Mature couple putting coin into piggy bank in kitchen, closeup

Shutterstock / Pixel-Shot

9 easy ways to earn some extra cash

Simple ways to supplement your retirement income without returning to the 9 to 5.

Published - 26 Jun 2024

Entering retirement doesn't necessarily mean the end of earning money – there are things you can do to get a little financial breathing room, to save for some luxuries or enjoy new projects.

Additional working can also be a great chance to stay healthy or to interact socially with new people as well – and it doesn’t have to be hard work or require a radical lifestyle shift either.

There are plenty of easy ways to boost your bank balance using the skills or assets you already have and they can open doors to new experiences you weren’t expecting.

Do note, you may need to pay tax if you earn over a certain amount per year – check the guidelines on when you might need to inform HMRC.

1. Rent out your spare room

Thanks to the government’s Rent-a-Room scheme, you could earn up to £7,500 per year tax-free from renting out a spare room in your home.

However, there are some important points to note. The room must be furnished to qualify and if you earn more than £7,500, you’ll need to complete a tax return.

Andy Scott, 65, from Herefordshire, started renting out a double room three years ago through SpareRoom. He uses the Rent-a-Room scheme but earns just over the £7,500, so declares the extra on his tax return.

“I’d got divorced, wanted to keep the property, but needed some extra income to do so. That was my motivation.

“But after retiring a couple of years ago, the social side has become more important. I’ve enjoyed meeting different people and having them around to chat to.”

You must also perform Right to Rent checks on potential lodgers to ensure they’re legally allowed to live in the UK. You should also tell your home insurance provider as it may need to update your cover.

How to rent out your spare room

2. Rent out your driveway, car or storage space

If you don’t fancy taking in a lodger, there are still plenty of other opportunities to make money from your home. You can earn up to £1,000 a year in this way before you need to declare it for tax purposes.

Renting out your driveway

If you have space on your driveway, renting it out through sites like YourParkingSpace or JustPark can earn an average of £320 a year. However, bigger earnings can be made if you live in a city centre, near a sports ground, railway station, airport or a popular attraction.

Patrick Dunne, 62, a university estates’ manager, has rented out his driveway for the past 12 years through JustPark.

Living a 15-minute walk from Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace’s south London football ground, he mainly rents the two spare spaces on his driveway on match days to fans or those working at the ground.

He charges a competitive £6 per three-hour parking session, doing it as much for the satisfaction he gets from providing the service as the money it earns him, which is around £300 a year. He also rents out the electric vehicle charger on his drive.

Patrick says: “I like being able to share my driveway with others. The people who park here are generally very nice and stop to have a chat. People book in advance, so I can make sure I have enough space for my own car too. In many ways, it’s a no brainer."

There are a few things you’ll need to think about before renting out your driveway – such as making sure it doesn’t cause a disturbance for neighbours, checking your permissions if you’re a leaseholder or informing your home insurer so they can see if it affects your cover.

How to rent out your driveway

Renting out your car

If your car is spending more time on your drive than on the road, you can rent it to others through sites like Hiyacar or Turo. To get started, list your car on one of the sites, state when it’s available, and wait for enquiries.

Each booking includes insurance, but it’s sensible to take out separate breakdown cover and make sure your insurance provider will allow you to use a car-sharing service.

While it will depend on location, car type and how often you’ll use it – as well as needing to pay for extra maintenance - fans claim they can make hundreds of pounds a month using these services.

Renting out your storage space

If you have an empty garage, shed, outhouse, or loft you could rent it out for storage through sites dedicated to letting members offer out their space.

Make sure you include measurements and photos of the space in your listing, and work out how much regular access you’re willing to give.

Storage company Stashbee’s Chief Executive David Mantle tells us: “Many people over the age of 50 have unused space once their kids have fled the nest, so it could pay to rent it out to others.”

Mantle says the average person renting a garage earns £130 a month, and if you live somewhere popular, such as major cities, you can earn more.

However, be aware that some sites will take a portion of the money received as part of the hosting fee, and you may need to invest in alterations to make the space fully secure.

3. Become an extra on TV

Fancy becoming a TV star for the day? Then you might want to sign up to become an extra.

No acting experience is required. But you do need to be flexible as you often don’t receive the hours or exact location until the night before.

Head of Casting Rhianwen Bailey-Cullen from Phoenix Casting, an agency that supplies supporting artistes to the film and TV industry, told us: “[This work] is definitely something that people get into in retirement or can work around part-time jobs.

“We have artists who are still working into their 70s and 80s. They get to meet people they wouldn’t otherwise speak to, plus they like working and making a bit of extra money.”

Phoenix Casting, The Casting Collective, Uni-versal Extras, Extra People and Mint Casting are some of the websites to check out.

