twenty fifth Apr 2025
Studying Time: 15 minutes
Except you be a part of the Navy or work for an airline, you’ll most likely wrestle to earn cash whereas travelling.
Scrounging free flights and lodge stays is getting more and more troublesome within the post-lockdown, post-‘influencer’ world, and even skilled journey writers now wrestle to journey the world at no cost like they used to.
However there are nonetheless some methods to recoup the price of your vacation, from renting out your own home and driveway to taking care of another person’s pet when you sightsee.
Reduce by way of the hype and uncover what ideas do and don’t work now, with our skilled information.
Proceed Work on Vacation
OK, OK, so being on vacation means taking annual go away or time away out of your freelance job. However for those who can negotiate working at the least a few days per week remotely when you’re away, you gained’t eat into your go away days or vacation fund fairly a lot. With distant work so widespread in a post-Covid world, it’s simpler than ever to barter an extended vacation general, for those who can prepare to work remotely a number of days per week.
Converse to your boss about how you possibly can work when you’re away, and ensure clear boundaries are set about when you’re working and when you’re on vacation. In case you are travelling to a rustic that has an workplace on your firm or purchasers, take into account providing to spend a day finishing up in-person conferences (and a few smooth-tongued staff may even use this to ask for bills in direction of air journey and a lodge for a portion of the journey).
Freelancers can often work from wherever, which implies it’s simple to up sticks for per week or two with out dipping into your financial savings an excessive amount of. Working a few hours a day ensures the earnings continues to roll in, however you’ll be able to benefit from doing it by a seaside or in a fantastic historic metropolis! And keep in mind, for those who can tie your journey to work someway, reminiscent of a analysis journey, a few of your bills might be offset in your Self Evaluation.
Earn Cash Renting Out Your House
Renting out your own home out when you’re away is an easy – and fairly profitable – method of recouping the price of your vacation, particularly for those who stay in a vacationer hotspot.
Airbnb has clearly cornered the market in informal vacation lets, however there are a complete host of apps and web sites on the market you can sign-up to, together with Vacation Lettings, Vrbo, and Reserving.com, all of that are fairly simple to create and handle an inventory on.
Normal rental websites like Spare Room or Monday to Friday are one other great way of discovering individuals who would possibly need a full two weeks in a metropolis, the place, let’s face it, most Airbnb visitors solely wish to keep for a day or three.
Which web site is finest?
Spare Room and Monday to Friday tenants are often younger adults or enterprise folks in search of a stopgap whereas they discover extra long-term lodging. Websites like Reserving.com and Air BnB allow you to checklist for short-term lets, which can provide you more money for those who’re going away at a peak time.
There are only a few legalities to verify earlier than letting out your own home, like whether or not it is advisable up your insurance coverage. Airbnb, as an illustration, covers you for as much as $1m in insurance coverage, however your individual residence insurance coverage supplier can also want you to pay a small payment to incorporate renters to your coverage.
When you’ve got a mortgage, it is advisable verify if it’s okay with them too, as not all lenders can help you supply your own home out for short-term lets.
House Swap
Should you don’t wish to hire out your own home – or doing so would imply costly modifications to your insurance coverage coverage – you possibly can take into account a house swap with a good friend or vetted particular person, as an alternative. That is the place you turn properties for the time frame: you reside of their home, they stay in yours. This was made well-liked with the Christmas movie, The Vacation with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. We will’t assure you’ll discover the love of your life, however you would possibly uncover an inexpensive solution to commonly go to a spot that you simply love!
There are utterly free residence swap providers, however going by way of an company like HomeExchange with a small annual payment means you should have extra safety insurance coverage and different assist as a part of your membership. House swaps prevent a lot cash on journey, it may be a solution to discover the world on a restricted price range – so paying an company payment, the place persons are vetted to hitch, might be nicely price it.
Hire Out Your Drive
In case your mortgage dealer doesn’t can help you allow you to hire out your own home, or possibly you simply don’t fancy having another person keep in your house when you’re not there, you possibly can at all times hire out your empty driveway as an alternative.
