21 Ways To Make Extra Money For Your Travel Fund

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“How do you afford to travel so often?” This is the question I get asked most often. Most people assume that I have a high paying job or must be racking up debt to pay for my trips, but neither of these are true. The simple answer is that I make travel a priority.

Sure, we all have the normal expenses that life throws our way and not much money left afterward. But just because life gets in the way, it doesn’t mean it has to stop you from being able to travel right now. The good news is there are many side jobs and different things a person can do to make extra money to bolster their travel fund. Over the years, I’ve found creative ways — many listed below — to save and make extra money in order to travel more.

Whether you have just one free hour each day or if you are willing to work 40 to 50 hours a week on top of your full-time job, there are many options for you to earn extra money to make your travel dreams come true.

Below are 21 different ways to save and make extra money so you can travel more often.

1. Sell your stuff – Is your house filled with stuff you never use — or even look at? Truth is, we all have extra things laying around that can be sold for extra money. There are tons of places where you can sell these unused items: eBay, Craigslist, the letgo app, or just have a good-old-fashioned yard sale. You may have some items that aren’t quick sellers, but fortunately there are niche buyback websites that solve this problem: Decluttr will take movies, CDs, video games, cell phones, and other electronics & Bookscouter will relieve you of those old used books you have laying around.

2. Become an UberEats driver – Simply put, delivering food for UberEats has become my favorite and most reliable side hustle! The process is simple: sign into the Uber Partner app, accept deliver requests, pick up and deliver the food to the customer, and get paid! If setting your own work schedule & making good money sounds appealing, then becoming an UberEats driver could be right for you. If you want to give it a try, here are a few things to keep in mind: you must be at least 19 years old, have one year of driving experience, have a valid driver’s license and vehicle insurance, and have a car made after 1998. Once you’re approved, which only took a couple days for me, you’ll have the luxury of simply signing into the app whenever you feel like working. Depending on if I choose to work during the lunch (11am-2pm) or dinner hours (5-9pm), I have averaged between $14-20/hour. As you can see, spending your spare time delivering food for restaurants can be a great money maker. You can sign up to be an UberEats driver by using my link.

3. Use Ibotta to get cash back – The easiest way to earn cash back from places you already shop is by simply using an app called Ibotta. The process is simple: download the free app and sign up, search for cash back offers, add offers to your account before leaving the store, and then redeem your offers by taking a photo of your receipt. Within 48 hours, Ibotta will deposit the money into your account. Once you hit $20, you can cash out using PayPal or Venmo.

You can receive a $10 Welcome Bonus after earning your first cash back offer, simply by signing up for Ibotta through this link.

4. Open a travel savings account – The easiest way to watch your travel fund grow is by setting up a separate savings account solely for any future trips. This method is very simple if your employer offers direct deposit — just have a fixed dollar amount or percentage of your pay go into this account each week. I deposit $60/week into my travel account, which accumulates rather quickly. If you can still live comfortably after calculating your necessary bills and expenses, you’ll find you won’t even miss the small amount of money that’s being tucked away for future adventures.

5. Answer surveys – Survey companies are one of my favorite ways to earn extra money. They’re free to join and free to use! You get paid to answer surveys and to test products. It’s best to sign up for as many as you can, as that way you can receive the most surveys and have the potential to make the most money. Here are my top survey company recommendations:

• Opinion Outpost
• Toluna USA
• Survey Rewardz
• Opinion City
• iSurveyWorld
• Global Test Market
• E-Poll Market Research
• Survey Voices

6. Find a part-time job – There are many part-time jobs out there that are willing to be flexible with your schedule at your full-time job. You can find a job local to you or on sites such as Snagajob, Craigslist, Indeed, and so on.

7. Eat out less & plan your meals – This one seems pretty obvious, yet we all do it. After a long day, its just so much easier to order out, stop for fast food, or grab dinner with friends. The same goes for that Starbucks we need every morning. Let’s do the math: $5 x 5/week = $25. Instead, buy your coffee at the grocery store and make it at home. My guess is you could easily save $20/week, which over several months can go a LONG way towards that hotel or airfare you wish you could book. Make it a reality!

It’s proven you spend less when you plan your meals every week. $5 Meal Plan is a weekly meal planning service that aims to do just that. For just $5 a month, they will send you a delicious meal plan where every meal will cost about $2 per person. They will save you money AND save you time — sounds like a winning combination to me! You can click here to sign up for $5 Meal Plan.

