Adventure Possible

Trial & Error in a Life of Adventure

Subscribe by Email to AdventurePossible.com
  • Life of Adventure
  • Checklists & Tools
  • Books
  • Big Adventures
  • Weekend Adventures
  • The Kelleys
You are here: Home / Live a Life of Adventure in 15 Steps / Step 11: Make Money for Adventure Travel

Step 11: Make Money for Adventure Travel

Share adventure with others

  • Tweet

The Adventure Possible approach to modern life builds adventure into life’s trajectory, borrowing five years from retirement to give professionals the structure, tactics, and opportunity to make adventure possible over the course of your life.

In summary, the life looks like this:

Adventure Possible Life

The Adventure Possible life borrows five years from retirement. Inspired by Stefan Sagmeister.

During the working years, we make money and save money to fund the next adventure, covering gear, travel expenses, and bills back home while away from work for a year or so on an adventure.

However, for longer adventure travel trips, adventurers (especially adventure families feeding multiple hungry mouths) may exhaust the money squirreled away in a travel nut and need to augment savings with income that either slows down or covers the adventure travel burn rate. (What is a burn rate?)

To Work or Not Work on Sabbatical?

How can we afford to quit work and travel

Read about how we afforded to RV around America

I’ve determined there is no right answer to this question. A sabbatical by definition means a break from work, and perhaps we too loosely use the term “sabbatical” to define our year of adventure. However, just because one takes a break from work does not mean the person lazes around all day or doesn’t earn an income. Professors, for example, whom often earn sabbatical every so often, leave teaching work to pursue other research or academic interests, working on passion projects while away on sabbatical and still earning an income.

Working while on sabbatical can take many forms, and with so many options available for remote work and entrepreneurship to earn income, I think the right answer to this question depends on one’s personal circumstances.

In my own adventures, I’ve addressed the concept of work in different ways. On my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, I did not earn any income and remote work was not an option, though I spent serious time journaling and writing books about the experience. On my bike ride across America, I left my day job behind, though I committed to writing a weekly article for the hometown newspaper, exercising new journalistic muscles. On our RV trip around America, my wife left her job entirely, though I was able to leave my full-time day job while staying on in a part-time consulting role with reduced and benefits. In our year living in Chile, my wife opted to leave her job, and I have decided to stay on full time in a remote capacity, providing us with income while we live in a new city and spend on pricy trips to Patagonia and Antarctica.

Aside from the actively working to earn income, we also manage a chunk of investments in stocks and real estate that produce produce income. The effort is low relative to active work, but there is some effort required to evaluate investments, make investments, and review quarterly performance reports.

In summary, each person should do what they want as it relates to working or earning income in a year of adventure. In some cases, a person may not have a choice. The only option for supporting adventure travel may be to make money while traveling. The important concept of adventure is not whether or not you work. The year of adventure is about getting into the adventure mentality by pushing into new experiences, disconnecting from one’s the typical work life, and forcing change that causes growth and evolution.

Ways to Make Money & Travel

We’ve managed to do a pretty good job creating income streams that enable us to live our long-term adventure travel dreams, deriving income from a combination of consulting, book sales, product sales, investments, and real estate.

Below we share posts about how we and other adventurers can develop income streams that let them embark on their adventure, travel farther, and stay out longer.

Related Articles to Making Money While Traveling

Returning to work How I left my job and got a part-time job for the adventure (Part I) May 27, 2016 by Mark Kelley
Real estate cash flow is a ticket to adventure (Updated 2022) December 31, 2015 by Mark Kelley
The Brute Force Way to Make Money on Adventure Travels through Web Design and Development December 1, 2015 by Mark Kelley
Backpacker at a cafe sign Wait Tables or Bartend to Make Money & Travel November 9, 2015 by Mark Kelley
Picture of woman by pool relaxing on the day off Pros and Cons of Working in a Resort to Make Money on your Adventure November 5, 2015 by Mark Kelley
Four Tips to Freelance and Travel November 4, 2015 by Mark Kelley
Sell Art and Crafts to Make Money and Travel October 30, 2015 by Mark Kelley
adventure travel writing Make Money and Travel by Writing October 29, 2015 by Mark Kelley
remote path through the woods 10 Tips For Convincing Your Boss to Let You Work Remotely October 28, 2015 by Mark Kelley
Photo of camera on tripod on backpacking adventure 5 First Steps for Making Money with an Adventure Travel Blog October 27, 2015 by Mark Kelley

Comments

  1. Steven Carr trial name Dudley DoRight says

    January 2, 2018 at 3:10 pm

    Great Ideas. Appreciate your approach and input.

    Reply

Share your comments... Cancel reply

Subscribe to Adventure Possible

Click to Buy eBook

Buy This Kindle Book on Amazon ($4.99)

Based on the actual adventure of Mark Kelley, publisher of this website, who trudged through the rugged and remote 100 Mile Wilderness on the Appalachian Trail.

Once reached Amazon Top 20 Best Seller List for Adventure Travel eBooks.

Meet the Adventure Possible Family

kelley family photo

Hi, My Name is Katie and I Married an Adventurer.

Quitting My Job

How can we afford to quit work and travel

How can we afford to quit work and to travel for a year?

How much does it cost to RV around America for a year?

Are we investing for the long term while we live a life of adventure

Are we investing for the future while we adventure travel? (Updated 2022)

Adventure Possible in the News

Live a Life of Adventure in 15 Steps

Our family believes in designing the life one wants to live, and we have designed an approach for our life that builds adventure into our life … Read More

Main Navigation

  • Life of Adventure
  • Checklists & Tools
  • Books
  • Big Adventures
  • Weekend Adventures
  • The Kelleys

Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Search

© 2013-2022 PROTRACK MARKETING LLC. Raleigh, North Carolina. Principal: Mark Kelley (LinkedIn).