Passive Income in Retirement
Let’s talk passive income.
What is it? Passive income is money earned with little to no ongoing daily effort. Unlike a traditional job where you trade your time for a paycheck, passive income generates revenue continuously 24/7 after an initial investment of assets, skills, and time. Not all opportunities require a large investment of cash; many can be started with sweat equity. Passive income is excellent for retirees that need a monthly boost and require only a few hours of their time to manage.
What opportunities are right for you?
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Leverage Your Assets
Around 73% of Gen X owns their primary home. We own nearly 30% of all residential real estate in the United States. (If you are amongst the 27% that doesn’t own their home, keep reading as there are passive income opportunities that don’t focus on real estate.)
We have lived full lives and may own other assets that we can lease out for passive income in retirement as well.
Do you own your home? If you have an extra room, would you consider renting it to a tenant? Some folks choose a family member, a friend, or a friend of a friend to sign a lease with. There are also agencies that can screen applications before you allow anyone to move in. Do you own an additional property that you are not using full-time? Consider putting it on Airbnb and enjoy the rental income.
Do you own extra land or a large garage? Consider renting out spots for RVs, boats, or general storage. It requires almost zero maintenance from you. Neighbor.com is a good site to start with.
Do you own specialized equipment for your trade or hobby? If you are retiring from an industry that required specialized equipment, you can do peer-to-peer rentals on Hygglo. Think pressure washers, generators, bouncy houses, party or wedding decorations, electric bikes, construction equipment, etc.
Do you own a pole barn? If so, consider flipping it into an event rental space. Corporate events, weddings, birthday parties, retirement parties, etc. In my area a half day rental for 5 hours runs $200 and a full day rental for 10 hours runs $350. If this is interesting to you but you don’t have a pole barn, there are kits you buy and build on spare land.
Do you rent an apartment in a busy metropolitan area and have a dedicated parking space assigned to your unit that you don’t use? Think about renting it out on SpotHero or Parkwhiz. Check out the going rates in your area and price slightly below that to get it rented quickly. Also, check your lease. Some explicitly prohibit subletting parking and it's not worth the risk if yours does.
Do you own an RV? If you own an RV in good shape, consider renting it out on RVShare. Many folks purchase RVs but let them sit when the price of gasoline increases. RVs can be wonderful assets for building streams of passive income, especially if you live in an area of the country where RV life is popular. Depending on the time of year, you may be able to rent it out between $100-300 a day. All sorts of associated equipment can also be rented out: camper vans, travel trailers, pop-ups, and toy haulers.
Do you own a car? If you have a spare car, you can rent it out to make passive income. Turo is an online alternative to the regular rental car companies. Turo covers your car with up to a $1,000,000 insurance policy, and you can pick when your car is available and set your rates. Depending on the make, model and age of your car and where you live, you may be able to make $700/month.
Leverage Your Skills
Lean into your skillset. What occupations have you had? What industry knowledge do you hold? What hobbies are your proficient at?
Photography — If you are a photographer, either by trade or as a hobbyist, and have taken some decent shots, consider uploading them to Adobe Stock, DepositPhotos, and Shutterstock. Most of your submissions may not gain traction, but if one does you can earn thousands in royalties from folks licensing the use of it.
Teaching — Do you have a background in education? Or are you an artist that creates clip art and fonts? Look at setting up an account for $29 on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace for original educator-created content. Creators upload instructional resources and classroom decor, as well as supplies for creating content such as clip art, font, and other designs. If a teacher purchases your digital content for use in their classroom, you get paid.
Business or IT — What about experience in business or IT? Are you interested in creating language courses or fitness courses? Create prerecorded digital courses sectioned into modules and sell them on platforms like Udemy or Teachable. Once you create the courses on demand, they sell on their own without you actively participating.
Leverage Your Creativity and Time
Have you heard of print-on-demand products? You create the print-on-demand design and choose various products it can be printed on (ie. t-shirt, coffee mug, greeting card). After a customer purchases your product online, you forward the order to a third-party printing service who will create and dropship the order directly to your customer.
Starting a print-on-demand business is a lower-risk option for new and small businesses. You need to invest time in learning how to create designs, identifying market trends, and promoting your items online. The great news is you don’t need to commit funds to supplies, inventory, or shipping materials. With this business model, your time is your investment. Time is money.
Print-on-demand is one of the fastest growing revenue streams in ecommerce right now. The global print-on-demand market was valued at $10.21 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $102.99 billion by 2034—a tenfold increase driven by a consumer appetite for personalization.
What are some of the top selling print-on-demand products?
T-shirts — Base: $7-$10; retail: $20-$30.
Baby clothing — Base: $8-$12; retail: $18-$28.
Mugs — Base: $4-$7; retail: $12-$20.
Engraved jewelry — Base: $10-$20; retail: $35-$60 and up.
Posters — Base: $5-$12 (depending on size); retail: $15-$40.
Tote bags — Base: $9-$14; retail: $20-$35.
Stickers (vinyl stickers on water bottles are popular right now) — Base: $1-$3; retail: $3-$8.
Backpacks — Base: $25-$40; retail: $50-$80.
Wall art and canvas prints — Base: $20-$50; retail: $50-$150 and up.
Pillows — Base: $12-$20; retail: $25-$45.
Phone cases — Base: $10-$15; retail: $25-$40.
Puzzles — Base: $15-$25; retail: $35-$55.
Design: To begin designing your products, start by creating a free account with Canva. Pro Tip: Save your designs as a png format with a transparent background whenever possible. Export your design at 300 dpi or the highest available resolution possible.
Not that artistic? You can buy design templates from Creative Market or GraphicRiver to use in your designs. Use product mockup generators to create a realistic image of your design on various items that can be featured in your shop for customers to order from.
Open your shop: You can start with Etsy or with Shopify. Price your products taking into account sales costs you will be charged from your online sales platform and your dropship manufacturer partner. Printify has the best print-on-demand supplier network. Gelato is great for cards and wall art. If you are selling custom jewelry, ShineOn is the company to go to.
Please be mindful of trademarks and copyrights when creating your designs. Infringement will shut down your online shop in no time flat.
Have you thought about writing a book? Amazon KDP offers eBooks or a print-on-demand option for authors of digital products. Writing a book takes time and dedication. After you have published it, the passive income can come in for weeks, months, and years. I wrote a book about 20 years ago after rereading the Nancy Drew series as an adult. I uploaded it to KDP and when customers order the book, they either get a digital copy or one paperbook copy is printed and mailed out to them.
You can check my book out on KDP to see how a book appears online for customers. Amazon KDP pays out 70% royalty for ebooks priced between $2.99 and $12.99, and sold in specific territories. If your customer orders from outside of a sales territory, you get a 35% royalty. They also deduct a small delivery fee (usually around $0.06 to $0.15 per megabyte) based on the digital file size of your book
If a customer orders a print-on-demand paperback, you earn a 60% royalty as long as your book is priced at $9.99 or more. Your book needs to be at least 24 pages in length; there is no upper limit to the length of your manuscript.
You don’t even have to be a writer to make passive income from KDP. Some folks create artwork for the front and back covers and leave a certain number of pages inside BLANK and sell it as a journal! You get paid the same royalty amount as book with text.
Passive income is just one consideration as you plan to retire. Would you like to look at how to DIY your retirement?
