How to Find Casual Work While You Travel Australia
If you’re planning a long road trip, or for us it’s a big lap around Australia, you might be wondering how you actually budget for something that long. A lot of us save up before we go. But then there are families like ours who work while we’re travelling too, and there are a few real tricks to it.
One of the simplest is stopping to work as you go. Once you’ve got your route sorted, have a look at the little towns along the way and see if they need anyone to help out.
– For mapping out your route through the towns you’re passing: Hema Maps
Where to Actually Look for Work
It’s not quite as simple as just rocking up somewhere. What we’ve seen on our travels is that a lot of bakeries, cafes, pubs and caravan parks are the main ones with signs on the door saying “we need staff” or “help wanted.”
Because you don’t want to just wing it, that’s stressful for everyone, jump into the local Facebook groups for the areas you’re heading to. Have a look, ask around, and get a sense of the general vibe of the area. You’ll be able to work out pretty quickly if they need people or not.
Plan How Long You’ll Stay
Once you know an area needs help, you can plan to stay for a week, two weeks, maybe a month or two, depending on how many funds you actually need. Top up your money to the amount you need to travel, then head off again for however long it needs to be for your family.
It’s a bit stop and start. That’s really part and parcel of doing it this way. It means you’re never stuck relying on savings running out mid-trip. You work for a stretch, get the funds back up, then get back on the road until the next town or job comes along.
If You Have a Trade or a Transferable Skill
If you have a trade or a skill that’s transferable, that’s an added bonus. Plumbers, carpenters and other skilled tradespeople are in demand in a lot of towns.
It doesn’t have to be a formal trade either. A lot of the work going in these towns is genuinely casual work, hospitality, farm work, seasonal harvest work, anything a caravan park or local business needs an extra pair of hands for over a busy period. It’s also worth looking at upskilling yourself before you go, things like a barista course or a Responsible Service of Alcohol certificate could open up more options once you’re on the road.
- FIFO Work or Taking Your Job Remote: Another Way to Fund Your Big Lap
- What Affiliate Marketing and Online Income Actually Earn Us on the Road
Related reading
- You Don’t Have to Save 100% Before You Leave on Your Big Lap
- How Margie and Tim Actually Fund Their Own Big Lap
Our Thoughts
Stopping to work as you travel is one of the most flexible ways to keep a big lap funded. It’s not glamorous, and it means a bit of stop and start, but it keeps you moving without needing the whole trip saved up before you leave.
If you want a hand working out your own real weekly number so you know exactly how much top-up you actually need, our budget planner walks you through it.
👉For more on working out your own real weekly number, check out our budget planner here.
