Travel the world for free. Sort of…Part 2

Hey readers,

Do you ever dream of relaxing on a beach in Costa Rica, or sailing around the Greek islands, or horseback riding over the rolling hills of New Zealand? Maybe not, but everyone at one point in their lives has had the urge to travel, whether it be for a week, a month, a year or longer. To some, it may appear to be an expensive venture to travel for long periods of time and a number of thoughts start racing through the mind. Where would you live? What would you eat? How would you make money? Check out my previous post under the TRAVEL category of my blog to get the answer to the first 2 questions. I would like to share a few ways of how to easily generate income to pay for your travels and have fun while doing it.

1. Photography

“What the hell? I’m not a photographer!! How am I supposed to make any money if I have no idea what I’m doing?” – Skeptical anonymous friend

You don’t need to be a professional photographer with a studio and an expensive flashy camera to become successful. Let me introduce you to the world of Stock Photography. Stock photos (stock photography) are photographs of common places, landmarks, nature, events or people that are bought and sold on a royalty-free basis and can be used and reused for commercial design purposes. It is a great revenue source because its free to get started (aside from your camera). As you travel just snap pictures of whatever you want. Obviously the more you put into your work the more you will get out of it.

Shutterstock.com

Flickr.com

Dreamstime.com

You will naturally get better with photography the more you practice so why not get paid for your “practice” photos in the process. At first you may not see a ton of money flooding into your account since its about $0.20 a download, but over time, as you grow your portfolio and your skills – the amount of downloads will steadily increase.

2. Freelance Work

Whether you love to write or if you have a specific skill that you’re amazing at, freelance work is always a great way to get paid for doing what you love. Jobs are paid out based on the difficulty of the task and can range anywhere from $5 to $5000. The best part is, YOU pick the job. the “employers” post what they need done and how much they are willing to pay for the task and freelancer get to sift through the massive lists and pick what they would like to do. Here are some great websites to get started.

Elance.com

oDesk.com

Fiverr.com

3. Telecommuting jobs

As technology advances so do telecommuting job opportunities. There are many jobs that are currently available on Flexjobs, Monster, Indeed, and many other job search engines. Do what you know how to as a part time or contract employee. This is the logical “go to” if you want stability and security however it can take away from the fun of traveling. One thing to keep in mind is different timezones. Living in Germany and working for a New York company on the EST 9-5 shift can be a hassle. Keep an eye out if you choose to go this route.

4. Selling Merchandise

This is definitely my favorite revenue source because it really makes you feel like a business owner. Its much simpler than it sounds. Lets say you come across a merchant in Peru that makes jewelry and accessories. Although there is a small investment necessary to buy the goods, the money will come back to you with profits shortly. One of the best resources I’ve been using is Amazon.com. This corporate giant makes it ridiculously easy to sell any product. Amazon has an incredible structure that allows you to market,distribute, and track the sales of your product. They manage your inventory, deal with shipping, payment processing, customer service, and everything else you can think of. You can literally manage your business without ever even seeing the product itself. Its really quite amazing. Check out what they have to offer and see for yourself how easy it really is.

5. Blogging

I want to clarify that blogging for money is a TERRIBLE idea. If you do not have a focus/direction/purpose you will never “make it” as a blogger. Blogging should be done as a hobby, or a way to express yourself not, for monetary gains. That being said, you can definitely make money blogging if you do it right. I set up this blog in one evening and I have no experience in website design or development so if I can do it, so can you. Once you start producing interesting content and develop a solid following of readers, you will be able to start promoting for an affiliate or even possibly your own products as mentioned in part 4. One of the most important aspects to generating income while blogging is making your blog known and to have people want to come back. SEO (search engine optimization) is crucial to your success as a blogger. A great resource for SEO information is disclosed in this blog

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic-2012

You can also use your blog to get discovered. If you can make people laugh, then make videos of your “sit down” comedy. Who knows… maybe you’ll end up on television or in a movie one day.

You will not be a millionaire (at first) doing any or all of these 5 steps but as time goes on, you will be able to generate enough money to pay for your travels and then some. As with anything in life, “you get what you put into it”

Leave a comment if you’ve had any success with other ways of generating money for your travels.

Thanks 🙂

-Mr Puffin

Hot tracks that will get you ready to PARTY! Part 2

Hey Readers,

I didn’t get a chance to post any music this weekend because I was a bit busy dancing my ass off to the last set as well as a slew of new beats I came across.

