How to travel long term when you're broke ???
 

Long story short..

I lost my main job a few months ago then went to Canada and spent ALL my savings on an Epic Canoe trip... doh ! (worth it though ;) )

So. All I have left now is my Triumph Tiger and about £500.

I'm having no luck finding work apart from sporadic bike repairs in the UK a so thinking of how far and for how long I could travel RTW for instead.

I'm 32 and too old for working holiday Visas in the obvious Commonwealth Economies and I like to keep moving.

I'm assuming finding 'Cash in hand' work in this recession is going to be pretty hard. On my recent travels I didn't talk to anyone finding easy work.

Couch surfing and wild camping are on my list for keeping costs low but what can pay for petrol, food and beer money ??????

I've sold a few articles but they don't pay too well and the work is few and far between.

Let the brainstorming commence !! :smartass:

Start your own business, get it up and running and then put in a manager and travel on the profit of the business or sell it and then travel with the proceeds.

I think cash in hand work in this economy is a total non-starter to be honest.

Self employed mechanics can do quite well in down turns as people try to save money on main dealers - what is your bike/marque specialty?

Scooter/small bike dealership?

Brake/tyre/exhaust/accessory fitting business?

Might need to relocate though - the economy down here (SE) is not too bad at all right now.

Sell your triumph and get a cheap 250 or another scrap bike :scooter:. Then you should have plenty left for a good tour. :thumbup1:

Yeah... A definite option. But it's only worth £2500 and that £2000 cash back won't last long in Europe.

I'm thinking more of ideas for a long term solution, but yeah.. Scrape it from where you can.

Already Ebayed everything else before my Africa Trip :innocent:

I thought it was worth around 5000.- :(

Check out this site Ted, it could be the answere you're looking for.

Find Hosts in Europe - Help Exchange

Jeez, this is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

Regards
Chris

helpx is great. I'm a paid up member. Thing is, they dont pay anything. Great for accomodation...

Mick, I accept PayPal...

this might be a longshot... is there an equivalent of "harvest trail" in europe or the UK?

Harvest Trail - Harvest jobs - Australian JobSearch

when you're paid by weight, hard work = good coin.

or, visit australia... the $ is ridiculously high against the major currencies. you might even go home with more in the pocket than you started with.

if you can repair small engines or use mechanised equipment you can rock up on a farm, let it be known to the owner that you have skills, and you'll quickly be out of the field and tinkering in the shed, or sitting on an air-con john deere with MP3 player (summer is coming).

Visa Options - Working Holiday - Visas & Immigration

rent your home, sell your house or even buy a house sounds mad, but find the right property in the right area chop the place up to create more small rooms and rent to students , with the right place you could clear the mortgage and have a little left .
Go to an overseas employment agency, or contact one of the international charity's, see if there's some work there ??
The lottery or the 3.15 at haydock park !!!
I have chosen to put my house up for sale , so just sitting back and waiting now

Ted, there are ways but I think you need luck to be on your side. Let me tell you a little story..........

A mate of my Brother's went on a tourist holiday to Thailand a few years back. He quickly got the dog with the resort so he got on a bus intending to do a day-trip. He ended up getting on another few buses and doing a bit of hitching. Eventually he arrived at a little village with nice beach and decided to stay for a few days. While he was there, he fixed a fisherman's outboard motor.
A couple of days later, another chap brought him a couple of "dead" outboards and he managed to get one running, keeping the dead one. As the weeks went by, he built up a stock of wrecked motors and started buying, selling and fixing all manner of stuff.
After a few months, he got permission from the village to build his own house and employed a couple of local lads to help him out with the build and the business.

Europe sucks for starting a business on a small budget. Been there, done that and I am glad that I only lost 2500 euros on it. There are too many regulations and laws here. Asia and Africa is a much better place in this respect.

For the OP: You could try teaching English or something. I've heard there are jobs in Denmark and Belgium... maybe someone here can tell more about that.

Sell a kidney? Become a male escort?

Brainstorming - how about this? But not up your street maybe.

I've known one or two people who have been drivers of those overland adventure trucks (Dragoman and similar).

As far as I know, there's a constant, if not very high, demand for drivers. And the main qualification seems to be "I've been there, and there, and there."
And, "I can mend that, and that."