8. Use Ebates when shopping online – When shopping online, it’s a no-brainer to use a free cash back website like Ebates. The process is very simple: shop through Ebates at your favorite stores, earn cash back on your purchases, receive your check or PayPal payment. Ebates earns money from you shopping through their link and they give you a part of what they receive back as a thank you for using them. You can still use coupons and discounts when shopping as well. Definitely a win-win for everyone! You can sign up for Ebates here.

9. Try InboxDollars – A number of websites out there will pay you to take surveys, play games, shop online, and even just listen to the radio. InboxDollars is one of those companies. It’s free to join, and best of all, you’ll receive $5 just by signing up through my link. InboxDollars just requires you to accumulate $30 in earnings before you can “cash-out”, paying you by check.

10. Sell your photography – Are you a decent photographer? If so, you may be able to sell your images through stock photography sites. A few sites that I contribute to are Shutterstock and Dreamstime. Once accepted to the program, each photo you submit will go through an approval process before being added to your portfolio. Stock photography sites can be a great way to earn passive income!

11. Enter contests and giveaways – There’s no guarantee that you will win anything when entering contests, but it is possible. You may win cash, gift cards, vacations, electronics, and more. They key here is to enter as many as you can. I was fortunate enough to win an all-expenses-paid trip to San Antonio a few years ago, so take my word that its worth the time to enter.

12. House sit – Housesitting has become a very popular trend these days. Considering you may be able to stay for free at a nice place in a nice vacation spot, it’s not hard to see why. In most housesitting situations, you will have free accommodations in exchange for performing simple upkeep while the owners are away. Two websites that allow you to housesit are TrustedHousesitters and Housesitters America. You can sign up for TrustedHousesitters here.

13. Use Swagbucks for your online searches – Imagine being rewarded with free gift cards and cash for the everyday things you already do online. Well, that’s exactly what Swagbucks does! You’ll earn points for shopping online, watching entertaining videos, searching the web, and answering surveys. Once you have enough points,, you can redeem them for cash, gift cards, and more. You’ll receive a free $5 bonus just for signing up through my link!

14. Work overtime – Most companies will offer the chance for overtime to their employees. If this is the case for you, and you’re willing, it could be a great opportunity to set aside a nice chunk of savings for your future travels. Really, what’s an extra hour or two when you’re already there?

15. Stop deleting emails – This sounds silly, right? Well, there’s a tool called Paribus that will get you money back for your online purchases. It’s free to sign up, and once you do, it scans your email archives for any receipts. If it discovers you’ve purchased something from Amazon, Target, Best Buy, Kohl’s or any of the other 28 retailers listed on its website, Paribus will track the item’s price and issue you a refund if there’s a price drop. Sounds pretty awesome to me! (Note: Amazon does not have a price protection policy for any items. See details here.)

16. Open an Etsy shop – Etsy is a great place to sell vintage and handmade goods. Are you good at hunting for vintage items or a crafty person? If so, you should absolutely consider starting your own shop! You can find my Etsy shop of vintage maps & cameras here.

17. Donate plasma – This was a decent source of income during my poor-college-student days. Plasma Donation Centers can pay $50+ (if you donate twice a week) and have locations all over the United States.

18. Install Nielsen Consumer Panel – Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel is a free mobile app that can help you earn $50+/year in passive income. By leaving the app installed on your phone, they track how you use the internet. This includes information such as what browser you use and your internet speeds.

Registration only takes a few minutes, and you’re even given a $5 bonus just for joining. Leave the app installed for a minimum of 30 days before you can cash out.

The great thing about the Nielsen Computer & Mobile Panel is that as long as you don’t reach the device limit within your area, you can install the app on multiple devices. Simply log-in to your account and register a new device. If you have 5 devices registered, this will increase your earnings to $250/year.

19. Rent out a room – If you have extra space in your home, then you may want to put it to good use by renting it out for extra income. Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway are just a few sites that allow you to rent out a spare room in your home.

20. Become a virtual assistant – A virtual assistant helps a business run more smoothly. You can be contracted for one project or it can be a continuing job such as replying to e-mails and comments. Plain and simple, the work asked of a virtual assistant can vary greatly. You can apply to become a VA on sites like Upwork, Indeed, or VirtualAssistants.

21. Pet sit – Are you a dog lover? One common way to earn extra money is by dog sitting/walking. Rover is one popular website that connects dog owners with animal lovers that are willing to take care of their pet. Why not sign up and get paid to make some new furry friends?

As you can see, there are numerous creative ways to make extra money to fund your travels. So what are you waiting for? Start earning that extra travel money!