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I have been traveling around the world for the last 10 years and living the nomadic life for the last 3 years. I’ve heard so many times the excuses of  “traveling is expensive”,

“I don’t have that much money and time” I wish I can do it, but I cannot afford it right now. So let me tell you, if you are waiting for this perfect time it will never come. If you really want it just go for it and everything else will fall into place. Ye,s travel can be expensive if you travel as a tourist and stay in 4-5* hotels and resorts but if you chose the traveler way you can even save some money. I can not talk about how other people do that but here are a few things I do.

1. Accommodation

There is some great website that links you with other travelers and provides you with a free accommodation for as little as looking after their pet. I’ve done some research and there are many house/pet sitting websites but the one I’m constantly using is

1. Mindmyhouse.com. They are fairly cheap about 20$ a year and you have access to some great properties. You do need to be quick and keep looking to find the right one for you. But so far I love them. I was fortunate to stay in a 3-floor villa just 10 minutes walking distance from the beach in Puerto Vallarta, Spend a month in amazing Condo walking distance from the white house in DC 

Stayed almost 3 months in the bay area rent free between a beautiful house and apartment of another fellow traveler. I met what I like to call her my “Travel Angel”. Someone that inspired me so much and helped me in so many ways. An 86 years old lady who backpacked her way around the world since the 50’s and still having this travel spirit in her. She was happy to share her wisdom and experience with me and even provide me with some travel gear and great tips

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 I also stayed 1-month rent free in NYC (2 weeks right in the heart of Manhattan).                                                                                                         

All these great places all for free. Just set your mind where do you want to go and opportunity will come.

       2.Couchsurfing.com. It is free to register and most accommodations and events are also free of charge. I personally have not tried it yet, but I have met many people that had both great and bad experience at it. I guess as long as you are careful with who you contact and select could be a great way to meet local and save on accommodation and sometimes even transportation.

       3.Nomador.com This one is a little bit more expensive, you got the first 3 contacts for free and then 35$ per quarter or 89$ per year. I heard of them only recently and have not get the chance to used them yet. What great about this platform is that most house owners allowed a “stopover” to check on potential house sitters. You can stay a night or two for free and get to know the owners and the pets in case if you will be available in the future.

      4.workaway.com Registration here is about 20£ a year for a single traveler and a little bit more expensive if you travel as a couple. Please be aware that they do scan all emails and you would get a warning if you apply as a couple from a single person subscription. Here you have a lot more options and depending on your skillset you can search all around the globe. If you are unsure about the host you can contact any of the workawayers whom left a review and ask them about their experience. It could be risky if you pick someone without any reviews but you just need to follow your guts. I had a great experience looking after a little girl in Barcelona for a couple weeks. Spend 3 months in Cancun taking care of 2 charming girls which were a great way to improve my Spanish

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There isn’t any better way of learning any language by the one from a toddler in my opinion. I was fortunate to participate in a local community project to teach English in a small village in Central Java. It was a great experience since they have not seen many foreigners and I did felt like a celebrity.

I was able to help with some marketing and business strategies in a small homestay in West Bali, as well as building a program for environmental awareness of ocean trash and cleaning the beach with local kids while practicing their English.

There are so many things you can do and experience from workaway and I highly recommend it. It will most definitely expand your comfort zone and would help you appreciate life more. Some of the accommodations were less comfortable than others but the hosts were always welcome and made me feel at home.

There is no better way of getting to know the country and its people than living like one of them. Some workaway offers will provide you with accommodation and food some will be only accommodation.

I traveled around Indonesia (Java and Bali) for 1 month on less than 1000$ including 450$ return ticket from LA. Which brings me to topic number2

2. Transportation.

When you live on the road and you don’t have set days to come back or to be in a specific place, and you have a lot more flexibility.

1. Airfare: I use to always look for direct flights, but connection flights are a lot cheaper and if the selected right would not be stressful at all. On my flight to Indonesia, I used Xiamen airlines and they were great. I was a bit skeptical at first but they turn a real gem. Most of their flight connect to Xiamen and there they have a very well established system. If your layover is longer than 8h they provide you with free breakfast and accommodation in a local hotel. It does say that you would have to share a room with another person if you travel alone, but the hotel is so big that I did not share with anyone. Again I guess is all about availability and luck. Also if your layover time is more than 6h they do let you stay in the launch or you can also do a free city tour. So look for great deals and do not be afraid of taking a connecting flight. In the USA most airlines have the tendency to oversell seats and offer compensation to a volunteer giving up their seat. When you are living on the road and do not really need to be somewhere at a specific time this can be a great way to save on flights. First thing I do when get to the airport is to ask if the flight I’m on is oversold and put my name down for volunteering. American airline is the most comment one that oversold their flights and travel internationally. Red-eye flight does get more compensation than normal flights as you might have to spend the night at the airport, but who cares. I will always prefer spending a night at the airport for free 500$-600$ airline voucher.
2. Local transportation. Even if it might feel unsafe at first, always remember the local knows best

   In my travels, I’ve used all types of transportation.                     Back of a truck, a small motor scooter that can barely fit my backpack, tuk-tuk, boats….literally anything you can think of. I even hitchhike and had a great experience, but you do need to be careful where you do that. Do not be afraid to use local transportation. Locals would be more than happy to try to help you even if they do not speak the same language. Interaction with locals will give you amazing memories and is more likely to remember when you were stuck on the back of a truck than when you travel on an ac tourist bus.
3. Local discounts and deals. Do your research and always ask at the ticket counter what would be the best price. By asking nicely I always save some extra dollars from a discounted offer I was not aware of it. When you are nice to other they would try to be as nice they can to you.
4. Carpooling or share ride In the USA and Canada do not be afraid of using carpooling and share rides. Also, Couchsurfing could be a great opportunity to share some memories with the travel nomads. There are so many great nomadic people that advertise free accommodation and a ride as long as you chip in with the gas.

3. Making money while traveling.

1. Upwork.com This has been my main income while traveling. Based on your education and skill set there are so many opportunities for freelancers. It does require a stable internet as you need to log in and tracks your working hours with their program. Commissions are a bit high but def worth the freedom of working from anywhere you would like.                          
2. Content writers. There are few companies that would pay you money for writing articles for them. The one I like and planning of using more often is Travelista Club. They not only pay you for any travel article approved by them but they also link it to your blog. Also for someone like me whose English is not perfect, they are not too fussy about it.
3. Any bar job you can get or anything else you would be ok with.

I want to say that I’m not linked with any of the sites I mention and I have not been paid by any of them. I wish I had all this information handy when I started traveling. I had to learn all on my own and just want to share with everyone. Don’tfind more excuses why not, find a reason why you should. Life is as easy as you make it yourself. Making the first step in choosing the nomadic life is the hardest after that everything just gets easier. Living on the road is not always fun and sometimes can be very overwhelming, but I would not change it for anything. The experience you gain from being Nomad and the things you learn about yourself is priceless.