Many people look forward to retirement for obvious reasons. After spending so much time working, they imagine they’ll enjoy relaxing for a change.
However, it’s also common for retirees to find out that relaxing is only interesting and engaging to a certain extent. They’re so used to being productive that they seek out other means of doing so. That’s why retirees often take on other jobs—as well as the fact that many pensions, savings, and 401(k) plans fail to provide the income retirees need to live the life they want.
It’s also why some retirees find satisfaction and fulfillment from developing passive income strategies. Passive income projects are ideal for those who’ve retired because they involve some degree of work to establish, but not so much work that it feels like another full-time career.
The following examples illustrate how you can continue making money after leaving your job. They may inspire you to consider working on passive income projects of your own once you retire.
Affiliate Blogging
You don’t need to reach typical “retirement age” to retire. Some people set a goal of working hard, saving money, and investing intelligently for several years in order to retire early and spend the rest of their lives pursuing their interests.
That was the case for J.P. Livingston, a young retiree profiled by jobs website TheLadders.Com. At just 28 years old, she has already retired after working in finance. Livingston earned a relatively high income for someone in her demographic, stowing away and investing as much money as possible so she could retire early. She explains that working hard convinced her that she wanted to simply relax and indulge in a less stressful lifestyle once she reached her goal of retirement.
However, like many retirees, she realized this type of lifestyle wasn’t as exciting as she assumed it would be. That’s why she started a finance blog. The topic had always interested her, and she believed it would give her something interesting to do with all her newfound free time.
What Livingston did not anticipate was earning a large enough following to justify monetizing her blog. Although hosting advertisements on the blog has yielded some monthly revenue, she makes most of her money via affiliate marketing. This is when a blogger recommends a product and earns a percentage of all sales that arise from the blog. In just one year, this strategy earned her approximately $60,000.
You could do the same. If there is a topic you enjoy writing about (that relates to products people sell), starting a blog and researching affiliate marketing opportunities could be a way to explore your interests and make money on the side in retirement.
Renting Your Property
Turning your home into a money-making asset is one strategy financial experts often recommend to retirees looking for ways to earn passive income. Upon retirement, many people decide they would like to travel more. Unfortunately, not everyone feels they have enough money saved to justify doing so. On the other hand, many retirees have a potential source of income younger people typically don’t—they own a home.
That’s why it’s a smart idea to rent out your property as a retiree, whether that means renting out one room or putting your entire home up for lease while you move into a cheaper apartment. You could also use a service like Airbnb to rent out a room or your home on a short-term basis. This can work particularly well if you want to travel often. While you’re away, your property is making money for you, helping reduce the cost of your vacations.
Sell Your Creative Work
Many people dream of a lifestyle that allows them to focus on creative pursuits. Many people also find that such opportunities are scarce when they’re at a point in life where working full-time and generating a substantial income is a priority. Finding a job that pays well and also allows you to indulge your creativity is no easy feat. That’s why many people only begin truly working on their creative projects during retirement.
If you’re such a person, you could also sell your work. If you take photographs or create any other type of visual art, you can sell items on a website like Etsy. If you write poetry, fiction, or any other kind of creative writing, you could publish an ebook and sell it online. If you enjoy playing music, you could create and monetize a YouTube channel featuring tutorials. While all these strategies involve some work, if you enjoy it, it won’t feel like work.
These three ideas represent just some of the ways it’s possible to earn money on the side during retirement. Again, many people find that simply relaxing after leaving their job isn’t as fulfilling as they expected it to be, or that their retirement savings just aren’t enough for their needs. However, by focusing on one of these strategies, you can continue earning money and work on a project you actually enjoy for once.