How to make money while traveling and come back with cash in your pocket

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If you’re taking a trip this year, whether it’s for a week or a few months, there are ways to earn money during your travels.
You don’t have to work nonstop, either — you could Airbnb your house or apartment, sell your travel photos, rent out your car while you’re gone, or do some driving for Uber or Lyft.
Learning how to make money while traveling is easy — it just takes a little advance planning and some ingenuity.
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If you love to travel and you like making money, then figuring out a way to make some money while traveling seems like the perfect marriage. Luckily these days, there are plenty of ways to do so.

How to make money while traveling

1. Get organized

If you want to try to make money off of your trip, it helps to get organized before you head out the door. If you travel with a plan, you’ll be able to optimize your earning potential, so start by mapping out your travel schedule. Then, read through some of the ideas below for ways to make money and make a plan of action.

2. Gather your gear, or prep however else you might need to

Depending on how you plan to make money, you might need to invest in some gear. Maybe that involves picking up a better lens for your camera to take amazing photos or buying some extra battery packs for your cell phone or computer. Whatever you’ll need, once you’re organized and have researched the best way to cash in on your trip, you can prep so you’re ready when you’re on the road.

3. Sell your photos

Assuming you have the skills to take good photographs, apps make it easy to upload and target your photos for direct sales that could earn you some decent cash.

Foap, for example, is a free app that allows you to upload your photos and videos. Brands and agencies then search through the database for options to pick up and use in their advertising and marketing campaigns. Foap splits the commission with the artist 50/50, so for individual photos you’ll make $5 per photo sold. You can also join Foap missions, where brands ask for specific types of photos; those start at $50 per winning image. Stock photo sites like Shutterstock and Adobe Stock also have photo-selling capabilities.

4. Rent out your home on Airbnb

Depending on where you live, you could make a pretty penny by renting out your pad while you’re traveling. Airbnb lets you share your space on the site for free and pick your own schedule, pricing, and guest requirements. For safety, the site also allows hosts to require a government ID before booking, read reviews from past trips, and provides free property damage and liability insurance up to $1 million. (Learn more about how Airbnb protects hosts.) After that, Airbnb charges 3% per reservation, and the rest is your profit.

5. Monetize your blog

Blogs may have been around for years, but they’re still a legitimate way to make some cash on the side — if you’re smart. For example, if you’re heading out on a trip and you’ll be blogging about the gear you used on your hiking adventure, you might want to look into Amazon’s affiliate program, which allows you to earn money on products that people click on from your site to buy.

Similar affiliate marketing (which allows you to earn a commission on other products purchased directly from your site) is available through plug-ins like Thirsty Affiliates, while plug-ins like AdRotate Banner Manager allow you to place and manage advertising banners on your site for additional revenue.

6. Rent out your car

Unless you need it, renting out your car is a great way to earn some extra money while you’re out adventuring. Car sharing marketplace Turo, for example, covers you with up to $1 million in liability insurance, and your car is contractually protected against theft and physical damage.

The site also automatically sets your car’s price based on a number of different factors, and you earn 65 to 85% of the trip price, depending on the package you pick.

7. Do some driving

If you plan to take your car with you on your travels, it might be possible to sign up with a ride-sharing company like Uber or Lyft and offer up your services for a couple of hours in order to pad your travel costs.

Depending on where you’re traveling, different companies have different requirements. For example, with Uber you must have in-state auto insurance with your name on the policy and an in-state driver’s license to drive in any particular state. So be sure to read the fine print before signing up.

8. Pick up a seasonal job

If you’ll be traveling for more than a couple of weeks, you could consider picking up a seasonal gig in the place where you’ll be visiting. Sites like Job Monkey list specific beach and destination resort jobs, while CoolWorks posts jobs by category, state, and season, and even by National Park.

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