Going Off Social Security to Travel for a Living

When I tell other people that I want to go off of Social Security, one of the most common questions I get is: “why?”

Social Security can be a safety net. But like all nets, it can trap you if you let it. For one thing, it limits my travel so that I have to be in the country at every new month. I don't like that, because as most of you know, I want to travel for a living (including out of the country).

It can also be a factor in even getting a steady job. Many jobs require a car, and I can't get driver's training or car insurance (let alone a car) with my income unless I work to supplement it. Catch-22's can get annoying sometimes.

Also, not too many renters agree to have tenants on Social Security. So, it seems my only feasible option would be to work in a menial, dead-end job close to where I live (which would be with one of my parents) for most, if not all my life, never seeing the world like I want to. This is not the case, however.

What if, instead of finding desperate ways to boost my income, I could eliminate my main expenses? That's where help exchange programs come in. My main expenses that I need right now are food and lodging. Help exchange takes care of all of that. It lets you work for room and board while traveling.

Unfortunately, help exchange is limited in legality; you can't do it legally on a tourist visa in most countries, and in a few (like the UK) it's just plain illegal if you only have a U.S. passport. However, there are numerous opportunities in the U.S. where, since I'm a citizen, they have no issues with it. Also, in Canada, you can do any sort of help exchange for up to 30 days as a tourist.

And now, my plan. I will try and do help exchange throughout the US and part of Canada from February to August. By then, I will have gone from little to no work experience to a fully employable candidate for a job I just might like, all through volunteering. During that time, I will try and get published in a few places as a travel writer. By that time, I will hopefully be off Social Security. I will keep my job for four months, then in January, I will go around Europe, continuing as a travel writer.