The reality of retirement is scary in this day and age. With the cost of living rising every day, you have to supplement your savings with new income sources and continue growing your wealth. Unless you had made significant investments in your working days, you might end up struggling to make ends meet. Others want to make use of their free time instead of getting bored over the complete leisure. If you are looking a new source of income, here is how to earn extra money in retirement:
1. Get a Part-time Job
You can quickly secure a part-time job like stacking shelves at a local bookstore, pet sitting, marketing products or even handling calls for an e-commerce store. If you want to enjoy the job, follow your passion, and you will be surprised by the number of employers looking for people like you. Start by asking around your neighborhood or checking on job boards for related job vacancies in your area.
2. Start a Business
Do you have a business idea that you are passionate about or maybe a lifelong dream? You can convert that passion into a real business. Find a product or service that you can sell and do some research about the industry. Start by investigating existing businesses and studying their business model. Also, find ways to improve their services or products and use that as a foundation of your business. If setting up a physical store is a problem, take advantage of the internet and start an online store.
A shorter route to starting a business is to buy an existing business. This option is less risky than starting a business from scratch since you can inherit the current customers, equipment, and inventory. However, buying an existing business requires a high capital input.
3. Become a Consultant
You can earn extra money in your retirement by becoming a full-time or part-time consultant. Combine your working years into a program that you can sell to companies. For example, if you worked as a marketing executive, you can offer your expertise to startup companies that are struggling to market their products or services.
Also, you can sign up on leading freelance marketplaces such as Upwork and sell your services. You can charge a fixed fee or an hourly rate that reflects your expertise in the field. Also, you can write e-books on specific in-demand subjects and sell via Udemy, social media or on your personal website.
4. Share your Knowledge
Probably your passion is to teach, or you have a skill that other people would like to learn.Why not share the skill and charge a fee? You can teach fitness, yoga, environmental stewardship, how to stay debt-free, bookkeeping or guitar-playing. Parents would be willing pay a fee to have their children learn something new during the holidays. You can charge a nominal fee like $100 per person per month and plan to meet during the weekends.
Plan to share what you know with the world and you will be surprised by the many people willing to pay to learn a new skill set. Think about what’s possible, and plan how you will share with other people.
5. Rent out a room
As a retiree, you might end up with several empty rooms, especially when the kids have moved out. Instead of wasting that space, you can rent it out and earn some income. Use sites like Airbnb to find people who are looking to rent a room around your area.
You may decide to rent out:
- The entire property if you have several homes.
- Part of the house to vacationers.
- Some rooms for short periods of time.
6. Sell your Stuff
After decades of earning money, you have probably accumulated a lot of things, some of which lie unused in the garage. Instead of letting them rot in the garage, sell them via yard sales, craigslist or eBay. You can get rid of your old furniture, equipment, and clothes that might interest buyers. Make sure the items are in good condition when selling them.
When selling via online sites, ensure you transact with genuine buyers to avoid losing your items. If you are uncomfortable with computers, seek help in your neighborhood from people who have sold items via online marketplaces.
7. Sell your Photos
If you have quality photos on your PC, why not sell them to people who need them? There are several stock photo sites with members who are willing to pay for quality photos. You can decide to sell the best photos and give the rest for free. If you build a large collection of digital photos over time, you can earn residual income in the future.
As long as you are the photographer who took the photos, you have the ownership rights to them. You can focus on a particular category that interests people like nature, pet or wildlife photography.
8. Share your Car
After retirement, there is a higher chance that your car will spend most of the time in the garage. Instead of letting it stay idle, tap into the sharing economy by becoming a driver or renting it out. If you choose to become a driver, try ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft in your country. You also rent out your car to taxi companies and earn an income at the end of every month. These companies will take care of your vehicle including fueling, servicing and cleaning. As long as the vehicle is in operation, they will send you money every month.
9. Earn Extra Money with your Hobby
If you have a hobby such as baking, woodworking, and knitting, you can earn extra money from them. Set up an account on Etsy and similar sites and post photos of your work. If people like them, you can sell them your products at a fee. If you are not ready to market online, start by sharing your products with friends and family. They can help perfect your products and refer their friends to you.
10. Gardening for Profit
Most people maintain beautiful gardens around their homes without necessarily making money from them. While you can get paid to take care of your neighbor’s gardens, you can also earn money from your garden. For example, you can grow flowers for specific events like valentines, mother’s day or weddings and earn extra money. You can also teach your neighbors about organic gardening and charge them a fee.
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Retirement is not the end of making money. With all the free time and resources at your disposal, you can find ways to earn extra money and have fun doing it. Apart from making money, these activities will help your mind stay active and also make new friends.
Image Credits: Pixabay and Pexels
