Compounding works for building retirement savings, and the more you have to put into your investments, the more compounding can work for you. If you are building your retirement savings and have a traditional job, you might think that your options for additional income are limited. For those who are post-retirement, you might want some ways to boost your income that do not involve the nine-to-five grind. Here are a few ideas that you can use to build a retirement income that does not involve a traditional job.
Are You Looking to Downsize?
Many people find that when they retire, they need much less “stuff” than they needed in their working years. This stuff accumulates in the closets, garages, and storage sheds. If you have been thinking of downsizing, you can use all these accumulated items to earn some extra cash to boost your retirement savings. You can get much more from your items by selling them online on sites like Poshmark, eBay, and Decluttr than you would at a garage sale.
Let Your Experience Work for You
If you spent years in a professional trade, you have something valuable that you can turn into a part-time business. If you have been a financial advisor, attorney, or manager in almost any field, you have valuable knowledge earned through years of experience. Others need your experience and insight. Some consultants earn a hefty salary for their hard-earned knowledge and skills to augment their retirement savings.
Start a Blog
If you have a passion or hobby, starting a blog can be an excellent way to boost your income and do something that you love. Do you love to travel? If you do, then filming and writing about your experiences can earn you extra retirement savings. Bloggers earn incomes by selling products, through affiliate marketing, and sponsorships. It is a bonus if you start a YouTube channel and earn passive income every time someone watches your videos.
Bookkeeper
If you have experience as a bookkeeper, accountant, or tax professional, you can continue putting those skills to work after you retire. Many small businesses need professionals to help them with their bookkeeping. You can earn as much working for yourself as you did when you were keeping the books for a larger company. Only now, you get to set your own schedule.
Freelance Writer or Proofreader
If you have excellent English skills, the demand for writers and proofreaders continues to grow. You can choose to work for many online platforms that have a steady stream of content to be written. If you cringe when someone makes a grammar mistake, you might have found your new calling as a proofreader. Both these opportunities can earn as much as $20-25 dollars or more per hour.
How Much Will It Help?
Having a part-time job or a new career when you retire can give you a considerable boost. If you are 35 years old and make a pre-tax income of $80,000, by investing 10% of your income, you will have about $0.91 million in retirement savings by age 67. If you find a way to increase that by $500 per month through part-time work, you will have $1.6 million by age 67. As you can see, a little extra adds up when it comes to compounding. Not to mention, you can continue saving and building wealth when you retire, and this can help your retirement savings last longer.
Before you decide to explore these opportunities, you need to consider a few things like the tax liabilities, and whether it will reduce any other benefits you might receive. The jobs on this list still allow you to keep your retirement lifestyle. You can set your own hours and decide how much you want to work and earn. You can probably think of many more ways to turn your skills into extra cash so that you can enjoy the retirement of your dreams.