Digital Nomad Guides

Best Ways to Make Money while Traveling the World

You don’t have to be filthy rich in order to be able to constantly travel the world. Actually, you can easily match your love for travel and exploration with one of the many jobs that you can perform online (or not – you’ll see!)

With 2020 being the crazy year that it was, the world has changed completely. Apart from the tons of bad things that 2020 brought to the world, it also made it a lot easier for people to get a location-independent job.

This means that you have more opportunities than ever to earn a solid living, have a steady job and still be able to travel the world as much as you’d like to. It still won’t be extremely easy, but it is a lot easier than it was even a few years ago – not to mention a decade or two ago!

In order to make things easier for you – because I know that in most cases you still won’t really know how to make money while traveling the world – I have decided to share a few methods that actually work.

Some of these methods require some time to start providing you with enough money for a nomadic lifestyle (or they might not work at all) so make sure to have some savings set aside before embarking on your big adventure.

Of course, depending on the situation, you may have to contend with a pretty tricky tax situation. For instance, I had a conversation with a reader named Kevin who was moving to Romania with his family. 

Now, because Kevin earns a lot of income from the United States, he now has to file a tax return for both Romania and the United States. This sounds a lot scarier than it actually is – especially with expense tracking apps, tax bracket calculators and other tools easily available online. 

Ultimately, none of this is going to be easy and unless you are committed to still putting in the work hours, you might not be able to succeed. But this is up for you to decide… now let’s just check out below the best ways to make money while traveling the world.

1. Blogging

Many people are considering blogging uncool and a bit obsolete. But the truth is that it still works, although it’s indeed getting a lot more difficult to become one of the big earners out there.

But it is also extremely rewarding if you do it right and the best thing about it is that you need almost no money to start your own blog.

The most important part when it comes to blogging is this: start it now. The sooner you launch your blog, the better. It needs time to become established and start bringing you visitors (and money).

Also, make sure that you constantly learn about blogging – and a good place to start is my articles dedicated to it.

2. Freelance writing

A bit easier than starting your own blog is freelance writing. This means that you will be writing for others, for a set fee.

This will most likely end up making you less than you could make with your own blog – but you also don’t have to wait as much to get your blog ranking.

Plus, you never have a guarantee that your blog will ever really make it.

While freelancing is not easy either and you have a ton of competition, if you are a good writer and deliver quality content, you can make a really nice living on this alone.

Even better, if you can write good content on niches that are high-brow or offer high rates (think banks, money tips and such), it’s even better.

3. Virtual assistant work

Even if writing is not your thing, you can still do some money online while traveling by doing virtual assisting jobs for others.

These jobs range in terms of difficulty or requirements, but you can certainly find something to match your skills.

From simply keeping track of somebody’s schedule to editing tasks, database maintenance, customer support and much, much more, a virtual assistant can earn a nice income while traveling the world, as long as they can offer quality service.

4. Website design / coding

Basically, if you can create websites or you can use photoshop to create graphics, you’re all set! Any type of programming and coding skills can help you score some nice jobs that pay well and allow you to travel.

It’s also freelancing, but pay is usually better and if you’re really good at this, you won’t have to spend too much time working.

I have friends who do freelance website design and custom graphics for 4 hours a week and afford a life of constant travel in South-East Asia. So if you play it smart and choose one of the cheapest countries to be a nomad in, you’re all set!

5. Teach English

If you’re a native English speaker, many countries won’t even require you to have a teaching degree to hire you!

Online teaching jobs are on a rise right now in most non-English speaking countries, so as long as you have a laptop and a solid enough internet connection (check the internet speed in Europe here), you’re all set!

You can even get a job as an English teacher in a kindergarten or school in a different city or country. The possibilities are endless.

And even though the pay rates are not amazing, as long as you enjoy working with kids, you can definitely make it work.

6. Work in a hotel

If the place you want to visit is a travel destination, then you can easily find a job at a hotel. It doesn’t give you too much free time despite the popular belief, but you will have your free hours to explore and enjoy the country you’re visiting.

