7 Creative Ways To Do Side Hustles During Retirement

Considering a side hustle in retirement? It’s an amazing way to make some cash in your free time.

Contents

Work Part Time at Your Old Job Be a Consultant Make Money Doing Your Hobby Go for Fun, Not Money Pick Up a New Skill Write About It Sell Stuff

In retirement, you’ve clearly made the decision to stop working full time, and now you may be hoping to pick up some extra cash for any number of reasons. Maybe you just want to get out of the empty nest and do something with some of your abundant free time.

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That’s where this list of creative ways to pick up a side hustle during retirement comes in handy.

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Work Part Time at Your Old Job

One of the easiest ways to pick up a side hustle is to do it at your old job. If you’ve put in a lot of time and made a good name for yourself, the company may take you on part time. In a business where you were a higher executive, you could easily take on a position as a board member or a part-time supervisor, just running checks and balances.

You may not want to teach full time at your school anymore, but you could always sign up to be a substitute a few days a month. Maybe you don’t want the stress of bank management anymore, but you could be a teller one or two days a week. You get the idea.

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Be a Consultant

Can’t get hired part-time at your old job (or you don’t want to)? You could still use the skills and expertise you gained in your profession to benefit other companies as a consultant.

President Barack Obama made $400,000 per year as president of the United States. A few years ago, it was widely reported that he commands that same amount of money for a single speaking fee.

If you’ve built a strong reputation in your field, people may pay you to tell them about it. Now that’s a nice side hustle.

Make Money Doing Your Hobby

So many people have said they don’t want to have to make money doing something they love because then it will feel like work. Writers, artists, craftsmen, you name it. If this sounds like you, now might be the time to try your hand at making money for your passion. Why not?

If you’ve spent decades honing your craft but never asking anyone to pay you for it, now’s your chance. You could sell your art at the local farmer’s market or other festivals. You might sell your book to a publisher. Or you could sell your crafted wares at local shops.

The worst thing that can happen is you meet a lot of nice people and you fail. Then you just find another side hustle. There’s plenty to choose from.

Go for Fun, Not Money

If it was all about money, you may not have even retired. If you’ve got enough money to pay for your living expenses, between your Social Security check and whatever other savings you’ve accumulated, pick a side hustle that’s fun, not one that you expect to grow as a career.

Think of the thing that you’ve always said, “I’d love to (blank), but I would never make any money at it.”

Maybe you want to teach classes. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to be a bartender. Maybe you love books, and you’d love to work in a bookstore. You’re retired. You should be having fun. Why not make work fun too?

Pick Up a New Skill

Here’s another example of “I wish I could.” You spent your youth wishing you could speak Spanish, fix plumbing or make furniture. Do it now.

Studies have long shown that the more you learn in life and the longer you keep your brain active, the longer you stand to live and live well. That means learning a new skill may actually extend those retirement years well into the next decade and beyond.

So learn Spanish and then teach it. Learn to be a plumber and then take on handyman jobs. Learn to categorize books at the library and then get a job in your local library. There’s no reason not to start a whole new part-time career in your 70s, 80s and later.

Write About It

Have you lived a long life? Write about it. Have you struggled? Write about it. Do you have great typing skills? Write!

Blogging and content writing can be a lucrative business, especially for someone with nothing to lose. If you’re a decent writer and can type fast, pick up a blogging job at a writing platform and make a little extra cash helping businesses market themselves to their customers.

Sell Stuff

And when all else fails, sell some stuff. You can make money on eBay or Etsy selling your crafted products, reselling items in high demand or even cornering the market on up-and-coming trends.

You may even find you enjoy the thrill of finding what everyone else wants and putting it on the market for competitive prices.

In the end, this list is only seven of the many ways you can turn retirement into a fun and fruitful experience with a creative side hustle. Don’t forget not to let yourself stress out or go crazy for money. Find something interesting to fill your time, get into a good groove and make a little extra cash. These are, after all, your golden years.

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