Having a automobile in your drive will even do extra to maintain away would-be burglars than that corridor lamp on a time change ever may! It’s also possible to make a good whack by merely letting another person park in your property for per week or two. Once more, the quantity you possibly can earn relies on the place you reside – for those who’re stay in an enormous metropolis or close to a main sporting venue, like Wimbledon or Aintree the place parking is a significant drawback throughout sure weeks of the yr, your drive will clearly be extra in-demand than for those who stay on Dartmoor.
There are a great deal of corporations that specialise in driveway leases, together with JustPark.com, ParkOnMyDrive.com, Stashbee.com and YourParkingSpace.co.uk. You’ll additionally discover folks listings their driveways on Gumtree, Fb and different less-specialist websites, so it’s price checking on these too to see for those who may earn extra by promoting on considered one of them.
Organising an account solely takes a minute or so, and the websites then both take a small reduce from you, the leaser, or, within the case of JustPark.com, add an additional fee on to invoice which the particular person renting your drive pays.
How a lot can I cost to hire out my drive?
The three cities most in-demand by space-shy parkers are London, Edinburgh and Brighton, the place parking close to the centre sometimes goes from £15 a day (for those who exclude the chancers charging £50+). Even within the suburbs, the going-rate begins from £10 a day in Brighton, rising the nearer you reside to bus routes.
It might not sound an enormous quantity, however added up over a fortnight, you possibly can (conservatively) look to make between £70 and £135 renting out your parking area – and that’s assuming you checklist on the very backside of the market. Most of these drives aren’t in essentially the most in-demand elements of Brighton, like close to the seaside or station.
It’s an analogous story with different touristy cities like York, the place metropolis centre parking has simply rocketed in April 2025, to a whopping £4.85 an hour in metropolis automobile parks (up from 80p an hour only a month earlier than!).
Will I earn extra in different cities?
Should you’re fortunate sufficient to stay in central London, Edinburgh, or York, your drive can pay for quite a lot of Magnums. You’ll be able to simply make £20+ a day for every parking area. Should you’ve a double drive or double storage, you’re taking a look at £40+ a day – which provides as much as £560 in income throughout your two-week journey away. Have area for 3 automobiles? You could possibly earn £840 to place in direction of your spending cash.
Clearly, you will want to verify along with your residence insurance coverage supplier to make sure that renting out your driveway or storage doesn’t have an effect on your coverage, and any further money you make over £1000 in a yr have to be declared to HMRC in your tax return.
Can I Make Cash Pet Sitting?
In addition to renting out your individual home/drive to make some cash, you possibly can strive getting paid to remain within the place you’re staying – or, on the very least, keep there at no cost. Most individuals don’t pay for home sitting anymore – until you’re required to additionally take care of pets.
The plain method to do that is by providing your providers as a home sitter. Not everybody can get a home swap, reminiscent of those that hire their properties fairly than personal them, however you’ll be able to nonetheless register on a home sitting web site to remain in somebody’s home at no cost.
There are a variety of the explanation why somebody would need you to remain of their home rent-free.
An rising variety of folks personal multiple property or spend lengthy durations of time away on enterprise, and would fairly pay somebody to take care of the place than threat being burgled.
Housebreaking charges are highest throughout vacation durations, which, let’s face it, might be when you’re in search of someplace too. Hiring a house-sitter additionally makes monetary sense for residence house owners with a lot of worthwhile contents, like priceless artwork and memorabilia, so having you on-site may truly assist decrease their insurance coverage premiums.
What does house-sitting contain?
Home sitting is often very simple. Your job is to maintain issues dust-free and tidy, maybe carry on high of the backyard and water any crops, and, after all, chances are you’ll be required to take care of a pet too.
There’s fairly a requirement for individuals who are good with canine, cats and different animals, given many pet house owners don’t wish to ship their pets to costly kennels and catteries, so for those who get pleasure from strolling and grooming animals, and might be trusted to maintain them alive for 2 weeks, you’ll be ideally suited.
Not all house-sitting corporations pay, however you’ll save a whole bunch of kilos on inns and B&B by taking up the roll of unpaid dog-walker/night-watchman once you’re not off exploring the native vacationer websites.
How do I register?
