How to Afford to Get Out! – “Out There” Money for travels.

⏱ Read time: 10–11 min

• Gig Work
• Destination Cash
• Investing
• UGC
• Gold!

The Get-Out Fund: Practical Ways to Pay for a Weekend in the Flinders (Without Killing the Vibe)

It all depends on your specific circumstances.

Right now, I’m a new father, meaning my travel budget has become a little more… intentional. Diapers (yes, even the Costco ones) have a way of turning “spare cash” into a line item. While a quick weekend run into the Flinders might take more planning than it used to, it’s still absolutely doable.

The trick is simple: match the money-making strategy to the season of life you’re in, whether you’ve got flexible hours and fewer responsibilities, or you’re squeezing adventures into the margins.

Start With a Clear Goal (and an Honest Time Budget)

Before you pick a side hustle or a strategy, define two things:

• Your trip target: fuel, food, camping fees or accommodation, and a little buffer for the unexpected.
• Your realistic time window: are we talking 7–8 hours a week, or a couple of scattered pockets when the household finally goes quiet?

Once you’ve got that, choose your path.

If You Have 7–8 Flexible Hours a Week

First, we’ll explore ideas for the currently non-child-rearing among us, then move on to opportunities for those of us with a few more time and responsibility commitments.

For those with an extra 7-8 hours of spare time a week, that can place those hours anywhere in the day, and have at least an SUV and a clean license, Amazon Flex is an immediate, low-overhead way to inject a sweet little bunch of cash into your Get Out trip-fund. Onboarding is relatively quick (within a week). Best of all, you can drop and go at any time.

Another companies I have personal experience working with (in the States) are Taskrabbit, with the
Australia version being Airtasker, which I also have experience with. There is, however, a blaring difference between the two that I will address shortly.
With both you’re able to leverage your skillset for jobs you’re comfortable doing. They both have a relatively quick onboarding process (under a week in my experience, with Airtasker being the faster of the two). You’ll need transportation and the tools that your skillset requires to make an honest go of it.
At the time I was working with Taskrabbit I was living in Boston and saving to get back to Alaska (where I have my house) and then on to Adelaide (to get married). I have a very eclectic skillset, probably from growing up in rural Upstate New York in a log house in the woods. There were always projects my family had to solve on our own. Getting a plumber or carpenter out at a week’s salary per job just wasn’t an option.
As mentioned, Airtasker also allows you to be able to leverage your skillset for appropriate jobs you know you can accomplish. The major difference between the two platforms I’ve found, is that on Airtasker you’re bidding for the work from the client, while with Taskrabbit the client looks at your bio and skillset and reaches out to you instead of you trying to sell yourself amongst a pool of others also vying for the opportunity.
Another considerable difference is the commission. Airtasker is a bit steep. My experience with a vehicle scratch removal job incurred a 22% platform fee. I was shocked at what they were, in essence, extorting from the labor force. Also, the platform charged another $100 AUD to the job lister. In total It cost him $600 and I received $390. These platforms are best for once-off jobs, where you build a report with someone who has enough work where they invite you to return to complete other tasks. (That’s how I made it worth my time in Boston)
If you’re okay with these rates, however, and can find a niche, you can do really well. I was able to make a decent amount of money in a niche I fell into on Taskrabbit driving around Boston assembling IKEA furniture for everyone from college students to elderly folks who were living alone and just needed some help (They were the nicest and the best conversationalists).
In 7-8 hours a week I was able to earn upwards of $500 USD. I almost always worked more hours than that, but it was on my schedule, and when I needed to head back to Alaska, I didn’t feel bad about calling it quits, hopping in the truck and heading out. This was what I believe the real value of the platform’s commission rate was paying for, the ability to walk away. (There’s a Charlie Sheen adage in there)
These options could also be good for those of us with a little more restricted access to solid blocks of time. For those I have a different suggestion…

Earn the money back while on vacation!

If Your Time Comes in Bursts (or You Want the Trip to Help Pay for Itself)

When I was in middle school, I had a very good friend whose family would annually attend the NASCAR races in Watkins Glen, NY. One year they invited me along and I witnessed my friend’s brother do something very interesting with his time over the weekend.
He collected cans.
Brilliant, really. He hauled a Radio Flyer cart stacked with bags of Budweiser and Coors empties—because he’d noticed what everyone else ignored: when tens of thousands of people gather in one place, value piles up around the edges.
He walked away with over $500 that weekend (late ’80s money), bought a trampoline, and used it to train flips that eventually led to a serious competitive diving career. The point isn’t “go collect cans.” The point is: go where the money is, and sometimes it’s hiding in plain sight.

Of course, this begs the question: “What if I want to partake in the reason I’m on vacation in the first place and not work through it?”, which is a valid point!
If this is the case, I believe you have two more options.

