Adding to Your Pot of Gold

Posted on 06. Jun, 2010 by in Advice, Trip Planning

Spending Diet update! You can track how my own savings are progressing here.

Most of the tips I’ve been offering you guys up to now have been about how to make the most of the money you are already making (most likely from a traditional 9-5). I do recognize that there is only so much blood you can squeeze

from that stone, particularly if, like most humans, you have bills to pay. If you really want to boost your travel savings, you may need to look at ways to bring in supplemental income.

Grass Clippings Flying

Creative Commons License photo credit: Dan4th

If you’ve been following my savings log you will see that my travel fund took a significant jump this month. I’ve managed to put away about $1000 more in the past month then I have averaged in the past.  The sources of this new found cash is right here on this page…. over to the left… a little further down. Yes, I’ve finally managed to secure some paid advertisements here at Twenty-Something Travel. Not enough to live on or anything crazy like that, but enough to maybe make my travel slightly more comfortable.

You could try to emulate my plan: create a blog, work tirelessly on it for 9 months without any monetary compensation then reap the (modest) rewards. I wouldn’t really recommend it though, as a sure fire money making venture (although if you are interested I recommend checking out Travel Blog Success). Although, all those Fridays nights spent at home blogging have been great on the wallet.

For more sensible types, I’ve brainstormed some more practical ideas for bringing in extra income:

  • Get (another) job- I know we are all short on time, but this is probably the most surefire way to bring in extra cash. Working just 10 hours a week at a restaurant or retail could make a huge difference to your travel fund (bonus points if you get a job at a store where you already shop- yay discounts). Plus, if you are busy at work you have less time to actually SPEND money.

If you aren’t into waiting tables you could always try to pick up some extra cash babysitting or mowing people’s lawns. Worked in high school right?

  • Sell your Skills- depending on your particular talents; you could make some freelance money thinking creatively. A friend of mine uses her design skills to run a side business in wedding and baby shower invites. Another picks up extra money teaching kids how to study for the SATS.  Thousands of people hawk their arts and crafts projects on Etsy. If you can create, repair, advise or teach, there’s probably a way to profit from that.
  • Sell your Stuff- I’ve already touched on this before but selling things you already own around the house can be both psychologically uplifting and give your savings a huge boost. You’d be shocked at the kind of junk people will pay for.

  • Enter Contests- Realistically you’re probably not going win the Publisher’s Sweepstakes, but there are a lot of great contests going on everyday in the travel blogosphere that you DO actually have a chance of winning. Getting travel gear, vouchers or free trips is just as good as winning money. These contests are almost always heavily promoted on Twitter and not too hard to find (we had one here just last week).

These are just meant to be a few broad suggestions to get you thinking about ways you can bring in some bonus money. Earning extra money does take some effort, but seeing your savings account skyrocket makes it totally worthwhile.

What are some ways that you’ve earned extra income?

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22 Responses to “Adding to Your Pot of Gold”

  1. Corey W.

    06. Jun, 2010

    Great tips!! I myself got a second job in order to quickly save up money for my Round-the-World trip. Also helps when one job garners you tips. Those can add up fast. But be wary. Having two jobs is great until it is time to give the taxman his due. I learned that the hard way when the two incomes were added together and ofted me into a higher tax bracket. Thank goodness for RRSPs and unused tuition tax credits or I would have been paying a very hefty amount! So just keep that in mind.

    Reply to this comment

  2. thalia

    06. Jun, 2010

    i’ve become addicted to yard sales! i made enough money at my latest one for my boyfriend and i to visit a national park! i’m also a huge fan of putting change in a jar and cashing in later. also, whenever i get a cheque (birthday money, tax rebate etc) i put it directly into my savings! (i loooove saving money- can you tell?)
    another thing: if i feel like i “need” or would like something, i ask myself if i can make it with materials i already have or can get it for free from someone. that’s not directly saving money, but it’s another way to cut costs!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      06. Jun, 2010

      I love those unexpected bonuses like gifts and tax returns. Always goes straight into my savings as well.

      Reply to this comment

  3. Erica

    06. Jun, 2010

    We must be on the same brainwave because I just posted something like this lol! Didn’t think about the Enter Contests idea! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply to this comment

  4. Jennabelle

    06. Jun, 2010

    I tutor high school students in math classes. Most high schools and colleges keep a list of tutors available. From my experience, word of mouth travels fast in this circle (probably because most of the tutors on the list graduate university and move away) so once I got my first couple students, all their friends started calling. The bonus here is tutoring freelance I can charge the going rate which is much more than minimum wage at a second job.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      06. Jun, 2010

      I’ve never tutored but it seems like a pleasant way to make some extra bucks.

