While the global travel industry is now beginning to recover from the impact of the coronavirus, there’s no doubt that the pandemic had a highly detrimental impact on this marketplace.
Between 2019 and 2020, for example, global leisure spending on travel and tourism more than halved to $2.33 trillion, from a peak of nearly $5 trillion prior to this period.
But with international borders now reopening and travel opportunities becoming plentiful again, you may already be planning your next overseas trip.
However, the global cost-of-living crisis continues to be fuelled by rising consumer costs, so it’s crucial that you find ways of saving money when traveling and potentially even earning income when embarking on extended international trips.
How to Save Money When Travelling
We’ll start with savings, which can be unlocked when you start to plan your trip and book the finer details. Here are some practical tips to keep in mind:
- #1. Book Online and Through a Single Interface Where Possible: Online travel agencies offer a great way to seek out low-cost holidays in the digital age, while providing a convenient, one-stop shop through which you can book flights, hotels and packaged options. You can book cheap flights in eDreams or also, include hotels, for example, while even combining these markets as part of more comprehensive deals. What’s more, sites of this nature specialize in offering low-cost options across the board, which is ideal in any economic climate and makes the process of managing your booking much easier.
- #2. Be Flexible When it Comes to Time, Dates and Destinations: If you’re building your desired travel experience from the ground up and remain flexible in terms of where and when you travel, you can also seek out significant cash savings. For example, holidays booked during school terms are usually priced cheaper due to an overall lack of demand, while midweek flights are also cheaper than those at the weekend. So, try to construct a holiday that’s naturally low-cost even without applied discounts and promotional offers.
- #3. Use Local Currencies Where Possible: As a US citizen, you’ll probably know that the dollar is the world’s most popular and biggest reserve currency, making it widely accepted (and often preferred) in many parts of the world. However, retailers and outlets may apply a price premium when accepting US dollars in order to cover conversion costs, so you’re better exchanging your greenback for local currency at a favorable rate prior to your trip. Of course, this will also incur a conversion fee in most instances, but you can at least time the transactions to make the most of real-time currency exchange rates.
What About Making Money When Travelling?
While these savings can quickly accumulate to create a more cost-effective travel experience, this may not be enough when enjoying extended or indefinite periods of travel like an expat.
In this case, you may also need to identify ways of earning money and generating income while overseas. This can be challenging (especially if you also want to make the most of your experience while traveling), so it’s important to identify the best and most flexible ways of earning relevant to your unique skill set. Here are some general ideas to keep in mind!
- #1. Consider Trading the Financial Markets: When traveling, passive income streams are undoubtedly the best and most convenient option, as they enable you to accrue earnings without having to offer your time and physical activity in exchange. Targeting markets such as forex and stocks can be particularly lucrative, so long as you take time to understand the markets and develop a keen sense of determinism in terms of how they work. This is a high risk endeavor, but you can minimize this by capping your leverage (which refers to the amount of take on when financing trade positions).
- #2. Freelance Online and Market Your Skills: If you have a marketable skill and are able to work flexibility when traveling, the next best option is to work as a freelancer. This way, you can take full control of your schedule and pricing, while working as many hours as you like per day and each week. This contributes to a so-called “digital nomad” lifestyle, where you can work virtually as a copywriter, graphic designer or similar employee and from anywhere in the world. Ideally, you’ll have some experience in your field and a demonstrable track record behind you, as otherwise it can be difficult to win contracts or charge a premium for your services.
- #3. Become a Tutor: English (American or otherwise) is the most widely spoken language in the world, with 1,452 million speakers located across the globe. Learning English is therefore in high demand in developing and emerging economies, so if you’re fluent in the language, you may want to offer your services as a tutor when visiting certain parts of the world. There may be some academic requirements in some parts of the globe, but in regions such as Southeast Asia, you should be able to teach English with relative ease.
The Bottom Line
So, there you have it; a brief guide to saving and making money when traveling the world. Both considerations may be relevant to you, especially if you intend to spend an indefinite amount of time abroad and will need to earn income to help sustain your travels.
Just remember to be proactive when seeking out ways of saving money, while identifying the potential income streams that are most relevant to you.
