Don't Become a Digital Nomad Without Passive Income

In January 2025, my girlfriend and I sold all our stuff, packed our suitcases, and embarked on a new life as digital nomads.

Two months in, we’ve realized something important: without passive income, this lifestyle would be a disaster.

Between adjusting to a new country, getting sick, and a problematic Airbnb, I was barely able to work for the first month.

Despite that, I still made nearly $5,000 in January. 

So if you’re serious about becoming a digital nomad, make passive income a priority—it’s the difference between freedom and constant stress.

I certainly wouldn't do this if I was still freelancing.

Here's why.

New country, new problems

For the first month as a digital nomad, I barely did any work.

We started in “holiday mode” for a bit, and that’s ok. The first week in a new country is exciting, and should be enjoyed.

On the second week, we both got sick, which can be common when switching climates, and I had to visit the dentist a few times. It's all time lost - there is no sick leave when you're self-employed.

Besides that, it took time to adjust to our new life — figuring out where to eat, where to shop for groceries, how to get around, and finding places to work from.

We got unlucky with our Airbnb, so we had to buy some household essentials to live comfortably for a month. We even bought an air purifier because of how bad the air quality was at the time. 

These everyday challenges ,  which you've already solved in your home country,  can really disrupt your work.

It’s like Maslow’s pyramid — you need food, water and shelter before you can operate on a higher level. 

Although I expect this will improve with experience, when returning to the same country the next time, especially if you already know good places to stay.

Staying creative is hard

Aside from these everyday problems, I was also mentally exhausted, or maybe just distracted.

I have a creative job — making educational content about eCommerce and web development. Normally, that’s what’s on my mind. I’m always brainstorming things I want to teach.

But with my mind so full of new experiences and challenges, I had completely forgotten about my work. What do I even do? Who am I?

Being in a different country tends to wipe your memory to make space for all the new things. Even more so if you're studying the language.

Are these all just excuses? 

Probably.

But they made me realize how fortunate I am to have a passive income because despite not working through most of January, my income was pretty stable.

My earnings in January

My Youtube channel had one of its best months — it earned $1.2k in Adsense revenue in January without me making a single video (my last video was in November).

I also had consistent traffic and sales for my digital products, earning around $1,900 for January from my two stores (Shopify and Gumroad).

The rest came from my affiliate partnerships, which paid steadily as usual.

Affiliate income is surprisingly one of my most stable and hands-free income sources. My digital products require a few hours each week answering tech support emails, but affiliate income requires no ongoing work. 

In total, I made $4,751 in passive income for the month of January.

Normally I would do a couple small freelance jobs on top of this, but I suspect I won’t be doing much in the coming months.

Instead, I will focus on building more affiliate income with my newsletter, and maybe even this blog. Writing is a lot faster than making videos, so it's easier to do while travelling.

What if I was just freelancing?

If I were still freelancing, my earnings this month would have been poor. 

To succeed as a digital nomad freelancer, you would need to be either:

• very disciplined
• talented and passionate about your work

The latter describes my girlfriend, Kristina. She has no problem with sitting down in a noisy cafe while sleep deprived and immediately locking in, because she loves her work. Not everybody can do that. My chaotic monkey brain can't even focus at home.

Freelancing is also very risky. If you get sick or something bad happens, like losing your passport, wallet, and laptop, then you won’t be able to work for several weeks. So you better have a lot of savings.

So how do people do it?

Firstly, you have to remember that there still aren’t that many nomads doing this sustainably for years. Most will do it for a year or so, and then run out of money or burn out, which is understandable.

As for those successful nomads that can do this for years - the few that I know personally - will usually have some form of financial stability. It's always either:

• passive income from a business
• a rental property or Airbnb
• at least $500k in the stock market

Out of these options, a passive income business is the quickest to achieve.

The other two (properties or stocks) require a lot of time building your net worth, so this type of nomad tends to be in their forties.

Of course, everything is possible. You may be more disciplined, focused, and more talented than me, and able to pull it off as a freelancer or even full-time employee.

A few years ago, I was freelancing and had no passive income at all. My goal with this post is to motivate others like me. Passive income is possible, and it is life-changing.

Even if it’s just $500 a month —  that’s an incredible safety net that would enable a digital nomad lifestyle.

Luckily, in 2025, it’s easier than ever before to make a passive income by sharing your skills or experience online. 

So whether it’s writing blog posts or making YouTube videos or running a newsletter, find what works for you, and get started. 

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