The Ultimate Guide For How To Become A Digital Nomad

Tell me, are you tired of your 9–5? If so, you should pay attention because you may want to consider quitting your job and joining the digital nomad crowd.

Table of Contents

What is a digital nomad?

A digital nomad is a person who works and travels at the same time. They travel the world and work online. They may not have a regular job with regular pay and although such a lifestyle comes with less job security, it does offer the person the opportunity to explore the world and not be bound by a specific location like you would with a normal day job.

Step 1: Find out how you’re going to make money online

There are many ways to make money online. Here are just a few ways:

The possibility is endless in the things that you can do to make money online. And the good news is that you can make money while keeping your dignity intact (I’m saying you don’t have to be on OnlyFans to make money).

It won’t be easy but it’s doable.

You can pick several things from the list to start but it’s best to focus on one for a while.

Step 2: Start working on the side hustle while keeping your day job

You should aim to produce high-quality content or service for your brand and give it at least 1–2 years before you give up.

There is no overnight success. Success takes time.

The good news is that you don’t have to make a lot of money per month from your side hustle online before you quit your job.

In fact, there are many countries in the world that have a lower cost of living than your home country. If you make just $2000 per month, you’d be living like a Queen/King.

Step 3: Save up

You should save up enough money to cover the cost of the plane ride there and the cost of the plane ride back home.

Some people may decide to immediately return when they realized that the lifestyle isn’t what they want or that they don’t like the country they visited.

You should also save up a few months’ worths of living expenses in the first destination of your choice.

For example, according to travelsafe-abroad.com in this article, they calculated the amount of money you need per month to live comfortably in Tokyo. With just $3000 USD per month, you can live comfortably in one of the most expensive and advanced cities in the world.

The average single person’s income in the US is roughly $65,000. Imagine if you could work remotely in Japan, how much money would you save?

You should aim to save up 3–6 months’ worth of living expenses at the destination(s) of your choice as well as the money for a plane ride to from price the country.

Step 4: Do your research

Here are several things you should do more research on. Ideally, you should’ve already done some research before you start saving up so you know how much you need to save but here’s more checker before you quit your job and start traveling.

How much is the plane ticket to and from the countries? Does it get more expensive at certain times of the year?
How much is the monthly living expense over there?
How long will you stay there?
What have other people who visited the country said about it?
How will you find a place to live?
Do you know anyone over there?
How worried should you be about your safety over there?
Has any tourist gone missing or got murdered there? Is it a hot spot for crimes?
What laws should you be warry of?
How much cash should you have on you?
What culture and custom should you research more about? (In some countries the thumbs-up gesture is seen as rude)
How will you translate your need? Should you learn some of their languages before you go? Should you install a translation app on your device?

Step 5: Pick the right credit card and debit card

For some banks, you’re charged a fee when you use other banks’ ATMs. For this reason, you may end up paying 2 ATM fees when you withdraw cash.

You should choose a bank that reimburses ATM fees so you won’t have to pay 2 sets of ATM fees when you withdraw cash in a country where the ATM isn’t from your bank.

For travel credit cards, you should choose a credit card that doesn’t charge you a fee when you have foreign transactions.

Some premium travel credit cards give you benefits in regards to air mile points and grocery cash backs.

Step 6: Consider getting travelers’ insurance

You should consider getting traveler’s insurance or traveler’s medical insurance in case you need it.

For those traveling to the US, this should be something you consider further since there isn’t universal basic healthcare for Americans or those traveling in America.

Step 7: Have a plan for your stuff

Where are you going to put your stuff? Here are several options you can consider:

Rent a storage unit (some places cost just $20 per month)
Leave it with your family
Leave it at your home (if you own your home) and give the key to someone you trust in case they need to go in (maybe you need someone to make sure the stoves are turned off and all windows are locked?)
Leave it at the place you rent (not recommended. Why pay to rent a place you aren’t going to use?)

If you got a pet, you may want to leave it with a friend or family.

Step 8: Quit the job and start traveling

Now that you’ve done all your research and saved up enough, it’s time to quit your day job (or go entirely remote) and start traveling.

You can even document your journey and put it up on Youtube or start a blog in the lifestyle niche as a digital nomad. It’d be sure to attract some audience over time and earn you another source of income!

Step 9: Assess your financial situation

At any point of your journey, you should assess your financial situation to make sure that you are doing fine and aren’t in need of an immediate return to your home country because you’re running out of cash.

You must make sure to leave room in your budget for an emergency plane ride home should there be a need for it.

For instance, when the borders closed down due to the pandemic many digital nomads were stuck in a foreign country unable to get home because they haven’t saved up enough for a plane ride home.

They ended up staying an extra 1–2 years than planned because the border was still closed when they were finally able to afford the plane ticket.

You can always look for a part-time job while you’re there should you need some extra cash.

Step 10: Find new opportunities

As a digital nomad, you should constantly lookout for new opportunities regarding the following:

What country to visit next?
What places to visit while you’re there?
Is there any other way to increase sources of income?
Who should you meet while you’re there?
Are there any conferences or events that you should take a look at?

Step 11: Settle down or continue on the nomad lifestyle

You can theoretically continue this nomad lifestyle forever or you could eventually settle down and find a place to live.

I won’t just assume that what you want is to get married and start a family but if you happen to go down that route, you should consider where you should raise your kids? Does it make sense to bring your kids on a constant road trip? How would that affect their education and ability to make and keep friends?

You have to make the choice yourself.

If you do decide to settle down and raise kids you can still pick up on the nomad lifestyle anytime you want. Your choice to stop the nomadic lifestyle doesn’t have to be a permanent one.

Tips for digital nomads

Here are some tips for digital nomads to keep in mind.

Get a good cell phone plan
Get high-quality laptops so it doesn’t break easily while you’re in a foreign country
Spend a month at each place so you can experience more
Know that you’ll spend quite a bit of time with logistics, budgeting, and work. You won’t just be lounging at the beach at all times
Don’t expect to figure everything out in the beginning

Final thought

There can be so much freedom in the digital nomad lifestyle. Gone are the days of being cooped up in an office. You can take your work with you as long as you have access to the internet.

I hope you give this lifestyle more thought.

Good luck!