April 2, 2021

Retirement Jobs and Side Hustles for Teachers

Teaching math
Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash

Many retired teachers want to work in retirement.  Teachers have unique skills that make them perfect for all kinds of jobs and businesses.

This article will present some ideas to get you thinking.  Many of these possibilities can be approached as either a job working for someone else, or as your own business.

Freelance Proofreader

It seems like everyone is writing these days.  Publishing your own book is now an available option to almost everyone.  There are millions of blogs.  People everywhere are creating content (an income source in its own right.)

But not everyone is a perfect writer.  And even good writers need their work to be proofread.  This creates an opportunity for some teachers.  Teachers have spent years reviewing the writing of others and they are used to really looking at the details.  These are the perfect qualities of a good proofreader.  It is not for everyone, but if you like detailed work it might be perfect.

Freelance Translator

The world is getting smaller, but the world still speaks many different languages.  If you are bilingual, you have an in demand marketable skill.  Foreign language teachers are the obvious fit for a translator, but many other teachers have experience in more than one language.

Graphics Artist

Good graphics are always in demand.  While there are many sources of online graphics small businesses often need something custom.  If you are an art teacher, or any teacher with a creative side this may be an opportunity for you.  You can always take a course or two to polish your skills.

Tutor

There have always been companies hiring tutors to help anxious parents dealing with a child having trouble with math or reading.  Others specialize in helping high school students prepare for the SATs to improve their odds of getting into the college of their choice.  Most tutoring companies love hiring retired teachers that have the required skills and credentials.

Online Courses

As a teacher you probably have knowledge gained over many years of experience.  Why not create an online course?  There are multiple online platforms that will host your course for a share in the profits.  And there are even online courses that teach you how to create online courses!

Teach Writing

The Internet is all about content these days.  That means decent writing skills are a must.  There are people out there that have a lot to say but could use some help polishing their writing skills.  If you are a teacher with that kind of experience it is a natural fit.

Teach Business Math

There are great small business owners out there that admit to being terrible at math.  They have great people skills and good business sense but could use some help improving their basic business math skills.  This could take the form of personal tutoring, online tutoring, or even a book, video, or workshop.

Paid Speaker

For some getting up and speaking in front of others is torture, but there is always a demand for good speakers.  Retired teachers have spent a lifetime standing in front of a difficult crowd!  You could speak about your funny teaching experiences, how students learn, or a host of other topics.  Parent groups could be a good market to target.

Bookkeeper

A Bookkeeper can be your full or part time job, or your full or part time business.  Many small businesses would rather concentrate on running and growing their business and let someone else handle the books.  Teachers that like detailed business math can make great bookkeepers.

In recent years what is needed to call yourself a bookkeeper has changed.  Software like Quickbooks and online accounting offerings have expanded who can “handle the books.”  You don’t necessarily need to know all the accounting principles, just the software in theory.  However, knowing the accounting behind the software certainly helps and the more you know the more valuable you are to your clients.

Book Publisher

Amazon and other services have completely transformed who can be a book publisher.  While the barriers to entry have fallen considerably you still need a quality product and good marketing strategy.

Many teachers have the writing ability to write articles and the natural extension to this is writing a book.  There is lots of online information to help you make this happen.

There are many other possibilities for retired teachers.  Hopefully, these ideas will help get you thinking of what might work for you.

Filed Under: Money Stuff, Work Leave a Comment
March 12, 2021

Retirement Jobs From Home

Home office
Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

For many an important part of the retirement life is not having to face the daily commute.  Luckily there are lots of ways to make some income that don’t involve leaving your home.  Like many retirement sources of income many are little businesses rather than traditional jobs.  Here are some to get you thinking.

Ebay Seller

Selling on EBay has to be one of the older ways to make money online for ordinary folks.  While EBay has changed if can still be a reliable source for a temporary or permanent income stream.

