The majority of people who travel abroad have some savings racked up before they get on the plane to their destination. Ideally, this is the case for you. But when you’re traveling, it helps to know that you can earn money while you’re on the road, too. This can help alleviate some of the costs of traveling, which could even allow you to travel for longer periods of time. And sometimes, you just need to earn some extra money. With that in mind, here are some tips for bringing in some cash while you’re traveling internationally:
Check Remote Job Boards
While freelancing is a solid option, if you plan to travel abroad for a long period of time, you might want more consistent work. If that’s the case, you should look into remote job boards like Remote.co, which lists full-time remote work opportunities across several field, from technology to marketing. These niche remote job platforms are a great place to start, but you can always branch out and conduct a standard Google or Indeed search and filter job results by remote or telecommuting work.
Make Money on Products You’re Already Purchasing
Using credit card rewards programs and cash-back platforms, you can make money from products you’re already purchasing. Companies like Chase, Citi Bank, Bank of America, and many others offer rewards programs that give their cardholders rewards points and cash back opportunities based on their spending habits. When you spend at particular retailers that they’re associated with, you’ll score points that are redeemable as cash or towards qualified purchases.
On the other hand, there are specific platforms designed to get you cash back on common products you’re using no matter where you are in the world. Simply sort through thousands of retail products across several categories, and you’ll get money back on the products you purchase. Then, while you’re away, you can continuously gain extra money when people you refer to the platform make purchases.
Start Freelancing
There are ways to freelance in virtually every industry, regardless of where your skillset is. From virtual assistants to freelance writers and designers, there’s plenty you can do as a freelancer. Two major sites for freelancing are UpWork and Fiverr, both of which offer platforms for freelancers to set up profiles and choose from thousands of jobs across over one dozen categories. If you love to write and have a solid writing resume, you’ll find hundreds of jobs posted within the last few days, all seeking writers at different budgets. Even newbies who are passionate about a particular industry but don’t have too much experience can break into those industries via freelancing.
Set Up a Blog With Affiliate Marketing
You can start a blog from anywhere in the world, and it’s a great way to stay busy while you’re traveling, write about your adventures, and do something you’re passionate about. Additionally, through affiliate marketing, you can gain money from your blog, no matter what industry you’re in. Whether you have a travel blog, a lifestyle blog, a beauty blog or a tech blog, you can get involved with affiliate marketing.
Through affiliate marketing, you’ll gain a commission when someone clicks on a link on your website and makes a purchase on that third-party website. For example, let’s say you have a travel blog and recommend hiking shoes sold on Amazon. If a reader clicks on that link and is taken to Amazon to make a purchase, you’ll get a commission off of that purchase. Although the process is easy enough, it’s important to understand that you’ll need to grow your blog and audience before it gains enough traction to start becoming lucrative. This times time, patience, and consistency.
Launch a Dropshipping Business
If you’ve ever thought about running an international ecommerce business, dropshipping could be the way to go. Launching a dropshipping business is very low risk and low maintenance. Here’s how it works: set up a website on an ecommerce platform like Shopify and integrate it the Oberlo application, which allows you to pull products directly from major supplier congregation sites like Wish. Within just a few minutes, you can important dozens of products.
When a customer orders a product, it’s shipped directly from that supplier, which means you never have to deal with product or order processing on your own. No matter where you are in the world, you can run a passive dropshipping business. To increase your chances of success, choose niche products within in an industry that you’re passionate about.