Sneaky Ways to Make Money While You Travel
Photo by Alexey Kuzma/Stocksy. Design by Lauren DeLuca for Yahoo Travel.
Taking a vacation is supposed to be a relaxing and exciting experience. But even if you are traveling on a budget, planning a trip can be an expensive undertaking. While lots of people get paid vacation time, that money doesn’t always go far when you still have bills to pay at home.
But what if there was a way of making money – good money – from wherever in the world you choose to be? Maybe even enough money to pay for the trip itself.
Thanks to the recent expansion of the “sharing economy,” there are now many ways in which you can watch the dollars roll in, and all from the comfort of your beach lounger.
Here are some of the best:
FlightCar
With FlightCar, you can make some extra money and not have to worry about parking at the airport ever again. Double win! (Photo: iStock)
No matter where you fly from, airport parking is usually expensive. Sometimes, offensively so. You can end up paying the same amount as your car payment just for the privilege of leaving your car in a lot that is still a bus ride away from the airport terminal. Enter FlightCar, the company that lets you park at the airport for free, as long as you agree to rent out your vehicle, fully insured, to screened and approved members while you are out of town. If your car gets rented, you get paid. And if it doesn’t, you get free parking and a carwash. Regular renters can make up to $500 a month.
Related: How We Made Money Off Our Teeny-Weeny Trailer
Airbnb
If you don’t mind having strangers staying in your home temporarily, renting out where you live while you are on vacation is an easy way to make good money. Some people have become so successful at this process that they now make hundreds of thousands of dollars on Airbnb. Depending on the size and location of your property, you could make hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a week. With properties to rent in 190 countries across the globe, you can use Airbnb to find your own vacation accommodations as well.
Related: How This Guy Made $200k on Airbnb
Gigwalk
You’re going to want to walk around and do some shopping, so why not make a few bucks along the way? (Photo: Aila Images/Stocksy)
One of the most popular vacation pastimes is sightseeing, so why not get paid while you do it? Gigwalk is an app available for both iOS and Android devices that allows users to see quick jobs (gigs) available wherever you are. While only currently available in the U.S., anyone taking a domestic vacation can earn small amounts, paid into a PayPal account, for carrying out quick tasks such as checking shopping displays or secret shopping a retail outlet. Tasks can take anywhere between five minutes to a few hours and earn you cash amounts from $3 to $100.
Field Agent
Similar to Gigwalk, Field Agent is a market research and consumer audit company that, via a mobile app, allows people to sign up and get paid for carrying out brief market research tasks in their local vicinity – mostly mystery shopping opportunities or product testing. The jobs currently on the app pay from a couple of dollars to $10 for just two minutes work. But there is a chance to “win” $50 for the top three submissions on several of the jobs. Brands like Costco, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola and Walgreens are clients of the platform.
Related: How I Became a Millionaire While Traveling the World
Fiverr.com
Make some money on the go by remotely performing tasks like proofreading, social media, and graphic design. (Photo: iStock)
The website Fiverr.com allows people to pay $5 for a whole host of services, including website design, social media, graphic design, proofreading, and writing services. The company has an app for both iOS and Android, so if you have specific skills, you can offer your remote services through your phone from anywhere in the world. It’s a great way to make some extra cash while on the move.
Takelessons.com
Are you a teacher? Takelessons.com is a very impressive online marketplace for teachers of all different disciplines to offer their remote services. Whether you teach singing, algebra, website building, or Spanish, you can sign up for an account, specifying your hourly rate, and provide your “lessons” via Skype from anywhere in the world. Students can sign up for a time slot and you get paid via Paypal straight into your account.
Clarityfm.com
Use your business savvy to help others and make a few bucks. (Photo: Lumina/Stocksy)
Clarity.fm, like Fiverr and Takelessons.com, is an online marketplace where people can offer their services to those in need. However, the difference with Clarity.fm is the service it provides – business advice from experienced professionals and industry experts targeted at entrepreneurs. To be an expert for Clarity.fm you have to be verified and stick to a specific etiquette code, but then the sky really is the limit when it comes to earning potential with some experts making hundreds of dollars per expert call. There is even an ‘other’ section for non-business related advice which would work for experts from a more creative field.
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