Five ways to afford your dream family vacation

The summer holidays are coming to an end, which means it’s the perfect time to start thinking about your next vacation. Holidays may seem costly to families, but luckily everyone can now look forward to their dream break this year thanks to the booming sharing economy.

The sharing economy is currently worth $2.6 billion and the number of people using these platforms has reached 92,400 people in NSW alone. From pet sitting to home cooking in your spare time, to renting out your spare assets like space or even your campervan, there are easy ways the sharing economy can easily boost your income by making extra money to help you globe trot and enjoy new adventures.

With over 16 million Aussies travelling in 2017 and the number of trips increasing each year by 500 – 700 since 2012, Aussies are quickly catching on to finding new ways to travel including using the sharing economy to pay for their dream trip with the kids. Here are top five platforms to make it happen:

Rent out your caravan – If your RV, caravan or motorhome is sitting idle or costing you fees in storage, you can make some extra cash by renting it out via Camplify to trusted borrowers from interstate or around your neighbourhood. The average person using this platform will earn around $280 – $2,100 a week and as the holiday season is in high peak travel period, it’s the most optimum time to offer your caravan to holidaymakers. They save as it’s more affordable than traditional companies so everyone’s a winner.

Cute job alert! – Mad Paws, is an online platform which connects pet owners with caring pet sitters to mind their dog or cat whilst away. With many people busy working or off themselves travelling, they are searching for people to look after their adorable pets who are in need of looking after (I know, it’s like the perfect job!). Sitters can make around $220 a week depending on how many dogs they look after.

Use your car to deliver – Deliver parcels to homes around your neighbourhood by signing up as a courier with Zoom2u. Zoom2u acts a lot like Uber, but instead of people you’re transporting, it’s parcels! You have complete flexibility on when you work with after office hours in high demand. It’s just a matter of accepting the workload that is right for you. It’s a pretty easy way to make sure there’s some extra cash coming into supplement the dollars for your next trip! You can make between $400 to $2,000 a week!

Make money out of thin air! – Online marketplace for space, Spacer connects Hosts (people WITH space) to Renters (people who NEED space) in their neighbourhood. Over the summer season demand increases as people are moving and renovating. Whether it’s a spare room, empty garage or bare driveway, space is currently in high demand. You can make between $350 – $500 a month off your garage, spare room, driveway or attic – just off one space.

Become a home cook for locals – With Australians love for food, FoodByUs allows talented home cooks to sell food to their local neighbours. This means that if you like to cook, bake and create, you can turn your passion for cooking into an income. The average FoodByUs maker earns around $50 an hour and with high demand they have seen some makers earn $500 a week off their culinary skills. Locals either collect their food, you drop it to their door or get it delivered with FoodByUs’ delivery drivers.