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Clever Ways to Pay for Travel Abroad

Traveling abroad is a wonderful way to learn more about new cultures. Unfortunately travel does not necessarily come cheap, especially if you are planning to stay for a while. We recently did a trip to Italy, and even though we saved a lot of money by negotiating our Airbnb rates, the total cost of the trip was quite expensive.

Paying for food and accommodation can become very expensive. Fortunately, paying for travel becomes a lot easier if you are willing to look at things from a new perspective.

Here are some ideas to help you make your dreams of traveling the world a reality:

Look for Part-Time Work in Agriculture

There are many farms out there that need assistance, especially when it comes to harvesting crops. They usually pay a reasonable amount and, in some cases, will also provide food and accommodation as well. If you are interested in organic farming, wwoof.net is a good place to look for opportunities.

Grape picking in France is one such opportunity and is very popular but you could choose to work on a dairy farm – just apply for the type of work that appeals to you.

Work Exchange

Hosts listed on sites like workaway.info  and helpx.net do not pay a salary but will usually pay for your food and will provide accommodation for you. In most cases, you work for around about 5 hours a day in exchange for board and lodging.

Find Work as a House/ Pet Sitter

Sites such as trustedhousesitters.com are a subscription service. People with pets looking for house sitters advertise on the site and you can apply for house sitting jobs in the area of your choice. You do not get paid but you do get free accommodation for very little in terms of work. This is a great idea for pet-lovers.

Work as an Au-Pair

Working as an au-pair can be a great way to travel. In general, you need to be between the ages of 19 and 30 to sign up with any of the agencies. You will usually work between 25 and 30 hours a week and may be expected to do some housekeeping as well as looking after children.

The advantage here is that the host family may pay for your flights as well. So you get free board and lodging, and some spending money as well.

Travel Writing

Travel writing is a great way to get extra value from your holiday. Site such as matadornetwork.com can allow you to make money from your holiday photos and experiences. Also consider contacting local travel magazines – the rates are usually better when writing for a printed publication. It can be harder to break into offline writing and you will often only be paid when the piece is published – this could be as long as 6-12 months later, depending on the editorial calendar.

Couch Surfing

With couch surfing you register on couchsurfing.com and set up your profile. You then look for other registered members in the area that you want to visit. You send a request through with the respective dates and see whether or not they can accommodate you.

You are not going to need to pay for accommodation but may be expected to help out with food or at the very least, to help with a bit of cooking. You will generally be expected to clean up after yourself as well.

The advantage of this kind of arrangement is that the host family will share what they love about their town so you get a unique perspective.

You can travel on a shoestring budget and have a ball at the same time!

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