Need Extra Income? Here Are 5 Ways to Get It Out of Your Home
If you’re feeling pinched these days, you’re not alone. The combination of pandemic, inflation and global events has dealt us all a wallop. And yet there are still bills to be paid, nest eggs to pad or replenish, home improvements to make and adventures to take.
If you’re fortunate enough to own a home – which 80% of boomers do, according to Census data – selling it isn’t the only way you can make money from it. There are lots of creative tools and websites that make it easy for you turn your home into a passive income stream. Here are five of my favorite suggestions.
Rent Out Storage Space in Your Home
Have an empty garage, shed, closet or extra room? You may just be able to fulfill a neighbor’s storage needs. Peer-to-peer storage is taking off as people warm up to the idea of keeping their things nearby in a safe storage space rather than trekking across town and paying expensive fees for a storage unit.
Through Neighbor, you can earn around $100-$600 monthly by renting your empty garage – or space within it – to a neighbor. StoreAtMyHouse is a marketplace for those renting and shopping for available storage space in their neighborhoods, as is Stache, where you can list anything from closet space to space under lofted beds to parking spaces.
Take Your Home to Hollywood
Even if you don’t live in a mansion or ritzy area, your home may have characteristics that make it appealing as a location for TV or movie filming or a promotional photo shoot. It can be a much more affordable and attractive option for production studios and ad firms.
Sites such as Giggster allow you to list your space for film and photo shoots, as well as events. A rustic home in Denver is going for $75 an hour on Giggster, while a loft in Chicago is netting $175 an hour.
Peerspace is another peer-to-peer platform that connects renters with hosts for video shoots, workshops, baby showers, performances, retail pop-ups – the list goes on. It’s free to post, you can set your own price and the site charges a 15% service fee when you’re paid out.
Pool Your Resources
Got a swimming pool in your backyard? There’s a market for that as well, particularly in the scorching days of summer. Through Swimply, you can rent out your pool by the hour to local pool-goers in search of a dip.
The average going rate through Swimply is $45 an hour, and the earning potential grows if you have a larger or more well equipped (TV, refrigerator, etc.) hangout space, hot tub or spa. Homeowners must first apply and be approved via the app to ensure they have the proper safety measures in place.
Grow Your Income with a Market Garden
Turn your green thumb into income by starting a garden and selling flowers to those in your community. Those who love getting their hands in the dirt can turn that passion into a side hustle with a gardening gig.
The latest trend is growing your own urban bouquets that can be sold at farmers markets, online or even on the side of the road in some places. Time larger harvests around Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day for even greater income potential.
Or, if you have a penchant for succulents, consider propagating your beauties and selling them as décor for weddings or other events. Produce can also be grown and sold at local markets to put even more in the bank.
Find the Blanche to Your Rose
If you think roommates are just for students and twentysomethings, think again. There’s a fast-growing community of folks in their 50s, 60s and beyond who have discovered the joy, flexibility and income that sharing a home can bring.
Most of us wouldn’t want to share our home with just anyone though – and that’s where websites like Silvernest come in. On our site, homeowners and homeseekers match with each other based on compatibility and shared preferences, increasing the likelihood of a more harmonious and enjoyable homesharing experience.
Homeowners who use Silvernest to rent out extra space in their homes earn an average of $10,000 a year in rental income.
These are just a few of the options out there for earning money from your home. With so much variety, you could even test a few to see which works best for your home and lifestyle. So, try it out – you may discover a whole new world!
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Have you considered making money out of your home – without selling it? Which ideas do you think would work for you? Did you even know there are so many possibilities to choose from?
Tags Jobs for Seniors
This is a great article! One thing the pandemic pushed was the ability to generate income through different avenues of the internet. As people were stuck at home, it pushed them to realize that their skills could be marketed online, property, car, or even stuff could generate them cash flow to pay the bills. I started renting out my second car on marketplaces such as GetAround. I was renting out my bike on a marketplace such as FriendWithA, and renting out the extra bedroom on a Seattle-based startup PeerStorage.
Incredibly, there are so many different marketplaces that not only provide property protection but also provide ease of payment and verifications. It was pretty easy setting up the listings as it only took about 5-10 minutes each. It pretty much only takes a few minutes of our time when managing requests and renters. If only we had a bigger house or lot we could make even more money renting it out to cover basic bills like mortgage, phone bill, internet, and food.
These are great ideas! We have rented rooms to students in local language schools. We have hosted students from Japan, Germany, and The Netherlands. We get to set how long the stay would be. Some are just a week or two, and we have had others here for over a year. The host family gets to say how long we want them, and whether we want just women or men, etc. We make them dinner, and provide food for breakfast and they provide their own lunches. This was a great way to make money as well as learn about other cultures. We have an open invitation at many Japanese homes should we visit some day!
Now we are building an ADU (a small apartment) over our garage to rent out with AirBnB. AirBnB will take care of the details and we will hire someone to do the cleaning. This is profitable if you live in a big desirable destination city, but might be less profitable in a small town.
I will keep Silvernest in mind for the future. Love that idea!