Bob's Blog

Dublin, Ireland November 22nd 2011 – At this stage, we’re well used to relentlessly grim financial news but when the Minister for Finance warns that next month’s budget is going to be ‘hard on people’, you know that it’s going to be tough.

But does this mean that you have to say goodbye to all the fun things in life, like going on holiday? Not necessarily because where there’s a will, there’s a way. Let these clever ideas from lastminute.com help you turn your vacation into a ‘paycation’.

-      Become a temporary landlord. Do you live in an area that other travellers might be interested in visiting? If so, why not rent it out while you’re away and potentially make hundreds of euros? There are dozens of websites where you can advertise your home for holiday rentals or house swaps.

-      Alternatively, rent out your driveway. This is a really good idea if you live in an area where parking is at a premium. Sign up for parkatmyhouse.com (it’s a free global site that carries Irish listings but they will charge a small commission if you successfully rent out your space) and you could charge anything up to €75 a week.

-      Get on board. If you’ve always liked the idea of taking to the high seas, look into becoming part of a crew. Sites like crewseekers.net, which has members in 50 countries, puts together boat owners and would-be crew members, of all kinds of ability. You’ll have to work of course, and it won’t necessarily be salaried, but the payback is that you’ll be on a yacht.

-      Channel Mario Testino. Think that your holiday snaps are picture postcard perfect? Then turn your artistic vision into hard cash by selling them to stock photography sites, like Fotolia (fotolia.com) who are always on the lookout for professional looking, high quality pics.

-      Be fruitful. Working on a fruit farm is a fantastic way to see different countries and make some cash. The pay isn’t amazing but in French vineyards, you’ll earn about €50 a day, including bed and board. Visit pickingjobs.com. Or you could sign up for the WWOOF scheme in Canada where you can work in exchange for food and accommodation on organic farms. Visit wwoof.ca

-      Use Cashback Websites. Great bargains are guaranteed through online websites like lastminute.com but check out cashback websites for even more money off. If you book your lastminute.com holiday through these you can avail of further discounts on hotels, packages, flights, entertainment and more, lodged directly into your bank account.