I make up to $20,000 a month as a full-time traveler. I started posting my adventures on Instagram and have funded my way to 159 countries.

Thu, 09/14/2023 - 05:21

a man standing on top of a mountain holding a sign — Tom Grond in Nepal in 2018.
Courtesy of Tom Grond

Tom Grond has been traveling full time since 2012 and sharing his adventures on social media.
As a content creator, he earns between $1,000 and $10,000 for posts working with brands like Google.
His goal is to visit every country in the world; so far, he's been to 159.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tom Grond, a full-time traveler and content creator from Simpelveld, Netherlands. Insider has verified his income with documentation. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I travel full time, and I've visited 159 countries, including Vatican City, Kosovo, and Taiwan.

There are four reasons I travel to a new country: I want to see it, I've been invited by a brand, I want to create content there, and I have a goal to visit every country in the world.