Struggling with Money? 27 Hustles for Women 50+
While researching side hustles for women over 50, I came across some very outlandish things and some things that just didn’t give you money right away. It’s like, invest in this job, and then we’ll give you the money in a year or two. Well, I know that doesn’t necessarily work for you. It wouldn’t work for me. So, I narrowed down these 27 side hustles that would bring you in money right away within a couple of days and could bring you up to $1,000 a month.
Now, before we get started on these 27 ideas, I encourage you to think about the things you like doing, that you enjoy, and that you’re good at. Having a side hustle around something that you enjoy will save you from burnout or boredom and encourage you to do it just a little bit more.
Teach a class
There’s this popular movement going around where I live called “painting sip,” where you go to a painting studio, give you a canvas, have a glass of wine, and paint the picture that the teacher is demonstrating.
There’s also something going on where it’s a specific craft. Somebody comes to your house, like a Tupperware party, and teaches you how to create the craft. They send a list of supplies to each person so the person has the supplies before the night of the party itself, and then the person comes in and demonstrates how to make this craft. It could be something like one of those big, tall porch signs.
Each person pays the instructor $25-$50, and the instructor teaches you how to create this craft. There are so many different classes that you can teach, from a cooking class to a beginner’s automotive fix-it class. Anything that other people might benefit from knowing could be your class to teach.
Costume character
So what if you dressed up as Big Bird for kids’ birthday parties? You could easily rent the costume from a local costume shop or an online rental service. Then, you could charge a fee to appear as Big Bird at a child’s birthday celebration, providing entertainment and creating memorable experiences for the kids. It could be a fun and unique way to bring little ones joy while earning extra income.
Gardening
This could be anything from planting somebody’s vegetable garden to creating flower boxes in their front yard to just maintenance like weeding, lawn care, and trimming shrubs. You could even stretch the season by doing fall cleanup as well.
Sewing
This is fascinating because there’s a movement on no-paper paper towels and no-paper cloth napkins. I saw so many ideas for cloth napkins and no-paper paper towels on Etsy. This might be a perfect opportunity for you to make some extra money by creating these things.
Not a lot of sewing skills are involved here; it’s mostly just straight lines. If you have a serger or want to pick one up at a discounted price, you can serge the edges to make it easier. You can also sew other things, like nine-block quilts and curtains, for people with fairly low educational sewing abilities.
Consider also specialty items like pillowcases. Bed sheet sets come with two pillows; most people I know have more than two pillows on their beds, so you’ll need an extra set of pillowcases. Why not make it something customizable?
Cooking for people
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told my husband if I could, I would hire somebody to bring me four dinners to feed my family each week. That way, I can just throw them in the oven, take them out, and have them done. They would be to my tastes, they would be healthy, and they would be homemade without all of the preservatives.
If you like to cook and you know working and busy families who would rather have home-cooked meals instead of takeout or DoorDash all the time, consider making good-quality home-cooked comfort foods for other families.
Cleaning
If you love to clean and have an eye for detail, consider cleaning one or two houses a week. I know young moms who do this, women in their 50s who do this, and women who have made a full-time business from cleaning other people’s homes, restaurants, and offices.
Childcare
This could be after school a couple of days a week, evenings, weekends, or even just date nights. Babysitters are making really good money. As a teenager, I made perfect money at $3.33 an hour. So, I had a stint every Friday night to watch two little boys and made $10 for three hours of work. It’s come a long way since then. Now, they’re getting like $35 an hour for two kids. That’s good money.
Pet sitting or pet walking
This would be perfect for somebody who works all day long and needs someone to come in and take their poor Labradoodle out for a walk during the day or just check on them. It could also be somebody who is going away for the weekend or a week and needs somebody to come in every day to feed, walk, and let their pet out.
Some people also have this side hustle and take four, five, or six dogs out for a walk every day. It’s decent money. If you’re active and like walking, this might be your perfect side hustle.
Baking Goods
Do you love to bake bread? How about pies? Do you have the perfect pie crust? Have you considered selling those things? Do you love pumpkin rolls? My friend Kimmy makes the best pumpkin rolls. Now, she only makes her pumpkin rolls to sell around Thanksgiving time. It’s always been a way for her to get more money to buy Christmas presents for her kids when they were little.
It’s just something people expect, and they’re so delicious. If you have a specialty, consider baking and selling those things.
Laundry service
Imagine you have a washer and dryer. It’s only you, maybe a small family. You don’t do a whole lot of laundry, but every day, somebody somewhere drops off a load of laundry to your house in a bag. You wash it, dry it, fold it, put it back in the bag, they pick it up, and they pay you. It’s a laundry service.
Sometimes, people do it by the pound, sometimes by the load. You may be home all day; you may be retired; you may have a full-time job and can do one or two loads of laundry in the evening for somebody. They can pick it up the following day. It’s a little work, and people pay for those services.
Clothing alterations
Many times, I’m speaking from experience, I’ll buy a pair of pants that are too long because I’m 5’3″. Many times, I’ll buy a skirt that just needs to be hemmed because it’s way too long. People will pay for things like this to make them fit better.
Sometimes, you just need something fixed. The zipper on that fantastic, good-quality coat needs to be replaced. Why not take it to somebody who knows what they’re doing, knows their way around a sewing machine or a needle and thread, and can fix those things for you?
Selling your crafts
Whether it’s an Etsy store or going to craft fairs, I know this time of year craft fairs are in abundance. We have a farmers market every single week in two different neighboring towns. If there’s a specific craft that you like making and are good at, this might be a perfect opportunity to earn some extra money.
Tour guide
There are bus companies that hire people to give tours around their areas. So, if you’re a history buff and know a whole lot about where you live, you might want to consider seeing if a tour guide position is available for your city. This will give you some great social interaction and allow you to share your talents and knowledge with others.
