Some people treat vacation as a time to disconnect from the world.
Others want to integrate vacation and travel into their “regular” life, but is that possible?
It would be amazing to be able to travel six – or more – months out of the year, but for a large majority of people it’s simply impossible due to their work schedule.
But what if you could make money while you are on vacation? Let’s explore some ways that this could become a reality.
Get Location-Independent Work
There are many location-independent jobs, though you have to seek them out to find them. One obvious job is running a blog. Some other location-independent jobs include freelance writing, social media management, and a variety of corporate jobs.
Having location-independent work may seem like a pipe dream. Do you know anyone who really has a location-independent job? I do, in fact. My friend Michelle who owns Making Sense of Cents recently wrote about how she worked while on a cruise with her husband. She also recently took a road trip and was able to continue working just as she would if she was at home.
Location-independent work is one of the criteria I have for any side hustles I decide to pursue. After all, isn’t the point of a side hustle to make money doing something you enjoy? I love work that can be done online from anywhere in the world.
Pitch a Travel Article or Become a Travel Writer
There’s a lot of people out there who love the idea of travelling, and the easiest way to get paid to travel is by being a travel writer or blogger.
I don’t think you have to be a full-time travel writer to get paid while on vacation. I recently pitched a series of articles to the Costa Rica Tourism department. I was going to write four posts about various topics, and the series would include photos I take and all the content would be based on my experience travelling to Costa Rica for a wedding.
While they did not take the pitch because they were in the process of transitioning their marketing to an outside firm, I think that there are many tourism departments that would be happy to have a blogger write about a trip to their town/state/country. One-off travel articles could potentially pay for your entire trip.
Get Sponsored by a Brand
Getting sponsored by a brand isn’t easy. If you are a blogger or are influential on social media, though, brands just might be willing to pay you to tweet, blog, or Facebook about their product or service.
This is similar to my Costa Rica example. If you are going to be travelling anyway, you might as well try to figure out a way you can promote a brand. It can’t hurt to ask and the worst thing that can happen is they say “no!”
Check out DC’s new book Hustle Away Debt to learn everything you wanted to know about making money through side hustles!
Have you ever made money while travelling or when you were on vacation? Do you like the idea of making money while on vacation?
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Photo by Latin America For Less
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What smart thinking to pitch your trip to the Costa Rican tourism board! I would never have thought to do something like that… Until now!
But I’d mostly like to be able to unplug. Even if just for part of the trip. I have enjoyed blogging, it’s not hard or stressful, but it’s nice to dedicate time to family.
Great idea about the travel article pitching! I hadn’t considered doing that before, but you make a great point. I’m probably going to write-up our trips anyway, so thank you for the idea!
I had a good laugh when I got to gambling!
I’m all about being able to travel and work at the same time. We are going back to Colorado again to see a few different towns (since we are thinking about moving there) and I’ll be working most of the time again.
I love the idea of a workcation! I really dig your travel article idea and I’m interested in learning more about getting sponsored. I feel like it would be a win-win situation for marketing and bloggers.
I’m always working when we take trips, but it’s easy to do when you’re a writer. The only issue I run into sometimes is finding a decent wi-fi connection, but otherwise, it’s great. In fact, I’ll be writing while we’re at the beach for the next several days!
Just got back from a trip and these are some really great ideas that I never even thought to explore. Thanks for the great post and next vacay I’ll be sure to consider making some money while away.
DealForALiving Haha it was a fun thing to throw in there to see if people were paying attention ;) Granted there ARE professional poker players out there….though some (like myself) would argue they aren’t truly gambling.
Mrs. Frugalwoods No problem! It’s worth a shot, at least. I’ve thought about starting a travel blog because it would be SOOOO easy to pitch travel ideas and just travel the world (and get paid to do it).
indebtedmom With my current situation of both my wife and I working 9-5 jobs and her being in school, I ALWAYS completely disconnect on trips. If we were getting the entire trip paid for, though, I’d be willing to take pics and write blog posts. Otherwise I want to be disconnected.
SenseofCents You definitely have the job setup that allows that. I think it’s great that you wrote about working while travelling. I think there are many people out there who would love that lifestyle.
deardebt I think marketers are more and more open to it these days. Having a travel blog would help a lot with getting paid to write travel articles. It’s definitely something I would consider down the road.
TheWriteBudget That’s awesome! Being a writer is definitely the ideal occupation for “work from anywhere” arrangements.
cheapstudents No problem! Hope you had a great trip!
I think writing some travel articles after you get back from your vacation is great. I wouldn’t really call it a vacation though if you are working throughout your time away, although if you were working only a few hours a day you could call it a partial vacation, I guess.
Not going to lie that photo you have there brings back great memories.. Miss that place and all of the cool people and existing friends I went with..
I would definitely love to travel 6 months out of the year, taking 3 or 4 6 week trips a year would be fantastic :)..
I’ll take up point 3 about being sponsored.. Must say that if these things were easy, they probably wouldn’t be worth it but the upside and reward of doing so is well worth the effort.. It also have to be something you enjoy as well.. Good luck on blackjack or poker too ;)
mycareercrusade If you can get even a few brands on board it could mean some big paydays. Travelling six months out of the year would be amazing!
debt debs I think it depends on your lifestyle. If you are travelling for fun (wherever you want) six+ months out of the year, I don’t think most people would mind working during that time.
This is what I simply love about freelancing: I can do it anytime, anywhere. That truly is a dream job. Great post, DC!
I’m torn. Part of the reason I go on vacation is to go on vacation. I don’t take too much time off to relax and enjoy myself, however, if I were to do any extended travel I probably would. Last year when I went to Detroit for just over two weeks, I did some light blogging work. I think I’d also work if I traveled more often. For now though vacation means tuning out and relaxing.
Those are some great ideas. I may pitch a travel article when I decide to go on vacation again.
Laurie TheFrugalFarmer Thanks Laurie! I think it would be such an awesome experience to travel a bit more long-term and still be able to make a living.
Beachbudget I’m on the same page with you right now. Vacation means disconnecting and relaxing. If I traveled more often, though, I would want to integrate work into my travel schedule.
Jason @ The Butler Journal It can’t hurt to pitch an article. Just keep building up your blog and the advertiser might bite.
DC @ Young Adult Money mycareercrusade Agreed, sure I could certainly adjust to that quite well but it would need to be with people that I wanted to travel with although I could probably go it alone too :)
mycareercrusade DC @ Young Adult Money I would be willing to do some solo trips, but my wife REALLY wants to travel so I’m sure she would go with a few times. I’m a huge introvert tho so a few solo trips would work for sure!
DC @ Young Adult Money mycareercrusade Good points, it’s probably completely different when you’re in a committed relationship and awesome that your wife loves and enjoys travel :)..
Didn’t pick that about you, that you are an introvert.. You seem to have a pretty big personality but I suppose introversion/extroversion doesn’t always mean loud or quiet..