      Reply to this comment

  5. Craig

    06. Jun, 2010

    Well done on picking up some advertising! I’ve just tried compiling all the ways I could think of to make money from a travel blog on http://makemoneytravelblogging.com — but I agree, it’s slow going.

    Reply to this comment

  6. Dave

    06. Jun, 2010

    “if you are busy at work you have less time to actually SPEND money.”

    so true!

    Reply to this comment

  7. Caz Makepeace

    06. Jun, 2010

    If you own a house, you can take on boarders. We have done that before and we saved a lot. You can sell your car and walk everywhere- although hard to do in America. Or make your travels a working holiday- we’ve done that for 13 years now. works well. If your in Oz one of the best ways to make flash cash is to work in the Pearl farms in WA. Great money, accommodation and food paid for. You are away from civilisation so you can’t spend your money. Not to mention it is a stunning part of the world so you are traveling at the same time. Craig and I worked there for 4 months and walked away with nearly $20,000. Nice!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      06. Jun, 2010

      Pearl farms sound neat. I think making cash ON the road is something I overlooked and probably deserves it’s own post. Thanks for sharing!

      Reply to this comment

  8. Ramblingsaffie

    07. Jun, 2010

    I sold of my car, and commuted on bike for a month to save cash. Worked out at the same time!
    Good luck on all that saving. It’ll all be worth it!

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      07. Jun, 2010

      Can’t wait to sell my car! Hopefully that will give me savings quite a boost!

      Reply to this comment

  9. Paul

    07. Jun, 2010

    Although not as prevalent as past years, putting your money in a high-yield online savings account can make a difference.

    Most of these are online now and pay ~1.5% which still beats your money sitting in an checking account at 0%.

    Back when interest rates were high, these savings accounts were paying ~5%, a good amount of money for doing pretty much nothing.

    A good list of them can be found here:

    http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance/783099/

    Reply to this comment

  10. Dave Jackson

    08. Jun, 2010

    I agree with your tip to sell things off. As we all know when you move out of your home to a new one it can be expensive right? Well I’m moving from Canada to The Philippines and well……it hasn’t cost me a dime! In fact I’ve actually made money!

    I’m not selling my furniture, TV’s etc but of course you can make even more that way. But most people won’t want to do that as they don’t want to come home to an empty home.
    But I’ve sold all my junk!….I found on Craigslist people will buy pretty much everything!
    I made $1150 so far with a month to go still.
    I’ve sold a broken ipod for $5.00, old blenders, Extension cords, printers, Blankets, Mirrors, Pictures, and so on. Stuff I never used anyway.

    The paid for half my flight with airmiles which got me to Hawaii, and then paid $700 for the 1 way trip to The Philippines which leaves a bit of extra cash in my pocket.

    I’ve also convinced my boss that I can work some hours overseas with http://www.gotomypc.com which enables me to use my office computer. Essentially paying for all my expenses until I am finally able to get my business running!

    Reply to this comment

  11. Jessica Skelton

    08. Jun, 2010

    I deliver on pizza on the weekends. It’s easy, fast money. Bonus because you spend most of your time in the car. I just crack the tunes or a podcast of a language I’m trying to learn and cruise. Anywhere where you can make hourly and tips is a good way to go! Not such a bonus: being tempting to stuff my face with pizza every time I go there. ;-)

    Reply to this comment

  12. clareawasw

    11. Jun, 2010

    I’ve sold books, DVDS etc on Amazon which has added to my savings nicely. You just have to remember to “pay yourself back” the posting costs.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      12. Jun, 2010

      I’ve bought a lot of books on Amazon used, makes sense to sell them too!

      Reply to this comment

  13. Cornelius Aesop

    06. Jul, 2010

    I’m on a similar plan, haven’t been as successful as you with recruiting followers but I’m working on it but I figured if I fling enough at the wall something has to stick, right? hehe

    I am working on setting up an account strictly for Monkey Brewster so I can keep better track of my earnings. Then I’ll add google ad words and try to recruit paid for spots. If you have any tips please share, I’ll be getting back into Travel Blog Success soon to refresh and get tips on monetizing my site.

    Reply to this comment

    • Steph

      06. Jul, 2010

      Definitely Travel Blog Success was a HUGE help (as was following Dave around until he gave me free advice). Other than that just quality, persistence and time really.

      Reply to this comment

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