Again as far as I know, most drivers only do the job for a while, maybe one season, another reason for the ongoing demand for new drivers.

So maybe a possibility for a year of earning? You'd be travelling, but on 6 or 8 wheels instead of 2.
And you must have tons of experience to offer.

What are you qualified to do?

Unfortunately, I'm too old for a working holiday Visa and Australia is way too expensive to travel and not work in. For me anyway.

When I said I only had my bike and £500, I was being serious :Beach:

Inspiring. I've been waiting for something like that to happen for years. I suppose you have to make these things happen yourself though.

I already sold one and my girlfriend said I'm not allowed (There's always one spoil sport)

Yup... Seen and talked to many of these people while on the road. Some of them love it and some hate it. I think it depends on your tolerance of 'GAP YAAARS'

That's a good shout actually. I wouldn't really be travelling anywhere I wanted to travel though. hmmmmmmmm

Originally in IT and Software QA zzzzzzzzzzz

Got all my Motorcycle Tech C&G's and IMI's and worked a lot with motorcycle sales.

Also done a little freelance journalism which I'm hoping to push a little further outside of the U.K.

I'm going back to college next month to qualify in Fabrication/Welding techniques so hoping that will lead somewhere.

I'm seriously thinking of starting my own motorcycle based fabrication and Overland Customising business since I have a large kitted out and importantly 'rent free' workshop already.

Nice idea, pursue what you love and all that.

The biggest problem though is that there is plently of others that want to do the same thing. Competition drives the margins low, volumes are low, sales sporadic. The business plan is a bit murky, sorry to say.

If you are keen on the idea, start it up as a sideline business, keep your overhead low and let it organically grow without the burden of it having to support you. That way at least the business has a fighting chance of success. You can be certain, that if it actually becomes successful after a few years of hard work, it will pull you into it full time. In the meantime, some boring work to pay the bills will keep the pints full.

My expectations exactly. I will hopefully doing other projects along side it. :thumbup1:

The problem with your plan is if you become a good fabricator, your customers won't let you go :) Ideally there would be two good mechanics in a business... one is traveling, the other one is at home working.

Ted unfortunately I think your options are limited if, as it sounds you want to take of sooner rather than later.
Starting a small business takes start up capital and usually requires long hours and little return beyond pouring any capital straight back into the business for a good period of time.
To get to the point where its profitable to fund a trip, pay employees, cover costs and you can put in a manager you could possibly trust would most probably take years.

Given your too old for most work visa programs any work in a foreign country is most likely low paid, under the table, with maybe food and board thrown in.
You could get enough for an airfare and maybe a months living costs and volunteer on an organic farm, work in a hostel(sounds lame but say if it was a cool place with lots to do it might be a place to spend 3-6 months with minimal costs) or similar.
If your not able to save in this situation to at least get you to the next situation where you can repeat the above then I think your options are limited.
I would probably just work any jobs I could find doing multiple jobs if required to get the hours up, stacking supermarket shelves late night, whatever it takes. The key is obviously keeping your costs down with free or minimal rent and commuting costs. Can you move in with your parents, family, friends while you work your butt off?

If you can repair big bikes,change parts and like İstanbul, I will talk to my friends who has workshops and services here..But its very hard to get a working and residence permit so can be during your visa period...I guess same laws everywhere..So all work offers will be illegal and adventure on this part of the world...
My personal idea is whatever you can do is better in home country and lands..
Wish you all the best...

IT contracting is pretty well paid, no?

Stories of contractors earning a £1000 per day are not uncommon..... don't need to work too many days to save up a good chunk of money on those rates.....

Most well paid jobs are pretty dull.

Hi,

Thats what i wanted to write as well...to travel 9 months around Southamerica was only 2500 Euro including bying a small bike:

Motorbike trip around Southamerica: Chile and Argentina part 1

Travel save, Tobi

How may kilometers have you ridden in total in those 9 months Tobi?

Hi,

Around southamerica 28.000 km wildcamping and couchsurfing this way i met so many new friends that i will be back very soon :)

Petrol in Venezuela was free and very cheap in Equador and Bolivia (not paying the tourist price) and riding a local bike is not only cheap but you also get in contact with the local people more easy and can find parts if needet...

cu, Tobi

Crikey! that is some tight budgeting! so tight imho that it must squeak!!
That works that out roughly to be €400 for fuel give or take, you said €700 for your honda 125 bike so that leaves you an average of only approx €5,2 or so a day to live on!:eek3:
Pfffew! amazing!

