Spent the morning going down a rabbit hole.

I was curious what the standard advice is for someone over 50 looking to bring in extra money on the side. So I read every "best side hustle for over 50" article I could find — AARP, Bankrate, Kiplinger, GOBankingRates, the works.

Almost all of them recommend the same handful of things: pet sitting, TaskRabbit, Uber, eBay flipping, Airbnb, freelance writing.

Then I looked at the actual numbers. The typical side gig brings in about $810 a month per Bankrate. A pet sitting visit pays around $25. An Uber ride, $20. An hour of consulting — the highest-paying option on most lists — tops out around $200.

So I put together this chart comparing what one transaction pays across the most common options.

See attached picture below.

The bar at the top is surplus funds recovery — money that counties and states are legally required to return to former property owners, but often don't. Typical commission per recovery: $5,000 to $30,000+. Per claim. One claim equals roughly a year of pet sitting.

It's conspicuously missing from every list I read. Not because it isn't real — courts have been ruling on this for years (Tyler v. Hennepin at the Supreme Court in 2023 was the big one) — but because most writers covering the side hustle space simply don't know it exists.

The trade-offs are real. It takes 30 to 90 days to learn the work and recover your first claim, and the deals come less often than ride requests. But the per-deal math is in a different league than anything on the standard lists.

Curious what folks here are doing currently — or considering. Drop your current side hustle (or one you've been eyeing) in the comments. And if anyone has actually worked surplus funds, I'd love to hear how it's gone.

0 comments

Incomeafter50

skool.com/incomeafter50

If you’re over 50 and want to create extra income—but feel overwhelmed by tech, scams, or where to start—you’re in the right place.

Leaderboard (30-day)