As the title of this post suggests, I am going to create a series of posts that addresses common questions full time travelers often get. One of the first I always receive is, how do you make money? The answer has evolved over the span of my first year on the road. I started out boondocking or stealth camping in a city and working full time at a local restaurant. While I was proud of my work; I enjoyed the company of my co-workers and employers; and the pay was good, I never felt adequately compensated for my time and effort.
I have major difficulty with two things: working for others within the structures of their own businesses and paying mandatory taxes on my income. In the last year, I have learned how to earn money in a different way that works better for me. I have also learned how to save money while traveling without sacrificing the good stuff, the good stuff for me mostly being good food, going out and having fun, having access to wifi, and being able to change locations as I please, but this will be another post. I addressed my previous dissatisfaction and live even more of a good life by spending less, saving more, and by starting my own small online business that I can operate from my van. I don't work for anyone but myself; I make my own hours (and work a lot less); I work where I want and in my pajamas if I feel like it; and I only do what I want to do, and I enjoy it!
I created an Etsy shop in October of last year. If you aren't already familiar, Etsy is an online marketplace for sellers focused especially on handmade and vintage items and artwork. I had made many a purchase from Etsy sellers before creating a shop of my own: everything from handmade underwear to hidden book boxes to glass pipes. I sell vintage clothing in my shop. This product is a perfect fit for me, as I am constantly traveling to new places with new thrift stores, thrift shopping for my own clothing anyway, and I'm never too far from a post office to ship out orders. My inventory turns over quickly! I can store all of my merchandise and shipping materials in the van in containers under my bed. I am even lucky enough to be partnered with a skilled photographer who photographs me modeling some of the clothing for the shop and always in beautiful natural settings that we travel through. Here's a link to my shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/NomadVintageClothing. You can follow him on Steemit https://steemit.com/@bear8photo and also purchase his photographs on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/bear8photo.
I do pay Etsy monthly fees to be a seller on their platform. And if I earn enough this year, I will receive a 1099-K tax form from Etsy as they are required to do so by US law. I will technically be required to pay my income tax. Though having my own online business on Etsy is for me an improvement from working for someone else's business and having large portions of my income automatically withdrawn from my paychecks for federal and state taxes, I am still dissatisfied at having limited options. I am excited to see blockchain technology develop to offer alternative currencies and platforms for selling goods and services.
My plan for this summer is to supplement my online business income by providing services in childcare to an individual family for cash only. I plan on saving almost all of what I earn to travel in the winter, to continue to invest in blockchain technology and other worthwhile things that I believe in, and to ultimately upgrade my vehicle. In a future post, I will write about how to save money while traveling without sacrificing the good life and only making it better. Feel free to leave me a comment with questions you have about #vanlife, and I may create a post to answer!