Life is a wonderful journey, and you need to be prepared for different phases in life. You could be living in a house this month and traveling full-time the following month. One thing that can ease that transition is a viable source of income from the road.

This changing dynamic in the workforce is truly helpful for those who want to travel full-time or on an extended basis. Because you’ll still have expenses whether you are wanting to travel in an RV and pay for campgrounds, or are staying in AirBnB’s or hotels, you’ll always need some money to fulfill your wanderlust. 

After the declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic, many companies had to change the traditional way of doing business. It was a wake-up call that things can change; the good thing is that most people were able to continue working, just online instead of in the office.

But what will you do if after the pandemic, your company discontinues remote work? Hopefully this article will help give you some ideas to transfer your skills and experience to something new. Below is a breakdown of reliable ways to make money online: 

1. Translation Services

Can you read and write in a second language? You can use those skills to earn money. Translation is well suited to remote work and it is very flexible. Often, rather than working traditional hours, you make money per assignment. It is dependent on the speed of delivery; the faster you clear, the faster and more money you will earn. Numerous online platforms can help deliver services such as Upwork and Freelancer. After delivery, you can quickly get paid via Paypal. 

2. Graphic Design & Illustration 

Are you a fan of crafting creative designs? It is an excellent opportunity to create graphics for different companies. Graphic design is a craft where professionals create visual content to communicate messages. This can be anything from small projects like logos or presentation templates to website and application interface design. You can start small and use freelancing platforms to create a portfolio. Once you’ve established a body of work, you can start sourcing for clients and dictating your rate of payment. If funds are tight when you are starting out, you can use free tools like Gimp and Canva. After you have steady income, you can upgrade and use the paid ones such as Photoshop. 

3. Video Editing

If you enjoy editing, you can earn from that skill. You can start building your portfolio with your own travels. As you visit amazing sites, spare some time to take great videos and upload them to a YouTube channel like ours. You can eventually earn an income stream from that while building a portfolio to display your work. Then you can use that opportunity to work for others and earn more money. In fact, many large YouTube channels outsource their work.

4. Online Courses and Teaching

The best way to share what you know is by creating pre-recorded online lessons that will help others learn something new. You can create a course about anything you are an expert on including baking, budgeting, or photography. Sean & I combined our passion for personal finance and full-time travel in our course, Full-Time RV Finance.

If you are looking for regular pay related to online teaching, you can teach English to students who are based in China and are between the ages of 4-12 through a company called VIPKid. All classes are held one-on-one and conducted online through their portal (very similar to Skype or Facetime). To apply, all you need is a Bachelor’s degree and some experience teaching or tutoring kids (even Sunday School is relevant).

5. Drop Shipping Ecommerce Business

Drop shipping helps business people who want to operate their business but are scared of huge inventory costs. Drop shipping helps to sell products without having any inventory. It is a great business strategy to make sales; the disadvantage is that you will need upfront starting fees. When done the right way, you will be sure of decent pay. To get started, use an online store like Shopify and get products from Oberlo and AliExpress. Learn more from Shopify’s Ultimate Guide to Drop Shipping.

6. Blogging

Blogging is a great way to earn an income. You can write about something you love, and after gaining more followers, you will make more money. There are several different ways to earn an income through blogging. If you don’t have a blog, you can write for someone else’s. Many companies hired bloggers to write articles for them. If you want to earn money from your own blog, one of the easiest ways is through commissions earned by recommending products you use and trust. Those commissions are also known as affiliate income. Once you have regular traffic to your site, you can also earn money by selling advertising on your site.

Learn more in this FREE online course to help you get started blogging.

7. Become a Social Media Influencer

Did you know you can earn money as an Instagram or TikTok influencer? First you’ll need to build an audience, but it doesn’t have to be huge. Many companies are looking to work with micro influencers that can recommend their products or services. The key to being successful is to also be selective. Only work with companies that you trust and purchase from yourself.

My friend Lauren has written a book sharing her tips for growing your audience: How to Grow To 10K Followers, Become An Influencer, And Start Monetizing Your Account.

8. SEO Services for Small Businesses

One thing that every small business website needs (including bloggers) is help optimizing their sites for search engines. This helps them rank higher on Google, get more website visits, and earn more money. You can learn about SEO techniques online and then offer your services to other online businesses and bloggers. In fact, if you have a blog yourself, it is a great way to market your services and showcase your results. You can offer services from freelance platforms, networking, or cold pitching to new business owners. 

9. Traditional Remote Positions

As previously mentioned, many employers have embrace remote employees. FlexJobs, is a great site for those seeking remote work (also known as telecommuting) positions. Sean used it in his job search after retiring from the Air Force. Don’t worry if you currently have a job that doesn’t seem to lend itself to remote work. Sean worked in a hospital laboratory. Most people would think that can’t be done remotely, but he was able to take the skills and experience he had and find a quality control position that could be performed over the computer.

Other Ideas to Support Full-Time Travel

If you are looking for additional ideas for funding your full-time travel adventures, see this article where I discuss travel and seasonal jobs.

The possibilities are endless. If you can dream it, you can do it!