5 Best Side Gigs For People In Their 50s

Many people in their 50s are still working to build up their retirement nest egg. But let’s face it: there’s a limit to what you can earn each month as an employee.

The ideal solution to supplement your regular income is to start a side gig. A side gig can help you earn extra money to invest in retirement accounts or investments.

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About 70 million American workers currently have side gigs, according to data collected by Side Hustle Nation.

But when you’re in your 50s, you don’t want just any side gig. Jobs like driving for Uber or shopping and delivering with Instacart aren’t exactly appealing. Instead, you should aim for side gigs that let you use your experience and expertise. Here are five of the best side gigs for people in their 50s.

Become an expert on JustAnswer

You can earn between $2,000 and $7,000 on average as an expert on JustAnswer. No matter your area of ​​expertise – from appliance repair to finance to wellness, you can apply for this side gig and leverage your years of experience to earn money. Once you’re approved on the platform, you just have to answer people’s questions from your computer or smartphone when it’s convenient for you.

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Give lessons on Outschool

With more and more people homeschooling their children these days, quality online courses are in demand. The best part is that you don’t need to have formal teaching credentials to create and deliver a course on Outschool. Instead, you can offer apprenticeship to students based on your expertise and charge whatever fees you deem fair. Outschool charges a 30% service fee on all paid registrations, but it costs you nothing to sign up and start teaching. Another advantage is that you can schedule your classes in the afternoon or evening when you are not at your usual job.

Become a signing agent notary

As a signatory notary agent, you will participate in the closing of loans for the mortgage financing sector.

You’ll meet clients at their homes or other locations to sign required documents – and you can earn between $75 and $200 per appointment. The first step is to become a notary public in your state of residence. However, make sure your state allows signing notaries to facilitate mortgage closings first – some don’t.

Then you will need to take a signing agent course, as well as pass an exam and background check. Visit the National Notary Association online to find out exactly what it takes to become a notary signing agent in your state.

Create and host an Airbnb experience

If you prefer to share your skills, hobbies, or expertise in person rather than online, consider creating and hosting an Airbnb Experience in your city or online. Examples of Airbnb in-person experiences are a drunken history tour in San Antonio, Texas, and a kayaking experience with gray whales in San Diego.

Note that you don’t have to host overnight guests in your home or elsewhere to host an Airbnb Experience; they are two separate parallel concerts. Visit Airbnb for experience standards and requirements. Revenues may vary, but Airbnb collects a 20% service fee for each experience you book.

Resell items for a profit

There are different ways to resell items on the side, which could potentially help you earn an extra $500-1000 per month. To find items to resell, visit the clearance aisles of your local retail stores or thrift stores to find items you can resell for a profit.

You can also check Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and local buy-sell groups to find items that people are selling for less than they’re worth (or giving away for free) and reselling them. Or, if you like to refinish furniture, you can pick up some good cheap second-hand pieces locally, refinish them and sell them for a profit. To sell the items, you can list them on online marketplaces or classifieds sites.

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