Do you ever think about how you will spend your time when you retire? I was talking to my hubby recently about this subject and he said he wanted to take lots of holidays when he retires. Sounds good doesnt’ it? But you can’t be on holiday 52 weeks of the year! And you’ll need money if you want to take lots of well deserved breaks. So it got me thinking about retirement hobbies that make money. Something where you can spend your time doing something you enjoy and make a bit of money at the same time. Of course you don’t have to be retired to do any of these things but I’ve tried most of the hobbies I’m about to talk about and it’s quite challenging and tiring to fit them around a full-time job. And if you and your other half are both retired you could do them together. Let me know in the comments below which ones you fancy trying … or have tried.
Please Note: These hobbies take work to turn them into money-making hobbies, they’re not get-rich-quick schemes! You probably won’t make money immediately but if you spend some time understanding them and putting some effort into it then you will hopefully see a return from it..
Blogging
Obviously this is one of the retirement hobbies that make money, that I’m currently trying to grow. If you’re reading this blog post then you probably know what blogging is. Basically it’s writing short posts that interest you and that also help other people in some way. Your blog could be based around anything you’re interested in, but most come under the following categories:
- Lifestyle (this is my category … lifestyle for the woman over 50 and covers a little bit of everything)
- Food
- Travel
- Teaching English with TEFL
- Health & Fitness
- Fashion & Beauty
- Parenting
- Money
- DIY
- Business
There are lots more categories but those tend to be the main ones.
The three main ways bloggers make money is through:
Affiliate links
Links that readers click and go through to a page where they can buy the product you’re talking about. If they buy then you, as a blogger, get a small commission from the sale.
Affiliate programs offer bloggers a fantastic opportunity to earn additional income. By using affiliate links in your content, you direct your readers to products or services that you recommend. When they make a purchase through these links, you receive a small commission from the sale. This setup not only adds value to your blog by providing useful recommendations but also helps you generate revenue through affiliate programs.
Sponsored Posts
A post that reviews and recommends products, services, attractions etc. The company asking you to create the sponsored post pays you money to create and add it to your Blog site.
Adverts
Ad boxes placed on your blog site that earn you money when readers click on them … they don’t have to buy the product on this method.
I’ve already made a little money with my blog using sponsored posts and affiliate links and hopefully will make more!
I’ve also received gifted products, which means a company has given me things free in exchange for a mention in my blog. I only accept gifted products if it’s really something I want though.
You can find out more about how to start a blog and make it profitable here. I’m a student of this course myself and if you click on the link and purchase the course I’ll make a little commission from it!.
Ever thought of setting up as a pet sitter or dog walker as a way to make extra money? Here’s a guide to how to do it!
Start Your Own YouTube Channel
If you don’t fancy writing blog posts then how about creating videos for YouTube. Again this is something I have done myself … you can find The Geordie Grandma YouTube Channel here.
Again, just like blogging there are YouTube channels for just about every subject you can think of. You just need to think of something that interests you. Have a search on YouTube to see what other channels are talking about around that topic. Do they have lots of videos and lots of subscribers? If so then it’s possible you can do the same. (But don’t just copy them!).
YouTubers make money through similar methods to blogging.
- Sponsored videos: If you have lots of subscribers on your YouTube channel then companies will be happy to send you their products (either for free or they’ll pay you) to review and talk about on your videos. Personally I’ve never been paid by a company to do this but I have received products free. The more followers you have on YouTube, the more you’re likely to get a company to pay you.
- Affiliate links: You can mention products and services in your videos and include a clickable affiliate link in the description box below your video. You’ll receive a small commission if someone clicks through and buys.
- Adverts: Once you reach 1000 subscribers and have 4,000 watch hours over 12 months then YouTube will pay you for the adverts they run on your channel before your videos or during your videos.
I haven’t reached the required numbers to take advantage of YouTube ad revenue but to be honest I didn’t get into YouTube to make money, it was just a hobby! That’s not to say I won’t try to make money from it in future.
Something you need to think about when you doing any kind of work online that involves using the internet is your upload vs download speed on your computer. It can be extremely frustrating when it takes forever to upload photos or videos to your blog or you’re trying to download free images to use in your blog posts. You need to make sure it’s as quick and easy as possible.
You don’t necessarily need to sign up to a course to learn how to create a Youtube channel. Just search on YouTube for videos that show you how to do it and what equipment you need (I just use my iphone and a tripod stand with ring light plus free video editing software).
