Many people achieve their life goal of retirement, but discover that they miss the feeling of getting out of the house and being busy every day. But what if you could put extra money in your bank account after retirement, without the obligations and pressure of a full-time job?
Fortunately, it has never been easier for retirees to start a side hustle. Online gig platforms like Taskrabbit let retirees (and people at all stages of life) find projects and make money with everyday skills like house cleaning, home repair services, yard work, painting and more.
We spoke with Dan W., a 79-year-old retiree and Taskrabbit Tasker living in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota. Dan earns good money with Taskrabbit for the much-needed work: furniture assembly. He started his Taskrabbit side job after his retirement.
Let’s see what Dan’s experience as a retiree with a part-time job can teach us about making extra money, having fun, and providing a valued service to people in the community.
How to Make $49 an Hour (or More) at a Retired Occupation
Dan W. offers professional furniture assembly services on Taskrabbit and he charges $49 per hour. If you’ve ever struggled to put together new bunk beds for your kids or felt baffled by the instructions that come with a new purchase from a furniture store like IKEA, you know how helpful it can be to simply hire a professional to place your furniture. together.
Dan has earned a perfect 5.0 star rating on Taskrabbit and has completed more than 344 furniture assembly tasks. He loves working with his hands and carving wood. Before retiring, Dan owned a company that manufactured ready-made furniture for brands such as IKEA. So he knows the ins and outs of properly assembling furniture.
Dan said focusing on achieving high ratings based on customer reviews is the key to earning a high hourly wage on your side hustle. “The key to continued success when working with Taskrabbit or any side gig is developing excellent reviews,” Dan said. “When I was young, there were no reviews. Nowadays they are absolutely critical because everyone checks them.”
Delivering a 5-star customer experience
To build a lucrative retirement business, it is essential that you focus on excellent customer service. Dan recommends maintaining detailed communication with your customers. “Confirm the date and time and their expectations, be on time or a little early, and if you’re going to be even a few minutes late, let them know,” Dan said.
Dan is also prepared for any appearance on Taskrabbit. “Having the right tools is mandatory,” Dan said. “If there are any issues, such as missing or defective parts, please let the customer know as soon as possible and provide suggestions on how to resolve the issue.”
He also recommends being friendly and cordial, thanking the customer for the project and inviting the customer to leave a positive review. “Share with the customer how they can save you as a favorite on Taskrabbit, and encourage them to leave a review,” Dan said.
Design a side hustle for your retirement lifestyle
Life after retirement should hopefully feel easy and relaxing. Starting a side hustle can be a good choice for retirees because it is flexible without the all-consuming demands of a full-time job. If you can find the right side of your retirement, you can work as little or as much as you want and earn money on your own time.
Dan said he decided to take up his retirement pursuit to give him some structure and routine, make extra money and keep him connected to a larger social circle.
“I like structure and people, and retirement makes that quite challenging,” says Dan. “In addition, after retirement, money suddenly stopped going out, instead of continuing to save. A side job offers the opportunity to continue to generate some income and at the same time offers structure and contact with a variety of people.”
But Dan doesn’t want to work so much that it starts to feel like a job; he is retired and has other things he wants to do with his life. Flexible scheduling and limited time commitments are a major advantage of choosing a part-time job for retirees.
“I set my own agenda and schedule,” Dan said. “If I want to travel, I can. If I want to be available to work all week, I can. If I just want to sit in the sun and read a book or work in our garden, that’s OK.”
He continued: “If you want to do something busy in your retirement, aim for something that makes you happy and gives you not only a fair income, but also the flexibility to enjoy your retirement and the freedom it offers. Avoid situations that require specific time commitments because then the chore becomes a job and that is not what you necessarily want to have when you retire.”
In short
If you enjoy helping people with household chores like painting, cleaning, yard work, or DIY projects like furniture assembly, Taskrabbit can be a great way to start a side hustle as a retiree.
When you retire, you can earn a good amount of extra “fun money” to spend on traveling, spoiling your grandchildren or pets, or replenishing your savings account.
Warning: The highest cash back card we’ve seen now has an introductory APR of 0% until 2025
This credit card is not just good, it’s so exceptional that our experts use it personally. It features an introductory APR of 0% for 15 months, a cash back rate of up to 5%, and all somehow with no annual fees!
Click here to read our full review for free and apply in just 2 minutes.
We strongly believe in the Golden Rule. Therefore, editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved or endorsed by the included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offerings on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from editorial content from The Motley Fool and is created by a different analyst team. Discover Financial Services is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. The Motley Fool recommends Discover Financial Services. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
See How This Retiree Makes Big Money ($49/hour) with a Side Hustle was originally published by The Motley Fool
