This Adventure Photographer Has Made $150,000+ Whilst Living in Her Van

Here’s Christian’s playbook for making money from anywhere

Image from Christian Schaffer’s YouTube Channel

Christian Schaffer doesn’t do ordinary.

She’s an adventure photographer who’s spent the last four years living on the road in her van — mostly by herself.

And through multiple income streams, she’s saved over $150,000.

That might not sound like a lot of money for four years of work. However, considering she pays zero rent and has complete schedule freedom, it’s more than enough for her dream lifestyle.

The questions I had as I binged her YouTube videos and read her articles were:

How does she make money on the road?
What are the downsides of this life?
Can anyone do this?

Before we answer these questions, we need a little context.

How did Christian get to this point?

Christian’s Story

Part I: “Reckless Travel”

Christian’s mum had her when she was 16.

They lived with her grandparents in Wisconsin and struggled to get by.

“I did not grow up on money. We were on food stamps the whole time […] However, my parents encouraged me to focus on my education and have a hard work ethic.”
— Christian Schaffer

This focus took her to the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She sold all but four boxes of her belongings and flew to Oahu, where she didn’t know anyone.

Here, Christian worked a ton of different jobs during her four years at college:

“I worked as a model at Abercrombie and Finch… [After that,] I picked up a job as a waitress. I think I ended up working at four or five different restaurants […]
“I also started modelling, which paid the bulk of my bills […] I was an extra on Lost. I hosted events for Rolex […] Yeah, weird stuff!
“I worked as a retail manager at Puma and Starbucks, and then I ended up back at Abercrombie, which I loved.”

She then graduated with a degree in Business and Spanish before building a career with Abercrombie & Fitch.

Christian managed stores in Hawaii, California, and the Midwest. Then, she was promoted to Europe and relocated to Milan.

She was also developing a taste for photography. Her friends dared her to enter Waikiki Beach’s swimsuit competition, and she won $300. She used this money to buy her first digital camera and fell in love with snapping pictures.

Christian was living the dream.

One day, however, she got a call from her mum. Her grandfather had two months to live:

“For the first eight years of my life […] my grandfather was the only father I knew. It was hard to imagine a world without him in it.”

Over 4,000 miles stretched between them.

So Christian moved to Kentucky to be closer to her family:

“As the months went by, I began to feel stuck. I didn’t have many friends in Kentucky, or direction, or motivation.
“I didn’t want to go out to the bars, meet anyone new, or move up at work. I just wanted to stay untethered, unattached, [and] uninvested in this place that didn’t feel like home.
“So instead, I would sit in my room, peppered with empty photo frames and unopened boxes, and watch the sunset from my window […]

Something was missing. At the end of Christian’s Abercrombie contract, she packed up her stuff and went backpacking around the world for 11 months:

“That wasn’t the intention […] I just kept going.”

Nothing was tying her down. She had zero debts, loans, and obligations in terms of family or relationships.

The world was hers.

She travelled alone through five continents and 19 countries, meeting friends along the way.

“It was 11 months of absolute freedom and reckless travel […] After that, I just couldn’t go back.”

Part II: Backpack → SUV → Van Life

Christian started dating someone in the Middle East and moved to California together.

She started looking for jobs in retail but realised her heart wasn’t in it. So instead, she went on Craigslist and looked at gig listings.

“There was this local artist/painter/photographer looking for an assistant to work just six hours a week.
“I did everything from clearing out her garage, applying for her dual citizenship… and helping her with social media […]”

This local introduced Christian to other creatives. Over time, she built a clientele list of over 12 artists, videographers, painters, sculptors, and small business owners.

“I loved it, but at the same time, I was falling in love with taking photos and exploring the area […] I wanted to build my photography portfolio […]
“So at the time, I was planning a trip to do the John Muir Trail […]
“Leading up to that trip, I was posting on Instagram and getting my work out there.”

Then came her first big break.

“A PR agent who represented Samsung reached out and said, ‘Hey, do you have any cool trips coming up? We’d love to collaborate with you in some way.’
“That’s where my career as a photographer began. I realised it was pretty lucrative, especially when you tie social media into it.”

Christian ditched her client-assisting work and leaned into photography. She also wanted to try living on the road.

People like Jimmy Chen inspired her.