This isn’t an ideal situation for most people, but it could be a good start.

7. Work on a Cruise Ship

Similar to working in a hotel, but you’re constantly on the go. Probably not the most desired job since 2020, so you won’t have a lot of competition here either.

It’s really hard work and you won’t be living in ideal conditions, but you can make a lot of money here.

I have friends who work for a few months on a cruise ship, save the money the make and then take the rest of the year off, living in a cheap country and enjoying life.

This isn’t an ideal way of living for many, but if it sounds good to you, know that it’s an option!

8. Volunteer

Although this is not really a money making method, it’s still pretty nice as it allows you to travel to various places.

There are various volunteering gigs out there, usually involving various gardening jobs, taking care of animals and anything similar.

You will receive a place to stay and food for your time… and additional free hours to do some exploring and travel.

Volunteering will also allow you to meet some great people along the way, so if you’re all about the travel, you have to try this at least once!

9. Social Media Management

Social media plays a massive role in the success of all major (and smaller) brands out there. Social media managers can earn a lot of money by simply scheduling posts, replying to comments from fans and doing various other similar work.

Even more, if you have the skills to do so, being able to improve the social media presence of a brand and/or improve engagement, then you will be an extremely valuable asset and paid accordingly.

It’s not something you just know how to do and it takes a bit of practice, but it can prove to be very lucrative.

10. Vlogging / Streaming / Youtube

Ask any 10 kids out there what they want to do, and probably half of them will say that they want to become vloggers or streamers.

Yes, the competition in this area is huge and not everybody’s made to do well on camera, but if you have a unique personality or a unique idea (or you simply are persistent and consistent), then any sort of online video job will be a great fit for you and can result in you earning a ton of cash.

As somebody who has just recently started his Youtube channel, I can say that video editing takes a lot of time if you’re a newbie, as the learning curve is very steep.

There’s also no guarantee that you’ll make it, but it’s worth trying especially if you don’t have any other options.

11. Influencer jobs

I thought a lot before recommending this. The word “influencer” can cover a wide array of areas – from blogging to video making to social media.

Even more, becoming an influencer is not easy. Getting a ton of visitors and being able to influence masses with your content requires a lot of time, dedication and, in my opinion, a bit of luck.

But if you start working on building a solid online presence and develop a massive following, that can in turn earn you a lot of money because you will have companies coming to you to promote them.

Everybody wants to become an influencer now and it’s surely not easy – but again, it’s something that just some people can do and do it well, so if you are one of those, you’re in luck!

12. Rent your place

Many people who decide to opt for a nomadic lifestyle usually choose to sell all their belongings and just leave.

However, I think a more reasonable approach is to still keep your place as a safety net and rent it instead. This works best if you don’t have a mortgage or if you can get a significantly higher rent than your current mortgage.

Having a place to live in a high cost of living country and moving to a much lower cost of living country (think US to the Philippines) can really put you in a great position and basically let you live on passive income alone.

13. Finding a remote job

As I said in the intro, since the 2020 pandemic hit, most companies were forced to find some sort of remote working arrangements.

The good news is that many of them found out that productivity of their employees didn’t drop and it was also cheaper for them.

So now, more than ever, remote jobs are available in all fields. Just go to an online job portal and start applying!

Wrapping up

Nowadays, it is easier than ever to earn your living while traveling. Being smart when choosing the country or countries you want to visit and remaining creative when it comes to your actual job are two important factors that will help you keep your endless travel running.

So start as soon as possible to get that snowball running and be able to generate enough income for your life of constant travel.

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Calin Ciabai

Living a location-independent lifestyle since 2008, I love to create content and manage websites. I write mainly about travel, video games, and health, but also other passions of mine. On Nomad Not Mad, I'm sharing all the knowledge I have gathered over all these years of traveling the world, the highs and lows, the beautiful places I visited, and all the disappointing ones as well.

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