Did you know there are hobbies that can both bring you joy and also bring you additional income?
Do you have any hobbies that you were worried would not end up being useful? Think again! There’s always a way in which you can use any sort of knowledge you may have in various domains, and hobbies are just another way to enrich your skill set. The best part of it is that you can easily find jobs that will put the skills you learned from your hobbies to good use! That way, you can both do something you enjoy while also making money off it.
To help you find a way to make an extra income during retirement, we have found some of the best jobs you can get from your hobbies that you are going to love. They are easy to do, and since they are related to something you already like, they will not feel like work at all!
Keep on reading to discover these amazing jobs!
City tour guide
This is great if you decide to retire in the city where you have been living for years or that has been your home for a long time. A lot of people have between their hobbies knowing more about their city and becoming familiar with the history of the places they inhabit. If you are one of them, then you can easily end up making extra income during your retirement while also staying true to your hobby.
Being a local tour guide can pay off big time, and it is an easy job to take up if you already find it enjoyable to share information about your hobbies and you love to interact with people and visitors. You can pick this job up on a part-time basis, which will mean that it will not occupy a lot of your time and that you will also not get too tired as a result.
You can also see if your local museums or tour companies are looking for people for the tourist season. After all, there’s a need for a lot of different types of tour guides, from anything about history to art, food, and architecture! You will be able to find something that aligns with your hobbies, and that will be exactly what the companies are looking for!
Surveys
If you love the idea of having one of your hobbies end up telling people your opinion, know that you can achieve that by also making it your job! There is money to be made when you share your opinion about certain items and products. It is quite easy if you know where to look for them, and you can make an easy income by participating in focus groups and surveys, both online and in person.
It may sound like it is not true, but companies do want to pay people to give them feedback on their products and items. Do not expect to get rich from doing online surveys, but it is easy to work, and any extra income is welcomed if you can do a few of them when you have some spare time. Generally, they will not last more than a couple of minutes!
Focus groups are a bit different, and you will have to set aside a few hours to go there in person, but the pay is much better. You can make a few hundred dollars, depending on what the group is focused on. Keep an eye out for them!
Pet sitter or walker
If loving animals is part of you and one of your hobbies is to read about different types of animals, breeds, and their behavior, then why not transform it into a way to make some more money?
It will not feel like much of a job, and if you cannot afford to keep a pet of your own or you cannot take care of one full time, this way is great to make sure that you can also get in some interaction with some of your favorite fuzzy friends.
You can pick up pet walking and take out some of the pets in your neighborhood while also getting in some exercise yourself. Another option would also be to offer pet-sitting services! A lot of pet owners like to travel, and you can offer to come over and take care of their pets while they are away. This will include cleaning up after the animal, feeding them, playing with them, and even grooming them if needed.
If you have had a pet before and have experience taking care of animals, you should not find it hard to find clients. The only thing to keep in mind about picking up any of these jobs is knowing your limits—whether or not you can handle large animals and if you are fit enough to walk for long periods of time!
Once you get started, through word of mouth and good reviews, you will be getting more and more work!
If you want to make sure that you are ready to walk more dogs at the same time and you do not want to run the risk of tangling the leashes, invest in a multiple dog leash! Here is the one we recommend!
Taking care of children
If you have experience taking care of children, then you may have hit a goldmine. There are a lot of parents who work full-time and would love to have someone that is going to be able to watch their kids and pick them up from school and kindergarten until they get back home.
And if you have kids and grandkids of your own, then you are already prepared for what this is going to entail. Picking kids up, helping them with homework, feeding them, and playing with them The best thing is that it is all up to you to decide what you will agree to and what the parents need help with. If you end up doing more of a tutoring job, then you will be able to charge more than you would for just babysitting!
Proofreader and copyediting
If one of your hobbies is reading and you are passionate about grammar, then this one is for you, and you will not even feel like you are working if you decide to pick it up. Think about it this way: if your hobbies include making sure your English is impeccable and you love to read, it should come naturally to you to be able to spot errors in the text. Then you’re the perfect fit for something like copyediting and proofreading.
These jobs will entail checking texts for grammar and spelling errors, as well as doing some fact-checking about the topic you are reading and editing. It may also entail having to become familiar with a guideline and style guide for certain jobs, but they are generally easy to get the hang of, so you will not find it too difficult.
It will be a perk if you are already familiar with certain styles of writing, like the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook. Recruiters find this type of knowledge very important, and it may be what puts you ahead of other people. Just like that, you can find a way to turn one of their hobbies into something profitable!
And if you are worried about how your income will be taxed during retirement, we got some good news! Read all about the types of retirement income which are not taxable!
