Your bills don’t automatically disappear after retirement; you must keep paying them. Perhaps, you crave a little bit of luxury, but your retirement benefit isn’t robust enough to cover it. That’s why you need to generate additional income. This article will show you different ways to make money and still live comfortably as a retiree.
1. Re-sell Products Online
You can run a profitable online business from the comfort of your home. The key to selling online is finding a wholesaler who offers products at significantly discounted rates and selling them at a higher price.
Luckily, you don’t need to visit the wholesaler’s physical location to pick up items when you place an order. You can have items from anywhere in the world delivered to your doorstep. You can even sell handmade products online, like jewelry, scarves, paintings, customized T-shirts, and gift boxes.
Online businesses do not require large start-up capital. So, you can fund them from your savings. However, you can explore other financing options like crowdfunding, small business loans, bank credit, or reverse mortgage. The borrowers’ home equities secure all reverse mortgage loans. So, you won’t feel under pressure to repay immediately as long as you continue living in your home. Consider launching an e-commerce store if you plan to run your enterprise on a larger scale.
2. Rent Your Space
The empty space in your home can potentially be your side-hustle. There are different websites like Airbnb that can help you put such an area to good use. As an Airbnb host, you can rent a room to a temporary housemate. You can even rent out your whole house if you’re out of town or on vacation.
Another way to leverage the extra space in your home is by renting out storage space. In that case, it’s best to rent out areas that customers can easily access, like a basement with a separate entrance, garage, or an outbuilding on your property. Alternatively, put up your attic or spare bedrooms for rent. Before renting out your space, you’ll need to find time to declutter by discarding items or making donations to others in need. When the room is clear, take enough pictures to showcase to prospective renters.
3. Offer Childcare
Some parents need someone to watch their children for a few hours before they close from work. If you have neighbors or friends with preschool children, you can offer to watch the kids while their parents are at work. You can also provide after-school pickup services for parents with older kids. Ensure you first check any insurance or licensing requirements for such services with local authorities.
4. Consider Freelance Writing
Think about your knowledge on specific topics like nutrition, finance, parenting, food, or travel. If you are a decent writer, you can put such knowledge to good use through freelance writing. There are various websites out there willing to pay people like you for such services.
Alternatively, you can start a blog where you’ll upload content centered on your area of experience. You can build traffic on your website and monetize it by posting ads for various brands. If you opt for blogging, you’ll need to hire someone to develop your website or do it yourself if you are tech-savvy.
5. Become a Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants are becoming more popular because they allow businesses to reduce expenses through outsourcing. As a virtual executive assistant, you can be in charge of responding to emails, taking calls, scheduling bookings on a calendar, reviewing customer spreadsheets, or keeping online records. You might even perform other personal assistant duties like ordering gifts, booking travel and accommodation, or organizing events and conferences.
To start off as a virtual assistant, create an online presence like a website or a social media page and sell yourself as a communication expert. Ecommerce business owners and bloggers will likely require your services. So, find them online, follow their social media pages, and showcase your skill. Also, try searching websites like PeoplePerHour for virtual assistant roles. Depending on your availability, you can have multiple clients at a time to increase your earnings.
6. Start a Dog Walking Business
Busy dog owners find it challenging to create time to walk their dogs. If you love dogs, you can meet their needs and get paid. Luckily, starting a dog walking business is not difficult, and it only takes one to two hours daily.
Once you find out the local requirements for dog walking businesses and meet them, you’re ready for business. You can start by speaking to your neighbors who own dogs. Over time, you’ll build a reputation as a reliable dog walker and have several dogs from different clients to walk.
7. Offer Online Lessons
There are many parents around the world in need of experts to tutor their kids on various subjects. You can leverage this opportunity by providing online tutoring services.
If you want to offer online classes, first determine what subject you can teach comfortably and who your target audience will likely be. Next, formulate the course model that will be convenient for you and suit your target audience. Afterward, register as an online tutor on a tutoring website and look for potential clients.