The basics are the same.  Look around your house and see what you might sell.  Most households have at least some things, even those that have pared down their belongings before.  See what makes sense.  Old Lawnmowers are difficult to ship and might be a better candidate for Craigslist!  Then you can expand by finding things that you can buy and resell for a profit, all from the comfort of your desk.

AirBNB

AirBNB shows up on many “Make extra money” lists, and for good reason.  People all around the world are renting out their spare room to make a little extra money.

Those spare rooms left after the kids moved out might be worth much more than you expect on a nightly basis.  It helps if you happen to be near a tourist area, but the system works almost anywhere.  Many business travelers prefer AirBNB to traditional hotels and this creates a market almost anywhere.

Your AirBNB business (and it is a business) can take many forms.  You need to cover the basics – a clean and relatively quiet spot helps.  You need to decide what amenities you offer.  Many customers like to socialize a bit and AirBNB people say they enjoy meeting all the new people.

Article and Blog Post Writer

Almost anyone with reasonable writing ability can write an article and these can be turned into another income stream.  The Internet and most websites starve for quality content, and retired authors can help fill that need.

The difficult news is that there is a lot of competition out there that has really lowered payment rates for writers.  The good news is that there is a huge need so if you can find a way to differentiate yourself there is still a demand with reasonable income.

Fiverr Service Provider

Fiverr started out as a website where people could supply all kinds of services for $5.00.  It has evolved into more than that, but the basics are still the same.  Take a look at the site and see if there are services that you could provide.  The trick is to find services that are in demand but where you can still make a reasonable profit.

Pet Sitter

People love their pets.  When they are away they need to decide what to do.  This is a real problem for them and an opportunity for retired people looking for income.  Some pets do fine when they are boarded at kennels.  Others are more spoiled or don’t handle the noise and commotion of a kennel.  This is where a pet sitter comes in.

Of course, if the point is to stay at home it means you will care for the pets in your own home.

Selling Crafts

Selling crafts from home is one of those things where you can do it because you love it and want to make a little money, or purely as a money-making opportunity.  Most crafts take time and if you figure out your hourly income it is sometimes difficult to justify purely from a financial standpoint.  But there are exceptions.  You have to figure out something that people want and are willing to pay for, but can be made efficiently.

Web Designer

There was a time when almost anyone could study a few books and hang out a shingle and call themselves a web designer.  While those days are mostly done there are still opportunities.

Knowing how to design web sites is a skill that is so useful that almost everyone should learn it.  Websites are a requirement for many income sources and that provides an opportunity if you have the skills.

WordPress is a good place to start and getting a basic website up and running is not difficult.  Learning the details and keeping up with upgrades and latest plugins can make your skills much more valuable.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistants first became popular back when small online business owners figured out they could hire assistants offshore for a fraction of what it costs to hire an employee.  Virtual assistants can theoretically handle any task that can be done via the phone and Internet.

Good Virtual Assistants work hand in hand with the business owner or manager.  They are proficient with office applications, searching and using the internet, and accomplishing all kinds of tasks via the Internet and phone for the owner.  There are lots of articles out there about how to find a good Virtual Assistant.  Look at these as a guide to setting up your own VA business.

YouTube Creator

YouTube has taken the world by storm and you hear about people having their own channel with millions of subscribers.  Can you be one of them.?

There are several strategies that can be used on You Tube, but most involve getting viewers first.  Then strategies revolve around:

  • Advertising
  • Influencing
  • Partnering
  • Selling stuff

The key seems to be consistency and really caring about what you are talking about.

Equipment for your videos is like photography.  You can start out simply with just your cellphone or you can spend thousands on the best and latest.  It seems the first place to splurge might be a good microphone.

Online Course Developer

As a retired person you probably have knowledge gained over many years of experience.  Why not create an online course?  There are multiple online platforms that will host your course for a share in the profits.  And there are online courses that teach you how to create online courses!

There are so many ways to make income from home these days.  You are limited only by your imagination!