Most the principle home sitting web sites cost would-be sitters a small payment to register on their web site. HouseSittersUK, as an illustration, prices £29 a yr for entry to its portal, which, as its web site factors out is ‘a fraction of the worth of an evening’s lodge lodging’. As soon as registered, you’ll be able to then start looking for residence house owners within the space you’re hoping to remain, and chat instantly with them to barter what they need and want from you. In the event that they pay, they are going to sometimes point out this within the advert, however you’ll be able to at all times ask about any remunerations or bills once you message them. In the event that they’re asking you to take care of pets or be aware of specific errands that would price cash, be sure you have in writing that they are going to cowl any bills incurred (like pet food).
Can I house-sit in a foreign country?
Should you’re in search of lodging overseas, MindMyHouse.com has listings throughout the US, Canada and Mexico, which account for over a 3rd of all advertisements, in addition to tons in the remainder of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.
Once more, it’s important to pay a small yearly membership payment of $29 (roughly £25) however there are many good trying listings in unique locations. After all, the house house owners are typically in search of assistance on particular dates (often after they themselves are going away), so for those who’re trying to go to California, for instance, it could make sense to lookup who’s listed in that vacation spot – and when they’re in search of house-sitters – and, organising your journey round that, fairly than reserving your flights first after which being disenchanted once you uncover there are not any Californians in search of house-sitters the fortnight you’re going to be there.
Can I specify what I’ll and gained’t do?
The attention-grabbing factor about this web site is home sitters and residential house owners signal an settlement detailing precisely what’s and isn’t included within the settlement, masking every little thing from fee (or in any other case) to the scenario concerning utility payments, damages, and any chores/obligations. The contract additionally ensures your keep, though every occasion can cancel the settlement as much as seven days earlier than you’re because of arrive, so there’s at all times an opportunity you might have to search out different lodging in the event that they cancel greater than per week out.
One other well-liked web site is Trustedhousesitters, nonetheless its becoming a member of payment is much more costly, ranging from £119 a yr for a ‘primary’ membership. Should you go down this route, it is probably not a foul thought to improve to the £129 ‘commonplace sitter’ membership, which incorporates unintentional and third occasion legal responsibility insurance coverage, in case something goes unsuitable throughout your keep. The premium membership of £249 is good for these wanting to accommodate sit greater than yearly (it’s nonetheless cheaper than a lodge!) because it contains sit cancellation cowl.
Should you apply for 5 home sits and aren’t profitable with any of them, the usual and premium plan features a refund in your membership price.
Can I cost a payment to accommodate sit?
Though funds aren’t the norm, chances are you’ll have the ability to negotiate a small payment if there are pets to take care of or some other extra duties, so positively give it a strive for those who really feel you deserve a small each day quantity.
One girl we all know of at MoneyMagpie commonly makes £50 a day as a house-sitter. She solely spends the night and evening in the home, earlier than going to work the subsequent day.
The rationale for this excessive charge of pay is the truth that the proprietor of the home has seven canine.
It might price at the least £10 per canine per day to place these canine into kennels. By paying £50 to a house-sitter who is aware of the canine, the proprietor saves £20 a day.
Usually, although, pay is minimal and begins at £10 a day. Some sitters ask for a meals allowance of £10 a day, very similar to an worker can do when having to journey for his or her firm. These sitters will typically ask for 45p per mile for gas, once more very similar to staff receives a commission for utilizing their personal automobile for work. Each of these funds are non-taxable, in contrast to any precise remunerations, which ought to be declared to the taxman for those who meet the minimal threshold.
One other instance of when a Magpie has been paid to accommodate sit was when the particular person had a house enterprise that required a lot of sending and receiving parcels. They paid £10 a day to cowl the journey to the put up workplace, and to ensure the Magpie stayed at residence throughout the set supply occasions to absorb parcels.
In case you are extra targeted on incomes cash fairly than simply discovering someplace free to remain, you’re most likely higher taking a look at a specialised pet-sitting web site, though you most likely should be an actual animal lover to hassle making use of to those. Most house owners aren’t going to go away their beloved pooch with any Tom, Dick or Harry.
How do I change into a pet-sitter?