Work special events
I know the Performing Art Center in my area, which is only a seasonal venue, will hire the retired to work their events like concerts, plays, and musicals. It’s an excellent way to experience some music or a play without paying for it, and you help people find their seats with a little flashlight and make some extra money.
Other venues that are year-round venues will also hire retired people for their events. So, depending on where you live and what’s in your area, you might want to consider this for a little extra money.
Sell books on Amazon
If you’re like me and you tend to look at books on Amazon, you’ll always notice that they have a “buy used” button. This is for private individuals who have the books and are selling them and shipping them themselves. I will leave some links below for some apps that help you with Amazon and books.
So, if you’re going thrifting or to garage sales, you can scan the ISBN or the barcode with your phone so you know how much these books are going for on Amazon. It’s a nice little side hustle, and if you’re a lover of books like I am, this might be the perfect opportunity to make some money.
Run errands for people
There are a lot of people out there who are just too busy to run their errands. For example, returning those Amazon purchases to the UPS store is a hassle for me. I would definitely pay somebody who was heading that direction anyway a few dollars to take them back for me. It would be easier because it’s so far out of my way that it might be easier just to hire somebody to do it. You could be that person.
Teach English Online
If you’re a teacher or were a teacher or have a teacher’s heart, consider teaching English online. Many companies will hire you to teach English as a second language to children overseas. I will leave a link in the description below for a couple of places to look into to see if you might be a good fit.
Virtual Assistant
If you’re super savvy with social media, a computer, and email, consider being a virtual assistant. There are a lot of people who have online businesses and work from home who are looking for people to do those tasks that they just don’t have time for.
When it comes to weeding out the important and unimportant emails from your email provider, forwarding the most important messages, or posting messages to social media, a virtual assistant is a godsend for people who don’t have the time to do everything.
Bookkeeper
If you are a data and numbers person who may have worked in accounts receivable or knows how to do bookkeeping, having a bookkeeping side hustle is a great idea. If you consider yourself an expert in QuickBooks or would rather just use a spreadsheet, having somebody that knows what they’re doing to keep the books for a small business or organization is so helpful. And if it’s something that you love to do, it’s a great way to make some extra income.
Selling Plasma
I have heard of this one, but I’ve never done it. Have you ever sold plasma? I find this fascinating. Nobody around here does it; I would have to travel an hour away to sell my plasma. But you can get $100 each time you sell plasma, and there is a need in the medical industry.
Personal Shopper
If you love to shop, shop for others. Consider someplace like Instacart and grocery shop for others and deliver it for them. The joy of Instacart is that it’s already prepaid through the app, so you don’t necessarily have to go into somebody’s house or even make contact.
Everything is done through the app. You simply deliver the groceries to their porch or in front of their door, knock, say thank you very much, and leave. As far as I’m concerned, it’s much safer than maybe driving for Uber for our women over 50.
Personal Organizer
Are you a neat person who loves organizing other people’s stuff? How about being a personal organizer? Gosh, I love that show, “The Home Edit Show” on Netflix, which just shows you how they go in and organize. If this is your strong suit and your hobby, you might want to consider making some money off of it.
Helping the Elderly
How about sitting with the elderly? I know that in my area, it’s really hard to have help for the elderly. This little town doesn’t have the staff, and nobody wants to come here to help. So, having somebody who sits and chats with an elderly grandma, does a little bit of dishes, maybe helps prepare a little bit of lunch—those are abundant jobs.
People are looking for others to give companionship and a little light housework to those elderly who might be ill, just elderly, or suffering from dementia or Alzheimer’s. It’s a great way to make extra money and do something nice for somebody.
Special Needs Children and Adult Assistant
The same goes for special needs children and adults. As a special needs parent, I know that the state will allow me, in my state, to pay somebody for respite for myself. However, finding somebody who wants to sit and care for a special needs adult is hard.
Special needs children are easier to find, but special needs adults are more challenging. If you are in good physical condition and have a lot of patience, consider sitting with a special needs adult.
Cookie creations
There’s a girl in my hometown who makes cookies. Now, she doesn’t make the super fancy sugar cookies; she just makes regular peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, and chocolate chip cookies—the traditional cookies. She posts on Facebook when she has them available. People will pay her money for her dozen of cookies.
She also makes truffles and does special collaborations for the holidays. I also know somebody else who’s one of those fancy sugar cookie makers. She gets $25 to $35 a dozen for fancy decorated sugar cookies.
That’s a decent amount. If your skills allow you to get fancy with sugar cookies, you might want to consider starting a little home business.
Write books and publish through KDP on Amazon
The joy of writing books today is with technology the way it is. ChatGPT, an AI software, and something like Grammarly will help you with spelling and grammar mistakes; if you have an idea for a book, it’s easier than ever to get started.
You can sell your book on Amazon; they take care of everything. I will leave a link to KDP and a little more information in the description below. Consider being an author.
Host a student
If you have the space in your home, consider hosting an exchange student going to the local high school or college. This pays very well per semester and offers students a place to live. I have a friend who did this for years. She used to host students from Mexico in her home because she lived close to the university.
Final Thoughts on Side Hustles for Over 50
Most of these jobs pay decently if you’re willing to hustle. However, depending on how many hours you have available and how much you want to put into them, your earnings will also depend on how much you get out of them.
You have to have the skills, so it will only work for you to do alterations if you know how to sew. But there might be one or two ideas in here that work to bring you a little bit of extra money. It does mean that you have to have the time to put in.
None of these are really the passive income that people brag about online. Don’t believe anybody who says that you can make money by doing nothing. It’s not true. I hope you found this interesting. Please let me know more ideas that you might have for women over 50 to make some extra money.