Side Hustles During Retirement?
Retirement for many Americans can be a stressful time when it comes to finances. Not enough savings, illness and housing challenges are several big issues that can thwart a comfortable golden age. Expenses seem to increase quicker than income.
Social security is only partially indexed to inflation and most non-governmental pensions have no cost of living adjustment and therefore lose purchasing power over time. What’s a senior to do?
Enter the Side Hustle. Part time work that the older generation can do and might even be the perfect fit for, in a variety of businesses. Let’s look at some examples.
A recent article by Holly Johnson at The Simple Dollar focused on five opportunities for seniors including doing paid searches, taking paid surveys, becoming an online freelancer, rideshare driver or virtual assistant. Companies like Swagbucks, Qmee, usertesting.com, ipoll.com, taskrabbit.com, handybook.com, Uber, Lyft and Upwork.com are creating solutions in the marketplace with an additional ability to earn cash and gift cards.
Most of these companies offer flexible hours and locations. That’s ideal for retirees who have periods of time available, but want to do other recreational or travel adventures, and only work part time.
Other side hustles include being a guide for experiences in local art, fashion, design, eating, drinking, architecture, history and outdoors among other cultural endeavors while telling unique stories about your area of interest and expertise.
Not to be ignored as a potential part time money maker is renting out a room via Airbnb. Make sure you know the local laws before you venture into this. Alternatively, you can teach English online. I found a list of 8 different companies paying for this service but be sure to vet them first. Companies like Chegg.com are one example that offer an opportunity to become a paid tutor online for all kinds of subjects.
And finally, because this is by no means a complete list, consider pet sitting or pet vacation boarding. If you’re a pet lover, what a fun way to make some money!
Now there’s little excuse for not being able to supplement your savings, social security and pensions with a side hustle (or maybe even more than one). Give it a try after you’ve checked out the scene and talked to someone who has experience with your side hustle of interest.