That is very impressive. I spent more than that on Beer per day while in South America jeiger

I think you will find that they are stories, you sometimes get the exceptional person who can command it, but that is rare.

Unless you know different ????

Current rates are less than 50% that (at least for the PS work I do which is very ad-hoc). (and then I still have to take care of tax and expenses). But at least I can get to travel more this way.

500 quid a day then - can still save a lot on that....

I knew guys earning that kind of cash when I lived in the UK.

I'd rather eat out of the bin than go back to working behind a desk at a computer again.

Made me suicidal.... I could literally feel my life wasting away from under me.

I put it in the same category as call centre work which I managed for about a month before I was comtemplating burning the place down in my dinner break :cool4:

Probably not for you then, Ted, I would suggest.

Problem is, all jobs are shit - that's why it is called 'work'. It's just a question of how much one can put up with to earn the money [=freedom] one needs/wants.

Personally, I go for the highest income/free time ratio I can in a position so I might not earn that much but I do have a fair amount of freedom to enjoy what I do earn.

Check your maths, *less* than 50% of the figure, *less* expenses, *less* tax. And... I don't work every day. But yes, it does help with living expenses, added to no mortgage and no employer telling me what to do I (hopefully) get to travel more. Over the next 12 months I will out of the work game for at least 6 months.

I don't sit behind a desk, I very rarely work for long in 1 place, I sometimes get to work from. I "consult", design and implement systems. Sometimes I am in datacentres, sometimes in customer offices.

You're one of the lucky ones... :thumbup1:

There is NO way you are going to convince me that 500 quid a day gross is not a LOT of money. If you choose to work part time, more power to you. Everyone pays tax and expenses and most people could save a very considerable sum earning that kind of money even part time.

You should appreciate what you have.

The short answer IMO - you can't - long term travel costs money.

You want to go travelling on the bike you either have to have an awesome skill that you can take with you, that transcends language barriers, or you have to hang around and save up the cash. There are no freebies, just like there aren't really 6 minute abs, you can't learn to speak a language in less than 30 days using this one crazy trick and you don't really have a long lost relative that happens to be a Sudanese prince that will give you $1.5 Million dollars if you just send through your bank details.

Ouch.

Harsh - but fair.

I don't think it is harsh; it is more a case of telling it the way it is. I've been waiting for someone to point out this universal truth.
The thread title is a dichotomy (have I got that word right?) - there is no such thing as a free lunch.

I have travelled for free, in much the same way that the hobos of the USA used to ride the trains, for free (until they were caught and thrown under the train wheels) - in my case it was back in the days of hitch hiking and I managed it for a few weeks rather than months or years - I guess the latter could still be done in some parts of the world, but not in the UK these days.

And they said the world was flat and man could never walk on the moon !!

There are ways and means. I've just yet to find them... Or at least the ones that work for me !!

bier

When I decided to become self employed I thought it was a great way to gain more time to travel and make an above average income.

To put it simple, it did not work out as planned. Any fabrication biz is not a good idea IMO.

Maybe you could do well as a one-man show as a consultant or psychotherapist ... or do gigs as a contractor for a PMC.

Don´t employ people and don´t invest into hardware, it will not go as you planned. If you enjoy exploiting yourself to no end, then by all means start a business.

Depending on your marketable skills you could move to a country with a higher rate of employment, like the Netherlands, Germany or the Scandinavian countries ....

Are you being thick ? Which bit of *less* than 50% are you missing ?

I never said nor intimated £500/day.

On the note of those earning £1000/day, if you really know or knew people earning that then they are very good at a specific thing, or bullshitters.

It is not always about choosing when to work, it is often about the availability of work. So a "day rate" is a bad price point.

I have weeks without work, so (using your figure of £500/day) one days work out of 30 is actually £16.66/day. You can't save much on that.

Yes, I choose to work this way, and many cannot understand it. I choose not to take long term contracts (I'm with Ted about the siting behind a desk thing). But *don't* assume it is all good times and good money. If I don't put effort in to find work then there is none.

