It all started five years ago, when I fell into a deep depression owing to the fact that I was never meant for a sedentary life; rather, I was always a nomad at heart. It was time to hit the road, but there was one, sort of major problem: I had no money. In fact, I had $6,000 of credit card debt instead. This is certainly not the point at which post people decide to hit the road. But I had no choice: it was do or die trying.
Though I also learned to live with no money – hitchhiking and camping along the way – there came a point where I just needed to earn some cash to make my traveling lifestyle work permanently. But what?
Working Holiday Visas
The first thing I did to start paying off my debt was a working holiday in Australia, and later in New Zealand. I did bar and office work, slowly hacking away at my debt while living in some of the most expensive countries on earth. But this couldn’t last forever; after paying off my debt by way of working holiday visas, it was time to move on. I was sick of these countries, and needed to figure something else out.
Broke Again
Next I hitchhiked across Canada on a whopping $20. I had no work at the time, and my eyes were yet to open to the beauty of working online. Still, I managed to get by, and made it all the way from the west to east coast of Canada… and back again. This was all by way of my thumb and wild camping.
Time to Find a Way to Make Proper Money
As time went on I grew wary of being constantly broke. There had to be a way that I could travel wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted, however I wanted. But what? I hitchhiked down to Mexico with my boyfriend at the time, who scored a job working in a surf shop for a whole $2 an hour! We lived directly on the beach in a tent, cooked our own food, and it still wasn’t enough for him to live off of.
My First Job Online
I racked my brain for days. I panicked. What on earth was I going to do?! Returning home was simply not an option for my nomadic self. Finally I remembered doing transcription work at a law office I’d briefly worked at. After sending out over one hundred emails, it was settled: I had a few companies who wanted me to work virtually for them. Unfortunately, as time went on, I began to absolutely detest this type of work, as I was usually listening to and typing dry, painful content. After a year or so, it was time for another change.
Odd Jobs
I did a few odd jobs along the way, surveys and the like, but they never paid the bills, so to speak (as really, I had no bills other than to feed myself). What next? Fortunately, I soon met a popular travel blogger who desperately needed a virtual assistant. Perfect! I had worked many office jobs in the past, and am someone who is very on top of things. We worked together for around a year, before it was time to move on to greener pastures.
Starting to Earn Off my Blog
With the skills I had learned from my former boss, it was time to put them into place for my own blog, which was merely for fun prior to this. I worked and worked, and finally began earning money through ads on my site – slowly but surely. I built it up more and more, to a point that I could earn a decent living (at least decent for someone who lives in a tent and often hitchhikes!) I even manage to secure many free tours these days, like doing the Stratosphere Rides in Las Vegas (because who doesn’t want to ride the tallest thrill rides on earth?!) Before I could never go on such adventures as I was too broke, but my blog has allowed me not only to earn money from anywhere I have wifi in the world, but I am also able to do magnificent tours and activities without paying a cent. Nope, all they need is my writing.
Conclusion
No matter who you are, there is a way to earn money on the road. Maybe you’re great with construction – that’s needed everywhere. Perhaps you’re more like me, and are better with office type things, thus being able to find work online. Whatever your talent, where there’s a will, there’s definitely a way.
By Danielle Ditzian –
