The popularity of the digital nomad lifestyle has increased over the last decade, with more people choosing to work while they travel. Statista reports show that the United States has 134.4 million full-time employees, with 17.3 million classified as digital nomads. This means digital nomads account for nearly 13% of the workforce. The nomadic lifestyle offers a balance of leisure and work and the opportunity to earn in foreign currencies. Still, digital nomads must carefully plan their lifestyle to make the most of it.
Digital Nomadism and Trading
The digital nomad lifestyle allows workers to use technology to work remotely and live a location-independent life. The ability to work from anywhere with an internet connection and receive money makes the nomadic lifestyle very attractive.
There are different ways for digital nomads to earn money while on the move. Some of the most common ways include content creation, freelance writing, and online tutoring. The financial markets present another avenue for earning money, whether as a side hustle or a full-time career.
For nomads who choose to become investors, the financial markets present a unique opportunity, especially as most markets are open 24/7. This flexibility allows them to work at any time, regardless of location.The main objective of trading is to capitalize on price fluctuations in assets like stocks, currencies, and commodities. To gain a competitive edge, digital nomads must rely on tools like TradingView for market analysis.
How To Invest while Traveling
As a forex trader, stock trader or digital nomad working other jobs, combining your travel lifestyle and trading is possible with the right tools and strategies. Consider these.
Financial Planning
Planning ahead of any process helps you to prepare for events and maximize opportunities. As a digital nomad trader, you must plan your finances and related activities before traveling and trading. The key things to focus on are budget, tax, banking relationship, and insurance.
A travel/investment budget ensures that you can manage your income and trade expectations properly while funding your lifestyle. This is crucial, given the minimum income level that most countries demand for digital nomads. You should also consider the tax policies of your destination and the ease of remitting and receiving money through banks. Establishing a banking relationship can help you access efficient currency exchange and funds when traveling.
Trading Tools and Platforms
Find a broker and trading platform with a global reach. This is important as a traveling trader because regulatory restrictions can impact your trading activities. Look up the countries/regions that your broker operates in or confirm their legal status from the regulatory authority of your destination country. You should also use charting platforms like TradingView, which has powerful tools for tracking markets and news and analyzing price data.
You might need a VPN and VPS for algorithmic trading to ensure a smooth and stable connection to your trading platform. Although they are not illegal in most countries, VPNs and VPS may require special permission from your broker.
Risk Management
Profitable trading requires proper risk management beyond budgeting. As a digital nomad trader, you should define the trading rules for your risk management. For example, it is common to use 2% – 5% of trading capital per trade and to use tight stops that limit drawdowns. You must also explore portfolio diversification to spread your capital across different asset classes and instruments.
A good diversification strategy is the 80/20 rule, which focuses 80% of the capital on low-volatility assets and 20% on high-volatility assets. You should also keep emergency funds to cover at least three to six months of your living expenses, providing a safety net if markets experience downturns.
Leveraging Local Events
As a digital nomad trader, early access to local information and events can help you stay ahead of trends and increase potential profits. Geopolitical news, political events and stability, and economic events significantly influence markets. Traders who can pick up on such events early can predict markets and take up positions before the news reaches the global audience.
A good example is the recent report on Japan’s inflation rate; although the rate hit a two-year high of 4% in January 2025, it only made global headlines in February. Traders can explore such advantages to predict the broader impact when global markets react.
Time Management
Managing time effectively as a digital nomad helps you to meet your work responsibilities and leisure time commitments. As a trader watching markets and events, you may get caught up with the charts and inadvertently neglect other aspects of your travel-work lifestyle. Create a routine and set hours where you analyze and trade markets. Prioritize your tasks, completing the time-consuming and tedious ones first. Finally, have a schedule and limit for leisure activities, and remember to give 100% attention to what you do, whether work or play!
How To Trade as You Travel
A laptop is ideal for the digital lifestyle, but you can also trade from your tablet and smartphone. First, analyze your preferred market and asset to find entry and exit points, then set up trade orders such as limit, market, and stop orders. You can also explore expert assistants/trading robots to execute trades following defined instructions. Use the alert feature on TradingView to monitor markets and price movements and embrace flexibility and discipline. Remember to invest in the right tools, such as capable devices and ergonomic tools, to improve your comfort.
Explore Communities
Digital nomad communities are springing up in great numbers, and we love to see travelers exchange information and ideas. You should find digital nomads and trading communities, especially in your future destinations. You’ll learn more from people who have walked the path and may make new friends as you travel.
