How do people make money to live off while traveling?

[Narcoleptic Insomniac]

I've been reading various stuff about people who quit their jobs or whatever and just travel and I'm curious. They don't usually mention how they get by. Obviously many just live off their saving and return home when the money runs out but others seem to travel for years  and years and we all know that international travel isn't exactly cheap.

[Prodigal Son]

How long will it take you to max out all your credit cards.

[dude...]

shady handjobs in gas station carparks

[blueee]

Save up money and then quit your job and travel
Or you could hobo
Do you believe in magic?
Hobo magic?

Edit.
You mentioned people who keep traveling..
Live very frugally, so many resources if your resourceful. Take high paying short term gigs. Get them through networking. Pick up a couple marketable skills, arts and crafts even. Save your money for expensive things like international flights

[ginger]

I know a guy who has been trotting around Europe for about 3 or 4 years now. He's always working at a bar somewhere, or hostel or ski resort. Basically just picks up jobs at places that have high staff turnover and no respect for fair wages. Et voila!

[Kinchy]

Being frugal is a big one, travelling is different to being a tourist.

[streetStreet]

the hitch hikers rule of the road.

[condrbkr]

I've done a bit research on this and it seems like most are some type of computer based job that don't require them to be in the office. Selling products, writing articles, IT type stuff. People refer it to vacation life, where your life is a permanent vacation but you don't really earn the money to be blowing it all off. It's the dream yo.

[Alex.]

I've been kinda doing this for the past year. Basically do odd jobs here and there to get some cash and drain the savings account.

It's been a really fun year.

[DJJB!]

I've done this in the past, and planning on doing it a lot more in the future. My last trip I spent unicycling across Thailand.
I think one of the bigger factors for me is having a nest-egg to rely on when shit hits the fan and there is no work.
Having a decent sum saved up in the bank and investing it all as a fall-back when you are stuck in a forest in the middle of nowhere or in a hospital with an infection in some random 3rd world country that has no antibiotics will help.

I only have experience traveling in SE Asia (Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia), but there are jobs for foreigners everywhere. Teaching a sport / bringing tourists on adventures (rock-climbing, mountain biking, hiking, photography trips), working in hostels as a front desk help, helping local businesses with their websites, working on a farm (check out HelpX and WOOFing), or tutoring English / math in a local school...

Most of these gigs won't save you money on the road, but they may allow you to travel for free and break even. Couch surfing is definitely a big one to save money. There is also the route of bringing a laptop and working odd freelance jobs like writing travel articles, photography gigs, Amazon Turk...They won't pay much, but you really only need $5-10 / day traveling in some SE Asian countries. 

[U-238]

I know one person that does this. Her method is not one I would recommend.

She lives at home rent-free with her parents, who also buy her food, utilities, etc. I think she just has a phone bill, but honestly she might not even pay that. For 6 to 8 months of the year, she works at Texas Road House as a waitress. She puts some amount of what she makes into a travel fund. As a somewhat cute girl, she makes a lot of tips. For the rest of the year, she travels the world with some other girl that does the same type of shit.

It is super annoying seeing her go to all these awesome places and have the time of her life, know she only works ~30 hrs a week 8 months a year, whereas the wife and I work our asses off and can barely afford to drive home to visit family for two weeks once a year.

Just as some background on this chick, she has an associates and a bachelors degree in math or something. Her older brother committed suicide about 10 yrs ago so her parents definitely give into her every whim. In high school she was super Catholic so refused to have vaginal sex, but let her boyfriend put it in her butt, which I guess makes total sense from a religious standpoint?

[Kinchy]

Sure, but once she gets a bit older, the tips will stop coming in quite as readily, and she is still living at home with her parents.

[blueee]

I'm glad I read that

[U-238]

In high school she was super Catholic so refused to have vaginal sex, but let her boyfriend put it in her butt, which I guess makes total sense from a religious standpoint?

I just heard this referred to today as the "poophole loophole." It is apparently way more common then I would have guessed.

[JFax]

Sure, but once she gets a bit older, the tips will stop coming in quite as readily, and she is still living at home with her parents.

She will at least have a nice and unused vagina