Money doesn’t grow on trees. When you need quick cash here’s 25 unique ways to earn it right now.
Desperate times / Photo Fanboy30
You reach into you wallet to pay for your hostel bed for the night, and come up empty. You dig deeper, finding only receipts and pocket lint.
You realize you’re out of money.
Nervous, you excuse yourself from the hostel clerk and rip open your backpack, in search of a secret stash of cash. Nothing. Not even a few coins.
All you have left are some smelly socks, an overdrawn bank account and an unquenchable thirst for adventure.
What do you do? Pack up your gear, hang your head in shame as you call your friends/parents to send the money for a ticket home? Or do you consider these innovative options for funding a life on the road:
1. Travel Writer
Considered by many as the ultimate travel job, writing for online publications can help you buy your next mug of beer. Work your way to becoming the next Hunter S. Thomson by learning about the craft and querying your next inspired idea.
2. Wield that camera
National Geographic may not be knocking your door down, but that doesn’t mean that your photos don’t deserve an audience. Try selling your landscape and portrait shots to travel publications or submit it to a stock photography company such as Shutterpoint.com, Andes Press Agency and Getty Images.
3. Video journalism
With the advent of Youtube amateur videos are in great demand. Become a backpack film maker, set up your own vblog or simply sell it to tourism sites.
National Geographic may not be knocking your door down, but that doesn’t mean that your photos don’t deserve an audience.
4. Busking
If you’re talented (or even if you aren’t), this is a great way to earn money. Just make sure you’re not taking someone else’s “spot” and check the legalities of performing in a certain area. Or if the police come, you could just run away really fast.
5. Work an a Bookstore
It’s a great way to show-off your “intellectual” side whilst devouring the latest books. Keep in mind that most may require a work permit before they hire you. A great alternative is to bunk in Paris’ famed Shakespeare and Company where the owner offers free beds and work in exchange that you promise to read at least one book a day.
6. Online Poker
This is the perfect money-making means for risk takers. Many travelers who have funded their trips from their winnings on Online Poker. Make sure to weigh the risks of wiping out your bank account and developing a gambling problem.
7. Massage
Have you been known to make your dates swoon with your suave massage moves? Maybe it’s time you put your seduction skills to good use by working as a freelance masseuse. Find willing clients on the beach or a location where people are looking to relaaaaxxxx. Invest in some scented oil, clean nails and your most disarming smile and you’ll have enough funds for your own spa treatment.
WWoofing it for cash / Photo strickeal
8. Farm Work
Fruit picking and farm work is one of the favorite possibilities for hippies, idealists and masochists. Though it is literally hard labor, it’s a paying job with invaluable perks, like meeting new people, enjoying the outdoors and having a unique experience.
One of the best resources is Transitions Abroad, Matador’s Guide to WWOOFING and Finding Paying Work in Europe.
9. Construction
If you’d like to fatten your wallet whilst trimming your waistline, then take on some short-term construction work. Who knows, with your newly sculpted abs and beefy biceps, you may find other uses for that tool belt.
10. Work in a hostel
Many hostels hire part-time workers in exchange for cheaper rates on rooms. Cleaning up after travelers may seem pretty disgusting, but it’s an opportunity for quick cash, a free bed and some new friends.
11. Painting
You don’t have to cut off your ear to get a painting gig, but you can put your artistic abilities to good use by offering your services for home, office or building refurbishments.
12. Dishwasher or Kitchen Staff
Grab some leftovers without having to resort to dumpster diving. Experience the stress, camaraderie and craziness of working in a restaurant’s kitchen. It may even open your eyes to a new career path like it did for bad-ass chef extraordinaire, Anthony Bourdain.
Get prodded and poked by nervous science students in the UK, US and in Europe as a guinea pig.
13. For the love of science…or some cash
If you were the type of kid that purposely ignores the expiration date on milk cartons just to “see what would happen,” then this is the job for you. Get prodded and poked by nervous science students in the UK, US and in Europe with Get Paid to Guinea Pig.
