Nowadays, retirement does not mean ‘not working.’ With an average retiree’s monthly retirement social security check of about $1,427 in the US (as of August 2019, source), many retired workers are looking for ways to supplement their income. Passive income sources are ideal investments for retirees looking to earn passive income from the comfort of their own home. In the process, you get to learn new skills, spend time with family and boost your income.
How to earn passive income after retirement? There are many ways of earning passive income as a retiree. Some of them include online ideas like blogging, selling eBooks, creating niche sites, selling courses, and renting your things. It all depends on what you are passionate about and able to do.
The best part is that most of these passive income ideas are easy to start and do not require a lot of your attention after some time. In this article, we uncover eight ways you can earn passive income once you retire. Most ideas require hard work and dedication at the beginning. However, once they turn passive, you will have a lot of time in your hands to spend time with family, and friends or do the things you always anticipated upon retirement.
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1. Blogging
If you are passionate about something or knowledgeable and skilled in a certain area, you can make money by sharing that knowledge/information through a blog. Creating a monetized blog is a lucrative way of earning passive income. According to Project 24 by Income School, you can earn over $1,000/month with a monetized blog (with at least 30k page views every month) following their methodology. Some ways you can monetize your blog include placing ads, affiliate marketing, selling digital and physical products and more. In their course that explains how to make over $7k in 24 months, Rick and Jim show exactly how to create a blog and monetize it.
To create a successful passive income blog, identify a niche topic, provide high-quality content about that topic, build an audience, generate traffic, monetize it, and start earning passive income. Let’s say you worked in the financial industry. You can create a blog that offers financial advice/information to a specific audience. Once you generate traffic, you can monetize it and earn passive income. You can earn more income by selling financial courses, financial products, and more through your blog.
Although it sounds easy and lucrative, blogging requires hard work and dedication. In the beginning, you have to invest some money (a couple hundred dollars) and a lot of time before your blog starts earning you money. But there are hundreds of people making thousands of dollars by blogging to supplement their income every month (source). You need to create and post content frequently, which can be demanding. That is why it is important to write about things you are passionate about. With time, your blog can earn you a decent income well into your retirement. For more details about blogging as a passive income idea, please read our guide.
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2. eBooks
Are you a passionate reader? If so, there are chances are that you have already read an eBook. Did you know that you can actually create one yourself, sell it, and earn an income? eBook popularity is growing across the globe (source), which makes it an investment worth considering during retirement. Creating eBooks is easier than most people imagine and selling them has earned many hundreds of dollars every month. By sparing a few hours of your retirement days, you can create ebooks on topics you are passionate about, sell them online, turn it into a passive income source.
For example, Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing is a platform that allows you to write, upload, and sell your content easily. Getting your book written, edited, promoted, etc. may require time and money but once it is completed and uploaded, your work is done, the income you earn is passive. As long as you have enough traffic and sales, you can supplement your income. A great way to generate traffic to your eBook is with a monetized blog or niche site. You can write about any topic you like. For more details about creating and selling eBooks, please check out our guide.
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3. Selling Courses
If you have useful information, you can create courses from it, sell it online, and earn passive income in the process. Courses can be composed of information and knowledge gained during your employment years, or a skill you have learned over the years. It can also be something you love doing that can change someone else’s life.
For example, let’s say you have been a vet or you are passionate about pets. You can create courses like how to care for German shepherd dogs or how to build a pet care business. You can also sell courses on things you are good at (like cake making, yoga, sports, dieting and more).
So long as your information is useful, you can monetize it and start earning passive income. Sites like Thinkific and Teachable and can help you build a course. However, like writing an e-book, creating and selling a course requires some work at the beginning, but once you are done, the income can be very passive.
4. YouTube
YouTube has become a goldmine for passionate video bloggers. And there are hundreds of people over the age of 60 on YouTube! Many YouTubers who are retired from the workforce are teaching cooking courses, woodwork, car repairs, finances and more. By identifying a niche idea or product you are passionate about, you can grow your audience, monetize your channel, and earn passive income in video format. The key to the success of your channel is your content, being consistent and building an audience. If you provide excellent content and grow your audience, you can monetize your channel by placing ads, affiliate marketing, selling digital and physical products, getting endorsements, donations and more.