So she started to prepare:

“Five weeks. That’s how much time I gave myself to prepare for life on the road.
“In addition to doing other work and attending to the usual business of life, I began by sorting through closets and listing small items for sale on Craigslist and Facebook.
“I scheduled routine doctor and dental appointments. [Then,] I signed up for a community garage sale and sold a truckload of stuff. I found an inexpensive storage unit nearby and began moving things into it […]”

Three weeks before Christian was supposed to move out, she got into a car accident.

“[…] A Yukon rear-ended me at 40 mph. The Yukon looked totalled, and I was afraid [my SUV] would be, too. Fortunately, it wasn’t beyond repair, and the shop had it back to me just a few days before I was supposed to hit the road.
“And then, a tire went flat. This led to the costly discovery that all four tires needed replacement after years of wear and tear. And then, one of the brand new tires went flat […]
“I began to wonder if it was all a sign from the universe.
“I cried. I journaled. Once again, I questioned what I was doing with my life.

Still, Christian made it out on the road and lived in her SUV.

“For fourteen months, I lived out of my 4x4 Nissan Xterra. During that time, I saved up every last penny until I could afford to buy a new van and hire a team to build my dream home on wheels.”

She loved the SUV experience, but the need for more space and amenities started to weigh on her.

Christian decided to upgrade.

She invested in a 60-square-foot 2019 Dodge Ram ProMaster 1500 High Roof cargo van and hired a team to kit it.

And she’s been living in her van ever since.

“I’ve travelled to 36 countries and lived in five. No, I’m not a military brat. Just a restless transplant […]
“For the past nine years, I’ve been fortunate to work as a full-time creative based on the west coast and overseas.”

So how has Christian made enough money on the road to make this lifestyle possible?

Making Money on The Road

There are two sides to this story:

Making money and saving money.

Let’s start with the sexy side first — making money. How does Christian make a living as a freelance adventure photographer and content creator?

She has many income streams.

Brand Partnerships

“I partner with brands and tourism boards to create engaging content through video, storytelling, photography… [Then,] they either use that content on their website or social media channels […]
“Maybe there’s a new product launch, and they want to create a lot of energy around that, so I collaborate with them to promote that product […]”

Christian has worked with many luxury travel brands, including Acura, Canon, Eddie Bauer, Samsung, and Land Rover.

“Typically, [when working with a brand], we sign a contract where they give me X amount of dollars for X amount of deliverables […] Image assets they can use for social, web […] or I create content and share it on my social media channels […]
“There are quite a few different ways you can work with brands, but those are just some general examples.”

Brand partnerships make up most of Christian’s income and fall into two categories: sponsored videos and commercial photography.

Sponsored videos are videos Christian makes for her Instagram and YouTube channel, and they typically include an ad halfway through.

Here’s an example of Logitech sponsoring one of her YouTube videos. Christian weaves the ad seamlessly and showcases the product’s features (9 minutes and 10 seconds in).

The key to this?

“Work with brands that you actually use and trust.”

Commercial photography and image licensing is the second arm of brand partnerships:

“Taking photos, sharing Instagram stories, sharing content on my personal social media channels […]
“Primarily, I’m there to do heights and angles, POVs, and all kinds of different image assets of that product they can then use for media releases, their website, advertising, and whatnot.”

Remaining Income Streams: Modelling, Print Sales, YouTube Ad Revenue, and Affiliate Links

Over the years, Christian has modelled for various brands, including Nike and Rolex, and her YouTube videos earn money through YouTube’s ad sense program.

With print sales, Christian sells her work through her website.

“I work with a company that makes it possible to still sell prints on the road […] That’s a good source of income, particularly around the Christmas season.”

As for affiliates, these aren’t a significant source of income right now, but she hopes they will be soon:

“I don’t put a lot of energy into this […] I’ve started putting these [affiliate links] into my YouTube captions, but I don’t really promote these anywhere else […]
“Honestly, I think I’ve made about $200 since starting this YouTube channel, so it wouldn’t even make it onto a pie chart, but it’s cool, and I think it’ll grow over time […]
“Passive is always the goal.”

So these are the ways Christian makes money as a photographer and content creator.

However, there is another way. In Christian’s eyes, this other way is her “secret to long-term van life”.

Professional Pet Sitting

Christian has a dedicated page on her website for professional pet sitting.

On it, she includes countless reviews from happy pet owners and pictures of animals she’s looked after:

Here’s how the opportunity came about:

“Around the one-year mark of living on the road, I was living in my SUV, and I just started to experience burnout.
“I would find myself scrolling Airbnb for week-long and month-long stays. I even spent some time apartment hunting in Washington […] I was just kind of getting tired of living on the road. I wanted more stability.
“So that’s when the idea of pet-sitting and house-sitting came up.”

