Thinking about retirement is something that we’re all advised to do in a general way but in reality, everyone does it a little differently. Maybe you have life insurance or maybe you don’t. Maybe you have a tax-deferred savings account or perhaps you’re putting most of your investment into safe stock selections instead. Some people do annuities or go to the trouble of setting up a trust to keep their retired vacationing from eating through savings too quickly. All these methods are ways to create pre-determined income based on how you think you’ll be living when you’re older but as we all know, the best kind of income is the kind you’re still generating.
That’s part of the purpose of most profitable hobbies, often called a “side-hustle”, the ability to deliberately transform your time and effort into money, whether it’s something you do during evenings and weekends or it eventually takes over as your career. Most side hustles are things you can do at home like freelance programming or handicrafts you can sell on Etsy and ideally is something that can transform any sliver of spare time into additional income. However, the best part about a productive side hustle is that the same principle applies when you’re retired as well.
Why Side-Hustle After 65?
Nowhere is it written that retirees have to do nothing but sit in deck chairs or play golf. In fact, the entire point is that you can spend your retirement any way you want and many people do. Retirees are even well-known for having hobbies that could be profitable, though often aren’t put to good use. During this time, you’re probably pulling a static monthly income from retirement planning and annuities with very little way to alter that, except of course by generating an income the old-fashioned way. However, you don’t have to go back to work or even take up an experimental second career if you already have an enjoyable hobby that doubles as your side-hustle to bring in a little extra on top of your static retirement payments.
Choosing Retirement-Friendly Side Hustles
There are a lot of different kinds of side-hustle and some of them are better suited to carrying into your retirement years than others. If you, for instance, sell and build backyard sheds on the side, this may be somewhat challenging to manage as you get older. However, if you choose one or more profitable hobbies that can be done sitting down at a slow and steady pace, you are guaranteeing yourself a ticket to enjoyable income generation later in life when your body slows down but your mind and desire for income have not.
Profitable Side Hustles for Seniors
- Babysitting and Petsitting
- Music Lessons
- Homemaking Lessons
- Cooking
- Sewing
- Gardening
- Repair
- Carpentry
- Tutoring
- Airbnb
- Etsy Crafts
- Leatherworking
- Jewelry Making
- Crochet and Knitting
- Doll and Toy Making
- Freelance Writing
- Business or Financial Coaching
- Freelance Photography
What You Love Now – What You Can Do Later
The most important part about choosing your profitable hobbies today is to do what you love. Whether or not you love your day job, make sure that the things you do in your free time for spare cash can double as both recreation and profit generation. Not only will this make you happier and more fulfilled today, it will also mean that you’ll enjoy continuing to work your side hustles after retirement when they become your primary form of income control. The best part is that with a profitable hobby that you love carried into retirement, you’ll never get bored or completely broke because there will always be enjoyable paying work to do. Whether you’re a forward-thinking 19-year-old or already see retirement around the corner, it’s never too soon or too late to build a profitable side-hustle that will keep pleasantly generating income long after you retire.