Make a Profit in Your Golden Years by Following Your Passion

By Keri Lunt Stevens –

You’ve got time. You’ve got energy. Now you just need a money-making hobby to spend both on. As you enter the retirement world, it’s time to focus on what you’re passionate about. And not matter if it’s teaching or traveling, who says it can’t be profitable? To have some fun and make some green in your golden years, consider any of these four lucrative tips.

Travel Together

If you’ve always wanted to road trip across America or hike your way through the country’s national parks, now is the time to do it. There are even a few ways to make money (or save) while you’re on the road.

If you have an RV, many campgrounds offer short-term work opportunities, such as groundskeeping, desk duties and maintenance, in exchange for accommodation perks. If you’ve got Yellowstone or Yosemite in your sights, contact the National Park Service for temporary or seasonal work. Positions range from park guides and visitor assistants to maintenance workers and groundskeepers.

Entertain at Home

As a natural host, your passion may not be among travelers on the open road but instead entertaining them in the comfort of your home. Online communities like AirBnB and HomeAway allow property owners to rent out spaces to vacationers. Whether it’s a cabin or a condo, you can choose to let guests book the entire space or just a room with you as their host.

Or, if you have the room, consider opening up your home as a local bed and breakfast. Especially rewarding for couples who like a full house, a B&B lets you put your management skills to work while meeting travelers from around the world. And for the business side, services like Chargify make it easy to bill regular customers and manage cash flow, so you won’t have to worry about anything but entertaining.

Sound great, but want a change of scenery first? Contact several B&B owners in your favorite vacation town to see if they have any staff positions available. As a property manager, you could enjoy the perks of running an inn without the pains of owning one.

Consult the Future

You may love the flexible hours of retirement, but you likely miss the daily interaction of the business world. It’d be a shame to put so much time and effort into your professional talents to then just let them sit dormant when you leave the corporate world. Instead, put your skills to good use by tutoring the future. Connect with high school and college students to train them in your niche or offer guidance to professionals who are seeking seasoned advice. Additionally, you can offer your services to companies on a contract basis. As a consultant, you get the best of both worlds—you set your own hours, you do what you love, and you are your own boss!

Be a Part-Time Pet Parent

Pet ownership has more than tripled since the 1970s, according to a Humane Society survey. Forty years ago, about 67 million American households had pets. As of 2012, pet ownership had increased to 164 million furry friends. If you’re a dog or cat lover, you could pursue professional pet sitting. Love fish, birds and hamsters too? There’s a need for those types of sitters as well. Instead of boarding their pets in a kennel or at the vet’s office, many families hire animal caregivers to watch over and play with their pets while they’re gone. In addition to pay, you’ll enjoy the perks of a “customer” who is always excited to see you.

Keri Lunt Stevens is a trained journalist who dabbles in editing, blogging and content marketing. Her experience ranges from entertainment and community news to personal money management and budget travel. She has unabashed dreams to inform and inspire, but secretly just aims to help readers stop being stupid with their money. Keri spends her free time planning future trip itineraries, biking, reading, and trying to figure out how to earn more air miles.