Daily rates start from around £100 but can be higher if you work into the night or go into overtime.

How to become an extra

4. Sell your old clothes

You could earn between £2 and £20 per item by clearing out your wardrobe and selling unwanted items through online marketplaces (or even more if you’ve got expensive items like leather jackets).

Sites such as Vinted, or something like Depop if you’ve got vintage or retro clothes that have grown in popularity recently, are popular choices.

If you have any designer items, it’s worth looking at places such as Vestiaire Collective.

“As you’d expect, designer items in excellent condition warrant the highest prices,” Personal Stylist Lindsay Edwards told us. “However, high street brands with a strong reputation, such as St Michael from Marks & Spencer and Jonelle from John Lewis, are also highly sought-after.”

How to earn money selling your vintage clothes

Old antiques and retro collectibles memorabilia dumped in a huge pile. Garage sale, attic room storage conceptual still life or disposal and recycling of outdated objects. Vintage style filtered photo — Shutterstock / BrAt82

5. Sell your collectibles

Whether you have old coins, music memorabilia, or cigarette card collections lying around the house, now could be the time to find out if they're worth anything.

Coins with minting errors could fetch more than a thousand pounds, while you could also earn a pretty penny from signed music programmes or old concert tickets and posters.

Cigarette cards featuring footballers could be worth hundreds of pounds too, so it’s worth getting them valued.

Not everyone is going to have valuable collectibles lurking in a cupboard – and it’s likely your collection is going to hold sentimental value that exceeds what you could make.

However, if you’ve got any collections in the loft that are complete and well-preserved, it’s certainly worth checking to see what value they still hold today.

6. Think about house sitting

If you’re feeling like retirement is the time to go and see more of the country (or the world), then house sitting could be a smart move for you.

There are multiple services that allow you to sign up to look after houses when people are away on holiday or for work, and you can set the amount of time you’d like to sit for.

You can also choose jobs that require looking after people’s pets – so if you love animals but don’t have the time (or money) to keep them at home, this can be another option.

You may not get paid for house sitting – the exchange often comes from living rent free in different places. However, if you undertake duties such as pet-sitting, you may get an extra fee, according to house-sitting site HouseSitters UK.

There is often a fee involved with signing up to house sitting agencies, and you’ll need to think about how you’ll cover your travel and other expenses when away.

If you want to earn money house-sitting yourself, you could simply advertise locally or set up your own website advertising your services – if you get a few clients who go away regularly, you might find both a varied lifestyle and a steady extra income.

7. Sell your photography

With more free time, monetising a hobby can be a great way to earn extra income in retirement, says Lucinda O’Brien, Savings Account Expert at Money.co.uk.

“For example, if you like photography, the flexibility of working at your own pace and the low physical demand make selling your photos an attractive option.”

You could earn between 15% and 50% of an image’s sale price through stock photography sites like Alamy, Getty Images and Shutterstock. Getting signed up is usually straightforward, but it’s a competitive environment so you’ll want to try and think of photo ideas that are unique or serve a specific purpose.

To increase your earnings, Global Business Strategist Lisa Johnson advises: “Ensure your photos are high resolution, well composed and technically sound, and whilst you may want to edit your photos to enhance their appeal, don’t go overboard.

“Keep an eye on which of your photos sell best and try to understand why. Use the feedback from the stock sites and buyers to improve your future submissions.”

If you photograph people or property, consider getting a signed release form that shows you’re able to use the likenesses commercially – this can help protect you and increase your potential reach too.

8. Take on flexible part-time work

“Part-time flexible work like leafleting can be particularly advantageous for older adults seeking to remain active and engaged without committing to a full-time job,” says O’Brien.

“Additionally, they offer social opportunities and the chance to explore new neighbourhoods or communities.”

Look at local job boards for leafleting opportunities, search online for roles in your area or ask local businesses if they need help. Figures show you could earn between £55 and £85 per 1,000 leaflets in heavily built-up areas.

The work can be strenuous, so you’ll need to be confident you can regularly spend a few hours on your feet.

9. Sell your old DVDs and CDs

You’re unlikely to make a fortune selling your old DVDs and CDs. But the pennies and pounds can soon add up – plus there’s the added benefit of decluttering your home.

Typically, you can expect to make 10–50p per CD or DVD, and up to £2.50 for a box set. But might be lucky enough to come across a rare or valuable item in your collection that could earn you a little extra.

“The Beatles ‘Compact Disc EP Collection’, which was a 15 CD box set released in 1992, can make as much as £100 at auction, and I recently sold a CD box set by The Grateful Dead for over £900,” says Martin Hughes, Music Specialist at Wessex Auction Rooms.

Reselling websites such as MusicMagpie and Ziffit are a good place to start, or you could approach an auction house for rarer items.