5 High-Paying Side Hustles For People Over 50

50 year old working his side hustle
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Starting a side hustle isn’t just for the young.

Whether it’s to have a little extra spending money or to bolster a savings account, people over the age of 50 should be thinking about making a little extra money on the side.

Yahoo! Finance put together a list of 27 lucrative side hustles for people over 50. Overall, the list is filled with good suggestions, but many of the jobs need a certain level of expertise.

For example, the article suggests graphic design, craft selling, and music teacher as possible side hustle opportunities. Yes, all of these jobs would pay well, but only for people with experience in graphic design, making crafts, or playing an instrument, and these jobs are pretty apparent to people with those talents and abilities.

Of the 27 possible side hustles mentioned, five required no experience at all. Here are five high-paying side hustles that a person over 50 could start working at right now.

Life Coach

With age comes experience. Life experience is worth some money, especially to people just starting in your old career.

“As a life coach, you would be instrumental in helping others move toward the goals they have identified — or that you have helped them identify — through facilitating helpful exercises and holding the client accountable for completing the actions necessary to change their life.”

Here’s a helpful article on how to get started being a life coach if you’re not sure where to begin.

Rental Host

Another high-paying side hustle involves using the space you already own to turn a profit.

Maybe your house is more significant than you need, or you don’t feel like moving, or you’re an empty nester with a spare room. Now would be an excellent time to turn the extra space into extra cash, especially if you live in a town attractive to travelers or students.

“Renting out a room or your entire home to different people for a week or a weekend can be a lucrative side hustle with recurring income every month. To estimate the monthly earning potential for your private room or an entire home, check out these calculators from online home rental marketplaces Airbnb or VBRO.

You can also consider renting out your home by the hour instead of having to give up your home overnight. To get started, try platforms such as Peerspace or thisopenspace.”

Local Tour Guide

Before moving a few weeks ago, I lived in the same town for about 25 years. I knew my way around. Have you lived in the same area your entire life and know all the places to see, things to do, places to eat, and even the spots to avoid? You might be able to make some extra cash being a tour guide.

To get a better idea about what it takes to be a local tour guide, consider signing up as a guide with a tour-booking platform like TourByLocal. Start your own tour guide company if you don’t want to share the money you make from giving tours.

Yahoo! Finance suggests ways to set yourself apart from the other local tour guide companies.

“Differentiate yourself from the pack by researching what other tour guides offer and make your tour sound more enticing. For example, if another tour guide offers a generic-sounding walking ghost tour, offer a walking ghost tour of the ten most haunted places in the area. You could also dress in costume to make things more entertaining.”

Party/Event Planning

The next high-paying side hustle that people over 50 should consider will put their years of hosting parties to the test.

Do you always host kickass backyard parties? Is your home the go-to spot during the holidays because you always seem to remember everything down to the last detail? Maybe you should turn your party planning talent into a high-paying side hustle.

“Duties can include selecting a theme, booking vendors, decorating, and cleanup. You could be hired out for birthday parties, graduation parties, corporate events, fundraisers, holiday parties, and more.

Ways to get clients are networking with different vendors, including florists, hotel managers, photographers, DJs, and caterers. Always have business cards with your contact information handy. You can also create social media pages related to your side hustle.”

Costumed Character

This high-paying side hustle requires a little patience, but you could make a nice chunk of money in a small amount of time.

“Running a costumed character service for children’s birthday parties can bring in megabucks by the hour — especially if you offer services in addition to showing up in costume and taking photos. Face painting, playing an instrument and singing, facilitating games, making balloon animals, or reading a story are just some of the additional services you can offer.”

Best of all, you can charge the fee for the service plus money for gas and transportation getting to and from the gig.

To read the rest of the high-paying side hustle suggestions, head on over to Yahoo! Finance.

Author
Chris Illuminati

Chris Illuminati is the author of five books and has written about personal finance, wealth, debt management, and entrepreneurship for numerous outlets including Wise Bread, Grow or Die, and Bankrate.