4 Ways Retirees Can Earn $500 in Passive Income a Month During Fall

Retirement can be the best time of your life — but everything becomes a little more difficult when you don’t have enough cash. As retirees look to supplement their income without committing to traditional employment, passive income streams are often an excellent solution.

Read Next: I’m a Retiree: Here’s How I Made Thousands of Dollars Doing Side Gigs on Taskrabbit

Find Out: 7 Reasons You Shouldn’t Retire Before Speaking To a Financial Advisor

GOBankingRates spoke with experts in finance and retirement planning who offered strategies for retirees to earn $500 or more in monthly passive income during the fall season .

Real Estate Investments

Ben Johnston, COO of Kapitus , emphasized the potential of real estate investing.

“One of the most common and successful passive income streams is derived from real estate investing,” he said. “Purchasing property, often in need of a little work, rehabbing it and then renting it creates a passive income stream that also benefits from favorable tax treatments, which allow tax deductions for mortgage interest, depreciation of the property and the cost of managing and maintaining the property.”

If you’re able to hire someone to manage the property for you, this can be a truly passive income stream, but if you’re managing it yourself, be aware that you’ll need to spend some time and effort on it.

Discover More: 4 Ways the Middle Class Can Make an Extra $500 a Week From Home

Check Out: How To Earn $750 a Week in Passive Income

Money mistakes the super wealthy never make - that you might be doing now.

Renting Out Your Space

Johnston also thinks retirees should look into renting out their extra space.

“With the advent of rental aggregation sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo, even more real estate owners are now able to generate passive income buy renting out what they already own, from unused vacation homes to unused bedrooms in a primary residence,” he said.

Michael Santiago of RetireGuide agreed. “Consider renting out a spare room, garage or storage space for additional income per month. This is a great first step and an easy one towards generating passive income in the fall. Utilize platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo or Neighbor.com to rent out the aforementioned spaces.”

The space you rent out will partially determine how passive this income stream really is — renting out storage or parking space may require less of your time, while hosting guests in a short-term rental will require more frequent check-ins, unless you hire someone else to manage it for you.

Try This: 29 Best Games That Pay Real Money in 2024

Investment Portfolios

Tom Buckingham, chief growth officer at Nassau Financial Group , said investment portfolios are a great place to get cash fast.

“The good news is that there are many investment opportunities that can generate passive income,” he said. “Examples include dividend paying stocks, bonds, savings accounts, CDs and annuities.”

Buckingham added, “A retiree might need $75,000-$150,000 to generate $500 per month of income, depending on the asset and how old they are. Savings accounts and CDs likely require more assets, while annuities often require less, particularly for those in their 70s and 80s.”

Santiago also recommended high-yield savings and CDs. “Returns are generally lower, but they are a secure and safe way to earn extra income,” he said.

He added, “Another way to ensure regular interest payments is to consider investing in bonds and bond funds, which are typically safer than investing in stocks.” He gave the example of a retiree investing in municipal bonds or corporate bonds with monthly interest payouts.

Erika Kullberg , an attorney and personal finance expert, suggested, “If you’re looking for something truly passive, and have a healthy chunk of savings that you’re looking to invest, then high-dividend-yield stocks could be a great fit. These are stocks that provide regular income, usually quarterly, or as often as the companies you’ve invested in distribute profits to shareholders.”

Joseph Thomas, a financial advisor with Renaissance Financial , added that “utilizing [a] dividend focused investment portfolio — dividend stocks, money markets/CDs, laddered treasuries, income annuities” — is one of the biggest passive income streams he sees clients use.

Online Income Opportunities

Several experts pointed to the potential of online income streams. These may require some work upfront, to create a product or service to sell, but once you’re established, they should take much less effort to maintain.

Santiago said, “If you’re creative, selling products online like e-books, digital art or even online courses can potentially earn you significant passive income throughout the fall. The great thing about selling anything digital is that they can be sold on an ongoing basis with very little effort.”

Kullberg expanded on the idea of retirees sharing their expertise online. “This could essentially be a hobby for a retiree who has a particular passion they want to share. This type of content is becoming more and more popular among younger generations, who might be lacking in relationships and life advice from older generations.”

Thomas also sees potential in the online space — he pointed to affiliate marketing, social media influencing, e-books and Etsy shops as possible sources of passive income. “It’s saturated with a ton of people all trying to put out similar content, but if you can differentiate yourself, there [are] great opportunities,” he said.

He shared a success story: “I had two clients write e-books this year, and [they] are making a lot of money from it, one a cook book with recipes, another a guide on how to get accepted into medical school with a low undergrad GPA.”

Alternative Income Streams

There are plenty of ways to make some extra cash using what you already have.

Echo Wang, CEO and co-founder at EpicBooks , suggested an unconventional approach. “If your car sits idle a lot, you can make some extra cash by putting it up for rent through a service that connects car owners with renters.”

Johnston mentioned ride-sharing and freelancing as potential income sources, as well, though these are not passive. “Many people are leveraging ride sharing apps, like Uber and Lyft, and freelancing apps, such as Fiverr and Upwork, to source jobs in their spare time. While this isn’t strictly passive income, it does allow workers to pick up extra income during otherwise idle time.”

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com : 4 Ways Retirees Can Earn $500 in Passive Income a Month During Fall