So, suggesting someone should go out and earn £1000/day doing IT work (as you did) was just short of ridiculous. Unless you were offering him that job ?

Oh, and I do appreciate what I have, it is a life, not tied down by an employer (other than myself).

Come on guys.... Let's not deviate too much off topic here.

The sun is shining, the weekend is almost here. :palm:

A pal of mine returned from travelling and started a small business: "no job too small just call Paul". Basically he's a handyman doing small jobs that other tradesman dont want to do and that people for lots of reasons dont want to or cant do themselves. He only describes himself as moderately handy and wont take on anything too technical. He has a small van, the basic tools and charges about £10 an hour. Most work come word of mouth although he very ocassionaly advertises in the local paper and he has some sign work on his van. He seems to do OK and could drop it all at any minute to go off travelling again (but I think he has got it out his system now).

Back to the OP though, handyman work doesnt fund travel while travelling, but may be a way of getting some capital to start. To fund travel while travelling one needs to have a skill in demand worldwide. Teaching english seems common based on what others report, but I always thought something that humans always need on a regular basis is best. SO: haircutting, cooking food, medical/nurse/first aid skills, tailoring/seamstress skills, the ability to fix the unfixable (electronics has got to be a good one here), and other stuff like that have always seemed to me to be things where work is always in demand everywhere, or that could be easily and quickly established almost anywhere. Local competition will be an inhibitor of course.

Just my thoughts. I have none of those skills, sit behind a desk all day (in an interesting job though) and like to have more than enough money to travel with. Living on a shoestring is not my or my wife's style.

Good luck with it all Ted.

Hola ,
maybe a little bit crazy,but it is a thought.
Learn to play an instrument, and play in every street corner while traveling to earn your $$.
Or buy a clown suit and make an act on every town square.
Don't have an idea how far you can travel like this but
it will be very interesting !!!
For the moment this is my thought.

interesting tread

Saludos

Ted doesn't need a suit!:blushing::censored::confused1:

What are like with boats Ted? Loads of deckhand/engineering jobs out there, ok most you will need your STW95 Survival, First Aid, Fire Fighting etc. If your lucky and get on the right boat the pays excellent 2,500 + for deckhand and 6000+ for engineer Per month or more.

If you don't want to spend on courses get on to Sunsail/Sailing holidays etc. You could easily get a job as engineer on flotilla or shore based in the Med or Carribean. Ok not great as far as traveling goes but its a great life and good way to build sea miles and experience for the bigger boats.

I done a season sailing the Greek Islands and the next year around Turkey about 10 years ago, great fun.

Just an idea.

Cheers Jim

Ted clearly travel is in your blood so your likely to need to repeat the process of work,save, travel until death or until the slow death of marriage and children puts the handbrake on.
You need a job that allows you to tickle the travel itch on a yearly basis but that you can come back to when you need to recharge finances, body and spirit.
I opted for a job which is stable, reasonably well paying and gives me 3 months off per year, even 5 months if I do extra shifts.
I work as firefighter and I believe conditions for firefighters in the Uk are pretty similar. Plus you get a 4 day weekend every week for small jaunts into the country or across the channel.
It would be a long term solution rather than a quick fix every time you run out of cash but still have the bug to travel.

Ted
 

Seen this and thought of you :smartass:

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Just saw a post on 3 people on vespa's who are
going to travel on NO budget!
Maybey they know a few tricks.

( appart from the :Beach:donate $$ button on there site!)

So they are eating and drinking nothing? They sleep in the dirt on the side of the road? Their bikes run on fresh air? Their bikes were free? Bikes never break down or need a service?

Maybe mummy and daddy are paying?

Ahhhh yes. There are a lot of 'Mummy & daddy' and 'Rich auntie left me her house in her will' travellers out there.

And there is nothing wrong with that.... The rest of us are just jealous :innocent:

I borrowed £7,000 from the bank for South America... BAD IDEA ! I've only just paid it all back and that was a killer shackle around my neck.

Africa took me two years of INTENSE saving and selling to pay for. I really felt like I earned that one.

I need to marry a rich old lady with a weak heart :rolleyes2:

Touring Ted
 

Ted,

Just keep looking, there might be the odd one left over.

But the changes are rare.