Option 1: Let Time Do the Heavy Lifting (Low-Drama Planning)

Firstly, you can trade your time and a little bit of money prior to embarking on your adventure by investing, or you can, again, make the vacation pay for itself, but only depending on where you go and if you’re willing to get your hands dirty.

As for the investing option, if you’re planning you vacation between 4 weeks and one year, and given how much you are able to invest, Treasury Bills or T-bills (or Treasury Notes in Australia) might be a good option for you. As of writing this, U.S. T-Bills have a 3-month yield around 4.4%. It won’t make you rich in the short term, but if you’re planning far enough in advance these might be a good option to add extra cash flow to your Get Out and Go!
UPDATE: As I was writing this article my news feed just threw a few articles at me about how the Australian Bond Market had jumped 50-base-points since late October. This may in fact be a good time to look into bond ETFs if you’re interested in the investing strategy I talk about above. (READ MORE HERE)

Option 2: Trade Content for Stays (The Long Game That Can Snowball)

Another option that may be a bit left-of-center, but that I know from experience can work is UGC. UGD (User Generated Content), like investing is a long-game approach that, if you have the skills, will pay in spades getting you and your crew out on as many excursions as you’d like. But again, I stress… it is a long-game approach. Start now though and manage expectations. Know you’ll reap the big rewards down the road.

Expect a “No”, but prepare for a “Yes”.

This has the possibility to be a straight forward daily process. If you already have an Instagram or TikTok account where you post family outings or vacations/adventures, the odds are going to be in your favor for this strategy to work. If you don’t have something like this, start one now and invite all your friends and family to follow it. Below outlines the basics of what we .

Step 1: Find accommodation that is near the area you are aiming to visit.
Step 2: Follow and engage their account. Take time to like and comment on their content.
Step 3: Construct a plan as to how to offer value to them. (Are you able to promote their property in a way that others might not be able to? Do you have skills that could showcase their offerings in a better light than others?)
Step 4: Once you have a plan to execute on the value you offer, reach out! I have a boilerplate message to get you started that you can customize to suit your needs. E-mail us at contact@getoutsa.au and we’ll send it along.
Step 5: Expect a “No”, but prepare for a “Yes”.

With UGC, if you’re good with a camera (even just an iPhone) and giving great descriptions of places that you’d love to

The Wild Card: Gold (Yes, Gold)

My final option, (and the one closest to my heart from living in Alaska) depends on the location your looking to visit, but for the most part, this option (believe it or not) is available in many places around the globe. What I’m talking about is GOLD! It’s okay to snicker, even guffaw! But at the time of writing this, the price of gold had just surpassed $5,000 per Troy ounce. Not exactly money to laugh at.
To be clear I’m talking recreational prospecting in places where it’s legal and accessible. Metal detecting popular beaches for jewelry has often paid for the cost of a family holiday to the beach as well!

For reference, an ounce of gold is about the size of a standard size sugar cube, an absolutely achievable amount. Tutorials on how to pan, snipe, use a metal detector to find gold in South Australia and beyond, and what to do with it after you’ve dug up your fortune can all be found in our GUIDES category of articles.
There are a litany of places to seek your fortune around South Australia, and a ton of online references that show you how to exactly find said fortune, including our CAMPING section. Our Newsletter will also have supplemental information to help with these, so sign up!
This doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll finance a family holiday with a pan and a dream. But if you love the process—creeks, light, landscapes, that meditative rhythm of searching, it can be one of the rare “side quests” that feels like the trip itself.
Just make sure you know the rules where you’re operating, respect access and permits, and approach it as a bonus—not a guarantee. See you in the gold fields!
UPDATE: As of writing the above gold spot price information (yesterday), the price of gold jumped $500+ dollars and is currently sitting around $5,500 USD! Seems like a no brainer to me.

The Real Subtext: There Are No Free Rides—But There Are Better Rides

You have to put the time and effort into any endeavor. However, there’s nothing stating you have to hate the effort you’re putting in! Whether it’s sacrificing a bit of cash now for a bit more later, doing the same with your time, or even getting your hands dirty while enjoying the views, the overarching theme I’d like to leave you with is that it can be done! You can get out there, make it pay for itself, and enjoy the experience. It is possible!

As we here at GetOutSA.au make our way around the state and beyond, we’ll have many more ideas for you to monetize your travels, and look forward to including them in a “How To Get Out pt. 2”, as well as in our Newsletter! The Newsletter is free and contains more immediate opportunities we think you’ll be able to use the next time you Get Out!

Cheers!
-A.

Disclaimer: The information offered in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or tax advice. I’m not a licensed financial adviser. Any decisions you make are your own—consider your personal circumstances and seek professional advice before acting.