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Vagabond Financial Crisis

Vagabond Financial Crisis — I am in a financial crisis. The How to Save Money to Travel project concluded successfully — I shared a formula of how a person, any person, who can work legally in the USA can make and save enough money to travel for over a year off of 3 to 6 [...]

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Vagabond Financial Crisis —

I am in a financial crisis. The How to Save Money to Travel project concluded successfully — I shared a formula of how a person, any person, who can work legally in the USA can make and save enough money to travel for over a year off of 3 to 6 months of work.

But this project had little to do with my circumstances — it was a facade, an experiment, a project, a way to show a path through the woods: “If you want to travel you could do this, this, and that.” A sharing of suggestions and ideas.

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Phoenix, Arizona, Southwest USA, North America

Sunday, October 4, 2009
Wade’s Travel Gear | All Travelogue Entries
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This project was to show how a single person who makes and saves money just for themselves — and themselves alone — can make money to travel as an individual. This was my path for a long time, but it ain’t no more.

Vagabond Financial Crisis

Vagabond Financial Crisis

I have a family. A family of three. I need to save three times as much money as I specified in the project. For my circumstances, the parameters of the project that I just completed are irrelevant — as they are no longer my own parameters. If I was to save up enough money to travel with my entire family for over a year, I would need to work three times as long using the formula that I put forth.

This is too much time.

I need a new formula. The how to save money ideas are still good for me — they could be good for anyone in any circumstance. But the “lots of work for a few months, lots of travel for years” mechanism for wandering around the world is no longer applicable to me. It would require too much time working to make it viable.

I am in a financial crisis.

I need a new formula.

I need a way to make money every day while traveling.

The plot has changed.

To have a steady stream of income no matter where in the world I am was one of the prime directives behind Vagabondjourney.com. This website was designed to provide me with the barest amount of money that I would need to keep traveling: $10 per person per day. But now the people that I need to make money for has tripled, I now need to make $30 a day (although $60 would be better).

This website is growing and I make a little more money off of it each month, but the growth rate is slow. Through ads, affiliate programs, and reader contributions I make roughly $200 per month. This is not bad, I suppose. But it is not enough.

I need a new formula.

I need to live the life of the hobo, not just a traveler, full time.I need to wander around the world from job to job rather than just place to place.

I look out on a map of the earth like a connect the dots picture. I see dots everywhere, but I also see paths that make the picture come clear. If I want to work, I need to go to where the work is.

I enjoyed working on the organic farm in Maine this summer and I am currently enjoying traveling around the USA chasing archaeology projects, but I know that I want to leave the country soon.

Australia grants temporary working holiday visas to US citizens under 30 years old pretty easily. I am getting close, I am 28. This may be one option.

It would enable me to work while traveling.

And there is a path of travel that extends up through Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, the Phillipeans, Taiwan, Hong Kong right up through China, Korea, and Japan that extends north from Australia.

I made a deal with my wife, Chaya, last night:

I work in Maine, the Southwest, Australia, but you need to work when we get to Japan. Because there is no way that I want to teach English again.

This is the new hobo travel around the world strategy — chasing work from one edge of the planet to the other.

Donations to Vagabond Journey.com are still, as always, greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Wade

Work abroad and travel employment

Vagabond Journey series on travel work
[seriesposts orderby=date name=”Travel work” ]

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Filed under: Travel Strategy, Travel With Family, Work

About the Author:

I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 93 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. has written 3729 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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VBJ is currently in: Rome, Italy

6 comments… add one

Leave a Comment

  • Brian P October 8, 2009, 5:32 pm

    What happened to the boat idea? I know of several young couples who make do with the cruiser lifestyle by doing odd-jobs at various ports of call. Learning a skill – like having a scuba tank and doing bottom jobs or small motor repair – can potentially be enough to pay the bills.

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  • Steve-O October 9, 2009, 12:37 am

    Well, let me know how I can help, you are of course welcome to stay with me when you get to Japan. I live near Sendai btw.

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  • roy October 12, 2009, 3:06 am

    I’m surprised your deliberations are so fifties. Try a calculating differently- like 1+1 or 1+1/2 or 1+1/3 at least, and your numbers will start to look better. There is absolutely no reason (child included) why partners shouldn’t share the load of financial responsibility.

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    • Wade | Vagabond Journey.com October 12, 2009, 9:57 pm

      Roy,

      We travel. If two of us are working, there is nobody to take care of the baby. If we pay for daycare, there goes one of our wages — and two people working is not worth it.

      Thanks,

      Wade

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  • Daycare Grants June 18, 2010, 12:32 pm

    Hi! I’m Raymond Ramos. When you pass by the Philippines, look me up. I will give you a guided tour of Manila and countrysides. I will introduce you to our wild carabaos. he he! Seriously, couples like you have a great chance of landing a daycare grant so that you will be able to enroll your children in daycare centers and study, work or cruise your hearts away. Check it out.

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