pCreate/Flickr

Usually when we take holidays we have one thing and one thing only in mind – relaxation. However, there’s no reason why you can’t use your vacation time to make a bit of extra cash. Your holidays don’t have to be financial black holes: In between hours spent idling by the pool there are plenty of money-making opportunities to be had.

• Use a cashback site to book tickets
• Rent your house
• Be a courier
• Sell your photos
• Review your holiday
• Arrange a job in advance
• Use your camper van
• Teach English
• Fruit picking
• Exploit local market prices
• Look out for great deals
• Sell your foreign currency

Step One: Before you go

Buy your holiday from a cashback site

Did you know that you if you book your holiday through certain sites you can claim a percentage of the commission? Usually the percentage is quite low (around the four or five percent mark), but it is possible to find affiliates which will reward you with up to 10% of the cost of your flight. If you’re travelling at late notice and going far then it could be worth checking out trusted sites such as Free Fivers. Also, register with sites that give you instant cash just for signing up such as Cashback Shopper which gives you £5 and Ecashback which gives you £2.50 immediately.

If you want more information read our article about cashback sites.

Become a holiday planner for your mates

What about organising a big holiday with your mates in a cottage and then charging a little bit more per person than it actually costs? You could even put on all the food and charge a small amount per person more and make a profit that way.

Lastminute.com now has a cottages section where you can search for cottages all over the UK.

You can also get a Family & Friends railcard to save money on travelling to the cottage. Up to four adults and four kids can travel on one railcard and it costs £28 for one year or £65 for three years – it saves you 1/3 on adult fares and 60% on kid’s fares. If you purchase tickets for everyone on the railcard you can still charge your friends less than the standard fare to save them money but still make a small profit by charging slightly more than the actual cost to you.

Rent your house out

If you live in a ‘des res’ in a popular city or a very attractive part of the country you could rent your home while you’re away. Simply put it up for rent on Gumtree, Spareroom or through a local lettings agent that specialises in short, holiday lets. Short-term lets are usually much more lucrative than long-term ones so you could find yourself making £100s while you’re away. To find out more about renting your house, or part of it, see our article on renting a room.

Be a courier

Being a courier is a good way to save money on your flights. However, the courier network has diminished recently. The only route that is operating now is London Heathrow to Tokyo with British Airways. If you are willing to fly there, you can go for up to two weeks and you receive a discount on your outbound flight. This discount can vary greatly, depending on the demand for courier seats. You can save up to 50%/60% though. It normally involves picking up some documents at the airport when you arrive and bringing them back to Heathrow. If you want to learn more read our article on courier flights.

Step Two: Once you get there

Become a tourist guide extraordinaire

If you’ve got knowledge of a specific area relevant to the country you’re going to, offer yourself up as an English speaking tourist guide to a holiday company. Their guests could be very interested in a tour you lead and you can either get paid or get a discount on your holiday with the same company. If you’re a bit of an architecture boffin you could host some tours in Greece for example, or if you’re a film buff why not take some tourists on a film locations tour in New York.

You wouldn’t have to do it every day of your holiday – just one day out might be enough to enjoy the rest of your holiday with a bit of extra money in your back pocket. You can advertise your services as a tour guide or find people looking for tours on job sites such as Gumtree, or Craigslist.

Review your holiday

Write reviews about your trip. Review your hotel, the car rental service, the best restaurants you visted and anything else you can think of.

Qype is a site where you can earn points for writing reviews. Once you get 1,000 points you could become a Qype ninja and get a box load of goodies. Writing a review nets you 8 points but writing the first review of a place earns you 20 points and uploading a photo gets you 2 points. If you attach a video that’s another 4 points and if you invite a mate to Qype you’ll get 25 points.

Reviewstream is another website that pays you for every review you send them. If the review matches a certain list of criteria, they pay you the standard rate, which is usually about $2.50. If not, they’ll pay you 20% of the normal rate. You also get paid when somebody votes for your review.

Turn your caravan into a shop

If you’re planning a trip using a camper van you can sell useful products to other people staying in RV parks. Stock up on essentials like cleaning products, underwear and tools at a cheap supermarket and sell them at a mark-up. Check first with the owners of the site that you are allowed to do this. If not, find a spot nearby where campsite residents will walk or drive past and sell there. Again, there will be different laws about selling on spare ground depending on which country you are in so check first.

If you feel like playing chef you can cook up a big vat of hot soup. The smell wafting through the park should have hungry travellers queuing up in no time. This is particularly good for more informal sites that have few food outlets.

You can also try your hand at direct selling using your RV (camper van). This is a great idea if you’re going to America where it’s fairly common, and companies like American Guide Services Publishing are always on the lookout for part-time sales people.

Thinking of buying a new or used RV? Check this site out and you might just find the deal for you.

