How to Make Money as a Digital Nomad

People say that it can’t be done, but it can. No longer do you have to stay in a job that doesn’t inspire you.

Now, you (yes, you!) can work on the go and make money while indulging your passion for travel. First thing you must do is stop disbelieving; that’s what keeps you somewhere you don’t like, doing what you don’t love just to put food on the table.

Only recently a young economist sold his house and traded his way around the world. He bought camels in Zambia and traded them for coffee in Sudan, and he came home with more than he left with.

Although I’m not suggesting anything so extreme (not that I’d stop you!) here is how you can make money as a digital nomad, traveling and hustling your way around the globe. Now, anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection can be your office, and so the world has changed…into your oyster.

Anyone Can Do It

You may think that traveling for a living is only possible for someone with a massive bank balance. Not so.

If you have some basic computer proficiency, some motivation, and wit, you too can take your laptop and travel around the world, working wherever you choose…after laying the groundwork at home.

Gain Experience

Gain experience working in an industry that gives you the skills to eventually pick up your laptop and go.

Try and get work at a coding company; if you have a background in STEM, that shouldn’t be too hard. If that’s not your thing but you have a way with words, working as a blogger or in digital marketing means you can take those skills with you, and work anywhere with an internet connection.

Play on your strengths: if you love drawing in your spare time, apply that skill to something like graphic design, and you can become a profitable digital nomad. As academic research has shown, highly skilled Nomads fare better financially.

Make More Than You Spend

It may sound fantastic that you can save money and make a profit while traveling around the world, but it really can be done.

The obvious way to do it (and the most important!) is to make much more than you spend, and there are lots of ways to do that.

If you spend your time in developing economies, your outgoings are going to be much less than if you nomad mostly in Europe or the U.S. Another benefit of living in developing economies is that you are sure to find your core strengths while living somewhere so unlike home.

To ensure total flexibility as a freelance worker, you need to make sure you can accept money from anyone. If you find yourself in Thailand or Columbia and you want to stay a little while a good idea is to set up a local bank account.

That way you protect your home bank account, and can more easily accept work from local clients! A good way to transfer your money between a home and a local account is Pangea Money Transfer, and with such a low cost you’re guaranteed to pocket more than your outgoings.

Work… and play

Life as a digital nomad isn’t just one big holiday; if you don’t do the work it’ll be a one-way plane ticket home for you.

To be successful as a digital nomad you need a strong sense of discipline. That means when there’s work to be done, you have to leave that beach, that café, that bar, that riverbank, that temple, and work.

To keep clients happy and to keep your clients, you must deliver the required product to a high standard and on time. To do that, you’re going to have to find the places you may not want to be and stay there because unfortunately, it is your dark hotel room café that has the best Wi-Fi at eleven pm.

Primarily, you must make enough time to explore! Try the local food, see the sights, and talk to people, because if you do that, why you’re doing this will make itself obvious to you a hundred times. Because waking up to a new world whenever you want is the stuff dreams are made of. Go and get it champ.