I’m making it sound easier than it is… but I never promised this would be easy. It’s not.

11. Earn Money As You Travel!

This is a nice short-cut. If you can actually earn money as you travel, you won’t have to save quite as much. This is what I did. Before I began traveling, I’d built a small online business selling eBooks about topics I was knowledgeable on.

I managed to squeeze a money-making opportunity from my limited free time – which reduced the amount I needed to save for travel, as I could also earn income on the road.

Because I was earning about $1500 per month from my online business, I left on a backpacking trip around Central America with only $7000 in the bank — confident I could continue working from my laptop.

However selling ebooks is no longer how I earn income. These days I make a good living from my travel blog. But that took a few years to accomplish.

How can you earn money online? Well there are all kinds of ways.

• Affiliate Marketing
• Freelance Writing
• Graphic Design
• Computer Programming
• Work as a Virtual Assistant
• Online Language Translation

Now, I don’t know what skills & experience you currently have. But there definitely options out there!

Saving Money Won’t Be Easy

Saving money doesn’t come naturally to most people. Nearly half of Americans don’t even have a $400 emergency fund.

The formula is simple. Live below your means, and save the rest.

Yet implementing this formula is not always easy. There are social pressures. We’re bombarded by marketing. Our willpower is lacking. We make excuses and lie to ourselves.

Others may have additional roadblocks — like obligations to support loved ones, student loans, debilitating injury, chronic disease, or a lack of job opportunities where they live.

If that’s the case, it may just take longer to reach your savings goal.

Following through is the difficult part. I know, I’ve been there. If this was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Helpful Resources To Get You There

To help you start saving money for travel, I’ve included some of my favorite resources below. These are useful tools for learning how to track your spending, budget your life, save money fast, or earn extra income.

• YNAB – Excellent budgeting software & system to help you get out of debt and save money.
• Mint – Popular free app for tracking your finances and managing your money.
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich – My favorite book about becoming financially responsible & independent.
• Remote Job Directory – Wonderful resource that lists websites for finding a location independent job.
• The $100 Startup – Inspiring book that highlights 50 people who built their own businesses with minimum investment.
• The 4-Hour Workweek – The book that convinced me to enter the world of online business and entrepreneurship.

One Last Piece Of Advice…

As you’ll discover when you’re traveling, things rarely go exactly to plan.

The ability to think on your feet and adjust your trajectory on the fly is an important skill for travel, and life.

Expect many course corrections. Don’t be surprised when obstacles get in your way. Life is messy and the best-laid plans have a habit of fraying at the edges or falling apart completely.

That shouldn’t matter though – you’re committed to this, right? You’ll find another way to get there. The specific plan you choose isn’t important… the destination is everything.

Best of luck – and I hope to meet you out there chasing your travel dreams! ★

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READ MORE TRAVEL TIPS

I hope you enjoyed my guide on how to save money for travel! Hopefully you found it useful. Here are a few more wanderlust-inducing articles that I recommend you read next:

• This Is How I Get Paid To Travel
• Advice For Students Who Want To Travel
• 50 Best Travel Quotes For Inspiration
• How To Make Extra Money This Year
• How To Become A Digital Nomad

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Have any questions about saving money for travel? Any other suggestions? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to share!

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.

Paid To Travel

After 10-years traveling the world, my most common question is: “how do you make money traveling?” or “how do you get paid to travel?” So here’s my detailed answer.

Working as a professional travel blogger and photographer has been a dream come true after many years of hard work.

But I completely understand your curiosity. How am I getting paid to travel around the world so much?

It always seems like I’m on a perpetual vacation, going on wild adventures to places like Costa Rica, Morocco, Antarctica, Iceland, and Afghanistan — but there’s a lot more to it behind the scenes. Somehow I need to make a living!

How exactly do I make money? How do I fund my travels? Do I have sponsors? Who is paying me to travel the world?

I know it doesn’t seem possible, but it is. And I’m about to show you how.

Getting Paid To Travel In 2023

Want To Get Paid To Travel?

What started as a hobby is now my full-time job. Interested in starting a blog to make money while traveling?

Click Here For Free Guide

How Do I Fund My Adventures?

There are many different ways to get paid to travel the world. For me, I make money from this travel blog you’re reading now, which I started ten years ago.

However, I’ll share other travel-friendly jobs at the end of this article too.

My own income sources can change from year to year, and some are more complicated than others. Attempting to explain how I get paid to travel in casual conversation usually takes a while.

Often times I’ll just throw out “travel writer” or “photographer” to avoid a lengthy discussion. Basically a full-time digital nomad.

But because this is the big question everyone wants an answer to, I’ll finally try to clarify the details for you today.

You’ll learn exactly how I’ve funded my travels for the past 10 years — and how I’m able to use my blog to get paid for traveling around the world.

Paid To Travel The World

It was 2009 when I first began planning to quit my job and travel. I was inspired by two friends. Both were traveling very cheaply, on a backpacker’s budget, living on less than it takes to live in the United States.