The pet-sitting platform Rover doesn’t cost you to register and as an alternative takes 15% of any cash you make, very similar to Airbnb does. Plenty of the sitters on its web site are professionals who both personal boarding kennels and catteries, or run skilled canine walkers providers, they usually clearly cost huge bucks. That mentioned, there are others who supply a extra conventional house-sitting service, which is clearly most well-liked by many pet house owners whose animals are too nervous or previous to go to a kennel or cattery, so that you would possibly have the ability to undercut the professionals, and web your self a good payment to assist offset a few of your different vacation prices. When you’ve got a police DBS verify and might get references from different pet house owners testifying to your dog-whispering prowess, you’ll additionally severely enhance your possibilities of getting chosen.
Once more you’ll discover listings throughout the UK on Rover, in addition to in well-liked vacationer locations just like the US, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden and Norway – the place inns are notoriously costly.
Should you plan to take care of somebody’s pet, you actually should look into getting public legal responsibility cowl, in case the canine bites somebody when you’re out strolling them, as an illustration. {Many professional} house-sitters take out public legal responsibility insurance coverage even when they by no means take care of pets. You by no means know what kind of any blow-back you would possibly get from the house proprietor if issues go unsuitable, so it’s at all times higher to be protected than sued!
Get Free Meals and Lodge Stays as a Thriller Diner and Customer
There are many businesses on the market that make use of folks as thriller buyers for inns and eating places. Some pay however most supply merely the bills again of the meal or lodging. They may typically stipulate whether or not it is advisable order a specific factor, ask for assist (reminiscent of ‘might I’ve an iron dropped at my room?’ to check room service), and different such issues. You’ll need to allocate a while to finish the duties – however it’ll lead to free stays and meals.
What is going to I’ve to do?
Usually, thriller diners are given a easy questionnaire to fill-in after their go to, asking them to charge how pleasant the workers have been, how clear and presentable the restaurant seemed, and different maybe brand-specific questions, like did the meal arrive inside a sure time after ordering.
A number of college students and retired folks do thriller purchasing or thriller eating work as a part-time job, however for those who’re actually solely concerned about doing it from time to time to cowl these dinners away, you possibly can strive signing up for a web site like MysteryDining.
Whereas most individuals who use the app overview eating places of their native space, it let’s you replace your preferences for those who’re travelling, that means you’ll be able to choose to overview eating places and inns, for instance, when you’re elsewhere within the UK. They even have some worldwide partnerships, that means you possibly can eat at no cost whereas on vacation in elements of Europe, the Center East and America.
Can I receives a commission for opinions?
MysteryDining doesn’t pay you for every overview, however provides ’capped reimbursements’ – ie. cash to pay for the meal or lodge room you’ve been requested to overview. It really works on a tiered system (with bronze, silver, gold and platinum ranges, relying on what number of opinions you’ve achieved). Not surprisingly, one of the best gigs, like lodge stays, spa visits, meals at high-end eating places, and afternoon teas, are reserved for folks with extra expertise – which you acquire, initially, by reviewing plenty of ‘fast service’ eateries, like Pret A Manger.
If residing it up at no cost isn’t sufficient, yow will discover paid gigs right here, though they require a bit extra dedication and energy, and, are frankly, extra of a job than one thing you’ll be able to simply casually do whereas having fun with a much-needed break.
Make Cash Promoting Your Vacation Pics
Should you’re travelling someplace a bit distinctive or off the crushed monitor, nonetheless, and are beginner photographer with a DSLR digicam, you would possibly as nicely give it a go, because it’s shocking how few pictures the photograph businesses have of huge swathes of Africa, as an illustration.
What kind of pictures will promote?
Clearly there’s little or no demand for brand spanking new pictures of Desk Mountain or Kruger Nationwide Park. However you’d be stunned at simply how few pictures there are of different comparatively mainstream African locations on most image libraries.
As an illustration, for those who kind ‘fisherman + Gabon’, ‘hyenas + Namib-Naukluft Nationwide Park’ or the identify of a seaside in Zanzibar or Mozambique into a photograph library search bar (like an image editor trying to illustrate a narrative would do), only a few pictures will probably come up.
