Today I want to talk to you about how to best deal with this situation.
Foreword
In the hope that the years to come will not bring us any more nasty surprises, 2020 was marked by the terrible covid-19 and will always be remembered for it.
It has had an incredible impact on our lives and has turned them upside down.
Some for work, some for study, have been forced to adapt to a new kind of “normality.” Those who, alas, did not even have the chance to adjust.
This also affected those who decided to embark on a new adventure and move abroad for one reason or another.
I belong to this category.
My experience
I was in Australia. I had chosen to move there to fulfil one of my many dreams: that of exploring a continent that I have always found as fascinating as unattainable. Indeed not the perfect timing, although I was able to enjoy it for a few months.
I was working in a restaurant, and my job was as a waiter, dishwasher, and chef’s helper, a bit of everything. We held out for a few weeks, but then the restrictions arrived there, catering to one of the most affected sectors.
Employee and immigrant as I was, I had no choice but to hope. Or get involved.
I opted for the second choice.
The attempts
Since takeaway was allowed, my first attempt was to propose to the manager that I could learn how to make pizzas: in that way, I could support myself. Too optimistic. I received a curt “no.”
So why not learn to cook delicious meals and help out in the kitchen? Despite my lack of skills, this also seemed like a good solution. Still too optimistic, I suffered the same response — attempt in vain.
The will was there, but the hard fate was another: I was fired within a few days.
Here I learned my first big lesson: always have a plan B.
Knowing your skills is important but trying to show them to your employer amid a pandemic is a noteworthy yet overly optimistic thought.
So a door slammed in my face, and I found myself unemployed, on the other side of the world.
Therefore, my thought was to fall back on a job that has been very much in vogue in recent years: that of the rider. I kindly borrowed a bicycle, because I couldn’t buy one, and a specific bag.
The rider’s job was not very remunerative, but at least it allowed me to support myself and survive. It was a temporary solution, and it was acceptable.
I went on for a few weeks, but that job was beginning to get heavy. It wasn’t what I wanted to do, and it didn’t make me happy. And so I found myself penniless again and had to think of a solution. And it arrived on time.
The turning point
I had to reckon with the little money left over that had long since led me to save on everything.
This was very useful to me because I started to produce what I could avoid buying.
So, I had been specialising in kneading and baking delicious bread and producing exquisite carrot cakes for my breakfasts for months now. Why that particular cake? Well, because it was the cheapest one. People love sweets and we Italians are known all over the world for our food.
So now I had an idea and the tools to realise: I could sell carrot cakes and support myself in this way by adding just a few bike deliveries. That could have been the turning point, and I didn’t waste any time.
I started posting pictures and announcements everywhere of the best carrot cake I had ever made, and within minutes I got the first requests. I thought about the packaging: cardboard and baking paper. Economical and practical.
I was surprised by the kindness and selflessness that the people of Melbourne were offering me. I started to have regular customers and requests for unique recipes. In this way, I supported myself until the restrictions were eased, when luckily, I got my previous job back, and everything went well.
This was my pandemic survival plan, and I am grateful that it worked out, but many other methods can help you!
Here are three ways to earn money and three ways to save money.
Methods to earn money
– SELLING OLD OBJECTS: probably the most obvious but equally underrated.
Many travelers, myself included, do not consider selling their belongings to support themselves during emergencies.
We are so attached to what we own that we would never want to get rid of it, and yet, in such emergencies, this can be a great solution!
My advice is always to pack a few items that you no longer use: they can be clothes, old video games, CDs, small pieces of jewellery. You don’t necessarily have to get rid of them, but having some resources at such times can be useful!
– SELLING FOOD: just as I did.
As you may have noticed, you don’t have to be a chef to afford to sell food. My advice is to focus on few products or even just one and, of course, make sure the product is good before you put it on sale!
If you happen to get a bad result, be honest and let the customer know. Honesty is often appreciated and repaid, which is probably why they might let it slide (it happened to me).