I was completely enthralled with their photos and stories from exotic destinations around the world. They had me reading inspiring books and quotes about travel, and I was hooked!

At the time, I didn’t realize you could travel long-term for less than $1000 a month! Budget travel was an entirely new concept for me.

My buddy Ferenc was backpacking through Southeast Asia, making money advertising with Google Adsense on his photography website.

My friend Katie was working on private yachts as a chef, island hopping around the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

I thought if they could make money traveling like this, so could I!

Saving Money To Travel

My family isn’t wealthy (by American standards), and I’ve never had a trust fund. According to US statistics I was lower-middle class, a single dude living in South Florida working 2 jobs earning about $30k per year.

How could I possibly save money to travel the world for a year living on that?

The answer is I downsized my lifestyle to live on even less.

I’d just finished paying off my car, so I decided to sell it. I canceled my car insurance, gym membership, and Netflix subscription. I purchased a used commuter bicycle, a rain poncho, and a bus pass to get around.

I sold off almost everything of any value that I owned. Goodbye DJ turntables, goodbye stereo, goodbye sports equipment.

I stopped going out to bars, restaurants, and nightclubs too. I cooked a lot of pasta & rice at home. Made my own cheap sandwiches for lunch.

I rented a small room for $400 in a small 2 bedroom house I shared with 2 other people in the suburbs.

These simple (but boring) actions allowed me to save about $7000 over the course of a year. It required discipline, and it wasn’t exactly “fun”.

Making Money While Traveling

While I spent a year saving money for (what would initially be) a 12-month journey through Central America, I was also dedicating my free time to developing a side-hustle to make extra money that would help pay the bills as I traveled.

I worked countless coffee-fueled nights and weekends doing hundreds of hours of research to learn about and build a small online business writing and selling digital guides (aka ebooks). My social life kind of fell apart because I wasn’t going out much… only working on my side business.

But chasing my travel dreams was more important to me at the time.

When I finally left for Guatemala in November of 2010, in addition to my savings, I was also earning $1000-$2000 a month selling three different how-to guides on various topics related to the nightlife industry.

After a few years, my ebook side-income business slowed down, as much of my success was from advertising with Google Adwords, a platform that shows ads in your search results. Google made changes that hurt my business a lot.

Luckily by then I’d begun to diversify my income streams, and was earning money from my travel blog. And have continued to ever since.

Current Blog Income Sources

1. Influencer Marketing

Companies pay me to travel by advertising on this blog and my social media accounts. It takes many forms, like sponsored blog posts, Instagram features, brand ambassadorship programs, or newsletter mentions.

I’ve built up a large loyal audience of people who are interested in travel, and these companies want access to that audience.

Examples include deals with respected companies like American Express, Momondo, Citizen Watches, or Backcountry.

I always include a disclaimer if I’m partnering with a brand and only work with companies that I admire and trust.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Whenever I share my favorite travel gear, photography equipment, books, or online courses with you, I include special affiliate tracking links to those products.

This means if you decide to click through and buy something, I’ll receive a small commission. The price remains the same whether you use my special link or not.

Examples include Discover Cars, Get Your Guide Tours, Amazon, Backcountry, Booking, Airbnb, Adorama Photo, and many more.

There are also dedicated affiliate networks like Share A Sale and Commission Junction who represent all kinds of different products.

To see my affiliate links in action, check out my Travel Gear Guide.

While individual commissions might be pretty small, this site receives 500,000+ pageviews per month. Many people are clicking on those links and buying things, which allows me to get paid to travel.

3. Freelance Travel Photography

I earn money licensing my travel photography for use in commercial marketing campaigns, or for editorial use by media outlets. Tour companies, national tourism boards, outdoor brands, magazines, book publishers and others buy my images from time to time.

I’ve even sold travel photography to National Geographic!

Selling travel photography prints is not a huge income source for me. Most photography income comes from working with brands/destinations/media outlets who find me online.

Another source of income is when I go after people using my images without permission, and force them to buy a license. Copyright theft is rampant online, and as the owner of these images, I’m legally entitled to compensation. I’m able to do this through a service called Ryde One.

Best Online Photography Courses

Want to improve your photography? Learning from other photographers is the fastest way.

Click Here For Free Guide

4. Destination Marketing

Occasionally a country’s tourism board will invite me to visit and write about my experiences traveling through their country.

In the past these were unpaid; but flights, accommodation, and activities were covered like a traditional media press trip.

Well, now I’m getting paid to travel on these destination marketing projects. Usually, they reach out to me, but sometimes I’ll pitch a project to them too.

A campaign usually produces a mix of blog posts, social media content, photography, and video footage.

5. Display Advertising

Google has an advertising platform called Adsense. By placing some special code on your blog, they display relevant ads within the content of your site.

You earn income each time a reader clicks on one of these ads. They can also integrate into your YouTube videos, which is how vloggers make money.

If your blog receives enough traffic, premium advertising networks like Mediavine pay more than Adsense. Rates vary between $2 – $40 per 1000 views depending on your topic.