14. Donate Blood
So what if you feel a bit woozy? A train to Russia is not cheap. Sissy. Plus, you’re helping save lives.
15. Modeling
Do you enjoy staring at your reflection on train windows and hostel mirrors? Then throw down that backpack for a few hours and head off to the glamorous world of commercial and print modeling. Often found in the gigs section of craigslist ads and city job sites, these opportunities require little more than a few cheesy poses.
16. Movie Extra
Run through the streets of Berlin with Jason Bourne or flee Godzilla’s rampage in Tokyo by working as a movie extra. You can check out casting agencies, local job posts or even the local couchsurfing group where independent film makers often post openings. It’s a great way to rub elbows with international celebrities (or at least tell your friends you did), earn some fast cash and possibly get discovered.
17. Recycle
Yes, saving the environment does pay. In most European cities, you can get cash back for the bottles you collect. Scour the hostel lounge and trash cans for some empty containers which you can take to the local supermarket where you’ll be given enough change to finally buy that banana you’ve been eyeing.
Play the streets as a busker / Photo Kafka4prez
18. Sports events
Run after wayward golf balls or mop up the latest spillage from the Tae Kwon Do championships. For sports enthusiasts, it’s a great way to earn some money whilst gaining insight on the local games.
19. Trim some bushes
No, not those, pervert. Knock on a few doors and ask if they need any cleaning, yard work or repairs done. Though you may be chased off by Rover (or Ganesh if you’re in India), with a rumbling stomach, anything is worth a try.
20. Expositions
If you consider yourself a master of setting up tents, then challenge yourself by working at an exposition. Find these jobs on the city classified pages and help put up the displays, tarps and booths for a quick and easy buck.
21. Write Content
If you’ve been annoying your friends and family back home with your lengthy emails, then maybe its time to get paid by writing about other things than yourself. Work for a site that pays per hits such as blogit.com, helium.com and Associatedcontent.com.
22. Resell stuff
Don’t quite know what to do with that weird doll you got in Romania? Then sell it in your next location. From convincing your bunkmate to buy your lucky charms to auctioning fleamarket finds on ebay, reselling unusual travel goods can turn into quite the lucrative on-the-road business.
23. Handicrafts
If you’ve got a knack for crochet or can weave a basket at hyper speed, then selling some of your crafts can be used towards funding your next bus ticket. At the very least, you could make yourself something warm for those homeless evenings.
24. Festival Stalking
One of the best ways to combine a crazy cultural adventure, lots of drinking and enough dough for your next hangover spot is to work the festival circuit. You could either apply for a gig in one of the stands or push your own agenda by selling homemade space cakes, jell-o shots or setting up a kissing booth.
25. Sail Away
Sail off towards the sunset by working on a yacht or a cruise ship. You can find work by perusing crew job sites or simply asking people by the harbor if they have any leads. It provides a sense of freedom, a means to sustain to yourself and a way to get to your next stop.
Being on the road with very little or no cash may seem daunting at first, but the challenge of using your imagination to provide for yourself will make the experience all the more exciting and valuable.
Face the fear! There are always opportunities for the resourceful and intrepid traveler.
Any money-making ideas we missed? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Want to learn the craft of travel writing?
Sign up for Matador’s new Travel Writing School and get the skills you need.
About the Author
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26 Comments... join the discussion!
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"Or if the police come, run away really fast" - LOL. I SO saw this before in Taipei. The performer suddenly shut off his music and jet, leaving the crowd in confusion… until the cop car rolled up behind us. Funny stuff.
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These were some really innovative ideas…but I'm laughin' at the suggestion of prostitution…smh… wow
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I love your article, thanks for the suggestions.
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ps grow up i'm 21
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Why don't you speak for yourself instead of co-opting my name?
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Great ideas, about the music I already thought of that.
Just being creative is sometimes the solution.
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wow, thanks for the article. i got some ideas on what to do while i'm being broke as of this moment. ^^
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What is "5. Work an a Bookstore" work IN a bookstore?
