Exploring the globe while being able to work sounds amazing and intriguing in every way. Can you picture yourself being able to see the world, while making money at the same time? A dream? For most – yes, but it can come true. But how can you do it?
The idea of quitting your 9 to 5 office job and leaving your home country to travel the world sounds wonderful, but scary too.
If to go from a day job to a dream job is something you always wanted, then you should write it down the tips below.
Here are 10 tips on how to quit your job and make your dream of traveling the world while making money become reality.
1. Identify Your Goals
How Long?
How long do you see yourself traveling? For a month? 6 months? A year? Forever? Long-term travel might not be for everyone. Perhaps you just want to take a break for 6 months to a year, but it is imperative that you understand the length that you are willing to be traveling so that you can start planning accordingly. If a year is something you are considering then understand that perhaps you will have to rent out/sell your house/apartment/car etc.
Where?
Do you know where you would like to visit? Have you considered your budget? All of these answers will weight on your decision. South east Asia is one of the cheapest place to travel as well as South Africa and even South America, however if you are looking more of an European destination then you might have to consider cutting back on time or extra comfort.
2. Save Up for the First Journey
Before you quit your job make sure you save enough money for your trip or at least to get started. Sometimes things doesn’t happen exactly as we plan or we ended up wanting to stay longer at a place. In case you don’t find the opportunity you are looking for then at least you have a back up plan and don’t need to clean dishes in exchange for food. 😀
3. Find a Work Remote Opportunity
There are so many work remote opportunities nowadays. You can teach a language abroad, work with online customer service and support, make money writing, having an online store. Check this post if you want to have more insights in regards to work opportunities while traveling around the world.
4. Sign Up for a Travel Insurance
You should not leave without some form of travel insurance. Things happen when you are traveling long-term. While you don’t want to think about the worse now, you should. Plus, travel insurance is a lot cheaper than a regular health insurance in the USA.
Travel insurance is a huge umbrella that covers way more than just medical. You can use it to cover lost or stolen goods, car rentals and even work equipment. It could also cover canceled or missed flights. And even worst case scenarios, but will also depend on your coverage, it buy you an emergency flight home because of a death in the family. Shop around and look at a policy that will suit you best.
5. Get the Right Banking & Credit Cards for Traveling Abroad
If your current bank isn’t worldwide you should consider opening a new bank account before you travel. If you start counting the ATM fees you will see how these adds up in the end. As for credit cards, look for travel-specific cards that guarantee no foreign transaction fees. Personally, I have the American Airlines CitiBank credit card. They don’t charge international transactions fees and you earn miles for every dollar you spent. Keep in mind that some of these travel credit cards may also cover missed flights, lost luggage, personal work equipment theft and even some health coverage as well.
Lastly, don’t forget about the paying apps. You can easily transfer money that way or set some bills on the auto-pay.
6. Downside Your “Luggage” – Pack Light
You never want to pack too many items when you’re traveling. Not only will it weigh you down, but it’ll empty your wallet. You will have to pay for extra luggage that’s not qualified as a carry-on and often luggage get lost because of airliner mistakes.
Also remember that you will be visiting new places. Wouldn’t you prefer to buy a new clothes from the locals in Chile in case you the weather is colder than you thought and you need a sweater? Try to only pack what you absolutely need – clothes, underwear, hygiene products and your laptop. All of the rest you can buy as you need and as you go.
7. Eat Like the Locals. Embrace the Local Market & Street food
There’s no better way to experience a culture than to head right to their local food markets or try the food vendors on the streets. These types of foods can be a little bit too adventurous for some, but I can assure you that you will have an authentic experience of the true culinary and traditions of a region while helping you save money as well. Leave to eat in good restaurants only on special occasions so that you can stretch your budget while keeping the same figure. You could easily overeat when traveling if you are not mindful of your budget.
8. Pack Your Phone With the Right Travel Apps
Your smartphone will be your essential item to research and purchase your next destination deal and where to stay next. These are must have travel apps:
- Google Flights, Hopper, Skyscanner & Momondo – to compare and book cheaper flights.
- Airbnb & Hostel World – to find cheaper accommodations.
- Uber & BlaBlaCar – for cheaper car shared rides. BlaBlaCar is mostly available in Europe. It’s great way to cross countries with locals that are already going that way, sometimes for even less than half of the price.
- XE Currency – for local conversions currency.
- Google Maps & Cittymapper – for the maps in the cities.
- Mobile Passport – this app lets you skip the regular line to enter the country and is officially authorized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The down side is for the USA airports only.
- Google Trips & Sygic Travel – you can plan most of your trip on these apps. They also display the best attractions, hotels, restaurants or shops directly in an interactive map. It also lets you download the full city map on your phone so even if you have no internet you still will be able to find your way back.
- TripAdvisor – for restaurants, hotels, tours and attractions.
- Google Translate – for language translations. In case you are in a country you know nothing about the language and you need to have an idea of what you are ordering out of a Chinese menu.
There are so many good travel apps but if you get the ones above you should have a good start.
9. Fly For Free
Sounds to good to be true? Well, it’s not. If you know how to play your cards right you can building up many points with frequent flyer programs. You need to be smart about how you travel and try to keep using preferred airlines more often so that you don’t spread out your points across multiple different ones. Keeping building points with one airline can get you couple free tickets a year (off course depending on how often you travel. I personally already got three free international round trips with American Airlines. One to Europe and two to south of Brazil. You can learn more about these programs on Wikipedia frequent flyer program and by visiting sites like Extra Pack of Peanuts and Frugal Travel Guy. They are really good for tips and resources on this topic.