Writing
There are several ways to use your creative writing passion as a retirement hobby to make money. These include:
- Articles for magazines or newspapers
- Blog posts – some bloggers will actually pay other people to write blog posts for them
- Ebooks – this is one I’ve done myself. I used to be a social media trainer and created an ebook that gave people 365 social media tips. I approached a publisher with it and was delighted when they said they’d accept it and publish it as an ebook. This was quite a few years ago and it’s way out of date so please don’t buy it!). I made a couple of hundred pounds from it. But you don’t need a publisher to create ebooks and sell them on Amazon, just do it yourself. If you can write a few ebooks and promote them well, you could make some decent holiday spending money.
- Fiction – writing stories for magazines or even a novel … retirement is the ideal time to get those creative juices flowing.
I subscribed to Writing Magazine for a few years and found their articles and tips really useful (and very interesting). There are also tons of books on the subject, just do a search on Amazon for the type of writing you’re interested in and check out the reviews before you buy.
Start an Ebay Business
I don’t just mean selling the stuff around your house that you don’t want (although you could start with that). Think about other items that interest you. It could be antique china, vintage kitchenware, paintings, pottery, vintage clothes etc. Get yourself out and about to car boot sales, charity shops and auction houses to pick up some interesting pieces cheaply. Then set up your ebay account and get photographing and listing.
It’s better if you buy and sell items that interest you as you’re more likely to enjoy your hobby/business.
I have ran an ebay business for a few years now, buying secondhand goods cheaply and selling them for a profit. You can get lots of reselling tips from my previous blog posts.
Finding Items to Resell From Your Local Auction
A Day in the Life of an Ebay Reseller
Become a Public Speaker
If speaking in front of an audience doesn’t fill you with dread then public speaking could be one of those retirement hobbies that make money. There are lots of opportunities to get paid for public speaking:
- Trade Events
- Clubs & Associations
- Universities
- Special Interest Groups
- Schools
- Conferences
- Dinner Events
If you have expertise in a subject then you have something to say that will interest people. If you like the thought of public speaking but don’t know how to put together a speech or how to deliver it, then Toastmasters is a great place to learn. There are clubs all around the UK (and across the world) that hold regular weekly meetings. I was a member for a couple of years and found it invaluable for practising my public speaking technique for delivering seminars at business events. I remember being terrified the first time I stood up and spoke but it got a whole lot easier after doing it a few times. Go along to a meeting a couple of times to try it out for free before you join. It’s not all serious speeches either, there are impromptu 2 minute speeches where you get to know the topic just as you stand up and longer speeches that you get a few weeks to perfect. Toastmasters can be a lot of fun and is also a great place to make new friends.
Crafting Hobbies
Personally I’m not a very crafty person, but my sister-in-law is a craft fair organiser and there are quite a few older men, women and couples who take space at her events. There are many different crafting hobbies that make money including:
- Jewellery making
- Greetings cards
- Wax melts & Candles
- Bottle lights
- Cakes
- Bath bombs
- Paintings
- Fairy houses
- Wooden signs
- Knitted items
- Sewing … make your own cushion covers or even dog coats
- Pottery
I could go on but you get the idea. Just google craft hobbies and you’ll come up with hundreds of creative crafts that would make good retirement hobbies that make money. For example, laser cutting is growing in popularity as it allows you to create intricate designs on wood, acrylic, and other materials, perfect for personalized gifts or decor items. You could sell your finished creations on Etsy or book a table at a craft fair local to you. I did try my hand at making pompom xmas trees and wreaths a while back. I sold a few but like I said I’m not a very crafty person so decided it wasn’t for me.
If you’re unsure as to what craft you’d like to pursue, then why not visit a few local craft fairs and see what other people are doing. Chat to the stall holders and ask them about the pros and cons. You’ll come away with lots of ideas to help make your choice.
Tarot Card Reader
If the mystical arts fascinate you then turning your tarot card hobby into a way of making money could be the way to go. I’ve been to many local fairs and events and a lot of them feature a tarot card reader. So they’re obviously popular. If you’re going to try this then I imagine you have to have a real interest in the subject and be quite good at interpreting the cards! There are tons of books on learning how to read tarot cards and I’ve bought a couple of them in the past.
The Rider Waite Tarot Deck and Terry Donaldson’s Step By Step Tarot Book are a great place to start learning.
Or if you fancy something a little bit different then The Mystical Cats Tarot are absolutely beautiful.
I’ve never done this as a way to make money but I did have an interest in learning about it. It’s quite an in-depth subject and you’ll need a lot of practice before you let yourself loose on a paying public, so maybe try out your newfound tarot skills on your friends and family first.
All of the above would make really fun hobbies for retired women, retired men, or even retired couples. Just pick one that takes your fancy, do lots of research into it, and get started. What have you got to lose?