It took Christian a while to get her first pet sit as she didn’t have any references, and it took time to build experience. So it’s been a two-year journey.

Now, she generally has a sit booked once every 2–3 months, typically lasting 1–2 weeks. She usually spends time at these sits tackling the many to-do items that are hard to do from the road, such as deep cleaning her van.

She sees these breaks as her secret to long-term van life.

“On the road, my mind is always in motion, keeping inventory of things and taking steps to be safe […] In addition to these things, I’m also running a photography business from the road.
“A lot of people call this lifestyle ‘living the dream’, including myself […] But it’s not a walk in the park […]
“If you’re like me, that means you might need some breaks in order to have balance.”

So this is how Christian makes money on the road.

How about saving it?

Saving Money on The Road

When she’s travelling outside of work, Christian finds ways to keep her expenses low:

“I shop at grocery stores rather than eating out. I use apps to find cheap gas. Basic stuff […]
“The key to my financial freedom has been keeping my overhead low. By that, I mean I have very few personal expenses beyond food, gas, insurance, and my phone bill.
“I don’t pay rent. I don’t pay utilities. I don’t have a vehicle loan, credit card debt, or student loans. If I can’t buy something and pay in full upfront, I don’t buy it.

In this video, Christian details the monthly costs of living in her van and how it compares to her SUV and apartment.

Here’s the summary:

Screenshot from Christian’s YouTube video

Over the space of living on the road for three years (when she made the video), here’s the total cost:

Admittedly, Christian spent $80K buying her van and hiring a team to rebuild it. However, Christian says such an expense isn’t necessary — at least not initially.

And even by adding $80K to $38,232, the total cost of living in her van would still be less than the cost of living in her previous apartment for another three years.

Downsides to Van Life

Christian isn’t shy about pointing out the downsides to van life, and this honesty is one of the reasons subscribers love her content.

In fact, her most popular video — 10 Reasons Why Van Life SUCKS — has over three million views. In it, she explains how things like doing laundry and going to the toilet are constantly on her mind.

And in her most recent video, Christian questions whether van life is even worth it for her anymore:

“[…] Out here on the road, anything can happen. Earlier this summer, my electrical system melted. Then, chipmunks invaded. My upper cabinet detached while driving down a bumpy road. Last week, my water pump broke, and yesterday, my heater started cranking out error codes.
“If I were my own employee, which I technically am, I would totally fire me.
“The number of times I’ve had to relocate or change plans because of weather or because I didn’t feel safe or have enough solar [for solar panels] or service or desperately needed a shower is easily more than a few hundred times in my four and a half years out here.
“This is the real van life — endless decision after decision after decision forever and ever.
“Amen.”

There are also times when Christian feels like she’s living a double life.

In this video, she gives viewers a glimpse of what it’s like shooting campaigns for famous brands. The famous brand in this video was Mazda.

“As I’m editing this video, I’m actually camped out in Utah in the middle of nowhere.
“The irony of editing this footage of cocktail parties, rooftop dinners, and nights spent in an $800 hotel room while sitting in the desert […] Hot, sweaty, going on day six without a shower and wearing the same dirty clothes I’ve worn literally for the past three days.
“Sometimes, it feels like I’m living a double life, always existing at the extreme end of things.
“From sleeping in the back of my SUV to housesitting in million-dollar homes, from living on room service and 5-star hotels to sleeping in the backcountry and eating stale ramen.”

Moments like this make Christian question her life choices.

In this video, she talks about how the freedom of living on the road comes at a cost:

“There are times when I feel like I’m all alone, aimless and adrift — not only as a solo traveller, but also as a self-employed creative.
“I don’t have an office to frequent with familiar faces, or afterwards happy hours down the street, or even a boss to tell me how I’m doing […] Every day is, in a way, a guessing game — something I’ve grown to both love and hate.
“Sometimes, the thought of putting down roots feels like giving up my freedom. The freedom to be anywhere at any time and to meet my friends wherever they happen to be.
“And other times, living on the road feels like I’m robbing myself of stability and true community and the chance to build something I’m really proud of.
“It’s an internal battle that rages pretty often […]”

This internal battle forces her to question her purpose and sense of contribution.

