You may be among the third of Americans who worry they won’t have enough money to live comfortably after retirement† . Or you may be feeling good about your savings but believe that having some kind of work will give you a more satisfying post-retirement life. Either way, there’s good news.
Opportunities exist for making money after retirement, and they’re easier to find than you might think. Building a plan now can help make the transition to retirement smoother and more rewarding.
Here are some tips to consider.
- If want to continue in your line of work, start planning before you retire. It’s easier to find opportunities in your industry while you still have a job and can easily talk to colleagues. Find out if your employer, or others like it, is hiring experienced part-time workers. If you have an advanced degree, you may be able to leverage your experience into a teaching job at a college. Here’s some good online advice about looking for work.
- Learn from people like you. There are blogs and websites that give real insight into the opportunities and challenges of working after retirement. Retiredbrains.com covers a whole range of retirement angles, including job-seeking and working at home.
- Consider launching a small business. You may want to leverage skills learned at work to buy a franchise or you may want to turn a passion like cooking or woodworking into profit. We’ve distilled some relevant advice in “Tips from people who started a business after retiring.”
- Sell your skills or products online. Companies like Etsy (sell your hobby crafts), Rover (walk or board a dog for money), and Thumbtack (sell skills like carpentry or painting) all work by connecting customers with workers or their products. It can sound easier than it is, so read, “Tricks for selling your skills and products online,” with advice from seniors who have learned how to make real money this way.
- Right-size before retiring. Life changes, such as when kids are out of the house, can provide opportunities to both save and earn money, which can help set you up for more flexibility after retiring. Consider selling things like tools or clothes locally on websites like Letgo, or “newish” electronic gear on Swappa.
If you have two cars but don’t really need both, selling one brings cash and savings in terms of gas, insurance, and repairs. If you have extra space in your home, you can rent an unused room on Airbnb.
And make sure your loyalty programs and credit cards are geared for the way you will spend money in retirement. For example, Huntington’s Voice Credit Card® 3x Rewards‡ lets you select categories like discount and warehouse stores or grocery stores, and you can earn 3% cash back on the first $2,000 that you spend each quarter in the category of your choice.
Or, you can choose the Voice Credit Card® Lower Rates where you get a lower APR than the rewards card, saving you finance charges.
