Acording to research by Aldemore bank, an increasing number of new businesses are being started by the over 50s (and many of those are well over 60). With returns from savings low and cost of living rising, finding ways to make money and supplement income elsewhere has become a necessity for many who have already retired.
The research showed that 58% of 55-64-year-olds interviewed were turning to internet websites to help generate income. This research reflects how enterprising we are as a nation, with so many people leveraging the constantly moving technologies to set up their own business or to sell products on the likes of eBay. The extra cash generated is used to pay bills, go on holiday and reinvested into savings accounts for day to day living.
If selling online isn’t your cup of tea, we’ve put together a list of the best money-making ideas for the over 60s so take a look and see what suits you.
Use your life experience
You’ve probably built up a whole host of transferable skills through your lifetime, whether it’s through work or general life experience. These skills may be more valuable than you think. Here are some ideas to make money using what you have:
Consulting
If you have been in business for a number of years, consulting is a good way to make money from your experience.
There are various ways you can do it: you could contact former employers offering your services on a project basis or for a few hours a month, or you could set yourself up formally as a consultant, go to networking events with your business cards, get in touch with prospective clients through LinkedIn and other online networking platforms and build up your business like that.
Companies need consultants in many different areas from HR to sales, financial management, business strategy, communications and more.
It happens across various sectors too. If you used to run a hairdressing salon you could consult for other salons. If you used to run a cleaning franchise you can consult for other franchise businesses and so on.
Consider writing a business book, getting into corporate speaking to impart your knowledge and being on panels where your expertise is needed. You could be surprised at how much you could make.
Tutoring
Do you play a musical instrument? Or speak another language? Perhaps your talent lies in writing or pottery? Whatever your skill is you can make money from it by tutoring people or groups and charging by the hour. Latest figures released by Thetutorpages.com suggest that rates start at around £30 per hour for academic tuition up to the age of 14,rising to £41 an hour for university-level study. Musical instrument tuition and singing lessons were charged at, on average, £33.20 per hour.
Run an ironing service
If you can iron a basket of crumpled shirts with your eyes closed (don’t try it!) then providing an ironing service could be the answer to your cash-flow problems.Best of all, you can do it all from your own home and the set-up costs are minimal. Charges vary anywhere from £2.50 – £5 per kilo, or you can charge per item.
Pet Sitting / Dog Walking
Post-pandemic there’s strong demand from busy commuters to find reliable dog walkers to exercise their pampered pooches during the day if they’re no longer able to work from home.
Popular dog walkers can charge up to £15 per hour per dog. As long as the dogs are well-behaved and socialised, you should be able to walk more than 1 dog at a time. If you like having pets around, there’s also high demand for doggie daycare services.
If a daily commitment doesn’t appeal you could also consider offering a pet sitting/boarding service. Dog kennels can charge anywhere between £25 and £50 a day for dog boarding.
The average cost for a cat for in 2022 is £11.92 per day or £167 for 2 week’s boarding.
Pet sitting could be a great way to make money in your 60s, without having to commit to set hours.
Market Research
Market research companies are always looking for people to join focus groups. There are plenty of opportunities if you look around. Most will only be asking you to work for an hour and the pay won’t be much (probably £10–20) but it may be quite interesting and could lead to more work.
Here are some market research companies you may want to contact. Simply call them up or send them an email explaining that you would like to attend any focus groups they have in the future:
- Saros Research
- The Research Box
- Category Consulting (this links directly to the registration page)
- Focus4People
Another very useful site is Gumtree where you can do a job search for ‘focus groups’ or ‘market research’ to get a list of most recent work opportunities in your area.
Have a scan through to see what sounds right for you. There may be age, sex or lifestyle conditions but if you aren’t suitable for one particular job, try to get the contact details of the company anyway and let them know you’re interested in some part-time focus group work.
Cash in on your hobby
What better way to make money than to do something you love?
If you’ve got green fingers or love to bake then there are plenty of ways to make money from your hobby. Why not sell your baked goods at a car boot sale or even a local shop?
If you’re no longer working you can use your free time to offer your gardening services during the week when other part-time gardeners may be unable to work. You can do anything from basic upkeep of gardens to pruning and planting flowers.
You could grow your own fruit or vegetables and sell them for a profit. You can also make good money by propagating seedlings and selling the plants at car boot sales.
Start by gardening for friends and neighbours. If they spread the word you could end up with more paid work.
You don’t have to be an expert either; if you don’t know where to start there’s loads of help about:
- Buy a good gardening book like the one by Alan Titchmarsh or the RHS Gardening Month by Month guide
- Get some advice from a local garden centre helpdesk
- Check out the Royal Horticultural Society and Garden Advice websites
Don’t forget that you can also make your own compost and sell it. Get a discounted compost bin from your local council. Enter your postcode into the search box to see where you can get one from and how much it’ll cost.
No experience Necessary
Housesitting
One of the best things about house sitting is that over 60s are usually much more in demand as house sitters than younger people. This is because they tend to have more experience running a home plus the flexibility to sit during holidays and weekends.
House sitting is a job that you can do as a couple, so it’s a fantastic way to spend some time together and make a little extra money.
You can start by joining an agency like Trusted Housesitters, who’ll match you up to suitable clients. Working with an agency may be the best option if you’re a little nervous about house sitting for a stranger.
They will often arrange a meeting between client and sitter to make sure you know exactly what’s expected of you. Some agencies also have insurance to cover you should anything go wrong. Click here to apply to Trusted Housesitters.
The other option is to advertise yourself as a house sitter. Post an ad on Gumtree – place it in the ‘work wanted’ section explaining how much you charge and where you want to house sit.
You could also rent your home on AirBnB whilst you’re housesitting and make double bubble!
Don’t forget
Before you start a business check for any legal requirements i.e. public liability insurance, health and safety requirements etc. Also be sure to check any tax implications with the HMRC and/or your accountant.If you’d like to speak to a Financial Adviser call us on 02380 981161 or send us an email at [email protected]