Filed Under: Business, Money Stuff, Work Leave a Comment
February 19, 2021

10 Things I Learned About Retirement

Senior on iPhone
Photo by Adam Nieścioruk on Unsplash

I originally wrote this article a couple years ago but never published it.  I learned a lot in the last couple years so here is the updated version.

I’ve been studying this whole retirement idea for a few years now.  I’ve learned a lot both generally and personally.  I wanted to share some tidbits.  Most of these little nuggets deserve their own article or even a series of articles!

Don’t Rush to Collect Social Security

The best time to start collecting Social Security will vary with your personal situation, but for many the longer you wait the better.  This is because the amount you receive increases considerably with each year that you wait (up until age 70.)  Personally it seems right to wait till at least what SS calls “Full Retirement Age” if possible.  This is an important decision so get all the advise you can.

Retirement is Going to, as Much as Going Away

For most of my life I considered retirement to be that wonderous time when I could finally quit my job and relax.  Now I look at it as more of a “transition” to a new phase with all kinds of new opportunities.

Have a Plan Before You Retire

It’s obvious that you need a financial plan before you retire.  What’s not so obvious is you need a plan for what you are going to do with yourself.  And it should be more detailed than “travel more.”  It is unlikely you are going to be traveling 365 days a year, no matter your financial situation.  What are you going to do with the rest of your time?

My own personal experience is that you should have a Plan B.  I am writing this in the fall of 2020 and “retired” into the middle of a pandemic on 5/1/20.  My Plan B has involved writing, websites and other interests.  And I learned over the past few years that I don’t really want to retire in the traditional sense anyway!

Make a Plan if You are Already Retired

Did you concentrate on mostly the financial aspects of retirement before you retired?  It’s not too late – time to start planning all those other things – like what are you going to do with yourself!  I also think it is good to periodically review those plans as things may change after you gain some retirement experience.  Browsing through this blog may give you some ideas!

Who Says You Should Stop Working?

Working will be part of many retiree’s plans.  And this isn’t just for financial reasons, although it certainly helps there too!  Working keeps your mind sharp and has many social benefits.  It keeps you connected to the real world.  Of course, your retirement work doesn’t have to be the same thing you did before, it doesn’t have to be full time, and it might not even pay well – think rewarding volunteer work if you don’t need the income.

How Many Sources of Income do You Have?

This is one where retirement has really changed.  My Dad had Social Security and a pension, along with company health benefits for most of his retirement.  Now we need to consider Social Security, working, retirement savings, stock dividends, and assorted other income sources to make the retirement puzzle work.  And who knows what will happen with health care!

Move Your Butt!

This is a biggie.  We need to keep moving, both physically and mentally.  And this needs to continue regardless of our age.  Without decent health all the other retirement ideas become much more difficult.

Eat Smart but Don’t Go Crazy

I’m not a health professional but I think a little common sense goes a long way here.  Most of us know what we should be eating, just like we know we should be exercising.  However, if you want that weekly ice cream cone go for it!  Just don’t make it six a day!

Plan How to Keep People in Your Life

I’m learning more and more about this one.  Some of us are blessed with big happy families and many friends.  Others have small families that may or may not get along and rely on work associations for much of their social contact.  You need to make a conscience effort to figure out how to keep people in your life.  This might involve clubs, volunteering, or part time work.

Don’t Wait to Do Stuff, Like Travel

With so much emphasis put on the financial aspects of retirement there might be a tendency to be almost too frugal in the early years of retirement.  While this might be necessary for some, try to make some of the things you really wanted to do, like travel, a priority.  You never know, we all know people that finally retired only to have health problems that prevented travel pop up way too soon, and they miss out on some of their life ambitions.

This represents just a few things I’ve learned in my years of retirement research.  I’ll keep updating as I learn more, and feel free to comment with your ideas!

Filed Under: Budgets, General, Health, Hobbies, Learning, Personal Development, Things To Do, Work Leave a Comment