The freedom that comes with the digital nomad way of life has attracted many young people and entrepreneurs to this fairly new career. However, the problem with this way of life is that it is uncertain in every aspect of the word. Indeed, a digital nomad may make a lot of money today and make nothing tomorrow. He may be here today and travel overseas tomorrow. Nothing is fixed. This is the reason why a digital nomad shouldn’t forget to invest. If you are to succeed as a digital nomad, you need to make your money, not just your lifestyle work. Here are a few reasons why investing is crucial for digital nomads.
Most digital nomads are victims of circumstances
While there are some people who choose to be digital nomads, others are victims of circumstances. Either they are running away from the high costs of living or political instability in their home countries or they are unemployed. Thus, if their career hits the ground running, they must invest so that they can spring back to their desired life status.
Life as a digital nomad is full of uncertainties
Generally, the more contingent your career life is, the more prepared you should be to face financial crisis whenever they come. And they will surely come, so just prepare for them. Precisely, as you move from one place to the other, several things change. Time zones change, weather conditions change, cultures change and leisure activities change. More importantly, the law changes and it may put you in a perilous financial position. You may find it hard to adapt, and in a business world where you either adapt or die, you may find yourself between a rock and a hard place. Some of the challenges of the digital nomad career are as follows.
- This is a very competitive field since virtually anyone can become a digital nomad. As long as you are good at telecommunication technologies, you are good to go.
- It may involve moving to a country or state which is unsafe or whose cost of living is going up. There is no constant comfort zone, making budgeting difficult.
- Moving from one country to the other also comes with challenges such as the need for a global health insurance cover, international driving license, the need to keep visas and work permits valid at all times and language barriers.
- There are several legal issues surrounding the digital nomad lifestyle. For instance, most digital nomads have been accused of tax evasion. There is also the question of digital nomads using shortcuts to legalize their stay in various countries, such as enrolling in courses as students in universities.
- Maximum productivity as a digital nomad is a big challenge. You are not able to concentrate on one thing in a particular location and neither can you master everything everywhere. You end up being average.
- It is not easy to travel forever. Actually, you will stop traveling faster than you had imagined starting off. You, therefore, need to think of the time that you will not be able to travel. Invest today for that time.
Digital nomads have to invest heavily in order to cushion themselves against these challenges of their profession. Traveling in itself is also risky and one needs to be prepared for anything.
Digital nomads need a lot of savings to fund their travels
Challenges and uncertainties aside, you also need a lot of money to move about, especially if you are traveling overseas. Perhaps the best way to enjoy your job as a digital nomad is to be location independent. This way, you can live where you want and work from there. However, you need a lot of money to reach this status, which as you would expect, is not easy to come by. Luckily, you can start from somewhere if you are a registered heir of an inheritance fund of a member of your family. You can get a cash advance on inheritance to bankroll your nomadic lifestyle. It may take years for the inheritance fund to be cleared for the transfer of the assets in question to the rightful heirs. However, there are financial institutions who can give you a loan based on the inheritance fund so that you don’t have to wait for the probate process to be finalized by the courts. This loan will come in handy to finance your travels.
They also need a lot of money to fund work-related expenses
Just like any other professionals, digital nomads need to pay for their work-related expenses. The only difference here is that their expenses are not standard, and therefore they cannot be budgeted for accurately. First of all, they are nomads. Secondly, they use telecommunication technologies, which also change by the day. They rely on smartphones, VoIP, and Cloud-based applications, and no one knows what the future has in store for these applications. Don’t forget that they lack a permanent working space, and they rely on co-working spaces, shared offices and house sitting arrangements. As they travel, they also leave their possessions unattended to, and they may actually have to sell them or rent them out before they travel. Life in new countries may also require them to buy something that they will only use for a short time and sell it before they go to the next destination. In summary, the life of a digital nomad requires strong financial backing to be successful because it is unpredictable.
Digital nomads spend a lot of money to maintain long distance relationships
As you travel, you want to maintain your family relationships. This may involve having to travel back to your country often or paying for the family members to visit you wherever you are. Where you have to travel with them, it becomes very expensive. In the spirit of keeping family first, you may actually need to set an investment specifically for your family relationships.
Generally, investing is for everybody. However, digital nomads need it more than anyone else. Their fluid careers make them very susceptible to financial crises. They work and travel too much, and though they can easily make a lot of money, they can easily spend a lot of it while making none as well. Therefore, as a digital nomad, you should not forget to invest otherwise you will be bankrupt before you know it.