6. Paid Public Speaking

As a blogger, you can also get paid to travel by speaking at conferences and events around the world related to your topic. So in my case, I’ve spoken about travel photography and led some photography workshops.

Teaching others with a practical and inspirational speech is a skill that many companies will pay for. If you can build up your online brand, companies will start to seek you out for these kinds of speaking jobs.

Other Ways To Earn Money Traveling

There are other ways to make money from a travel blog which I currently don’t take advantage of. Here are some additional examples.

Freelance Travel Writing

I used to write travel articles for other websites. They needed content, and I had stories and experiences to share. TravelChannel.com was once one of my clients.

It can be a decent source of income for some people, for me it was sporadic. These days I’m able to earn more working on my own site rather than writing for others, so I generally don’t chase this type of income anymore.

Link Building

In the past, I also engaged in something called text-link advertising. Companies would pay just for a backlink to their website in my older posts, or provide a full pre-written “guest post” full of links for me to publish.

Why? Because it helps those companies increase their search engine results, sending more people to their website and growing their business.

The practice is frowned upon though, because it’s against Google’s guidelines.

If you’re caught by Google, it can backfire, so I don’t recommend it. Yet many bloggers still make money this way — so I thought I’d mention it.

Leading Tours Or Workshops

Some travel bloggers and photographers run their own group tours or photography workshops to exotic destinations around the world.

Some focus on budget travel, others focus on food, writing retreats, or improving photography techniques. Basically, you’re showing strangers around an area you know well, and hopefully teaching them something in the process.

Organizing a tour is a lot of work, but it can pay well too. I’ve run one adventure travel & photography tour to Russia, and while it was fun, I’m not sure I’ll do many of these in the future. I’m not a natural tour-guide! LOL.

Selling Ebooks Or Courses

Selling digital products is another way some travel bloggers earn income traveling. Either travel guides about a particular destination, or books about how to travel on a budget, how to make money from a travel blog, improving your photography, becoming a better travel writer, etc.

I find it kind of funny that I was able to fund my first year of traveling in part by selling ebooks, yet don’t sell any now. That may change in the future, as I have a lot of tips to share after doing this for so long!

How Much Do I Make Overall?

I know, I know. You want details. How much do I get paid to travel?

Asking someone exactly how much money they make is a very personal question, and it’s not something I’m entirely comfortable posting, but I’ll give you an idea.

This travel blog earns a healthy 6-figures of income each year.

I’m not a millionaire, but I’m not living in a cardboard box either.

While I started with humble roots, and still prefer to travel the world on a budget, I’m also able to save money these days. My wife & I recently bought a house in Utah. And we can splurge on expensive experiences from time to time.

Of course, there are also many expenses with running my business. Website hosting, photography equipment, travel expenses, etc.

No one paid me to travel to Greenland or Antarctica for example, but independent travel like this is also part of running my travel blog.

And the reality is that even now, I actually have no idea how much I’ll make each month because it can fluctuate from month to month. It’s one downside to working for yourself. In exchange for freedom, you often lose some security.

But I’ll choose freedom over security any day!

There have been a few occasions over the past ten years, earlier in my travel blogging journey, when my bank account was drained to its last $300…

Embracing uncertainty and risk on a quest to do what you love can be scary sometimes. Really scary!

Hey, I know what it’s like to live in a cave if it ever came down to that. :-)

I love what I do, and continue to learn new skills and work towards making this travel lifestyle sustainable, or at least until I no longer enjoy it.

I strongly believe that anything is possible with hard work, patience, and dedication.

You also can’t be afraid to take some risks or fail along the way.

Resources To Get Paid For Travel

I’m not going to sugar-coat this and tell you that making money while traveling has been easy. Quite the opposite actually. I work a lot more now than I did when I first started.

This income didn’t just appear overnight either, it’s taken me ten long years to get to this point.

I know these big numbers can be shocking for people who don’t understand how to blog for a living. Yes, blogging can be more than a hobby. It can be a viable business if you treat it like one.

Like all businesses though, it takes time to grow.

For the first 2 years, there’s no way I could’ve survived on my travel blog income alone.

However, if you’re determined to get paid to travel, here are some more resources I highly recommend:

• How To Start A Travel Blog: My step-by-step guide to starting your first travel blog. Or any blog for that matter (food, hiking, fashion, etc.)
• The Best Travel Jobs: Blogging not for you? Luckily there are many different ways to earn income while traveling.
• Ways To Make Extra Money: Not ready to quit your day job? Here are some ideas to earn extra money on the side.
• Vagabonding: This book by Rolf Potts convinced me to save money and travel the world as a budget backpacker.
• The 4-Hour Workweek: This book by Tim Ferriss is full of useful tips for building a location independent business.

I hope my article answered your questions about how I can afford to travel so much (it’s because I’m also getting paid to travel!).

It’s been a long and wild journey so far, and I’m thankful every day for the incredible life I’m living. ★

Want To Get Paid To Travel?

What started as a hobby is now my full-time job. Interested in starting a blog to make money while traveling?

Click Here For Free Guide

This is a post from The Expert Vagabond adventure blog.