Cheers

maybe rob a few banks on the way:blushing:?hahahaha


I hope they have a great time and succeed in there travel!:thumbup1::thumbup1:

http://www.ekonomico.fr/wp-content/u...iche_monde.jpg

Gina Reinhardt is the richest woman in the world with $24 Billion. She looks like she could do with some lovin...

That is if you want to fall on that sword.

Personally, I am not really a big fan of people who head out with no money but only an expectation that they can survive on the good will of others. That is, if that is what those vespa guys are doing.

I know what you mean, I still have another year and a half left paying back my £6k loan that funded my Mongolia trip. But at the time I decided to do it, about 9 months before I set off, I was already running out of patience with my life. That 9 months was a struggle and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have managed another year to save up all the cash. So whilst the loan has been a painful shackle, particularly when I first got back, better to do it that way than not at all. And I came back ready to make some changes to my life which I might never have managed without the inspiration.

Gina is deffo Ted's type. I'm sure he saw plenty of her clones/mooses (or is the plural of moose, mice?) on his Canadian jolly.

What's the website of the mysterious scooter-riders?

Personally I couldn't do the bank loan thing. To me it would be very depressing the idea of going back home with a huge debt hanging over my head.

Plus, how do you get a bank loan and not have to start paying it back straight away? Or do you get a loan for say 6000 GBP and use say 1000 GBP to pay back the repayments for the first year and then use the other 5000 GBP?

Anders, a guy from Denmark, does a video blog similar to me, so I was following his stuff, he took out a 30k USD bank loan to ride around the world. That's a lot of cash to be paying back.

I have had loans in the past, had one or a music festival I started in University, and have found that it was easier for me to save the money than to pay it back. It took me 4 years to pay back $7000 AUD, it took me 6 months to save that much. The motivation to save is higher than the motivation to pay back I think. I found it much easier to save once I had that loan of 7k paid off.

+1.
If you can't get it now, you'll have an even harder time getting it later.

You're singing my song bro... I don't regret it at all...

I borrowed £7000 and put 10 months of payments in a separate account to pay it back. I planned to be away for six months and have a four month buffer. It makes TERRIBLE financial sense but sometimes there are more important things in a certain time and place of your life than financial planning.

Not necessarily... You never know what's around the corner.

Too True,

If you want to do something, do it now. If you are in a position to borrow money, do it. You won't get it much cheaper than the current rates. If you can't, then scrape something together as best you can.

I have a friend (not that old chestnut) who won't spend a bloody penny; he's saving for a rainy day. We live in England; it rains pretty much every day for God’s sake.
I hope I'm wrong but I suspect he'll just end up doing nothing with his life and leaving his kids a bit of money.

I had mortality brought home to me last week. My neighbour asked me to break into his house when he came back from an early shift because his wife had bolted the door and wasn’t answering the bell. I grabbed a ladder, climbed through an upstairs window and found her stone-cold-dead in her bed. She was only 65 and had felt “a little out of sorts” the night before. She’d had a heart-attack in her sleep; not a bad way to go but I’d hope for a few more than 65 years. He’s due to retire in October, they’ve just sold their house to downsize and have booked a long holiday.

Don’t count on doing your “dream trip” a few years down the line, do it now, or you might not get the chance.

So as not to be all doom and gloom, I know a few old boys who are in their 70s and 80s and trail-ride at least once a week. They also regularly (two or three times a year) do trips to France, Spain, Romania etc in a couple of cars and a van full of bikes; Serows, Beta Alps and TTRs, etc.
Maybe there is some hope for the rest of us.

Well said. :thumbup1:

Ted, mate, you are early thirties and, as far as I can tell, fit and well.

May I make a suggestion here, trying to be helpful, not critical? - tell me to piss off if you wish, but............. and I say this as someone who truly understands your wanderlust and need for adventure, as well as your apparent loathing for a career..............

.......... you need to get a wiggle on and do something useful career-wise or you will miss the boat. You are a very intelligent chap, obviously resourceful and driven, but, if I may say so, you seem directionless. So my advice is, pick a high end profession - doesn't matter which one as you could do any of them - get qualified and then find a job that either gives you a lot of travel and adventure (more exist like that than people think) or one which pays the most and maximize your income to free time ratio.

