6 Ways to Fund Your Travel Around the World (with Kids)

Ever wonder how family travel bloggers seem to fund those around-the-world trips with kids? Some sold everything and used the funds to start their endless vacation and others developed mobile businesses from freelancing to blogging to keep things afloat. If you want to get on the road with your own world travel dreams, you need a strategy to kickstart your goals. Here’s how to get started.

Rent Your Stuff

Chances are you have plenty of stuff lying around your home that can earn a profit to fund your upcoming trip. A spare room or basement can earn big bucks on Airbnb, but it’s not the only way to make money. You can also rent out a second car on a site like Turo and apply the earnings toward your travels. And for families with leftover baby gear, Babierge offers the opportunity to rent out your stuff and develop your own little side business on your own terms.

Start Freelancing

You can transform your current skills into a money-making machine and start freelancing immediately to earn a side income. Everything from bookkeeping to writing to data entry are in demand and monetizable. Look for clients through word-of-mouth or sites like Upwork. Just make sure to look at high-paying gigs and meticulously put together your pitches to show you know your stuff to stand out from the competition.

Launch a Family Business

Freelancing is one way to start a side hustle, but you can also get the whole family involved to start earning. Get the kids on board with earning as a family and throw it towards your around-the-world travels. Brainstorm together and offer landscaping, cleaning, or even hauling away trash or furniture in the family truck to earn. Keep a chart of what you’re saving as a family so your kids can see exactly how much is going towards your around the world trip.

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Purge and Sell

Have you ever taken a closer look at the stuff filling up your basement, shed and attics? Start taking inventory of all of the old toys, clothes and electronics just taking up space. Hold a family garage sale or list on sites like Amazon FBA or eBay to start shedding your junk and earning money. Remember even broken goods like lawn mowers and old smartphones are in demand from people hoping to fix them up and flip for a profit.

Slash and Save

Instead of focusing on earning more, you can also slash your budget and save every month. Sit down as a family and scrutinize your budget. Cable can be cut in favor of streaming TV on Netflix and Amazon while a family smartphone plan can trim down on utility bills. Look at everything that sucks up money including banking fees and research switching to a credit union with low or no monthly fees. Your grocery and restaurant bill can also be cut with creative couponing, meal planning and getting more focused about saving.

House Swap

Once it’s time to hit the road, or the skies, you can maximize your savings by looking for free housing. Swap your house to other family travelers or look for house sitting opportunities to find free lodging during your travels. You’ll end up keeping more money in your pocket to apply toward food and lodging in areas where you need that Airbnb to keep your travels going.

At the end of the day, funding an around-the-world trip takes intense focus and commitment. Combine the strategies above to earn a few hundred dollars a month, as well as save a few hundred. Then set an around-the-world goal for one to two years and look at how to maximize your savings with inexpensive options like camping. You’ll quickly find the adventure is really all about the journey and bonding over your goals as a family.