While we all look forward to not having to punch the proverbial clock, many of us are aiming to earn a certain level of income after we stop working. In fact, two thirds of seniors recently surveyed spoke of their ideal retirement involving some kind of revenue stream. It makes sense for a number of reasons: we’re all living longer, which means our retirement dollars have to stretch farther; the longer we put off drawing on Social Security, the better our benefits will be; and the longer we’re able to keep our aging brains active and stimulated, the greater chance we have of preventing or delaying cognitive decline.
Luckily there are lots of creative ways to go about this that don’t involve setting the alarm clock or suffering through rush hour. Here are some ideas for earning some supplementary cash on your terms, without giving up the freedom and flexibility you’ve worked so hard to achieve:
- Rent Your Space: The online home rental business is booming, and for good reason. Sites like AirBnB are making it easier than ever for people to rent out whatever space they might have available, whether it’s an entire home or only a guest room. And your stock goes up if you live in an area with seasonal interest (beach or ski community), a college or university (hello, Parents’ Weekend) or you happen to live where a popular event will take place, like the Esplanade fireworks!
- Review Your Investments: Depending on your portfolio, you maybe able to save some money by pruning out any underperformers and/or transferring money out of accounts that carry high management fees. Take a fresh look at savings and see if you can get a higher interest rate on CDs, bonds, or savings accounts.
- Become a Part-time Tutor: Have a skill you’d be interested in sharing? Tutoring out of your home can be quite rewarding, and often lucrative as well. Search online for local tutoring centers or call your local school to see if they have a list of requests going. There are also several sites like Chegg who offer virtual tutoring sessions that might allow you more flexibility.
- Sell Your Things: They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that sure looks the case when you see what people are unloading on sites like eBay and CraigsList. Most of us have plenty in our homes that we would gladly part with – why not put it up for sale? Check out these great tips on how to get started.
- Become a Mystery Shopper: What if you could get paid to go shopping? In an effort to improve their client services, many retailers actually pay people like you and me to visit their stores, pretend to be actual customers, and report back on the experience. It’s called mystery shopping, and it can pay pretty well! Here’s a piece from Forbes explaining how it works.
- Hit the Road: If you love the great outdoors and have the flexibility to spend a season in a beautiful place, there are some great job opportunities for seniors at our nation’s national parks and ski resorts! The site Cool Works connects people with both paid and volunteer opportunities at places like Taos, Death Valley, and the Grand Canyon. They have a special webpage dedicated to retirees – check it out!
Have we piqued your interest? Check out even more ideas for retirement income on the site Sixty + Me.