Here’s the daily dose of Electro that will get you ready to rock out in your pajamas while watching the daily Ridiculousness marathon on MTV have an amazing night out on the town.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/26605583″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Any feedback is much appreciated.

– Mr Puffin

Sexy and simple fresh Marinara sauce recipe

Hey readers,

Let me start off by saying that being able to cook is a turn on, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Being able to throw a meal together from scratch is not only sexy but its rewarding once the meal is complete and serves as a great activity to set the tone for the rest of an evening. Something as simple as pasta can be a great way to bond with a date or a significant other and for that reason I will disclose to you my easy, yet seems-like-you’re-a-pro recipe for marinara sauce. Whether you’ve been cooking for years or if your culinary limits are scrambled eggs and toast, this recipe is a great way to turn something boring into something really fun.

Keep in mind that this recipe is intended for two people. Whatever is left over can be used the following evening or even later in the future. (Wait for my next post to see how to make an amazing pizza that will instantly make you want to sing “That’s Amore” as you’re eating)

What you will need.

3 and 1/2 lbs tomatoes

6 ounces tomato paste

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup red wine

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsely

1/4 cup fresh basil

1 and 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

2  teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red chile pepper flakes

1 and 1/2 tablespoons seasoning blend (Italian or specialized)

2 tablespoons sugar

Baking Sheet

Parchement Paper

Mixing bowl

An oven and a stove (obviously)

*I try to use as many fresh and natural ingredients as possible but generic ingredients work just as well.

Step 1. 

Get a baking sheet and cover it with parchment paper. Cut the tomatoes in halves and place them face down on the parchment paper. I prefer this method over dropping the tomatoes in boiling water because there is more aroma in the air from baking which adds to the experience. Set the oven to 425 and wait for about 10-15 minutes after its preheated to put the tomatoes in.

Tomato halves before baking

Step 1.5

While the tomatoes are in the oven, dice the onions, garlic and finely chop all of the fresh herbs.

Step 2

Oil up a a pan with the specified amount of olive oil and dump all of the cut onions, garlic, and herbs into the pan once the oil is hot (it should start to sizzle once you drop the ingredients in)

Step 3

Make sure the tomato skins are beginning to crack and are getting wrinkly before you take them out. Carefully take out the baking sheet, and let it sit for about a minute or two. Quickly peel off the top layer of skin off of the tomatoes and discard the skins. These tomatoes will be HOT!! so use either a paper towel to quickly snag the skin off or thick rubber dish washing gloves. Crying from first degree burns in front of your date automatically negates any “sexy points” you may have accumulated thus far

Step 4

Mix the all of remaining ingredients in a bowl along with the now skinless tomatoes.

Step 5

Once the consistency looks like a sauce, go ahead and dump that sauce into a large pot, along with the onions, garlic and fresh herbs that have been slightly sauteed in the pan.

Step 6

Stir every 20 minutes. Wait for approximately an hour to an hour and half before serving.

Step 7

Make the pasta and top with newly made marinara sauce.  If you don’t know how to make pasta, well then I’m surprised you’ve even read this far into the post.

Enjoy your dinner date 🙂

-Mr Puffin

Daily dose of Drum & Bass and Dubstep

English: Dubstep Title (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All out craziness! Enjoy 🙂

This is one of my favorites by Omnitica. Legen – WAIT FOR IT…. seriously wait for the first drop

DARY!

More headbangers soon to come

Enjoy!

– Mr Puffin

Travel the world for free. Sort of…

Hey guys,

I have been thinking a great deal about all of the amazing places around the world that I would like to visit and shortly I will make my dream a reality. Now when I say “travel” I don’t mean go to a destination for 2 weeks to live in nice hotels, eat at classy restaurants, and generally be a tourist. I want to be completely immersed in the culture that I am visiting to truly be able to understand how people from all over the world live and value what they have (or don’t have) in their lives. My journey will take anywhere from 2 to 3 to maybe even 5 years and hopefully longer than that and it won’t cost me nearly as much as a regular “vacation”. To most people who have not done any research, the only frame of reference they have regarding the cost of such an adventure is based off of specifically the vacations they’ve gone on in the past.

A typical vacation, for example from San Francisco to Tokyo for 2 weeks, will cost roughly $1000-1500 for roundtrip airfare, $50-100 per night at a hotel, $30-60 per day for food, and just to be generous an extra $300-500 for attractions and entertainment. You can see how the expenses add up. Why? Because you’re a TOURIST not a traveler. Travelers know a few secrets to bypass many of these expenses and are able to get a free ride on their adventures or for little money at all.