You should consider:

1. Law
2. Medicine
3. Accountancy
4. IT security
5. Finance
6. Engineering Health and Safety

Also look at the armed forces - you are probably a bit old, but you never know. You are at risk of missing the boat entirely here; of course, that may be what you want. If so, fair enough, to each his own, but as an outsider observer, that seems a shame.

That's good advice and very relevant for some or even most people.

Thanks !! :thumbup1:

I have a slightly different outlook though. The way I see it, the average person spends about 70% of their waking life AT WORK.. That seems like a HUUGE waste of the time we have on this planet doing something that we don't want to be doing. There are some out there who love their jobs and good for them. The vast majority don't though. I'm going to start a poll on that..

It's unnatural to be working in an office, shuffling paper or tapping endlessly away at a keyboard just waiting for the next payday. I've been there and I hated it. I've worked lots of different jobs and I've always felt like a brick in the wall. Not for me.

I've worked some very well paid jobs too but they were soulless and gave me no satisfaction. Those jobs in your list would probably have me tearing my hair out within a few days. I would literally rather be low income and life happy.

Yup.. I am pretty direction less, but for the whole it keeps my life interesting and adventurous. I'm rarely bored and I'm not destitute. I'm not a rich man but I have everything I need.

Last weekend I was working for a mate as a builder, this week I'm landscaping for some family and inbetween I restore bikes and service cars etc etc.

Nope, I'm never going to get a morgage or a fat loan like this but apart from not being RICH, I'm pretty happy..

Will I ever afford my RTW trip... HMMMMMM !! I don't know. That's why I started this thead. For ideas !!

I am saving though... Slowly !! Ebay helps too ;)

I really appreciate your sentiment and advice. It just doesn't fit my personality. I think I'm a bit ADHD :rofl:

Since I posted this thread I've enrolled at College doing welding. That's a career I can apply to my bike tech quals and considering I have a FREE fully fitted out workshop, It's something I can hopefully make money doing HERE AND ABROAD. It's a good skill to travel with, so I hear...

I'm my own boss these days... Lifes too short to take orders or make money for someone else.

As for today. I've done a few hours gardening, made a bonfire and sat around it drinking tea. I've serviced a car and now I've got my feet up looking at the hubb. Earnt £100 and worked four hours..

It's not a bad life eh :Beach:

You are right, of course, that the only thing that really matters, is to be happy.

More power to ya - ride on.

Whatever you do - keep off the Ritalin!!


I learnt (fwiw) from the very many sales people I worked with (I was never one), that it's a numbers game. Generate as many leads as you can, chase them and convert them. If there's no sale in a short time, move on to the next lead.
Salesmen who spent months 'negotiating' a 'hot' lead never seemed to sell much.

So:

My view is, if you carry on making hundreds of different contacts through hundreds of different jobs like this, by the law of averages (and the numbers game) you'll find a contact, maybe sooner rather than later, that will have exactly the opportunity you're looking for.
The key thing will be to recognise that opportunity when it arrives. I should think you'd be pretty good at that.

But, I've never been in your situation - only ever worked for one employer (but very many different brilliant jobs over the years and o'seas travelling as well). And learnt to a great degree - it's not what you know, it's who you know and how many.

Very best of luck - ride on!

So your sat there, a deadline to meet the boss leaning on you, your stressed out and burnt out,the wife and kids all depend on you for there house,car,smart phones and every concevible gadget from a laptop to a 50 inch tv, all of which are absolutely essential. You work every hour to make some cash yet you have a debt that scares the sh*t out of you, then you stare out of your office window and think about that big world out there and dream of adventure,freedom and travel, and wonder how you ever got here. Who is this guy ? it was me, not now though 2 jobs quit (3 if you count the wife) 5 months traveling last winter and more of the same this year. I still work, but only part time and during the summer, yes we don't have the income we used to have but we manage and we are much happier with life now. As stated in a previous post it's all about being happy with your lot in life. What about the kids ? turns out they were not as dependant as we thought and to our supprise were very supportive of our plans to abandon them, (both adults by the way) result ! :clap: It's not about the money, It's about living. Rant over

I like this rant martyboy.

I doesn't take much to realise that we actually need very little.

I recently had to pack almost all my possessions into storage, my vehicles in a friends garage, and move interstate.