Teaching English as a foreign language

If you do a TEFL course, you can apply for a job in a number of countries around the world. Countries such as China and Spain are popular destinations. Find courses and jobs online at Teach English Abroad. A 4-week face-to-face course in the UK can set you back about £1,200, with prices dropping for online courses or shorter ones. You can do a weekend intensive course for about £250. However, there are different levels of qualifications so the longer courses are recommended. Trinity College CertTesol and Cambridge CELTA are amongst the best recognised courses but there are hundreds of TEFL courses on offer so make sure you shop around for one that suits you.

Once you are qualified, you can apply for a job anywhere in the world. You can search for jobs, and courses, here at tefl.com. You’ll earn enough to pay for your accommodation and have some spending money left over. It’s a great way to work and travel  as you can stay for an agreed length of time and then move on relatively easily.

Fruit picking

If you are planning on travelling long term, a good way to make money is by working as a fruit picker on a farm. This work is seasonal, and not very highly paid, but if you are a student backpacking around Australia or Europe for six months or so than it’s a great way to earn some extra cash. Some jobs last only a couple of weeks, but others can last as long as a couple of months in peak harvesting season.

In France, grape harvesting season is September and October, some vineyards pay 50 euros per day and give you free full board and lodging! So although the bad side is you are working on holiday (sometimes 7 days a week for 8 hours a day), the positive side is you aren’t paying anything in accommodation fees and you are being paid to work.

If you are interested in short term work, checkout Pickingjobs.com and Fruitfuljobs.com, who list fruit picking jobs all over the world.

If you are an EU citizen and want to look for short term work in the EU you do not need a a visa to work abroad, but your employer may wish to see your passport. Australia, Canada and the America have different rules and you will need to apply for a working visa or permit.

The Working Holiday Maker (WHM) visa gives you 12 months to travel to Australia from the date the visa is granted. You are allowed to stay in Australia for 12 months from the date you first enter Australia. You may work full-time, part-time or casually for 3 months at a time with any one employer. You should keep a record of your employment on form 1263 which entitles you to apply for a second working holiday visa.

If you don’t want to work abroad, there are lots of opportunities to do fruit picking work on English soil.  The strawberry, raspberry and apple crop are just coming into season so there is lots of work about for those who want it.

Step Three: When you get back

Exploit local market prices

Depending on where you’re heading in the world, you will be able to buy something cheaply and sell, or keep it, back home. From antiques to electronics, there are deals to be spotted wherever you’re destined for.

When going abroad it’s worth keeping an eye open for antiques and collectables that you can take back home and sell for a profit. Nobody is suggesting you’ll stumble over a lost Picasso or a Mesopotamian vase, but with a bit of research you can perhaps find something which will let you recoup some of those travel expenses.

The key to spotting an item which would make you a profit after resale is research. Read about the country you’re travelling to and find out what is produced locally and cheaply but is in high demand around the world. Some countries will offer more of these resale opportunities than others. Italy for example, produces paintings, ceramics, weavings and other hand crafted products which are popular all over the world. A quick and easy way to find out what to look for when you go abroad is to search on eBay. Look for items that are produced exclusively in your holiday destination but then bought by people back home.

Don’t forget to factor shipping costs into your expenditure. If you buy antiques or souvenirs which are too large to travel back home with you’ll need to arrange shipping and, unless you buy a lot of items, this can be expensive.

Old and Sold is an informative website full of information about collecting antiques. If you have any questions about buying souvenirs abroad and selling them at home then you can ask the site’s knowledgeable members for their advice. Finally, our article on haggling may prove indispensible the next time you find yourself in a Marrakesh bazaar fighting for a 50 dirham discount on a fez.

If you’re in Hong Kong, or similar destinations in the east, you can get some good deals on electronics. If you go to individual sellers, be sure to bargain hard to get the best deals. Do be careful that what you pay for is what you get. Always check the box before you leave. Also, check that what you buy is compatible in your home country and that the power can be adopted to work wherever you live. You may have to pay for import tax so factor this into your estimates too.

Clothes can be an easy way of saving some money. Go with an empty bag and do your summer shopping at your holiday destination. If you’re heading to places like India, Thailand or even volunteering in Haiti then you can get some great deals on clothes. Fitted suits and dresses are perfect buys as you can get them made from scratch for a fraction of the price it would cost in the UK. Also, American brands such as Abercrombie & Finch, Gap and Converse can be found much cheaper in the US .

There are, of course, strict guidelines in the UK governing the importing of works of art, antiques and collectables.  Import duty in the form of VAT at 5% is payable on these items entering the United Kingdom from outside the European Union (EU), whether imported privately or by VAT-registered businesses. Goods which do not qualify as antiques nor works of art nor collectors’ items (the definition can be found here) will be subject to the standard rate of import VAT – currently 17.5%, raising to 20% on 4th January.

