Retirement is the time that everyone who’s been working for the man (or woman) looks forward to. It’s a time to kick back and live the good life for a while. But all too often, people find that they’ve been so busy working and raising a family, they forgot to save enough money to keep a roof over their head, pay the monthly bills, and even mounting medical and dental bills.
Plus, with the inflation soaring and the price of gasoline going through the roof, paying for even basic necessities like food is getting harder and harder. There is however, some good news on the horizon for retirees aged 62 and over who have owned their own home for decades. It’s called a reverse mortgage, and it allows you to tap into all that equity you’ve been building for years. You can take your proceeds in a single lump-sum payout, or you can choose to be paid once per month.
The best part of a reverse mortgage is you still own your home, you’re no longer strapped with have a monthly mortgage payment, and you never need to repay the loan back unless you decide to sell or you die. You can find out how much of a reverse mortgage you qualify for by using this handy online reverse mortgage calculator.
But what if you don’t have all that much equity built up in your home or you’ve been renting for most of your life? Are there other ways to come up with much needed quick cash in your retirement years?
According to a new article, you can make easy money in retirement by selling your stuff. You read that right. Lot’s a people choose to downsize in their retirement years as a means of cutting back on expenses and to simplify their lives. For many people, this can mean selling the family home and moving into a retirement home or even a retirement community. In general, it means getting rid of a whole bunch of stuff you do not have a use for anymore.
If you need extra cash, it turns out there’s lots of things you can sell that can end up making you thousands of dollars. Here are just a few lucrative ideas.
Sell Your Home
Let’s just get this most obvious one out of the way immediately. Sure, you can choose to apply for a reverse mortgage which would eliminate any further mortgage payments. But you’re still expected to maintain and repair your home and that can get very expensive.
Since you will be taking a long look at the most ideal place to call home as you enter retirement, you might want to sell your existing home and be done with it. It’s your most valuable asset, after all.
You can either use the funds from the sale to purchase a smaller home, or you can rent an apartment and invest the remainder of the cash in traditional assets and/or crypto currencies. This also eliminates the need to spend a lot of money and time on maintenance. You’re supposed to be enjoying your golden years!
Sell Your Work Clothes
Now that you’re no longer working at a corporation, you no longer need to look corporate. Therefore, you can sell your suits and all your business attire on sites like thredUP and Poshmark. Or you can sell them at a local consignment shop. Just make sure to hang on to a couple of suits for weddings, funerals, parties, and more.
Sell You Exercise Equipment
If you’ve decided to sell your home, you probably won’t have a heck of a lot room for all that exercise equipment such as treadmills and free weights. However, even if you stay in your home you might want to sell your equipment anyway since there are other exercise options available to you.
A Medicare Advantage Plan has a SilverSneakers senior fitness program which allows you to join a select group of gyms for free. You can enjoy the exercise equipment at the facility and even take fitness classes.
Sell Your Car
Your car might be paid off, but its still needs gas, insurance, and repairs. All totaled, that can result in thousands of dollars you might not have. Maybe you and your partner have two cars. Why not sell at least one of them? It will make you money and save you money at the same time. Plus, you can take advantage of senior transportation services, public transport, and/or ride sharing.
Sell You Furniture
Just like your exercise equipment, you’ll want to sell off a good portion of your furniture if you are downsizing into a smaller home. You’re just not going to have room for the bulkier pieces. You can sell furniture on Facebook or Craigslist or, like your work clothes, sell them in a consignment shop.
