You work your whole life to build up a pension to see you through your retired years, but with the rising cost of living and life expectancy extending, a few extra pennies always come in handy.
Once you retire, money making opportunities may seem few and far between, however there are some simple and fun ways to earn some extra cash.
Your Saving Angels have rounded up some ideas to earn you some extra cash.
Housesitting:
Most homeowners look for older people to housesit while they are on holiday because they have more experience running a household and they are more flexible time wise.
Start by joining an agency such as Housesitters to get an idea of what is expected of you. You may be required to look after animals, or do some light house work while the owners are away. However, you can tailor the search to your tastes.
Once you have been matched with a client, you will meet with them to outline what is expected of you and any basic information you will need.
Click here, here and here for more agency sites.
Alternatively, you can advertise yourself as a house sitter on sites such as Gumtree. This route is a little less certain, as the owner won’t have the agency to fall back on if something were to go wrong. However, if you housesit enough you can build up a really good reputation for yourself.
Use Your Specialist Skill:
Can you play an instrument or speak a foreign language? You can become a private tutor for children, or you can run group classes if your talents lie elsewhere, such as art, writing or crafts.
You don’t necessarily need a degree to do this, but if you are working with children, you may need a CRB check. If you do require a CRB, this website has all the information you need to get started.
Alternatively, you can take on local cleaning jobs, dog walking, and pet sitting or if you are handy with an iron, you could advertise your services in your area. Remember, you can always advertise yourself on Gumtree or in the local paper.
Another way to earn money with your skills is to become a doula. This involves using your experience as a mother and help families with a new baby. You would help the mother during her pregnancy and after the birth as well. You will need to sign up with an agency that will train you and then place you with a family. Post birth, doubla’s can earn £10-12 an hour. Read more about it here.
Focus Groups:
Companies are always looking for people to participle in focus groups and they will pay you for your time. You will only be asked to work for around an hour, earning yourself £10-20, however it could be pretty interesting and it may lead to more work.
Bear in mind that you may not meet all the requirements for some groups, however you get the contact details of that company and let them know you are interested in future studies.
Again, our trusty friend Gumtree is a great place to start and a quick search of ‘focus groups’ will get you on your way.
Here are some market research companies, call or email them and explain that you are interested in participating in any future focus groups.
Small Scale Catering:
If cooking and baking is your passion in life, you should consider making money from it. You could start catering for small functions in your local area.
Good places to start are your local church, schools and local meeting such as the WI.
Again, use the paper and websites such as Gumtree to advertise yourself.
If baking is your strength, then you could sell gourmet cakes. Put your children to good use and ask them to advertise your cakes around their workplaces. To get the ball rolling, you could send in some freebies to get everyone hooked!
