Choosing the best side hustle for your retirement years comes down to a number of factors, including your physical health. (You won’t, for instance, want to take on a part-time gig as a dog walker if you struggle with mobility.) You’ll also have to determine how much time you want to dedicate to the side hustle—and what your financial needs are.
Here are some good side hustles for retirees to consider that have good income potential, as well as additional benefits.
Tutoring
Whether you retired from a job as a teacher or as a corporate leader, those skills could still be valuable to today’s students. Schoolkids who are struggling with core classes can always use help and anyone with expertise in specialized areas can tutor on sites like Wyzant. You set your hourly rate and (on Wyzant), collect 75 percent of that for each lesson. Top tutors, the site says, earn more than $50,000 per year.
Setting up a craft storefront
Retirement gives you a chance to pursue your hobbies. If those include creative expressions, there could be a market for them, whether that’s painting, crafting, composing, or making jewelry. Online markets like Etsy, Artisans Cooperative, and Bonanza are good places to explore launching an online store. Etsy is one of the most popular places to do so, with a built-in customer base. Listing an item costs 20 cents, and there’s a 6.5 percent transaction fee on the sale price. Etsy can also help advertise your goods beyond its site, for another cut of the sale price. If your interests lean more towards musical endeavors, you can explore services like Bandcamp and LANDR.
Rideshare driver
If you’re finding retirement to be a bit lonely, taking a side hustle as a driver for Lyft, Uber, or some other rideshare service could let you interact with a wide variety of new people. You’ll set your own schedule and the income isn’t bad (averaging just over $21 per hour, according to ZipRecruiter). Not only will it get you out of the house, it’s also a chance to start making money almost immediately.
Tour guide
If you’ve lived and worked in the same town for years, you might know it better than most people. That knowledge can be invaluable in launching a tour guide side hustle (especially if you happen to live in a destination city). Think of what you’ve learned in your years of living there and what interesting facts you’ve uncovered in that time—things like historical anecdotes, local legends, or ghost stories. Whatever it is, find a niche that other tour companies aren’t already covering. Use platforms like Facebook, Upwork, and Viator to market yourself. Some guides say they average between $100 and $300 per tour, often earning much more. And, like rideshare side hustles, it’s a good way to stay social.
Substitute teacher
Prefer to pass on what you’ve learned in person, rather than via online tutoring sessions? Many school districts are eagerly looking for substitute teachers. There are virtually no startup costs, you won’t have to do a lot of prep (as that’s largely the teacher’s responsibility) and it will let you set your own schedule. Plus, you won’t have to grade any tests or papers. Just be aware that it might not be the best option for people whose patience levels are low, and you’ll be flying by the seat of your pants sometimes. The pay generally hovers between $130 and $200 per day (depending on the grade you sub for and your own educational experience).