How we can afford to fulltime rv travel is one of the #1 questions we get asked.

When we first launched in 2019, we didn’t know that there was an upcoming pandemic. Joseph is an aircraft mechanic by trade and I had a photography studio prior to selling it all to travel fulltime. In order to travel, Joseph quit his job and I had a photography studio in our hometown that I planned to return to each busy season but it took a hit in 2020. We had to find other sources of income.

It was confusing but we are hustled! In 3 years, we’ve tried a lot of different ways to earn income. I’d like to go through and tell you what we’ve tried and the outcome. Hopefully this helps!

• Workamping - we’ve done this twice and both times it didn’t work out that great. If you choose this option, which can be a great option, ensure that you know the exact hours that you are working and what they expect. We’ve done this in Colorado and in Florida. We’d happily try it again.

• Affiliate programs - I’ve made a little here and there but not enough to pay a grocery bill. If there’s a product that I love then I will recommend it to others and give them my link. I also post Amazon codes to a fb group I have and earn a small portion of sales. Again, it doesn’t pay the bills. Here’s my group if you’re interested!

• Scuba Diving Instruction - Joseph used his GI Bill to go back to school and become a scuba diving instructor. This is a great option if you have a GI Bill to use but is pricey if you don’t! He works as an independent contractor right now in The Florida Keys. However, this is more of seasonal work unless you’re willing to clean yachts, do search and rescue missions or something undesireable.

• Photography - I still offer photography services to our family and friends back home. I thought this would be a great option for traveling on the road but it turns out that locals want to support local businesses so it’s hard to gain their trust if I’m only in the area for a couple of weeks. In addition, fulltimers are typically on budgets so it’s hard to advertise for anything that will pay the bills. I haven’t dipped into landscape photography, just portraits. Realtors need consistency so it’s hard to get work with a realtor that’s looking.

• Remote/virtual work - being a virtual assistant is great. It’s not a get rich quick and you tend to start out small and work your way up to making more with experience (like any other job). Upworks is a great option but be prepared to start at $5-$10 an hour to get started.

• Joseph has also picked up random jobs for friends here and there while we are in our hometown. Everything from landscaping to greenhouse work.

• Finally, I’m in the process of making money by being an influencer on tiktok and facebook. I’ve been creating videos on our nomadic lifestyle, which is more than likely how you found this blog post. Tiktok pay pennies per day, facebook is capping me at $500 a month currently with my personal reels (not my Our Journey To Happiness page) and I am waiting to be approved on this website by google adsense to earn a few bucks a day by google places ads on my website. I also use “buy me a cup of coffee” website for people to buy me a cup to help supplement my coffee addiction as I write these posts! You can get your own link here if you’re an influencer or have a blog page.

You may wonder about the jobs that I am posting in my blogs each week and why I haven’t just focused on something that’s 9-5, M-F. That type of work is great for some people, just not us. I don’t want to cap myself at only making a certain amount. I like the freedom of being creative, working my own hours and being my own boss. It works well with our lifestyle.

There’s a TON of ways to make money. Some find success in MLM's or multi level marketing. Some find success in a 9-5 virtually, others workamp but there’s LOADS of opportunites if you’re willing to start small in order to grow big! I hope this helps you and as always, if you feel inclined to buy me a cup of coffee I would appreciate it SO VERY MUCH!

Have a great day!

-Amanda