Even when there are a number of related pictures on the web site, there’s probability people who these photographs will have already got been used by the image editors at specialist publications (and even mainstream media homes), that means your snap might be precisely what they’re in search of subsequent time they search a type of phrases.
Should you’re going even additional off the vacationer path to go to family members in Nigeria, for instance, then you possibly can actually clear up. You’d be shocked at how few good pictures there are of a rustic of 200 million folks!
The place do I join?
There are many on-line businesses. Some well-liked websites embrace:
Once you register your particulars, the location will often ask you to ship between 5 to 10 photographs so it could possibly take a look at the standard and kind of photographs you ship them. In case your photographs don’t conform to the location’s necessities, they are going to be rejected.
If this occurs, don’t fear – simply strive once more, taking their feedback into consideration. Generally it could simply be as a result of they have already got too lots of the type of photograph you’re sending.
After your footage have been checked and cleared you’ll be notified after they go stay on the web site, often after about 24 hours.
Then there’s nothing to do after that besides wait till folks purchase your photographs. As soon as your account reaches a sure restrict you may get your arms on the money.
Authorized points to think about
There are a number of authorized points to think about earlier than you add any pics on to a photograph library. As an illustration, footage of identifiable homes or fashions (any one who is within the photograph) will usually want a launch kind. That is signed by the mannequin or home proprietor to quote that their permission has been given so that you can revenue from their private belongings. Every web site has a launch kind so that you can obtain for those who want it.
You also needs to keep away from taking footage of automobile registration plates, firm logos (these may be Registered Commerce Marks) and something that might be thought of inflammatory (racist graffiti, for instance). That you must verify the legal guidelines of the nation you’re in to determine what you’ll be able to and might’t take photographs of in a public area, too.
Journey for Free by Being a ‘Group Chief’
Plenty of journey corporations supply a reduction if a big group is reserving collectively. These embrace main manufacturers like Virgin Holidays and Eurostar, which will give giant teams of 10 or extra a ten% low cost. The observe can be widespread amongst specialist tour ops that prepare snowboarding journeys, strolling holidays, biking excursions, golf breaks and safaris. These specialists typically permit the tour ‘chief’ or one who organized the group reserving to journey at no cost, as a thanks/incentive for organising the journey and to encourage them to rearrange extra sooner or later.
Should you arrange a bunch vacation for pals or household you possibly can be rewarded on your effort by pocketing that low cost your self (agree it with your mates first after all).
Not solely will the travelling be cheaper, you would possibly then be eligible for cheaper entry into sights, too. These could also be museums, amusement parks and so forth. It’s primarily simply one other method of shopping for in bulk.
Earn Cashback on Flight and Lodge Bookings
The opposite simple solution to make free cash in your vacation is by paying for as a lot of your journey on a credit score or debit card that pays you a reimbursement each time you spend. Even higher if you can too buy by way of a cashback web site like Quidco or Topcashback, to stack the rewards.
Plenty of financial institution playing cards at the moment are de facto ‘reward playing cards’ that pay you each time you employ your card to purchase items and providers. Typically this reward money is a flat proportion charge, which you earn every time you employ your card. Different banks might crew up with particular corporations, which regularly change on a month-to-month foundation, and supply a reimbursement or further a reimbursement every time you purchase one thing with considered one of their companions that month.
Clearly, for those who’re travelling overseas, the small payment you earn every time you spend will (often) be offset by overseas transaction charges, however you possibly can make a good chunk of cheddar for those who use a reward card to e-book flights, pay for a package deal vacation, or for those who e-book inns and different vacation necessities by way of a UK web site earlier than your journey begins.
Earn Avios factors once you spend
A substitute for utilizing cashback is to earn Avois or Virgin Reward factors in your each day spending to save lots of all year long, for discounted flight, airport lounge, and lodge prices. The British Airways bank card and Virgin Reward card supply these – however try others like Amex Rewards as they might even be a part of a factors scheme.
You’ll be able to typically get further bonuses too, reminiscent of a free companion voucher when you’ve earned a sure stage of factors – that means you’ll be able to take a good friend or companion in your journey at no cost, too.