8 Ways to Fill Your Travel Fund Jar at Home

COVID-19 has everybody stuck at home, that’s a fact. The problem is that it has impacted people’s finances and future plans too. Sadly, travel plans are the first to get discarded in times such as this. For the vast majority of people, travel plans are now looking even further away. 

However, that doesn’t mean you should give up plans of seeing the world and of becoming a global explorer completely! With budgets stretched thin, some tricks for saving money at home for your future travel plans will keep you motivated and hopeful.

Keeping your travel spirit alive is essential to keeping your hopes up, and we’ve got plenty of small fundraising ideas to keep you busy. Here are some tricks for saving money (online) while you are stuck at home, so your travel fund jar can have a steady stream of money added to it throughout quarantine:

8 easy ways to save money at home

1. Start a FundMyTravel campaign.

This is the easiest way to save money for your travels! Our fundraisers allow you to easily share your fundraising efforts on all social media channels, making it easier to reach a high number of people quickly.

You’ll even be able to personalize your fundraiser with pictures and videos to better explain your motive for raising funds to prospective donors. Creating a FundMyTravel campaign makes everything as transparent as possible, and you can even give donors a little extra something, such as small gifts or souvenirs from your travels, to thank them for their support.

2. Organize a pick-up bake sale (or drop-off later)

We’ll make it simple with this small fundraising idea: sell baked goods. Remember this stereotypical solution to fundraising featured in every high school movie? Well, it actually works! 

You can even do this for every type of food you are comfortable making, and then sell it to friends and family. Don’t worry, there’s no need to engage in physical contact. You can leave them on your porch for easy pick-up, deliver them by leaving them on their porches, or have people pre-order for delivery after quarantine ends.

3. Do an online garage sale

There are several websites built just for this, but you could also use your own social media to let people know that you are doing an online garage sale.

If quarantine was useful for something, it was to make people declutter their houses. Instead of just throwing away what you no longer want, maybe you should try to make an extra buck on it. 

It will help you, and the planet, if you are able to find a second home for the things you were about to throw away and it will make your travel fund jar a little fatter. Monetizing your old junk is one of the oldest tricks for saving money!

Read More: How to Save Money for a Gap Year (+ 3 Gap Year Scholarships)

4. Teach something online.

Being stuck at home is no excuse to not be productive and find an online job! There are several things you could teach online. The most common during quarantine has been English teaching online.

A lot of language websites are recruiting native speakers as teachers for the increased demand during quarantine. However, there are lots of other subjects you can teach too.

Find something you’re good at and teach it online; it’s a good way to personalize your material and reach people inside their homes.

5. Do an online auction.

Ebay.com started this trend online years ago, and it has proven that online auctions are efficient and can be very lucrative ways to save money at home.

Unlike an online garage sale, the items on an online auction need to be in perfect state, and you’ll need pictures to prove it. Otherwise, why would people want it without ever seeing it for themselves?

You can sell something vintage, art pieces, electronics, you name it! There is a high demand for good deals online right now, so take advantage of it.

6. Get freelance work.

People are online now more than ever, which means there’s an increase in online content production. This is your chance to make a name for yourself in the freelance business!

The demand for online writing, video editing, photos, and digital art is sky high. Freelance jobs don’t pay as much as a regular job does, but it can be the perfect easy way to save money at home for travel in the future (especially while you can’t go out to spend it!).

You might even be able to continue working freelance when coronavirus quarantines are over.

7. Become an online tutor.

Parents are going crazy with their kids at home right now. They are responsible for homeschooling their kids while schools are closed or coordinating virtual learning sessions, all while trying to juggle their own work from home and dealing with the pandemic.

You can be the extra hand parents need now! Offer to help their children with their homework and extracurricular activities, virtually or in-person depending on what is acceptable in the current situation in your city.

Make it fun for the kids to study at home while offering parents some time for themselves away from the pressure of being good teachers themselves.

Read More: Your Comprehensive 12 Month Fundraising Plan

8. Help elders in your community.

This is our final small fundraising idea to help build your travel fund jar. Older people are especially suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic. They are the ones at greatest risk and the ones who struggle the most to do their daily chores online, so you can offer to help them out!

You won’t (and shouldn’t) make a lot of money from helping out, but charging a few bucks to help them with their internet problems, groceries, animal feeding, watering their plants, and even keeping them company from a distance is reasonable (as long as you don’t put them at risk!).

Space left in your travel fund jar? Check the couch cushions!

There are lots of tricks for saving money you can do during quarantine to keep your travel spirit alive. The fact that we are home doesn’t mean that we can’t innovate ways to prepare for our future travel plans.

Life goes on, and so should your plan for the future! There are more online opportunities now than there ever have been before, so use your time efficiently to ensure you’re ready to live the life you want after the coronavirus crisis is over. You can minimize the effects of coronavirus on your life by making the most of this situation now!

Soon (we hope!) there will be an end to coronavirus and there will be no more need for social distancing, travel restrictions, and face masks, so take advantage of the free time you have now to utilize these easy ways to save money at home—and make your post-coronavirus travel plans possible.

Start a FundMyTravel Campaign to Fill Your Travel Fund Jar ASAP!

This article was written by Clara Prado. Clara is a travel writer from São Paulo, Brazil. She has pursued her undergrad education around the globe, obtaining degrees abroad in Santa Monica – California and Paris – France. Clara, at the age of 22, has already traveled to 20 countries, lived in 5 countries, and has lots of stories to tell. If you want an inside perspective from a world traveler before booking your trip, she’s the person you should ask.