Currently, YouTube requires you to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4k hours of watch time in the last year for your channel to be put under review for monetization. You can grow your audience by catering to a niche that resonates with a specific group of people, provide quality content that keeps them subscribed and active. Your content can be something you are knowledgeable or passionate about and would like to share with others. However, this is not an easy task and you have to be willing to put in the work at the beginning. With an active, subscribed audience and excellent content, YouTube can be a lucrative passive income source during retirement. If you want to learn more about making passive income with a monetized YouTube channel, please read our guide.
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5. AirBnb
Do you have a house or room that you do not use? You can rent it out on platforms like AirBnb and earn passive income doing it. Many people are looking for inexpensive accommodation and renting space on AirBnb is becoming a popular way of doing it. All you need is to sign up on the platform, list your space, and wait for a client to rent it out for a specific period. You can list any type of free space on the platform like a house, room, cottage, camper, RV, camp-site or less conventional spaces such as a tree-house, boat-house, yurt, tiny home, Earth House, island, castle, cave, windmill, igloo, etc.
Ensure your home offers necessities for a comfortable stay and essentials like clean sheets, towels, toilet paper, and soap. As a host, if you go above and beyond (offer extras like a welcome pack, chocolate, and wine), you get the best feedback and the most bookings. Renting your space on AirBnb might take some work. For example, you will need to keep the room tidy, clean sheets, towels and more. But, you start earning a passive income when you automate and outsource the entire rental process. For details about how to make passive income on AirBnb, please see our guide.
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6. Creating Niche Sites
A niche site is a blog or site that addresses a specific topic to a specific audience or a “niche.” Just like blogging, it can be a lucrative way of earning passive income during retirement. The content you provide on your niche site targets an audience that shares specific interests. For example, let’s say you are a skilled photographer. Instead of a blog about photography in general, you can create a niche site that addresses night photography specifically.
Project 24 is an extremely resourceful course by Rick and Jim (two very successful internet entrepreneurs) teaches ways to earn passive income with a niche site within 24 months. To do so, you have to be willing to put in the hard work at the beginning. However, once your niche site is set right and by following its tested and proven strategies, you can earn $1,000/month from it in a short period.
Audiences visit niche sites in search of useful information, resources, and recommendations about a specific topic so your content must appeal to them. Your content can be popular topics you are passionate, experienced, and knowledgeable about. With a growing audience, you can monetize your site and earn passive income through ads, affiliate marketing, selling merch, offering courses, email marketing, and more. With time, you can build other niche sites and earn more passive income. For more details about niche sites and making passive income from them, please view our guide.
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7. Reward & Discount Programs
Are you a loyal customer of a certain business? If that business offers discounts and reward programs, you can earn passive income by cashing in on the rewards and discounts. Many people have managed to turn customer reward and discount programs into a means to save and even make extra cash.
Most programs work the same way, your earnings are based on the amount of money you spend, usually after spending a minimum amount during purchase. Other ways you earn rewards depending on the number of visits you make to a given business or on the type of products you buy. Reward programs can help you earn passive income if you sign up for programs you will actually use. Starbucks, Amazon, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, Barnes & Noble, Toms, The North Face, Virgin Atlantic, and Uber have some of the best customer loyalty and rewards programs. For more details about reward and discount programs as passive income sources, feel free to view our guide.
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8. Renting Your Things
If you have belongings that you do not use often, you can rent them to others and earn money doing it. Sites like FatLama allow you list and rent almost anything including bikes, ladders, cameras, gadgets, tools, instruments and more. As long as your equipment is sought for, of good quality and in the right condition, there is probably someone willing to borrow it from you at a fee. As a retiree, renting out your things can be a highly inexpensive way of earning passive income. For example, a high-quality camera can make you about $100/day, drones can make up to $90/day and bikes around $40/day. Hence, there is great potential in earning money by renting your things, especially if you have multiple listings.
One way you can earn more income is by listing many things at an affordable rate. In the beginning, you need to spend time signing up on a peer-to-peer rentals site, taking pictures of your stuff, and listing them on the site. From then onwards, the income you make will be fairly passive. Please check out our guide for detailed information about earning passive income by renting your things.
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Related Questions
Can I earn a passive income after retirement? You can most definitely earn passive income after retirement. There are many ways that you earn passive income once you retire. Some ideas are blogging, creating niche sites, running a monetized YouTube channel, and renting your things. Your choice depends on what you are interested in and able to do.
How can I earn more passive income? You can earn more income by combining two or more ideas. For example, let’s say you are passionate about writing. You can earn passive income from a monetized blog, selling eBooks and running a niche site and copywriting for others. It all depends on what you are passionate about and able to do.