Then, of course, there’s the loneliness that sometimes sets in — but not in the way you might think:

“For me personally, the loneliest moments of my adult life have all been in situations where I’ve been surrounded by people, like a large dinner party or a big group event. It’s usually when I go into it already drained, and I fail to connect with anyone on a deeper level […]
“And I feel lonely as hell.
“I truly cannot think of a time in my adult life when I’ve been physically alone and lonely because of it.
“We assume [as a society] that everyone wants to be the life of the party — to be the centre of attention. Everyone wants to be around a whole load of people, but that’s not always the case […]
“Just because you’re in a house with your friends, family, and community, you can still be lonely. And just because you’re by yourself in a van in the middle of nowhere, you can still be full and happy.
“Loneliness can look and feel different for each of us, and I think it’s important that you take time to look inside and decide what you need in order to feel whole and happy, so that you can be the best version of yourself […]”

And we haven’t even mentioned the Pandemic.

Gyms and campsites shut down, so Christian struggled to find places to shower and use the toilet. She also spent time quarantining in Airbnbs.

It seems Christian is now looking for a middle ground:

“Living on the road was a dream of mine for years before I finally took a risk to turn that dream into a reality, and now, I find myself dreaming of having my own home — a place to unwind between month-long stretches on the road […]
“I’m trying to dig deep and find the courage to make that leap.
“I left Montana feeling that whatever comes next — whether I decide to stay on the road or not — my decision doesn’t have to be final. The road isn’t going anywhere. It’ll always be there waiting […]”

Takeaways —10 Tips for Living on The Road

Christian has chosen the van life.

But she recognises not everyone is so lucky:

“I live in a van by choice.
“It benefits my career because I’m an outdoor adventure photographer, and spending the night not too far from a new location helps me create new content in an easier way, rather than commuting back and forth from an apartment […]
“I tried that. It was not very efficient or fun to do […]”

When thinking about van life, Christian was also unsure if she was ready to leap. She realised the sort of van she wanted was expensive, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to commit to van life just yet.

“So I decided to live out of the back of my SUV, which I had done in the past […] I had my sleeping bag and camping blowup mattress in the backseat and just a cooler, and it was fine.
“It wasn’t super comfortable, but it worked.
“It was only meant to be an experiment of three months to see if I liked it, but it was so chill that I kept doing it for 14 months […]”

So if living and making money on the road appeals to you, here are Christian’s top tips for getting started.

Tip #1: Know Your Why

“Why are you drawn to this lifestyle? Are you looking for more freedom? Are you looking for adventure? Are you looking for a fresh start? Maybe you’re trying to save money […]
“Knowing your why is important because you will have hard days on the road […] It’ll help you persevere […]”

Tip #2: Try It Out

“So if you can and have the resources, I highly recommend just renting a campervan from a rental company and doing a two-week road trip.
“See how it goes.
“Do you need a full bathroom? Do you need a cooking setup? Do you like the configuration?
“These are all helpful to work out before you invest in a van […]”

Tip #3: Do Your Research

“One of the most important things to start with is what kind of vehicle do you want to live in?”

Christian rattles off a bunch more questions in this video (5 minutes 40 seconds in.)

Tip #4: Make a Budget

“You’ve decided what vehicle you want and what you’re working towards. Now, you have a better idea of your financial goals […]
“Take inventory of how much money you have and where you can cut expenses and lower your overhead […]
“Minimalism isn’t a requirement for this lifestyle, but it is helpful.”

Tip #5: Plan for Basics

Christian has a helpful video on toilet, shower, and laundry use and getting internet on the road.

“Maintaining some form of familiarity and routine in your new lifestyle will help you stay grounded and healthy.”

Tip #6: Commit

“This isn’t a step you should take until you’ve saved enough money for your van. [Moving out] is also a good time to decide whether you want to rent a storage unit.”

Tips #7 and #8: Arrange Vehicle Insurance and Legal Stuff Before You Go

Pretty self-explanatory.

Tip #9: Have Backup Plans

“Before I moved into an SUV, I spent a lot of time looking over Google Maps […] and freecampsites.net and BLM land, trying to determine where I would potentially sleep once I moved out of my apartment.
“Would it be close to a gym so I could shower? Near a library? A coffee shop so I could work and have wifi? Grocery stores?
“Plan C was basically to dip into my savings and get a hotel for one or two weeks, reevaluate my situation and life, and potentially go apartment hunting […]”

And Tip #10: Have a Positive Mindset and a Sense of Humour

“At the end of the day, your outlook and perspective on this lifestyle will make all the difference.”

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