How to make and save money on the road?

I'm planning a year long road trip across the US with my boyfriend in 2008. We're trying to figure out ways to make money when we run out, and how to live cheaply on the road without sacrificing the experience. We've thought of some ways, but I'm curious what other thing people can think of.

I have a masters degree in English, and will have an initial NY State teacher certification by then. My options so far are travel writer, substitute teacher, waitress, clerical temp stuff, internet poker, and selling stuff we find on Ebay when I can find a wireless signal.

He's a line cook and is very handy. He might have an Associates degree in Electronics by then. His options so far are cook and construction.

We're going to travel in a van with a mattress in the back, so that should save on accomdations. But where can we stay cheaply but safely during the times we need to drop anchor and work? For the stuff I could do, I'd need to look like I took a shower, lol. For the stuff the could do, he'd NEED a shower at the end of the day.

We have friends spattered throughout the country, but I don't want to overstay our welcomes at their homes.

Any ideas would be helpful!

Welcome to the RTA Forum!

Working on the road is always a challenge. That said there are ways to make things work. The biggest question for me would be, how long are you planning to stay in a place where you'll try to find work?

Substitute Teaching sounds like it would be an excellent option for you. However, before you try this, you'll have to do some research to find out where you will be allowed to teach. Some places will let anyone with a B.A. be a substitute, other places require you to have full licensure in the teaching state.

Otherwise, heading to Temp agencies will probably be your best bet.

As far as sleeping, staying in campgrounds should work just fine. Most public campground have a 14 day limit on stays, so you may need to find a private facility if you are planning to stay longer. However, in this type of situation, a private campground would likely work better anyways.

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Originally Posted by kandyaja

We're trying to figure out ways to make money when we run out, and how to live cheaply on the road without sacrificing the experience.

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There are more ways than you might expect for doing this. We have tracked the techniques of hundreds of Dashboarders over the past decade. Here is an article with some ideas and links to explore, it was written with RV'ers in mind, but the technques work for all.

Mark

I think it is very interesting what you are doing, I would sugest to creat a website and write down your expereince day by day, I think many people would be interested in traveling with you virtually.

Madi

State and national parks are almost always cheaper than private campgrounds. They do have that 14-day rule but you could either rotate out to a more expensive private campgrounds for a few days and return or, if available, go to another state/national park and rotate between them. Some have showers, some don't. I believe some also have a number of days you have to be out of the park before you can come back...I think it's 7 days but you'll really need to double-check that.

Preparing your own meals is obviously a key thing for saving funds.

Another option might be to try to get jobs in the service industry that caters to the tourism industry where you are. It may not pay as well as substituting or construction but, if those jobs aren't available, it could be a lot of fun. If you're there in the high-season, it might be fairly easy to find a job doing that.