One of the best resources I’ve ever come across is workaway.info

Out of fog Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco in fog and crepuscular rays. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a site full of individuals from every single country in the world, that offer room and board in exchange for work. In most cases, the work that is requested consists of simple tasks such as gardening, teaching English and computer skills, general housekeeping, babysitting, painting, and other things. Hosts have reviews posted by people that have visited them before and most have extensive profiles with pictures and biographies, allowing you to feel more comfortable when staying with strangers. How much will you be working? Not much at all. Most hosts only require a few hours a day, so basically from breakfast until lunch, leaving you plenty of time to go out and explore the country around you.

Now that your food and “rent” are paid for, how are you going to be able to pay for your entertainment and the flights to get from place to place? Simple. become a hacker… wait what…?

YES! You need to master the art of travel hacking in order to be able to virtually fly over the world for pennies on the dollar. What is travel hacking you ask? It is the art of manipulating sign on bonus points from credit cards, and utilizing those points/miles for free airfare. Credit card promotions are ever changing and fluctuate based on the performance of the market. In most cases you do need to spend a certain amount of money within a certain amount of time in order to be eligible for the promotion, however its never a ridiculous amount and can usually be taken care of rather quickly if you play your cards right (pun intended).

A great start to understanding the value of these points is this site http://chrisguillebeau.com/3×5/travel-hacking-in-2013/

Although all of this sounds great, the question remains as to how you will be able to afford paying for anything else that you do in your spare time. Stick around for the second part of this post where I’ll explain a number of easy ways to make money abroad and have fun doing them.

-Mr Puffin

Related articles

• Travel cards that offer best deals for you (abclocal.go.com)
• Best Frequent Flyer Credit Cards for Summer Travel (savealittlemoney.com)

Hot tracks that will get you ready to PARTY!

Hey Guys,

Now I know not everyone appreciates EDM (electronic dance music) but I happen to be a huge fan and supporter. Here are a few tracks that Ive recently come across that I would like to share with you all. Let me know what you think.

OVERWERK – 12:30

CAZZETTE – Bjornstammen

Day One – Game Changer

Wallem Brothers – Jagermonster

Madax – Wasteheads

Post some feedback and don’t forget to check other tracks by these artists on their soundcloud pages.

-Mr Puffin

Do I really need a degree? Probably not…

Graduate School Blues (Photo credit: ChiILLeica)

Hey Readers,

How many of you are currently in school working towards a degree? How many of you actually intend on doing something with that degree once you are required to join the workforce? How many of you are wholeheartedly willing to dedicate the rest of your life to whatever it is that you are studying for?

From the very few years I’ve lived outside of academia, I can tell you (for the most part) a degree is just another box on the requirements list for employers. The simple fact is that most  employers prefer actual hands on experience over knowledge. Lets say for example a student takes on the endeavor of getting a degree in computer science whereas another individual of the same age and same interest starts out at an entry level IT support role that requires no experience. After 4 years of hard work both individuals have something to be proud of; one has a degree and one has the technical experience to perform their role effectively.  From an employers perspective, the individual who has the 4 years of hands on experience would be a much greater asset to the company seeing as they require no training and have actual experience.  But what happens with the graduate student? Guess what… they’ll have to start at the entry level IT support role that the other individual started at 4 years ago and will end up competing with hundreds if not thousands of other people who lack experience.

I admit that using the technology field in the example is cheating in a way. New languages, software, codes, and systems are being created at a phenomenal rate. For this reason, most of the information a computer science student would begin to learn in their first year of study would be outdated by the time they graduated.  This exponential growth makes a degree in a technology related field rather insignificant. Although the technology field is currently one of the most lucrative, its an ever expanding industry where hands on experience is valued more than a $60,000 piece of paper that says “look what I can do”.

Lake Braddock Graduation 2005 (Photo credit: cryptic_star)

Now don’t get me wrong here. A degree is an invaluable tool that allows you to accomplish your goals in regards to a career, IN SPECIFIC FIELDS. Becoming a scientist, or doctor, or lawyer is impossible without being able to know everything involving the subject in question. However, most graduates end up with bland and generic degrees such as art, communications, and English because frankly, they’re the easiest. Why waste your time? Unless you have a goal or a path that you truly want to pursue, why take on between 30-80,000 in debt to start where you could have started before the degree?

Don’t be a sheep for society. Think for yourself and do what you love to do. If you don’t know what that is… well don’t worry, you have your whole life to figure that out.

-Mr Puffin

Related articles

• Will Your University Degree Yield a Higher Starting Salary? (college.answers.com)