I have a roof, my computer, phone and some clothes - but because I quit my job to move here temporarily I have heaps of spare time and I've just been bushwalking and MTB-ing and surfing.

I come home and don't even really want to look at the computer, and sometimes I forget I own a cellphone.

We are so addicted to the shit we own - to steal from Chuck Palahniuk - that our shit ends up owning us.

We don't really need any of it but we get so caught up in the fact that we have it that we have a false sense of dependance.

Ted, geez mate, you sound like a multi skilled bloke!!! I wish I had your skills! Why are you worried about getting by on the road? You can fix stuff, you can weld stuff, you can garden, you can build. Just keep an eye out for people on the road you meet who might need a handyman for a couple of $.

Hi Ted,

Similar position to you - done all sorts of jobs over the past ten years and travelled extensively. Seems to be the catch 22 of either: working all the time, making loads of cash but only being able to spend it on things like fancy cars and smartphones, or being skint and having freedom but not enough to cash to pay for it!

Have you ever thought of English teaching? It's not the best paid job in the world but it is very flexible and if you work in countries with strong economies like S.Korea, Europe, Chile etc, the money is decent - certainly enough to save up with. You can do a CELTA course in Budapest for 750.00 quid and you're set to go after that. Teaching can be very rewarding and out of all the office/9-5 sort of jobs I've done, I definitely found it the most enjoyable.

Aside from that, Couchsurfing / Help-X are good but like you say, they don't pay! Website building / graphic design is another job that's good on the road but personally doesn't interest me in the slightest. The only other job I can think of that is pretty cool and involves travelling would be diving or photography. I'm a photographer but actually making any money from it is unfortunately very difficult since the advent of digital cameras and the web!

Good luck!!

Join the Royal Navy... Travel, Pay, etc... 5 years minimum service, easy to save, make new friends etc, then bugger off with the money for a bit on the Tiger

I don't know if online stock trading has been mentioned already. I found that you need about a year to get the hang of it and it can nicely add to your income with little work. You really need to play with it for a long time on a demo account first as you can loose a lot if you are not careful. When I started it I used to sit in front of the monitor for hours and stressing myself with intraday trading, scalping. Then I realized that I can make a reasonable amount by investing longer term. For example I bought Apple and Google last September and just sold them last month, earned 3800 euros in the process... now that's not a lot in almost a year but it paid for my bills and petrol here in Hungary. Plus I had all the time to earn some money here and there again.

I know another biker here who does the same thing but like me he has other sources of income as well. It's just another option.

Funny you should say that... I've met two people who travel indefinitely by working the stock markets and trading commodities. It seems quite intensive though. Not sure if I have the personality for it. They seem to spend a lot of time looking at graphs and other boring things lol

So long as you are talking about trading stock and not foreign exchange trading.

Read the wiki article here about that but Forex trading is a zero sum game. Foreign exchange fraud - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The average individual foreign-exchange-trading victim loses about $15,000, according to CFTC records" - Wall Street Journal.

Forex is essentially gambling.


One other thing to be aware of - You may seem to be making money on the trial account, but the problem with this is that when you are playing with fake trades, your trade has no effect on the market, because technically in the demo account the computer just takes the last sale price in the market. However in real life, when you put your offer in to the market it has an effect on the market, which can be both positive or negative, so the problem with a demo account is that it can never truly reflect real trading. So even with stock trading, just because you are making money in the demo account, may not necessarily transfer to real life.

However, I don't know how well this would really suit. I mean you need a certain amount of startup capital to make money trading. If Ted had the $20k to go and start day trading, he would probably just be out spending it on the adventure he wants to go on ;)

I don't think it's boring but it needs attention like any other work. It's better than sitting in an office earning money for someone else anyways.

Yeah, that's true .. These guys offices were a beach front hostel shack. All they needed was Wifi and three hours a day commitment.

I read a bunch of your posts TT and I'm right there with you as far a your philosophy on how you want to live. (not working your life away and seeing everything).

I've been that way my whole life and only now getting myself together to finally do it. I'm 27 and have spent the last year saving every penny (and sometimes spending it on stupid things like motorcycle insurance when really I don't HAVE to ride if I want to travel...) Through my saving tactics I've been able to save up 11k by now and I'll have 6k more in 7 months (when I leave). I work a job in Canada that pays around 40k and spend my money wisely. I still owe 35k for student loans but I'm just ignoring it for now. I suggest you find a well-paying temporary job for one year and save like a mad man. Work two jobs even. It's only one year of hell for 2+ years around the world.