– THE ART OF DIY: why not learn something new that can save you money and at the same time bring you some income?
You could produce soaps, for example, just like my sister is doing! Not only will you reduce packaging waste, but you will also save valuable money and could sell it! The best thing about making soaps is that you can give free rein to your creativity. There’s plenty to indulge in between the choice of smell and shape!
As well as soap, you could make cocoa butter and toothpaste! They are objects that we use daily, test them yourself, and besides, people love handmade items, you could take advantage of that!
Methods to save money
– SAVING ON FOOD: My advice is to focus on foods that are rich in nutrients and healthy properties, in this way you will have the possibility to buy fewer products without starving!
Also, look for voluntary associations: the country you are staying in is likely offering free meals for people in need. Find out about any associations that provide this service. In Melbourne, every Sunday, a catholic voluntary association offered free meals to those in need.
Another option could be to ask the various greengrocers to offer you some goods: every day, large quantities of food (especially fruit and vegetables) at the end of the day are thrown away by retailers simply because they are no longer fresh and with a battered appearance. This could be a great way to help stop wasting food and get it for free!
– SAVE ON ACCOMMODATION: another good way to save money is to reduce accommodation costs. Rent is usually one of the most significant expenses that must be incurred when traveling.
Have you ever thought about offering yourself as a cleaner in exchange for free accommodation? It will probably not be so pleasant to have to clean and tidy up every day, but this is a sacrifice worth making! By cutting down on rental costs, you will have significant financial savings. Not all accommodations likely accept this request, so inform yourself and search carefully.
– WORKAWAY/COUCHSURFING: these are the options I prefer. If you’re not familiar with them, they are two fantastic platforms that allow you to stay in local people’s properties for free.
Workaway is based on a reciprocal exchange: you work a certain number of hours a day for several days a week unpaid. In return, you receive board and lodging. So as you can deduce, it is an excellent method to reduce costs!
My experience in Australia started just like that: I lived with two different families for a few months, and this allowed me to learn different types of jobs, immerse myself in the culture and minimise expenses.
Couchsurfing, on the other hand, is an application based on a simple exchange of cultures. It was created to connect local people with travelers.
Using this platform, you will be able to find people willing to offer you a roof to sleep under and, in the meantime, deepen your knowledge of the local culture.
So both are other great ways to save money while traveling!
What I learnt/advices
I will always have sorrow about this terrible pandemic, but there are a series of things that I am and always will be grateful to have learned by experiencing this situation first-hand, namely:
– ALWAYS HAVE AN EMERGENCY FUND: a big lesson I have learned from living through this emergency is the importance of always setting aside a certain amount of money for the unexpected, not only in such situations but in general in everyday life.
Alas, I have sinned in this good habit that would surely have made my life there so much easier.
– ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN B: the unexpected is always around the corner, and it is imperative to keep this in mind.
I enjoyed the life I was leading on that continent so much that I disregarded this vital aspect.
I knew the virus was coming, but I preferred to visit new places and indulge myself instead of saving money that would have been very useful.
Big mistake.
Enjoy your travel experience to the fullest but be sure to always keep in mind that anything can happen: it is better not to be able to visit some places than to go hungry.
– GET INVOLVED: living in Italy had not prepared me for this at all. Living with my family had always brought me many certainties and few doubts.
Being supported had never really made me see the reality of “adult” life, whereas having to support myself in Melbourne had opened my eyes right away.
I had never experienced what it really meant to be unemployed, and facing this pandemic has been a real slap in the face, which I can only draw positive aspects.
– GROWTH AND EMPOWERMENT: this is undoubtedly the essential aspect and encompasses all the others.
While moving to Australia had already matured me a lot, being forced to live through an emergency of such magnitude gave me a crucial life lesson and made me grow like never before, making me responsible from every point of view.
I hope my advice has been helpful to you.
© Alex Negrini — Be Adventurer, 2021
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