5 Tips to Make Money and Travel!

Our first work camping gig in Durango, Colorado.

With today’s rising prices of high cost gas and campground fees, you may have to make a little extra money to travel to that ultimate destination, that fabulous place you have always dreamed of going to, especially if you are on a fixed income. So, how can you make money and travel fulltime in a RV while living on a fixed income?

Well, it is possible, but you will have to make some changes in your life to accommodate those new and exciting changes. You can be as creative as you want, or you can be simple, whatever is your choice. I am going to share with you ways you can make money and travel in your RV while living on a fixed income!

Work camping! I know it is not the most glamorous and dealing with guests can be difficult, but it can be a great way to see the country. You have your choice where to work camp, and what kind work camping you like. Customer service is a key to this type of work, and a lot of campgrounds are willing to train you. There are plenty of campgrounds in desperate need of workers. You can get a FREE site, discounts such as store, laundry, propane, and even a salary on top of that. Some campgrounds may charge you for your site, but it will be greatly reduced and you can still receive a salary. The duration of your assignment will depend on the season you are in, where you are located, and how busy the campgrounds are. What a great way to see the country when you work camp!

Camp Host! You are in charge when you camp host, and sometimes being in charge can be cool, like being your own boss. You take in monies from other campers, get to know other campers and enforce the rules if needed. Sometimes you only get a free site, and no pay. But, there might be a lot of things to do nearby such as, hiking, fishing, off-roading, exploring old and new towns and especially dusting the ol’ camera out for those multitude of pictures you will take! Even if you do not get paid, in reality, you still are. By this I mean you get a free campsite, which saves you a lot of $$$, possibly some amenities like electricity, water and dump, plus all the amazing places to see near you.

Remote work! More and more this is becoming popular, a way to save dollars from working in a building and the ability to spend more time with loved ones. Ideally, if you can take your job with you, this would be the deal for you. However, if you cannot, take a glance at job boards, such as Indeed for working from home.

But I will caution you that there are scammers out there (it happened to me) that would love to take your money for a job. So if a “company” wants you to pay them to work for them, run as fast as you can. There are legitimate work from home opportunities out there, just search for them.

You will also need to be near a cell tower or some place that has good internet signal as this is very important when it comes time to work from your trailer. Campground WIFI is terrible, so do not rely on this. Have your own way of receiving internet, such as a router (we have one), using the local cable company if you will be there for a while, Dish (if they have internet in your area) or what we are all waiting so patiently for: Starlink! Starlink will provide a way for us mobile travelers to receive internet through a dish. Right now you can use Starlink if you have an address, and Starlink acknowledges that address, and when you move, you will have to change addresses. I know it will be tempting to explore the great outdoors as you work out of your trailer, but you got this!

Back home, but at a different work camping gig.

Are you looking for something unusual, something that would be fun, something different to do and make a little extra cash? Here are some suggestions: dog walking, doing hair, massage (I would be your best customer!), nails, cat sitting, washing trailers, raking around someone’s trailer at a RV park, housekeeping (or trailer keeping), or even get a job in town. These are just a few suggestions, but pick something that you excel at, really enjoy and go for it.

It is tough today to fulltime RV when you are on a fixed income, and sometimes you might have to bring in that mighty dollar to help reduce today’s cost of traveling expenses without sacrificing the whole experience all together. But it is definitely doable and yes, you can do it. It just takes some thinking, researching what you like to do and go for it!

If you have to work while camping, what would you do?