by Andrea Norris-McKnight

A side income can be a great way to earn extra income or just stay active and busy during retirement. These tips can help you create a successful side income during your retirement years.

As you wind down your busy career and enter retirement, you may be busy nailing down exactly where and when your income will be available. But what if you’d like to add additional income streams to your retirement? Or what if you’d like to just stay busy?

To help us understand how to create a side income in retirement, we reached out to Michelle Schroeder-Gardner. She’s responsible for the popular blog “Making Sense of Cents” and has written on making extra spending money and starting a blog. We posed some questions on gigs during retirement. Here’s what she had to say:

Q: Why might it be wise to have extra side income during retirement years?

Michelle: Making extra money when you are retired is a good idea because you might want to have some extra spending money. You may want to add more to your retirement, you may just want to be a little more diversified, or you may just be looking for a productive way to spend your time.

By making extra money even though you are retired, you may be able to live a little more comfortably instead of entirely relying on the money you have sitting in your retirement accounts.

Q: You have a whole section of your blog devoted to extra income. Do you have any recommendations for retirees and side income options? What kind of side income would work best for a retiree?

Michelle: There are many things that a retired person could do in order to earn extra money. A retired person could become a landlord, sell crafts, start a blog, tutor others, and so on. Basically, whatever you are up for doing, there is probably some way to earn extra income from it. I recommend thinking about what you are interested in and seeing if someone in that industry may be hiring. Or, you could even break out on your own and start a side business.

Q: Where might a retiree find side income work? Online or in person?

Michelle: A retiree can find side income work both online and offline. Offline work can be great as you may be looking to get out in the “real world” and socialize with others. Online work is great because the work usually has flexible hours, which may appeal to you more.

Q: What kind of forethought or planning should a retiree do before looking into a side income opportunity?

Michelle: There are many things that a retiree should think about before they try to earn side money. By doing a little research, you may save yourself time and headaches.

Some of the things a retiree may want to think about include:

• How will earning side money impact the taxes you have to pay each year?
• How much time do you have to devote to a side income opportunity?
• What kind of schedule are you looking to have?
• What are you interested in doing?
• Do you have a background or related skills in what you are interested in doing?

Q: What do you find that people forget to think about, or forget to do/plan for, when looking for a side income opportunity?

Michelle: The main thing that many forget to think about and plan for is when it comes to taxes. When you earn a side income, you do have to pay taxes on the amount that you are making. You should figure out how this may impact your financial situation, how much you should set aside each time you earn money, and so on.

A side income is such a great idea for extra money or even staying active and busy during retirement. Hopefully these tips from Michelle will get you on the right path towards a possible side income during your retirement years.

• Side Gigs Well-Suited for Retirement
• Making Money From a Retirement Hobby
• Starting a Business in Retirement
• Part-Time Jobs Ideal for Retirees

Reviewed September 2022