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How about selling small stuff from door to door, cafe to cafe or selling stuff in the wet market for the sake of instant money and then start building an business in the internet? I mean, one sure is an expert to something, share it online and make money through adsense :):)
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It is so pathetic when the typo-police cannot keep their mouths shut about any little spelling or grammar mistake that someone posts online. These people have serious problems. In this case, probably just jealous as they don't have the nerve to leave their parents' basements.
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Also Tarot reading is a great one. It doesn’t matter if you believe in it or not, if you carry a pack of cards around you can always get a free drink/meal.
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My mate Darren does a couple of card and "magic tricks" . He approaches groups of people in pubs or similar like this:
"gents, do you want a laugh" he then proceeds into a routine befriending the group using humour and basic tricks u can pull out of any magic book. So he entertains the group and has a laugh. The group naturally asks about him and he tells them straight, "Im out of money and I do this to raise money to pay for my bed and buy a few beers"Ive also seen guys selling $2 ponchos and umbrellas for double/triple the price out side of music festivals. Talk to the owner of the shop, tell him what your doing, ask if you can take 10-20 and if u can bring unsold stock back and give him a little cut.
Find nice flowers, cut a pile and sell them around the night clubs.
For when u finish your travels: Previously I rented out my spare room for $200pw, then I rented out the same room for $300 instead by putting 2 backpackers in there instead. they were paying $160 at hostel, now they save $10 and if they pull a chick they can bring her home.
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Nice article, thanks for the suggestions.
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What about teaching English? In a lot of big cities you can fill up your schedule with private in-home lessons for kids or adults. You can find online classified ad sites and post there or make flyers and hang them up around town. Of course the best way is to have an in–someone you know who works at a school or a language agency who can recommend you.
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Suggestions are nice, i am sure that those (who are broke) will make benefit of this.
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Newsflash: Writers don’t write their own sidebars. Nor do they (generally) code HTML or choose photos. Ahem.
Two other things I’ve seen are itinerant henna tattoo artist in a hostel in Florianopolis, Brazil, and wandering haircutter in Guatemala City. I don’t know how well the henna guy did, but the haircutter made a ton of cash from people who were too skittish to try the real deal out in Guatemala City. He did a great job, and once one willing victim stepped forward, the line was dozens deep.
nice article!
eileen
http://www.bearshapedsphere.blogspot.com
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These are great ideas. I’ll checkout Shakespeare & Company. I do love bookstores. I usually hang out at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ.
Another idea to earn cash is to be a dog walker or “temporary” baby sitter. You could always work for the city picking up trash. What about washing windows? How about being a “temporary” office staffer or “go-fer?”
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My brother is a vagabond who travels all over with a band, and he makes more money than my dad does working a steady job. It’s funny, a very similar incident happened to him in Vienna - he and his fellow buskers were playing music in a square and these coppers saw them and chased them down the street.
My brother says that you generally get more money with a bigger band, because it’s a larger and more unified spectacle. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have some dancers with you - my bro’s band has two charleston dancers who make the music really move and encourage audience participation, raising their endorphine levels and therefore their likelihood-of-giving-you-money levels.
Thanks so much for all these other suggestions, they empower and inspire me! I can use several of these techniques myself, and plan on it.
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Be careful about donating blood. When I worked in China, hundreds of people in Anhui province were found to be infected with HIV because when they donated blood and the blood mobile was reusing needles.
It came to light in the early 2000, not sure what year the infection took place.↵ -
I’ve heard of hairdressers doing cuts in hostels to build up funds before, it’s an excellent trade to know and be mobile.
Another story I’ve heard is a guy in India whos money came to an end, he got a few of the local foods together, translated what it was and sold to fellow travellers on his own stall, as he spoke English he was more approachable then the natives and made a lot more money then them, after a few weeks he managed to save enough for a flight out of India and onto his next destination.
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I think it’s supposed to say Work AT A Bookstore, not AN
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This doesn’t seem very realistic…
But funny anyway↵