Also keep in mind that some people do it with nothing. In high school I once met a couple that were traveling the entire world and hadn't spent even ONE penny. They were incredibly resourceful but also looked like hippies. (not the clean funky ones from movies, but the more dirty real-life ones). You can travel relatively comfy on just a little money. Europe would require clever means of getting what you need (food and a place to sleep).

If you're in Canada still let me know. I'm in Toronto.

IMO there is a thin line between being resourceful and clever... and leaching off other people. The way you are doing it I think is honourable and the self-discipline you show in saving will only help you on the road.

Add long-term
 

Ted,

I agree with your vision and find you are very consequent with your thoughts. You are determined to channel your needs, instead of capitulating.

This need of total freedom is how you see things and life now, but that may voluntarily change, let’s say if you are about to become a father and suddenly your priority in life is stability and a regular income. IMO getting now ready for that eventuality would be a smart move. Fit long-term needs with the very short-term ones.

Thus, finding a job now won’t really fix the situation, but just postpone it. You’ll save, leave to travel and come back broke… and older it will be harder. Actually, your question is about one temporary but more stable job, not about gardening, fixing a bike and painting a wall in a single day, but working 8 hours a day for 9 months in the same place to save. Sounds actually like some sort of stability.

That’s why I think it would be good to build a clear working profile, the core of your CV. And focus on being proficient on that job, for a long term approach. Any other knowledge will be welcome; it will make the difference in your interview. Your needs: something not boring (as working behind a desk); reasonably paid to jump off and travel (or pay the kids’ toys and education one day); with high and constant demand; and preferably something you can do anywhere in the world, beyong regulations and probably languages. I had also thought about WELDING, so great you mention it: procedures are very universal and there’s demand everywhere. And if for some reason you really need top dollar, you can always do it for a while in “extreme places” (oil rigs, artic mines, etc).

However, being you, I’d try to have another clear/possible profile, maybe more “short-term”, just in case you get bored of welding, but with more or less the same conditions (2 separate CVs to swap depending on your need). As others said, you are a native English speaker, so you may go for Teacher of English as a foreign language, just study to get properly ready for it. For years I’ve being teaching Spanish once a week just for pleasure, and enjoy it a lot. I would try it. And in many places they kill to have natives (or even Western or foreigners) to teach them.

I hope it helps. Good luck,

Esteban

PS: Any place to read about the Yukon kayak trip?

SALES!

Anyone can go into sales, and sales skills can be applied everywhere, and great sales people are allways in demand. If you are really good at it you should be able to get by on the road for ever... even in some countries where you don't know the language or you can't legally work.

If no one will employ you and you are close to broke, then set up a quick low investment business. The principal is easy. Buy something where supply is higher than demand low (cheap), and sell it where supply is lower than demand (expensive)... Like buying foreign books or newspapers at the airport newsstand and selling them on a touristy beach (or other attraction where tourists gravitate to)... It might not pay much, and might not provide the means for fast travel in high comfort, but you probably won't starve.

Now, if you got some product you could sell over the phone and distribute online, like some sort of software, then set up a business at home. Bring an IP phone and a computer on the road, and when you can get access to internet, then you can sell to people in your home country in your home language - they will never know you are not sitting in someoffice building in some European capital. If your product is good, and your skills are better, you could potentiall make lots of money and have all the flexibilty you desire.

Personally I would prefer saving up and then go and not need to work or worry about money too much.

Don't have a particular product idea though... and if you can't think of one, maybe a telemarketing company would hire your one man company on purely commission???

Sales is pretty language based. I think t would be extremely hard to sell in a country where you don't speak the language. Persuasion happens through mastery of language IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I am thoroughbred sales, but I think the serious money through sales requires long term relationships in one place. You can earn average money in short term sales, selling advertising, mobile phones etc. but the big money is in corporate/industrial sales where it is all about long term relationships. Which require you to stay in the same place.

The guy that did around the world in 80 trades was really good, but he already had 25k GBP in his backburner to start, plus he did a whole lot of research beforehand and had a film crew to help him grease the wheels in his negotiations.