Be sure to check the HM Revenue and Customs website for a full list of rules and regulations concerning importing into the UK. They also have a handy duty calculator which can help you establish what you’ll pay to bring items into the country.

Offload your excess foreign currency

Don’t leave your left over foreign currency lying around in a drawer. Unless you are planning to return to the country you’ve just visited soon, it’s almost like throwing money away. Marks & Spencer and The Post Office offer a commission-free buy back service…

Of course in the case of Euros it’s better not to change them back – with the exchange rate as it is, they are worth more to you as they are and you’re quite likely to use them again.

Sell your photos

Your holiday snaps can be more than just something you bore people with at dinner parties. If you have an aptitude for photography and tend to visit places that are a little unusual, then selling your pictures to photo agencies could be an easy way to make money. Microstock sites such as Fotolia often have a travel section and are always on the lookout for professional-quality photographs of interesting things.  123RF and Picture Nation are other sites that operate in the same way. There are also plenty of smaller travel magazines that will buy and publish your pictures. Send an email to their pictures editor and find out their rates.

If you want to submit a photo to sell, it has to be a RGB JPEG saved at a high setting (such as Photoshop level 10 setting or 48 megabytes in size). They must be uncompressed file sizes. Usually the higher the image resolution, the more you’ll be paid, so keep those files large!

Don’t forget you can always upload a low-quality version of a particularly good photograph to Flickr (you’ll need to register for a Creative Commons license), and then charge a fee for the higher-resolution versions. This is a good idea if you’ve taken a photograph of something rare or hard to find. Media companies often use Flickr to look for images so if you’ve taken a high-resolution, full-colour photo of something out of the ordinary you can be fairly certain that at some point someone will cough up money for it!

Extra Savings

If you’re going to make money when you’re out there, make sure you save some before you go and while you’re away. Here are some more ideas.

Travel in groups to get good discounts

Team up with other travellers and families you meet to take advantage of big group discounts. Usually a group only means upwards of eight people – perfect for two families of four.

Exploit buffet eating

The buffet breakfast is a holiday maker’s dream. If you are on a tight budget eating a lot in the morning can help you avoid the need for a big lunch, especially in the States where the spread is often quite impressive and very reasonably priced. Avoiding a big lunch will not only save you money, it will give you more time to take in the sights.  So don’t sleep through breakfast, make sure you get up, and have a big hearty meal to set you up for the day.

Arrange a job in advance for free accommodation

Sorting out some casual work whilst you’re away can top up your bank balance, but it can also (in many cases) sort you out some free accommodation. Keep the work casual – remember you’re supposed to be on holiday – but think about what you can offer that will be of use but will need the least amount of effort on your part.

The site Jobs Abroad allows you to search for work opportunities all over the world. The choice is overwhelming. At the time of writing they were offering everything from waiting work in Spain to live football commentating in Armenia. Be aware that while the majority of jobs are casual, cash-in-hand affairs that you’ll do for a month or two, the site also advertises full-time work placements that will require you relocate to the country.

Gumtree also advertises job vacancies in countries other than Britain. Click on “more cities” to see a list of Gumtree-friendly places in Asia, Europe and Africa. The informative Transitionsabroad.com is another helpful website that explains the ins and outs of working abroad.

If you’re the hostelling type have a look at Hostelworld Online to locate any nice looking hostels in the area you’re travelling to. Phone them and ask about any work vacancies – they will usually let you lodge at the hostel for free. If you’ve ever worked as an electrician, plumber or carpenter you can probably negotiate a small fee.

Working at a summer camp is another way to get free accommodation and experience a new country for far less. Many will also pay for your flights so it’s a great money-saving opportunity. Typically camp workers are aged between 18-35 years old so it’s a great option for any students who can’t afford to go on holiday over the summer break. Take a look at SummerJobs4u and  SummerCampWorldwide for job listings and more information.

Do a house-swap

If you’re not going to rent your home out while you’re away then save money by doing a house swap. You can sort out your house swap through an agency – the ones listed below have online catalogues, allowing you to conveniently browse different properties.

Simply register with the site and let them know where you would like to go, when (roughly) you’d like to go, how many bedrooms and bathrooms you have in your house, and if you have any fancy extras like a big garden, garage or swimming pool.

Most of the agencies charge a one-off annual membership fee of less than £100 and will refund this if you do not manage to organise a swap during that year.

• Home for Exchange
• Intervac
• Home Exchange (American site)

Keep you eye out for great deals

The BA website is full of great deals which will save you loads of money. You can occasionally find absolute blinders on their site such as a one-way flight to Ibiza for £49. Lastminute.com also offer great deals on everything from flights and care hire to festival tickets and packages.

Useful Links

• Fotolia
• Lastminute.com
• Home for Exchange
• Picture Nation

What do you think ? Have you made a tidy bit while on the beach,  or rented out your house to make money? Let us know on our facebook page: