Question: I'm 57 with a great remote job, but after five years of working from home, my company wants me in the office full-time. I don't have the energy for a daily commute. Help!

Answer: In early 2020, many companies implemented remote work policies in response to the pandemic. And a good number of employees have been enjoying a fully remote schedule ever since.

But companies are increasingly asking workers to return to the office. And many are mandating it. CBRE reports that 77% of companies today across the U.S., Canada and Latin America expect employees to report to the office three days a week or more.

If you're 57 and have been working remotely for the past five years, you may feel that you don’t have the energy to start commuting daily. But if your employer wants you back in the office full-time, you may also feel like you don’t have a choice.

It’s hard to start over at a new employer at age 57, since you may be approaching the tail end of your career with plans to coast until retirement. Plus, it may not be so easy to get hired at 57.

Almost two-thirds of workers ages 50 and over have seen or experienced age discrimination in the workplace, according to AARP. It is especially a problem for older women. And while it’s illegal to pass over a qualified job candidate on the basis of age, it’s also a hard thing to prove.

Also, there’s no saying that if you were to apply for a new job, you’d be able to find one that’s fully remote. So all told, you’re looking at a tough situation. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t solutions.

It pays to have an open mind

After five years of remote work, the idea of a daily commute may be jarring. But Suzanne Hawes, a seasoned human resources consultant, says it’s important to have an open mind. If you like your job and the commute is the one sticking point, there may be ways to make it work.

The most important thing, she says, is to give commuting a chance.

“Often, it takes a few weeks to get used to the old routine again,” says Hawes. “If you were able to balance work and life before, it may be possible to find that balance going forward. If the only negative thing about the job is having to be in the office full-time, you might try it for a few months before deciding to leave.”

Diana Bernal, CEO and Career Strategist at Diana Inc, says you may be able to make the most of a commute.

"Use it as a chance to listen to audio books or podcasts," she suggests. And if you don't have to drive, you could read or watch TV and use the commute as an opportunity to enjoy some downtime.

Bernal also points out that if you can afford to do so, there may be ways to make your commute more comfortable.

"When I got a new job downtown that increased my commute, I leased a comfy Lexus, a nice step up from my Honda Accord," she explains.

Or, you may realize that there are benefits to being in the office, such as family, friends, or activities nearby. All told, it may not be so bad once you get used to it.

There may be some wiggle room

If you’re being asked to return to full-time office life, one thing to consider, says Hawes, is that your employer may be more flexible than you’d think.

“One possibility,” she says, “is to comply with the order and come back full-time for a few months. Then, see if your leadership is open to one or two work-from-home days. People who show they are willing to comply with the return-to-office order may find that buys them some flexibility.”

Hawes also says that the more leverage you have at your job, the more your employer may be willing to negotiate.

“If you’re a high performer or in a role that’s hard to replace, your leaders may be more willing to offer you a hybrid arrangement,” she explains.

Consider a new job or go freelance — if it fits your financial plans

If your employer insists on five days a week in the office and it doesn’t work for you, you could always look for a different job. But Hawes warns that it may be tough going.

“Not only is remote work harder to come by now,” she explains, “but in some locations, all jobs are harder to come by. If you’re going to leave your job because of a return-to-office order, either find your next job before you leave this one, or make sure you have enough savings to support a potentially long job search.”

Hawes says that while taking a lower-paying job with more flexibility may be possible, you should work with a financial adviser to understand how prepared you are for retirement now.

“If your planner says you’re in good shape, a lower-paying job may make sense,” she says. “But be clear about what you’re giving up in return for fully remote work. Are you used to a high level of independence and decision-making? Are you prepared for a role with less authority or visibility than you have today?”

Hawes says you can also consider a shift into freelance work if you can’t find a suitable job that will let you work from home. But there are risks involved.

Freelance income can be inconsistent, and it may take time to build up a steady stream of it.

Before going the freelance route, Hawes says, “Talk to people who are doing it and find out what it takes to get work. Ask how they price their services and, if they are willing to share, what they earn in a typical month.”

You’ll also need to consider the benefits you may be giving up by going freelance, such as employer-subsidized healthcare and access to a workplace retirement plan, like a 401(k).

“Many employers contribute to employee plans, often by matching contributions,” Hawes says. “That’s free money you would be giving up.”

The good news is that, as an independent contractor, you can save for retirement through vehicles such as SEP IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, or SIMPLE IRAs. And in some cases, you can contribute more than you could to a 401(k).

But as Hawes warns, “All of those contributions will be coming from you.”

Don’t rush into a decision

You may be tempted to quit your job if you’re forced to resume a five-day commute you’re dreading. But before you do that, Hawes says, it’s important to have a game plan.

“My recommendation would be to go back and approach it as an experiment,” she says. “Give it at least three months and pay attention to how you feel and how the rest of your life is functioning.”

If, after three months, you’re truly unhappy, you can explore other options. But as Hawes says, “If you still want to quit after that, take the time either to find another job that better fits your needs or to save enough money to give yourself a cushion while you build a freelance or consulting practice.”

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For a growing number of retirees, the golden years are taking an unexpected turn. The trend of "unretiring" — returning to the workforce after retirement — is on the rise.

Whether driven by rising living costs, a need for social engagement or just plain boredom, retirees are launching side hustles and finding new purpose, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down.

Nearly 1 in 8 seniors aged 65 or older have returned to work or plan to rejoin the workforce this year, according to ResumeBuilder’s early 2026 data. Likewise, AARP’s February 2026 job sentiment report found that 7% of retirees have “unretired” and returned to the workforce in the past six months, with 48% citing money as the top reason.

Thinking about a side hustle? The right tools and apps can make all the difference. Dive into the essential starter kit to launch your unretirement journey today.

Must-have tools and apps to kickstart your retirement side gig

Starting a side hustle in retirement doesn’t mean learning complex systems or spending your hard-earned cash on expensive setups. With the right tools and apps, you can leverage your skills and manage your time — all while keeping things simple and stress-free.

Nic Adams, co-founder and CEO of Orcus, makes a good point. “Some individuals overlook that older adults often feel intimidated by technology or overwhelmed by too many options. That’s why it's important to focus on using just one or two tools."

Additionally, outdated software poses challenges, including privacy and security risks and reduced productivity, he noted. Keeping firewalls, antivirus software, and similar tools up to date can help alleviate seniors' concerns.

Thinking about launching a retirement side hustle? Here is your guide to the best apps, startup costs, payout potential, and perks, regardless of your background.

1. Executive and professional consulting

Cash in on your decades of career knowledge and expertise without returning to the full-time grind by consulting.

How it works

Consultants play a crucial role across various industries. They offer their expertise, deep knowledge, and insights to other people, businesses, and organizations. You can work solo as an independent consultant, small business owner, or contractor. Many retirees work just 5–15 hours per week on their own schedule.

Essential tools and apps

LinkedIn Premium. A professional networking, job hunting, and business development site. LinkedIn Premium will set you back $39.99 per month ($239.88 per year), but many professionals say it’s worth every penny. For deeper insights and broader search capabilities, try LinkedIn Premium Business, $59.99 per month or $575.88 per year.

TimeCamp. Best for time tracking and invoicing. Plans range from $3.99 per month to $9.99 per month, billed annually.

Calendly or Google Calendar. For planning your day/month. Calendly offers a basic free plan, but for most applications you’ll end up paying $10 to $16 per month, up to $15K. Google Workspace plans start at $7 per user per month.

4Degrees. Customer relationship management tools designed for professionals. Pricing typically starts at $100+ per month, depending on the plan and team size.

Zoom. Online conferencing. Zoom offers a free Basic plan with limited features. The Pro plan starts at $13.33 per user per month.

Patriot. Easy-to-use, cloud-based accounting software. The Basic plan costs $20 per month, while the Premium plan costs $30 per month.

Flowlu. Project and Task Management software that keeps invoicing, CRM, and finance tools all in one place. Up to two users are free. Other plans range from $9 for the basic plan up to $22 per user for the Advanced plan.

Wise or PayPal for easy payments. There is no cost to set up an account. Wise is an international money transfer service that lets you send, receive and spend money in 40+ currencies. There are no monthly subscription or account fees. You only pay a small, upfront fee per transfer. PayPal charges 2.99% + $0.49 or 3.49% + $0.49 per domestic transaction.

What it costs to become a consultant

Almost nothing to start ($0–$150). Optional: professional headshot ($200 to $400) or a simple one-page website, ranging from an initial DIY build ($0 to $450) to $1,500 for a professional design. Add hosting and apps: $15 to $150 monthly, and maintenance costs of $20 to $100 annually. You’ll also need to buy a domain name.

How much you can make

$101,568 per year or $48.83 per hour, via ZipRecruiter. Many of these jobs are part-time and remote.

Why it’s great for retirees

You stay intellectually sharp, feel seen and valued for your hard-earned knowledge, and enjoy complete control over when and how much you work. For most positions, the job is flexible and you work where and when you want. Keep in mind, you may be required to travel occasionally.

2. Freelance services — writing, virtual assistance, graphic design

Offer specialized professional skills honed throughout your career on a flexible schedule.

How it works

Provide short or long-term projects like content writing, account management or simple graphic design to clients directly or through freelance platforms.

Essential tools and apps

Upwork, Fiverr, FlexJobs, ZipRecruiter, RemoteJobs and other apps. These are among the main platforms to find clients. Typically, the app you use depends on the service you offer. For example, Writer Access or FreelanceWriting.com may be better for writing gigs, whereas Twine and Dribbble may be better for graphic designers.

Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. For professional email, documents and collaboration with clients. Retirees may prefer Microsoft, which costs about $6-$12 per month if they previously used it at work.

Canva Pro. Relatively simple drag-and-drop design for presentations, social media graphics and ebooks. Retiree-friendly and well worth the $15 per month.

Grammarly Premium. Helps correct tone, clarity, AI and grammar issues instantly. Huge time-saver at about $12 per month.

Wise or PayPal, as mentioned under the Executive and Professional Consulting section.

What it costs to become a freelancer

From $0 to $200 (mainly for premium platform subscriptions). Upwork (and other sites) may also charge a freelancer service fee ranging from 0% to 15% on all earnings. You’ll also need a website to show off your expertise. An initial build will run about $0 to $450, up to $1,500 for a professional design. Add hosting and maintenance costs, plus the price of a domain name. Typically, you’ll also use your own computer and software.

How much you can make

Reasonably, between $25 to $100+ per hour. Realistic part-time earnings can run $1,000 – $4,500 per month or approximately $99,230 per year, according to Upwork.

Why it’s great for retirees

You can often work from home on your own timeline, use skills you’ve already mastered and avoid a long commute. You can potentially earn much more after you’ve gained a following and earned positive feedback from repeat clients.

Word of warning: Some listed jobs might be scams, so if a job looks too good to be true, it probably is. Also, never pay anything up front, and double-check to ensure the company is legitimate by visiting its website and searching for reviews.

3. Pet sitting, dog walking and house sitting

There are currently more than 95 million U.S. households that own at least one pet. From 65% of U.S. dog owners walking 3 to 5 times per week and 82% of walkers using scheduling apps, the numbers reveal how preferences, pricing, and technology are shaping daily care across countries.

How it works

Care for pets in their homes or yours, walk dogs, or house-sit while the owners are away. The job involves flexible hours, but may include weekends and holidays.

Essential tools and apps

Rover, PetBacker and Wag!. These are popular platforms for pet sitting, dog walking, boarding, and drop-in visits. Pet sitters and walkers can set their own rates and build long-term relationships with clients. There is a small service fee to start (15% to 25%) on each site, but providers typically keep 60-80% of the booking. There are no monthly fees.

TrustedHousesitters. A global platform where sitters live in the home and care for both pets and the property in exchange for accommodation while the owners are away. Sitters can earn $129 – $259 per year, minus a per-sit fee.

Square (or cash) for payments. Square has three tiers: $0 per month to $149 per month.

What it costs

On average, about $0 to $100, which can include a background check and basic insurance.

How much you can make

Retirees can earn $14 to $50 or more per day per pet, with many people clearing $31,000 per year part-time.

Why it’s great for retirees

You can stay active, get fresh air, enjoy unconditional love from animals and work your own hours while getting paid.

4. Local handyman or home services

Perfect for healthy and reasonably fit retirees who enjoy practical, hands-on projects and helping neighbors.

How it works

Handle small jobs like furniture moving and assembly, running errands, minor repairs, painting or yard work through apps or word-of-mouth.

Essential tools and apps

TaskRabbit. A marketplace platform that connects you with customers for help with everyday tasks. Clients pay hourly or per-task rates, which can run $35 to $80+ per hour depending on the task and location. TaskRabbit charges service fees, usually 15–30%. Users will also pay a one-time background check fee of about $25.

Nextdoor and Facebook or Facebook Marketplace. Social networks for recommendations and offering services within your neighborhood. Nextdoor and Facebook Marketplace are completely free. You determine charges with your clients.

Thumbtack or Angi. Thumbtack is best for flexible, pay-per-lead work with no monthly fees. However, you do pay for the service (often $20–$80) even if you’re not hired. Angi works well if you want more serious home-service customers. Angi offers free basic listings for contractors, but paid programs like Angi Ads and Angi Leads can cost between $85 and $200 per lead.

Jobber or Square. Invoicing and payments. Jobber and Square help with quoting, scheduling, invoicing, client management and payments. Jobber plans run $49 to $399 per month for up to ten users. Square has three tiers: $0, $49, and $149 per month.

What it costs

Overall costs are $0–$300 for background checks, basic insurance and any specialty on-the-job tools.

How much you can make

Between $30–$60 per hour. Active retirees often earn $1,500–$4,000+ per month, working about 10-20 hours per week. The national average salary for handymen in the U.S. is about $50,000 annually.

Why it’s great for retirees

You’ll stay physically fit and active while working at your own pace and see immediate results. You can also build a positive reputation (which means additional future work) and meaningful local connections.

5. Creative gig economy — Etsy, photography, crafting, content

Turn hobbies or creative talents into income.

How it works

You’ll offer project-based work in creative fields, such as graphic design, writing or video editing. Or you can sell handmade items, digital downloads, photography, or crafts online, or create content around your passion. Retirees can earn supplemental income and stay mentally active without the pressure of full-time work.

Essential tools and apps

Etsy and Shopify. Both platforms let you open a shop and sell directly to buyers worldwide. Total fees on Etsy typically run 12–15% per sale. There is no monthly fee to start a basic shop. Shopify offers five pricing tiers, starting at $5 per month for its starter plan, up to $2,300 per month for Shopify Plus.

Canva Pro or Adobe Creative Cloud. Canva Pro is ideal for quick graphics, presentations and content creation, while Adobe Creative Cloud offers advanced editing, vector design, video production and customization for serious creatives. Canva Pro: $12.99 to $18 per month or $144 per year. Adobe Creative Cloud Pro (all Apps plan): $69.99 per month.

Instagram or TikTok. For marketing your talents. Instagram is free for personal and professional accounts. You only pay if you run ads, which can cost $0.20 to $2 or more per click. There are also optional paid features, including Subscriptions. TikTok is also free, but advertising can run $0.50 to $2 per click.

Printful or Printify. Both Printful and Printify are print-on-demand (POD) services that let you design and sell custom apparel, accessories, home goods and more without needing to hold inventory. You also set your own prices. Printful is free. Its Growth plan is $24.99 per month, and becomes free when you reach $12,000 in annual sales. Printify ranges from $0 to $39 per month depending on the plan.

SmugMug. Sell your photos through websites, client galleries, print sales and digital downloads. SmugMug prices range from $20 to $37 per month.

What it costs

On average, $0–$400. Camera gear, inventory, printing costs and more can add up, but with sales come profits.

How much you can make

Varies widely. Many retirees earn $500–$3,000+ per month once established; top shops do much more. Most Etsy sellers earn about $574 per month, but top sellers can earn over $10,000 monthly. Mega-influencers on Instagram can earn even more, up to $10,000 or more per post.

Why it’s great for retirees

You can express your creativity on your own schedule by working from home and turn a lifelong passion into savings for a happy retirement.

6. Tutoring, Coaching and Teaching

Share a lifetime of knowledge with others.

How it works

Tutor students online or in-person, coach or teach classes in your area of expertise, such as foreign languages, music, history, sports and more.

Essential tools and apps

Zoom. Online conferencing. Zoom offers a free Basic plan with limited features. The Pro plan starts at $13.33 per user per month. Google Meet is another site to try. It’s free to use, but if you want more features, you’ll pay from $7 to $22 per month.

Tutor.com, Preply, or Wyzant. These sites connect students with tutors for homework and academic support (K-12 to college). Tutors are either paid a set hourly rate or they can set their own rates. Each site typically takes a commission, ranging from 18% to 25%.

Calendly or Google Calendar. As mentioned in the Executive and Professional Consulting section.

Teachable or Thinkific. Past and tech-savvy teachers can now build, market, and sell their own digital curriculum, courses and coaching programs online. Plan pricing varies, ranging from $39 to $399 per month on Teachable. Pricing on Thinkific ranges from $0 to $199 per month.

What it costs

On average, you’ll pay between $0 and $150 for platform fees and basic marketing.

How much you can make

On average, $25–$80+ per hour. Part-time retirees commonly earn $1,000 – $4,000 per month.

Why it’s great for retirees

You can stay mentally engaged, enjoy meaningful interactions with students and experience the joy of helping others succeed. However, it may not be as flexible as other side hustles.

7. Driving and delivery services

Simple, flexible way to earn while you’re already out and about

How it works

Deliver food, groceries, or passengers using your own car on your own schedule.

Essential tools and apps

Uber, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Instacart. All are free to join as a driver, dasher, or shopper. You keep most of your earnings, but the platforms take a cut. Earnings vary widely by city, time and demand, but 100% of the tips are yours to keep.

Amazon Flex. Use your own vehicles to deliver Amazon packages. The service is free to join and you get paid per shift ($72 – $150 for 3–5-hour shifts). You’ll also have the chance to earn even more during peak seasons and holidays. You must be based in an area where Amazon Flex operates.

Stride. This app automatically tracks your mileage, logs expenses and income, and helps you maximize tax deductions with IRS-ready reports. Best part? It doesn’t cost a thing.

What it costs

Gas (the U.S. average in June 2026 is $4.49 per gallon) and vehicle wear and tear.

How much you can make

On average, retirees can earn $15–$30 per hour during peak times (after expenses). Part-time: $800 – $2,500 per month.

Why it’s great for retirees

Total flexibility. Work when you want, listen to podcasts or audiobooks while driving, and get out of the house with no long-term commitment.

Tax tips for your retirement side hustle

Starting a side hustle in retirement is exciting, but staying on top of taxes will help you keep more of what you earn. Here’s what every retiree should know in 2026:

1. You’ll owe self-employment tax

Most side hustles count as self-employment income and you’ll pay self-employment tax on your net earnings. But the good news is that once you reach full retirement age, earning extra income no longer reduces your Social Security benefits.

2. Make quarterly estimated tax payments

The IRS expects you to pay estimated taxes quarterly. Mark these deadlines on your calendar:

April 15, 2026 (Q1)

June 15, 2026 (Q2)

September 15, 2026 (Q3)

January 15, 2027 (Q4)

Use IRS Form 1040-ES or set up payments directly on IRS.gov.

3. Track every deduction

Keep detailed records with apps like QuickBooks Self-Employed, MileIQ, or Expensify.

Common deductions include:

• Home office (if you have a dedicated space)
• Mileage or vehicle expenses
• Business portion of Internet, phone, and computer costs
• Supplies, tools and equipment
• Marketing and advertising
• Health insurance premiums (100% deductible if self-employed)
• Retirement contributions

Tips for success

• Start small: Choose one service or product to avoid overwhelming yourself. Remember, you’re retired.
• Protect your benefits: If you're under full retirement age, keep your earnings below $23,400 per year to avoid Social Security reductions.
• Leverage your experience: Highlight decades of expertise in your profiles or marketing to build trust with clients.
• Stay safe: Avoid scams by sticking to reputable platforms, such as those listed above. Never share personal financial details with unverified clients.
• Enjoy the journey: Pick a side hustle that aligns with your passions, whether it’s pets, teaching, driving or crafting. The goal of a side gig is to stay active, engaged and financially secure while having fun.

A side hustle can keep you happy in retirement

“The key to thriving in a side hustle is choosing tools that feel approachable and build your confidence," said Christina Muller, LCSW, Licensed Workplace Mental Health Expert and Strategist at R3 Continuum.

"That sense of momentum taps into something deeper: Our human need for purpose and alignment," she said. "When you feel productive, you're far more likely to be productive.”

Grab your laptop, pick a platform, and start building your unretirement adventure today.

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You may dream of early retirement, but remote work can make extending your career a tempting option. It turns out that working later in life can have significant benefits for both your health and finances. If your employer is pressuring you to return to the office, or if you want to negotiate your way to a work-from-home (WFH) position, there's new data to show the advantages to you and your employer.

These benefits are not trifling. The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that those who worked just a year beyond retirement age had a 9% to 11% lower risk of dying during the 18 years the research covered, regardless of health. And the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that delaying retirement from 66 to 67 could increase retirement income by 7.75%.

For employers hoping to retain talent, older workers who can work remotely, at least part-time, are less likely to retire. That can save employers on hiring and training costs for new employees.

Remote work opens the door to late retirement

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, only around 6% to 8% of employees worked remotely. The number of remote workers more than tripled in 2020, and although it has declined since, twice as many people now work from home compared to before the pandemic.

Remote work changed many aspects of life, but a new study from the Center for Retirement Research also revealed that it's making later retirement not just possible, but much more likely.

CRR used data from the Current Population Survey to determine the impact of working remotely on retirement. Researchers focused on people aged 55 and up who were employed and had no major health issues. The study controlled for the fact that remote employees often have higher salaries, do less physical work, and have more education. Still, CRR found that working remotely had a meaningful impact on retirement choices.

In fact, someone who works remotely was 1.4 percentage points less likely to retire compared with an employee in a similar position who commuted to the office. Based on the retirement rates of those included in the research, this reduction in the likelihood of retirement represents a 14.4% decrease.

Remote work had the third-largest marginal effect of any characteristic on the likelihood of retiring within the upcoming year. Astoundingly, working from home made an employee less likely to retire than a doubling of weekly earnings, working in a physical industry or having dependent children. Only working part-time or a spouse retiring played a bigger role in the likelihood of someone leaving their job.

Why does remote work allow for later retirement?

The Center for Retirement Research doesn't delve deeply into why working remotely makes someone more likely to stay on the job. However, researchers suggest "the flexibility and ease of commute offered by remote work could encourage late-career individuals to work longer and delay retirement. "

A considerable amount of other research shows that a shift to remote work has allowed more people with disabilities to find and maintain gainful employment. This could suggest that older workers are more likely to stay on the job if they develop health issues, when medical problems may have otherwise prompted retirement.

Remote work also opens the door to relocating without having to retire. Harvard Researchers assessing the impact of a 2012 work-from-home experiment found that workers who were older and closer to retirement age were more likely to relocate to retirement-friendly destinations in Florida and Texas once working from anywhere became possible.

If workers have more flexibility in when, where, and how they work; can save commuting time; and can live where they'd like, it's not a surprise that they'd be more amenable to staying at their jobs.

Regardless of the reasons, though, it's clear that remote work has an impact on retirement and that later retirement can have positive effects. Those nearing retirement age may want to explore the possibility of going remote if they're hesitant to give up their careers entirely, but want an easier workday as they approach their final day of work.

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This is shaping up to be the year that thousands of U.S. workers will need to put away their soft pants and return to the office — at least for a couple of days a week.

A summer 2024 survey of chief executive officers by accounting firm KPMG found a sharp turnaround in views toward remote work. More than three-fourths of CEOs expect employees to return to a traditional in-office schedule within three years. Earlier in 2024, only one-third of CEOs predicted a return to an in-office model. Only 17% of CEOs expect their employees to have a hybrid schedule, and just 4% expect their employees to be fully remote, according to the summer survey.

The news isn’t all bad for the comfy-pants crowd. Eighty-six percent of CEOs said they would reward employees who return to the office with favorable assignments, raises and promotions. And research by the Flex Index, a technology research firm based in San Francisco, found that while the number of companies that allow a fully flexible workforce has declined since 2023, the percentage of companies that use a hybrid model increased in 2024.

Employers’ willingness to allow their employees to work from home, at least some of the time, also varies significantly by industry, according to research by Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, who has studied remote work for more than two decades. Workers in the technology and finance industry, for example, work from home an average of 2.39 days a week, while workers in the hospitality, transportation and retail industry work from home less than one day a week, according to Bloom’s research.

Do workers want to return to the office?

Companies that mandate a return to the office face pushback from employees who place a high value on a flexible work schedule.

A 2024 workplace benefits survey by Charles Schwab found that many workers say having a flexible work schedule is an important benefit, particularly for younger workers. Fifty-seven percent of workers said they would forgo anywhere from 5% to 15% of a salary increase in exchange for a more flexible work arrangement. The survey also found that the ability to work from home was a must-have benefit for 27% of men and 36% of women, and more than half of Generation Z workers and 46% of millennials viewed flexibility in work hours and location as an essential benefit.

A survey by Payscale, a compensation consulting and research firm, found that more than 60% of companies with return-to-office mandates have encountered resistance from their employees. Payscale’s research also revealed that providing flexible work arrangements can help companies attract and retain talent. Payscale discovered, for example, that companies with remote work environments have much lower turnover than those with traditional office hours or even hybrid work arrangements.

Lexi Clarke, chief people officer at Payscale, says the company went fully remote in fall 2022 but provides coworking spaces in Seattle, Boston, and Denver, where most of its employees are located. The coworking offices provide a way for managers to meet with their teams and give employees an alternative if they’d prefer to work in an office, she says. “We use remote work as a lever to help us find the best talent,” she adds.

Employees who want to maintain a remote or hybrid work schedule should talk to their employers about ways in which a flexible work environment improves their productivity, Clarke says. Research supports that position. A survey of productivity growth between 2019 and 2022 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that remote work increased productivity in 61 business sectors. A big reason is that those employees no longer spent time and money commuting to the office.

“I’ve enjoyed working remotely,” Clarke says. “From 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., it’s just me and my coffee.”

Note: This item first appeared in Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine, a monthly, trustworthy source of advice and guidance. Subscribe to help you make more money and keep more of the money you make here.

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Freelancing is on the rise and some of the most successful self-employed workers are the ones tapping into the biggest and fastest-growing freelance markets. Flexjob's 2024 State of Remote Freelance Jobs Report looks at the ever-changing world of remote freelance work to identify future career opportunities.

In the report, you'll find the top ten careers for freelance workers in 2024, the most popular job titles, ten companies most likely to hire freelance workers and how to find work. Ready to join the remote work revolution? Let's go.

The rise in remote freelance work

Freelance workers are having a greater impact on the US economy than ever before, and the trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. According to the 2024 Work Insights Survey from FlexJobs, 95% of workers want some form of remote work, with 54% preferring to work from home full-time and 41% saying a hybrid is their ideal work arrangement.

“The rise in freelancers is a great indication of the many workers pursuing their careers with greater autonomy, independence, and flexibility,” said Toni Frana, Lead Career Expert at FlexJobs. “And fortunately, as our latest report has shown, there are remote freelance opportunities across a wide range of industries that afford people the freedom to define when, where, and how they work.”

Although the reasons people choose a freelance career can vary — a flexible schedule, a better balance of work and family life and the benefit of being their own boss — the demand for freelance work (and workers) continues to skyrocket. In fact, an estimated 64 million US workers performed freelance work in 2023, according to Statista.

Top 10 career fields for remote freelance work

The following 10 career categories experienced the highest growth in remote freelance jobs from January 1 through December 31, 2023. These jobs are also considered to be strong options through 2024.

1. Bilingual
2. Graphic Design
3. Art & Creative
4. Copywriting
5. Consulting
6. News & Journalism
7. Entertainment & Media
8. Operations
9. Social Media
10. Editing

Top 10 companies for remote freelance work

The 2024 report showed a steady pace for remote freelance opportunities in new career fields, including:

1. TELUS
2. Robert Half International
3. Welocalize
4. BELAY
5. LHH - Lee Hecht Harrison
6. Kforce
7. ModSquad
8. Insight Global
9. Solomon Page
10. Kelly

Top 10 in-demand remote freelance job titles

Among the top 10 remote freelance job titles, virtual assistants and graphic designers were some of the most sought-after roles, highlighting the versatility in the current freelance marketplace.

• Virtual Assistant
• Graphic Designer
• Project Manager
• Bookkeeper
• Copywriter
• Customer Service Representative
• Social Media Specialist
• Video Editor
• Marketing Manager
• Communications Specialist

Five steps to finding freelance work

If you’re not sure how to get your foot in the door, FlexJobs has a few words of wisdom to help take your freelance career to the next level.

1. Get Social & Get Networking — Don’t underestimate the role of social media and a powerful network in finding and landing freelance clients.
2. Target Your Search — Target different keywords to expand your results.
3. Try Cold Pitching — Cold pitching is emailing or messaging potential freelance clients to offer your services.
4. Build Your Brand — Having a strong personal brand and personal website to showcase past work is essential when freelancing.
5. Ask for Referrals — Make it easy for freelance clients to share testimonials by sending a polite email with a link and a couple of targeted questions they can answer.

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It's a scenario familiar to most business owners. Everything appears to be progressing smoothly with your star performers, even the ones doing remote work, until suddenly it isn’t. The dreaded resignation letter appears or the unexpected request for an "important meeting" drops in your inbox. You're left puzzled. What happened?

One of the most potent contributors to this disheartening scenario is the lack of recognition. Consider these statistics from O.C. Tanner and oGoLead:

• 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a major reason for leaving.
• 65% of Americans claimed they weren't even recognized one time last year.
• 82% of employees feel their supervisor doesn’t recognize their accomplishments.
• 60% say they are more motivated by recognition than money.

The power of recognition

The potency of positive reinforcement can't be underestimated. Small gestures from upper management that acknowledge employees' contributions can propel them to step outside their comfort zones and drive business growth. Experts recommend that leaders praise in public and critique in private.

Top performers in the remote workforce are often the first to jump ship when they feel unappreciated. This might become evident when previously passionate team members suddenly go silent on topics that fall within their specialties. When your best sales associate exhibits indifference between options of new sales tools, for example, it might signal a waning enthusiasm.

But it's not solely recognition from superiors that top performers crave. They also yearn for respect and acknowledgment from their peers, especially those less vocal "silent heroes" who prefer to wield influence without clamoring for attention. Addressing this issue can be challenging. Praise can sometimes feel forced, and the fear exists that it might create an expectation of recognition for every accomplishment. After all, there's only so much time in the day to monitor everyone’s progress and achievements. 

So, how do we ensure that our virtual team feels seen, heard and valued? By going back to the basics and making slight modifications to cater to the remote workforce. Here are four suggestions for how to do that.

Build a solid remote work culture and infrastructure

Embedding remote work into your corporate culture is vital to reduce attrition. Virtual Vocations pointed out in an article that clearly defined policies that affirm the company's commitment to flexible work options and address legal aspects lay the groundwork. 

Alongside these policies, optimizing the hiring process ensures that new hires are quickly aligned with the company’s procedures, culture and technical tools. From the initial definition of remote role requirements to implementing tools like applicant tracking systems and video interview platforms, streamlining remote hiring and onboarding is paramount.

Strong communication is just as essential for cohesion in a remote environment. Regular video meetings, project management tools and secure chat platforms must be evaluated and updated to keep the team connected. Alongside this, understanding generational differences is crucial for managing a diverse remote workforce. Offering a mix of remote and in-office options and accommodating various generational preferences can enhance employee satisfaction across the board.

Create a process to nurture and advance remote employees

As with traditional office environments, competitive pay and targeted benefits play a significant role in fostering job satisfaction. This includes factoring in elements such as home office allowances or membership to a co-working space for remote team members. At the root of it all, managing remote teams requires specialized leadership skills. That being said, targeted training on virtual leadership and remote team building equips leaders with essential competencies to drive remote teams effectively.

The prospect of career growth is also vital to retaining remote employees. Clear advancement pathways, regular feedback, access to training, mentorship and project opportunities make remote workers feel valued and considered for growth. Implementing strategies to measure and maintain engagement can also counter the insidious problem of “quiet quitting” among remote staff. This complete approach helps in ensuring that your virtual team remains motivated and committed to your organization's success.

Encourage peer recognition and collaboration

Peer recognition serves as a powerful tool to bolster relationships and engagement within remote teams. The importance of peer acknowledgment extends beyond those receiving praise, impacting the entire team's well-being. According to research by Psychology Today, acts of kindness, such as recognizing a co-worker, have been proven to increase neurochemicals like dopamine and serotonin in the brain. This biochemical reaction leads to reduced stress and increased trust and empathy, forging what can be termed a "happiness trifecta."

Initiating peer recognition in a remote setting can be as uncomplicated as sending a thank-you email or giving a shout-out during a virtual meeting. What makes peer recognition special is that it’s not confined to major achievements — even small, thoughtful gestures can make a significant impact.

To implement peer recognition effectively, various programs and initiatives can be adapted to the remote working environment. For example, creating a virtual "kudos board" using tools like Slack or Miro can transform an organization's internal communications into a platform for peer appreciation, encouraging employees to share their gratitude. However, it's crucial to understand that not everyone responds to public recognition, so explore options that allow for more private exchanges.

Other strategies include collaborative celebrations of milestones, integrating peer recognition into daily rituals and encouraging peers to build meaningful connections, such as ending the week by sharing how a teammate helped. In turn, this enhances the overall cohesion and morale of the virtual team.

Offer additional support for mental health

In addition to simply being available to support team members, employers should actively communicate their commitment to a healthier workplace by sharing resources tied to dealing with wellness on the job and mental health issues that can stem from burnout. For the sake of offering something for everyone, this information can be disseminated through various channels like infographics, monthly emails, videos and podcasts.

As a side note, leaders who openly discuss their own mental health struggles set a precedent for open and empathetic communication, normalizing the conversation.

A focus on healthy work-life balance is vital as well, which may involve guiding employees in setting boundaries, allowing mental health days, practicing asynchronous communication and creating social connections.

These strategies, however, cover only the tip of the iceberg. The ongoing task for leaders is to continually reassess and adapt these strategies to suit their organization’s needs and their employees' expectations.

All in all, merely offering remote work is not the panacea for employee retention. Recognition for their efforts is paramount to their job satisfaction and overall experience. Recognize, respect and reward your virtual talent, and they will not only stay but thrive.

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This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

The pandemic ushered in a new way of working and it hasn’t left. In fact, workers have warmed to hybrid and remote working so much that many won’t go back into the office full-time. A new survey from Bankrate reveals workplace flexibility is a top priority and that workers are willing to make significant  trade-offs to obtain a shorter work week and the opportunity to work mostly from home.  

Four day work week

The four-day work week has robust support from all groups that were surveyed. 81% of full-time workers and job seekers support working a 4-day work week as opposed to the traditional 5-day work week. Just 11% said they would not be willing to make any of these sacrifices to work a 4-day work week.

A majority of younger workers, 93 % of Gen Z and 91% of millennials , are more likely to support the 4-day work week. Their older counterparts, 87% of both Gen X and boomers , like the idea as well. More women (93%) back the idea than men (87%).

About 1 in 3 workers (37%) would be willing to change jobs or industries to secure a 4-day schedule. Other trade-offs they are willing to make include: working longer hours (54%), coming into the office or place of work more days/working fully in-person (27%), receiving fewer vacation days (16%), having a longer commute (12%) or taking a pay cut (10%).

Hybrid and remote working

The hybrid work is also uniformly popular. Of those in the workforce, 68% support a hybrid schedule, and of those workers, 73% would be willing to make a sacrifice at work to attain a hybrid schedule. The most common trade-offs include 37% of workers who would be willing to change jobs/industries and 28% who would be willing to work off-peak hours. Gen Z (85%) and millennials (77%) who prefer hybrid work are more willing to make a sacrifice to attain it than Gen X (63%) and boomers (62%).

Remote schedules also get the support of 64% of Americans in the workforce. They support fully remote schedules as opposed to fully in person, and 78% who support fully remote work would be willing to make a sacrifice to attain that situation. 

Gen Z (81%) and millennial workers (83%) who prefer to work remotely full-time would be willing to make a sacrifice compared to 76% of Gen X and 58% of boomers. The most commonly cited sacrifices: willing to change jobs/industries (42%) and work off-peak hours (35%).

“Given the high number of job openings in the U.S., employers who have the flexibility to accommodate evolving preferences for working conditions may gain competitive advances in attracting and retaining talent, particularly among younger and female workers. Employers who fail to take notice of these shifts in preferences risk losing team members,” said Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst, Mark Hamrick.

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The New York City commute just got marginally more expensive, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) raised the price of a subway ride for the first time since 2015. 

An individual subway or bus swipe increased by a little over 5%, from $2.75 to $2.90, according to the MTA. Meanwhile, a weekly unlimited pass increased from $33 to $34 (3% increase), and the 30-day pass went from $127 to $132 (4% increase). Students and seniors, who get discounted rates at half off base fare, are seeing an individual swipe go from $1.35 to $1.45. This went into effect on Aug. 20. 

Additionally, fares on the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) and Metro-North are going up by 4.5%, although the MTA notes: "Thanks to the additional 10% discount implemented in March 2022, monthly fares will remain lower than they were pre-COVID."

It's not looking much better for drivers. E-ZPass tolls on bridges and tunnels just increased from $6.55 to $6.94, according to NBC New York, and out-of-town drivers are uneagerly anticipating the start of surge pricing, with an expected rollout in spring 2024.

NYC subway ride cost increases in context

As someone who lives in New York, of course I want to grumble about this fare increase. But also as someone who lives in New York, I feel the need to defend our subway system from any and all haters. And in this case, the MTA may have a point to raise prices.

My family and I were talking about the price hike, and my dad remembered paying well under a dollar when he was a teenager living in Brooklyn, while my sister remembered when the price for a ride was still around $2 while she was in college. 

So, we pulled up the stats and ended up with some interesting measures. In the last half of the 1970s, a subway ride was $0.50, according to 6sqft. Now, using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' CPI inflation calculator, $0.50 in January 1979 has the same buying power as $2.23 in June 2023 (the most recent data available). In that sense, for someone like my dad, the price of the subway has definitely increased faster than inflation. 

But the story changes for younger and newer New Yorkers. When I first moved to New York in 2010, a subway ride was $2.25. That's the same buying power as $3.17 in June 2023, per the BLS calculator. So for me, the price of a subway has actually gotten significantly lower when you factor in inflation. The last rate hike was to $2.75 in March 2015; that would be $3.55 in June 2023. 

Or you can think of it in another way: the price of a slice of pizza was higher than a subway ride in New York as of last year, so we've already upset the pizza principle. 

I don't doubt that this fare increase is going to make budgets tighter. But this seems like a reasonable adjustment. Ridership is still down post-2020 and it costs money to maintain — and hopefully improve — a subway system, and this hike is supposed to help address some of that.

I really will defend the subway system to any non-New Yorker or new New Yorker who comes out swinging, because it's kind of a spectacular thing. Yes, there are sometimes delays, and yes, it smells terrible and there are rats. But it's a 24/7 system that generally functions, and it's a little miracle to be able to fully cross boroughs relatively quickly for less than $3. Plus, using public transportation instead of a car is generally good for the environment. 

So when I get annoyed at the news of a fare increase, I just remind myself it's cheaper than a taxi — and still lightyears better than having to own a car to get anywhere. 

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The pandemic set off a remote work revolution, as the number of people working from home in the U.S. tripled from 2019 to 2021.

However, over time that numbered began to dwindle with many companies instituting return to office policies like Amazon and JPMorgan. If you're one of the lucky ones who are able to work remote, you'll have the choice between working from home or using coworking spaces.

Working from home offers you many advantages: You don't have to factor in additional travel time to commute to and from your office. And some companies offer generous stipends on home office equipment to keep you comfortable.

Meanwhile, coworking spaces are ideal if you need a place away from home to complete work. Many of them offer office amenities like coffee, a reliable internet connection and a chance to network with other local digital nomads.

Remote worker, or digital nomad?

So what's the right location fit for this new location-independent workforce? Rental search engines Rent.com and Zumper each released their rankings of the top cities for remote workers and their more mobile "digital nomad" cousins.

Despite their shared love of working online from outside a corporate office, it turns out there are big differences between the two in terms of priorities and geography. Below, we break down the lists, and why they appeal to the two different identities of non-office workers.

Rent.com rankings and methodology

The Rent.com researchers analyzed the following sets of data to make their recommendations for remote work-friendly cities:

• Median rent and rent change year-over-year
• Access to the internet and average internet speeds
• WFH population and number of coworking spaces

The study's focus on long-term rental prices, co-working space density and internet plan speeds seems to treat remote work as a more formal career in a stable urban location.

The report includes an exhaustive list of 100 top cities, broken down by "Median Rent Score", "Average Mbps Score", "Lowest Cost Internet Score", "%Population WFH Score". Those five quantities are added up into a "Total Score" for each U.S. city analyzed. Rent.com's top 10 cities are below:

A few interesting takeaways jump out from the study:

• Florida, Georgia and South Carolina all rank well for remote workers with three cities in each state making the top 25 best cities for remote work.
• 24 of the 25 top remote work cities are in the South or Midwestern United States.
• San Francisco is the only West Coast city to crack the top 25 cities.
• Most top remote work cities are small metros with populations under 250,000 residents.

Zumper city rankings and methodology

Zumper partnered with remote work author and former "digital nomad" Tamara Sanderson to determine their own top cities list. They employed the following factors:

• Short-term rental prices
• Cost of living
• Distance to the airport
• Air quality
• Availability of entertainment and restaurants
• Transportation options
• Access to free WiFi

Zumper's ranking of friendliest cities for digital nomads is as follows:

We can draw from Zumper's criteria and rankings that "digital nomads" may prize greater flexibility, entertainment options, extremely low cost of living, and lack of long-term commitments. Harvard Business Review explains the digital nomad lifestyle thusly:

"For me and my family, being digital nomads means we have a home base in Spain, but we take frequent two-to-three-week 'work-cation' trips as well as longer working trips of up to three months at a time, enabling us to have worked and lived in more than 60 countries over the last 15 years. It also means we are location independent: If needed, we can leave our home base at any time; we’re not tied to any one place with a mortgage or other major commitments. Other nomads travel for shorter or longer stretches, on their own, with a partner, with a group of friends, or even with pets."

Call it the "greener pastures" approach to remote work.

How to calculate your actual cost of living

The lists above present plenty of interesting options for location-independent U.S. workers. Your real challenge is finding a city that fits your specific financial picture. Income, household debt, career needs, expenses, medical costs, diet, entertainment habits - everyone has a different financial DNA.

Use the Cost of Living Calculator from Payscale as a jumping-off point. Plug in your current city, or the city you are considering relocating to, and the calculator will generate averages for housing, transportation, medical care, food prices and more.

Then calculate your take-home pay with ADP's salary paycheck calculator. Add your income, tax status and work benefits, and the calculator will spit out your net income. Finally, calculate your existing expenses with a program like Google Sheets or Excel.

Armed with all this data, see if you can really afford to live in your dream city. Consult the Zumper and Rent.com lists to see if one of those cities could offer better quality of life at lower prices. And then come back to Kiplinger for more tips on how to save money and build a healthy financial lifestyle.

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The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly changed many Americans' relationships with work, including conceptions about where work is supposed to happen. Now, with new information from the Census Bureau, we can see just how drastically the pandemic changed rates of working from home, rather than in an office. 

The amount of people who worked from home in the U.S. tripled from 2019 to 2021, according to the new Census Bureau report, going from 9 million workers, or 5.7% of the total workforce, to 28 million, or 17.9%.

Where Work From Home Happened

While this increase in working from home happened across income brackets, it was drastic in higher-income brackets, with the highest-earning group going from 11% in 2019 to 38% in 2021. That also correlated with the industries that saw the biggest increases in home-based work; in 2021, 38% of people who work in finance, insurance and real estate worked from home, compared with just 8% of people who work in arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services, and 42% of people who work in the information industry were working from home, compared to 10% in 2019. 

Geographically, more people living in and around large cities were working from home in 2021, according to the Census Bureau. This was seen as a change from 2019, when people in other areas were generally more likely to work from home. The West and Northeast won out as the regions with the most home-based work in 2021, clocking in at 20% to 21% of workers, although the rates of working from home increased in all 50 states as well as D.C. and Puerto Rico. 

Colorado was the state with the highest work from home rate, at 23.7%, although D.C. jumped to 48.3% in 2021, which could have correlated with a jump in working from home in the public administration industry (from 3% in 2019 to 20% in 2021). Places with the smallest increases in the work from home rate were Louisiana, which went from 3.9% in 2019 to 8.4% in 2021; Mississippi, which went from 3.1% to 6.3%; and Wyoming, which went from 5.7% to 8.9%. 

"With the centrality of work and commuting in American life, the widespread adoption of home-based work was a defining feature of the pandemic era," the Census Bureau report says in its conclusion. "Given the differential impact that home-based work policies have on American workers — in particular, accruing disproportionately to the best-educated and highest-paid workers — the expansion of home-based work also provides a new lens through which to observe inequalities."

How the Data was Calculated, and Other Work From Home Sources

This report was put together using the 2021 American Community Survey, which included interviews conducted throughout the calendar year. That survey asks workers 16 and over how they get to work, looking at commuting options. It asks that if a respondent used different commuting methods on different days to choose the one used most often. So, for instance, some hybrid workers who work more days in the office than at home may have not been included as "working from home." 

It has been difficult to fully capture accurate rates of remote work, although many surveys and reports have been done. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracked telework since May 2020 and found that in June 2021, 14.4% of people were teleworking, a number that dipped to almost 8% in April 2022. The Pew Research Center, meanwhile, found in a report released in late March that 35% of workers with jobs that can be done remotely are working from home all the time, a dip from January 2022, but still a big jump from before the beginning of the pandemic. 

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Natasha Bowman, author of You Can’t Do That at Work, is founder of Performance ReNew, a workplace consulting firm.

The workplace is changing rapidly. How will those changes affect current employees and people looking for a job? We were hoping to move into a post-pandemic workplace in 2022, but with the resurgence of COVID-19, return-to-work plans are changing. Employees can expect to continue working remotely or in a hybrid situation until the pandemic is over. Employers are also looking to hire a more inclusive, diverse workforce that goes beyond race and gender. There’s a war to attract and keep the best and the brightest for talent. Employers have learned that if they don’t want to experience a labor shortage, they’re going to have to revise their mental health and wellness strategies. That’s more than just discounted gym memberships and nutrition programs. It means continuing to offer therapy benefits provided during the pandemic and having quiet spaces in the office where folks can go to when they need to recharge.

Employers must also figure out how to provide the flexibility that people felt while they were working remotely—the flexibility that allowed them to both work and enjoy things that they’re passionate about.

How can job seekers take advantage of these changes in the workplace? If you’ve been working remotely (and want to continue), talk about what you’ve been able to accomplish in the past couple of years and how that has worked for you and benefited the company. If you cut out your commute, talk about how you’ve been able to put that time back into your job.

At the end of an interview, if the hiring manager asks, “Do you have any questions for me?” don’t forget to ask about the organization’s culture. Most people just ask about pay, but many folks are willing to take a pay cut if it means greater flexibility to support their mental health. Also, ask if you can speak with current employees you could be working with. It’s a bold question, but job seekers have that kind of leverage now. You want to confirm that what the hiring manager said about the culture is true.

What’s the most effective way to secure an interview? Send your résumé or application directly to the hiring manager, recruiter or someone in that organization. That continues to be the way to make sure that your résumé is being seen. Use LinkedIn to make the connections. Sending materials to the company through its online job portal usually won’t do it because they get thousands of applications and end up reading maybe the first 15 to 20.

How can employees who want to continue working remotely but aren’t interested in leaving their current job take advantage of the changed workplace environment? Let your employer know just how much your productivity has improved and how that has contributed to overall company success. Research your competitors to see how they’re handling remote work. If they allow it, bring that up. If your company continues to take a hard stance on working from the office, ask for an accommodation, such as coming in a few days a week. If you’ve been doing a good job working from home, it’s going to be hard for your employer to say remote work will hurt your performance.

Who: Mahna Ghafori, age 25

What: Travel photographer

Where: Anyplace she wants

What was your life like before you embarked on your journey as a digital nomad? I was born and raised in northern Virginia and went to college at Virginia Tech. I followed the rules, got good grades and got my degree in computational modeling and data analytics—and pushed my passions for travel, photography and the outdoors aside. I got a corporate job, working at Ernst & Young in the Washington, D.C., area.

What made you decide to be remote? I had a four-hour commute each day, two hours in and two hours out in D.C. traffic. I was starting to feel really, really drained. I’ve always loved photography and the outdoors, but I wasn’t making any time for travel or for photography, and out of nowhere I found this Instagram account of traveling photographers. I had also just read the book The 4-Hour Work Week, which really inspired me to explore this whole remote working, digital nomad lifestyle. So in January 2020, I told my employer, “I’d love to still work for the firm, but my fiancé and I are planning to move out to Colorado, and I’d like to work remotely.” And they said yes.

What has it been like juggling working remotely and traveling? I would work my remote corporate job during the weekdays, and then on the weekends, or even some days after work, I would go hiking, take photographs or road-trip somewhere. Thankfully, both my fiancé and I were given the flexibility to continue to work remotely. While we were based out of Colorado, we were able to explore all the surrounding states. We went to Utah, Wyoming, even down to Arizona and out to Lake Tahoe. We were working East Coast hours in Mountain time at first, so we would start our days early and work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. It was more challenging when we moved to Hawaii at the beginning of 2021 and the time difference became even more dramatic.

You left your job in September? Even though it was a terrifying choice to make, I knew I had to take the leap. Originally, I decided to do an unpaid leave of absence so I could try it out for the summer and then see what direction I wanted to go. And then, come September, I was able to replace my corporate salary with my travel-photography income.

How do you manage the cost of the lifestyle? Finding a furnished place to stay as your home base with a flexible lease is key. In Colorado, when we were road-tripping, we would often stay at campsites or motels. We’ve found ways to make air travel more affordable, too. We’ve found that flights are a lot cheaper if you are looking and booking on Monday and Tuesday mornings. We try to travel on weekdays, if possible, because typically the prices will be lower.

How do you get internet access while on the go? We have been able to use a mobile hotspot, for the most part. But when we traveled to Iceland, the car rental company gave us a portable Wi-Fi booster, which was great. So we have also been looking into using that for international travel.

Where are you off to next? We haven’t really been planning anything more than a month out these days because we’ve had so many plans canceled or changed in the past couple of years. But we have ambitious plans to travel for eight months—fingers crossed that the pandemic doesn’t get in the way of that. We were recently in Quebec City, Canada, and plan to go to Costa Rica next. It’ll be a big change from the snowy climate to the tropics. I’m very excited.

See more of Ghafori’s adventures at www.mahnatravel.com.

More than half of Generation Z and millennial workers say the ability to work remotely and/or have flexible working hours is more important to them than higher pay, according to a recent survey by Bankrate.com. Although I work in a hybrid situation, I have friends who have recently relocated and never go into the office. Some are even exploring a digital nomad lifestyle, in which they travel from place to place while they work (see A Life on the Road).

Before you hit the road. First, review your company’s remote-work rules and get the go-ahead from your employer. Even if you’re already working from home, it’s important to be sure that relocating won’t violate any workplace policies.

Once you’ve decided where you’d like to live, make sure you can do your job there. If you venture too far off the grid, you may not have consistent cell-phone and internet service. Although efforts to expand broadband access are under way, wide swaths of the country still have spotty or nonexistent internet service. Visit the Federal Communications Commission’s broadband map to review coverage for specific areas at https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov. If you choose to use a mobile hotspot, shop around for an affordable cellular data plan that provides reliable service.

Create a budget with your new lifestyle in mind. The most important expense to track is the cost of housing. If you own a home and choose to become a digital nomad, renting it out will help cover your costs. You can rent your home for up to 14 days a year without reporting income to the IRS, and there’s no limit to how much you can charge. If you rent out your home for more than 14 days, you must report the rental income, but you can deduct rental expenses.

Whenever you move to another state (or states), you also need to consider how it could affect your state taxes. If you work remotely from a state where you don’t have your legal residence, you may have to file an income tax return with that state and pay tax on money you earned. However, you can usually claim a credit from your home state for any income tax you pay to another state while working there.

Some states have reciprocal tax agreements in which employees who live in one state but work in an office in another state are exempt from tax being withheld in the state where they work. If you’re required to file returns for more than one state because you moved during the year, check the reporting rules for those states.

Globe-trotters should keep in mind that every country has different rules when it comes to working within their borders. Even if you’re still working for a company in the U.S., you may need to apply for a work visa if you relocate abroad. Some countries, such as Costa Rica, Taiwan and the Bahamas, are offering visa programs tailored to remote workers who want to temporarily relocate. Use the key words “Digital Nomad Visa” to search online for countries offering these programs.

U.S. citizens owe U.S. taxes no matter where they live. However, if you remain outside the U.S. for a year or more, you may qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion, which allows you to exclude up to $112,000 of foreign earnings from your income in 2022. Some states will continue to levy taxes on your income.

September marks the beginning of a new school year, and children who have been learning remotely won’t be the only ones adjusting to a new environment. Millions of employees are returning to work as companies reopen their physical offices. But many employees are hesitant to return to the office—either because of pandemic-related concerns or because they’ve discovered they prefer working from home.

A survey by FlexJobs.com found that 58% of workers said they’d look for a new job if they cannot continue remote work in their current role. But before you give notice, there are steps you can take to navigate changes to your workplace—and your budget.

If you want to continue working from home, you’ll need to negotiate that with your supervisor. But first, prepare talking points that highlight how your remote work will benefit your employer, says Toni Frana, a career coach at FlexJobs. Instead of explaining how working from home will help you, she says, focus on how it will increase your productivity.

Your employer may also be more receptive to an arrangement in which you work remotely part of the time rather than full-time. In May, Google announced that it would adopt a hybrid work week, requiring in-person office work for only three out of five days starting in September. Other companies—especially in the technology sector—are also developing hybrid work models.

Still, while some com­panies are open to hybrid work schedules, others want their employees back in the office full-time. If your employer falls into that group, leverage your bargaining power, says Alison Green, founder of the Ask a Manager website and author of Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-Stealing Bosses and Other Tricky Situations at Work. At a time when many companies are struggling to fill open jobs, managers may be forced to be more receptive to your concerns, she says.

Anticipating a changing budget. Nearly 60% of Americans who worked from home at some point during the pandemic said it had a positive effect on their personal finances, according to a survey by Bankrate.com. People who were able to work remotely saved money on expenses such as transportation, lunches, workplace attire and child care, says Bankrate analyst Ted Rossman. To cut your back-to-work costs, ask your employer if it plans to offer (or reinstate) sub­sidies for parking or mass transit. If you have unused funds in a pretax commuter benefits account, make sure to use them. And now that you’ve learned how much money you can save by cooking at home, you may be inspired to start bringing your lunch to work.

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Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Kiplinger's Inflation Forecast
• Sidehusl
• Unemployment Tax Break: Don't Amend Your 2020 Tax Return to Claim the New Exemption
• Taxes on Unemployment Benefits: A State-by-State Guide

Transcript

David Muhlbaum: The side hustle. Originally, it was something you did in addition to your main job. Increasingly, people are patching together side hustles to be their primary income. Kathy Kristof, who runs a website that helps people find good gigs, joins us to talk about the changing field of contract employment. Also, are you afraid of inflation? Or would you rather not talk about that? All coming up in this episode of Your Money’s Worth. Stick around,

David Muhlbaum: Welcome to Your Money’s Worth. I’m Kiplinger.com senior editor David Muhlbaum, joined by my co-host, senior editor Sandy Block. How are you doing Sandy?

Sandy Block: Hi, I’m doing great.

David Muhlbaum: Excellent. I want to start out talking about something and whether we should be talking more about it. I know that sounds a little bit cryptic. So here’s the topic in question: inflation.

Sandy Block: Like the economic topic, not tire inflation, which is what you tend to go on about at great length.

David Muhlbaum: Yeah, right. I could do tire inflation and how you need to check pressures with a gauge, even though cars have TPMS, but no, I mean inflation in the U.S. economy, the general increase in prices and fall and the purchasing power of money.

Sandy Block: Ah, okay.

David Muhlbaum: Yeah, well I’ve heard that reaction before. In truth, not everyone here at Kiplinger agrees inflation is a good topic to talk about on a podcast. In part, because while it’s both real and can affect everyone, there’s not a whole lot we can do about it. And some people think it’s boring.

Sandy Block: Except for inflation hawks.

David Muhlbaum: Yes. Inflation hawks, closely related to the deficit hawks we talked about earlier this year. In fact, these two creatures share a lot of DNA, and they’re both squawking these days, but I’m going to stop now and say, dear listener, this is supposed to be a two-way street. We spend a lot of time stroking our chins, deciding what to feature each week on this podcast, but you can let us know, too. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and of course, good old email, podcast@kiplinger.com. So, do you want us to do a full-length feature on inflation risks with a guest? An interesting one, I hope. Speak up! In the meantime, we’re going to take a quick crack at it anyway. And so you can also write us and say that was enough, or too much, no more on inflation, thanks.

Sandy Block: Or just say hi, or suggest something entirely different. But inflation, then, it’s a staple of the Kiplinger Letter. They can’t avoid the topic, what with having to put out regular economic forecasts.

David Muhlbaum: Exactly. They’re stuck with it, but even so, we’re in a time of heightened inflation talk, as the Letter laid out last week. And no, I didn’t say we’re actually in a time of inflation. We’re in a time of inflation fear. The fear that in the future, prices will start rising and cutting the ability of people, particularly those on fixed incomes to afford things, and making it hard for businesses to plan, and devaluing investments, bonds in particular. That’s what people are afraid of with inflation.

Sandy Block: Right. And in fairness, a lot of the conditions that can set off inflation are in place. I’m harking back to my econ classes, and these things would all be written on the blackboard. Government spending, as we’re seeing with another round of economic stimulus. Another big factor is pent-up demand. People coming out of lockdown, itching to spend on everything from meals to travel, to haircuts, to clothes for the office. But just because inflation could happen, doesn’t mean it will.

David Muhlbaum: Maybe part of the reason that inflation danger draws so much eye-rolling is that these warnings, they’ve been sounded so many times before, and yet over the last dozen years or so, it’s been deflation, falling prices that’s been the bigger risk.

Sandy Block: Right. Now I’m back to Econ 101.

David Muhlbaum: Yeah. I brought in another term. I’m sorry. I’ll wrap this up by doing my best to summarize the Kiplinger Letter’s take then. They agree that the ingredients for inflation are in place now, and they think inflation will rise enough for consumers to take notice. In part, because we measure prices by where they were a year ago. And frankly, last year, in 2020, things were weird. I mean, think about the price of gas during the pandemic, but the letter editors, they have faith that the Federal Reserve, whose job it is to keep inflation in check can get it from getting out of hand.

Sandy Block: Right. And Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell is testifying in front of Congress as we speak.

David Muhlbaum: Yeah, you’re correct. I will try some listening instead of more talking. But as we said, if you want us to come back and wrestle with inflation fears some more, we might. Let us know. When we return for our main segment, we’ll talk about the gig economy, how the pandemic has changed it, and a key way to find good jobs in it.

David Muhlbaum: We’re back for our main segment with another Kiplinger alumna, Kathy Kristof, who might be familiar to some of you for her Practical Portfolio series, where she put her own money to work trying to beat the market, and she brought us along for the ride. But her main endeavor for the past few years has been a company called SideHusl. And that’s spelled S-I-D-E H-U-S-L because, well, this is the internet. SideHusl, no T and no E around the L. It’s a site that helps people find and vet gigs. And we’re going to talk about how it’s doing, but Kathy, as with so many things, we want to talk about pandemic effects. And so what would you say are the biggest changes the corona economy has had on the gig economy? Maybe you could give us one good and one bad.

Kathy Kristof: Well, it’s eliminated certain types of jobs, jobs in entertainment and travel, pretty much just disappeared over the past year. And then meanwhile, jobs in delivery, shopping for other people, all sorts of artistic gigs went absolutely nuts, which is fun. All sorts of people who basically were out of work because of the pandemic ended up using their free time to do some crafty thing. And I’ve talked to people who not only replaced their previous income, but made hundreds of thousands of dollars because they somehow connected with people who wanted their t-shirts that were maybe mocking the pandemic or that were connecting to a particular group or people who make puzzles, puzzles were giant during the pandemic. So you think about millions of people stuck at home and getting sick of Netflix. And so now you create a product for them to hang out with their family.

So it changed the world. And I think it also made people way more aware that even stable jobs are not quite as stable in the real world. And so we saw a giant increase in interest in side hustles, our site traffic doubled over the course of the year. And it’s kind of maintained that.

David Muhlbaum: Wow, that’s impressive. The delivery thing, well, I knew about that. The games and design, frankly, I didn’t. And so you’re able to see what’s happening, not just by site traffic, and congratulations on that. But I presume also by categories, you’re having to add categories of things that are side hustles that weren’t before.

Kathy Kristof: Oh yeah, yeah. And the online tutoring platforms have gone absolutely gangbusters, as you probably are not surprised, right? Because distance learning has really failed kids. So parents, and particularly now as more and more school districts are talking about going back to in-person learning, and you have testing, and a lot of kids, you just would call the last year, a lost year for them. And so now they have to catch up. And so again, the tutoring platforms that were gangbusters at the beginning of the pandemic are again gangbusters now, because again, you realize, okay, we got to catch up, we got to get back to something that’s close to our grade level.

Sandy Block: So Kathy, why don’t you tell us a little bit about what SideHusl does and how it sort of helps people who are interested in gig jobs particularly now, because maybe they need the extra income, just maybe a little bit about what you do.

Kathy Kristof: Sure. Well, it kind of helps to tell you how I started. I was reporting as a freelance reporter, and I was writing for all sorts of different publications, including Kiplinger and Reuters and whomever, CBS News. And I was constantly getting pitched by these companies that were purporting that they were onto some new way to make money in the gig economy.

David Muhlbaum: The Uber of so-and-so.

Kathy Kristof: Oh yes, everything was the Uber or the Airbnb of whatever it was. And so I started digging in, as a reporter will do. And I wanted to just get more detail, of how much money do you make, and where is this available? And what are the risks? What are the rewards? All that stuff, what are the parameters? You get their answers. And then you read the terms and conditions, because I’m actually a reporter. And when you read the terms and conditions, what you realize, first of all, is this whole industry, this whole gig economy is unlike a normal employment arrangement like with normal employer/employee relationships, where you’re governed by labor law. With side hustles, you’re governed by contract law. And so if it’s in the contract, if it’s in the terms and conditions, they can do almost anything. And there’s no disclosure requirements. So people get into these gigs, and way later they find out, oh, guess what? It’s totally like a credit card deal.

So you build up points with a credit card arrangement. You think you have $500 built up in points. And then the credit card company says, “Oh, you violated our terms. We’re taking away that $500.” And that’s what they’re doing with people’s income, or some of these platforms were doing. And so I was horrified. Because I’m like, first thing kind of seduced by this thing, I think is kind of cool. You have a lot of freedom, like whatever. And then when you start reading the terms, again, on the surface, you can’t tell the difference between a great side hustle and a bad side hustle. And that’s when I decided I had to create, because I was gathering information just for my own edification. And then I thought, “Oh my God, people need to know this.” I mean, these two online platforms that supposedly give you the same opportunity, one is really good, and one is abusive, and people wouldn’t naturally know that.

And so that’s what I started doing is just trying to create a standard format like you would have when you wanted to buy a mutual fund, so that you could actually go this is what the performance has been. This is the risk, this is the rewards. And so that’s what I was trying to do with SideHusl is just to have a really standard format. This is what the job is. This is what you should expect to earn. This is the commissions and fees taken by the platform, where it’s available, what the requirements are, just basic information. And then we do a review that takes all that stuff and we give it a Husl$core, which is our best evaluation of how well this serves a freelancer. And over the past, it hasn’t been quite three years, but almost three years since we went live, we have 350 online platforms, research reviewed and rated. And we add more every week, we added six last week, it’s an ongoing process. And we’ve just, this is the tip of the iceberg. I mean, this is just a giant and growing part of the economy.

And where like the bad things are that there are some of these platforms that are really abusive, one of the good things is that there are also platforms that are awesome. And there’s so many opportunities. There’s so many opportunities for kids who are in deep debt, and for retirees who didn’t save enough. I mean, everybody can find something that they can do to earn money, which is really, really cool. And then, just on what we do, the thing that really makes me happy is over the past year, I’ve started getting emails and complaints and threats from companies that we have reviewed poorly, because we are showing up in search results, very high in search results, and they’re pissed off. And so I get to say to them, and in some cases this actually had an impact. I say, “Well, if you want a better review, be better to freelancers. Do a better job.”

Sandy Block: Well Kathy, let me ask you this. Because I don’t think, obviously you are reviewing these gigs, these outfits, and you’re not paid by them. So how does your venture make money?

Kathy Kristof: Well, advertising, like a typical, independent publication, we run ads on the site. They’re unrelated to us. Frankly, it’s all Google AdSense. We’re syndicating our copy. We also make money from that.

Sandy Block: But you don’t get paid for good reviews.

Kathy Kristof: No, no.

David Muhlbaum: Let me ask you another sort of industry at large question, if I might, which is, you’re noticing through SideHusl all these new companies and all these platforms and you’re reviewing and making categories for and describing, are you seeing any sort of consolidation, where essentially the big fish are going to start eating up the little fish, and the platforms are going to become more like the way things have gone down in say, online retail?

Kathy Kristof: Yeah, absolutely. There’s already a certain amount of consolidation. There’s a huge amount of movement in this burgeoning industry, as I think is true of almost any young industry. You see a lot of companies starting, and a lot of companies failing. A lot of companies that have done pretty well, getting eaten up by a bigger competitor. Some of that’s good, some of it’s bad, but yeah, it’s a dynamic market. And our goal is to review pretty much everything that’s widely available, and then go international.

Sandy Block: So you’re scaling up too. Well, Kathy, sort of following up on what you just said, given how this industry is so dynamic and so changing, have you had to alter or change your rating system, or any updates or new considerations when choosing and vetting a side hustle, just given how much things change in this business?

Kathy Kristof: Yeah, no, our rating system, it’s not an algorithm. It’s an individual rating system. And that allows us to pay attention to what the competitors are doing in that particular industry. And so you may, say if you’re in online tutoring, which is a pretty good job for your average side hustle, right? Because you can do it from home, you earn a decent amount of money, you can set your own hours. You can choose your own topic, all those things. But because online tutoring is generally a pretty decent side hustle, now, even if you’re a little bit off of what the standard is in that industry, we can rate you against the standard in that industry. And so you don’t want to have all the tutoring sites be way up here on the ratings scale, and all, say the driving and delivery way down here because you’re using your own car and using your own gas. So you get a relative rating as well. So it is complicated, but we think it’s fair.

David Muhlbaum: So tell me a bit more about the process then. How are you getting input and feedback from the people who are actually doing the jobs on these platforms? The independent contractors?

Kathy Kristof: That is a big portion of our ratings, because essentially what we do is, so we go in, we get all the details of the side hustle. We read the terms and conditions. And then in those terms, normally you will see one or two or five red flags that you think, ah, that could be a problem. And then we go and look for the people who’ve actually worked with that platform to find out whether those red flags, how those have played out in real life. And in certain cases, you find out that they’ve played out just as you would have suspected, as a big problem. And in other cases, you find out that the site while at that is in its terms, actually treats people better. And so that it plays big in how sites were rated. And in some cases we have about 70 reviews that have not been completed. And some of that is they’re waiting, getting enough people that have actually tried the platform in order to rate it accurately.

David Muhlbaum: You know, it’s interesting how you approach this. Like the journalist you are, you’re digging into primary documents, you’re looking to find sources who can tell you what’s really happening. And then you’re being the intermediary, the filter who sorts it all out. But frankly, these days, there’s a lot of disinformation out there. I’m thinking specifically about fake reviews.

Kathy Kristof: So yeah, it’s like any journalist, you learn what is a real review and what is a fake review? I would say in the marketplace as a whole, there are more fake reviews than real ones. And so you actually learn what to look for. It starts with reading the terms, and then looking at the reviews, because by reading the terms, you know what to expect, and then you start looking for detail, what sort of detail do you get from these people who are talking about it, and does that detail match up with what you already know? And so you end up, I think getting a very accurate picture, and you also find, yes, you can say anything on Glassdoor, but 99% of the fake reviews are basically, “This site is awesome, I love it.” No detail-

Sandy Block: No specifics

Kathy Kristof: Yeah, exactly. Because they’re getting paid for the review, and maybe they’re even getting paid by the word. And so they say, “This site is awesome!” In four different ways, and in 50 words, because that’s what they were paid for. But yeah, I think the longer you do it, the easier it is to recognize what’s fake and what’s real. Just kind of like, I mean we’ve all read technical documents before. And you very quickly learn, okay, I can skip from here to here because that’s boilerplate. This is not boilerplate. This is how you go to get this information, but it’s also why you need, really, a professional investigative journalist to be doing this job.

Because you, if you’re trying to have a side hustle, you are already stressing your normal day by adding an extra job. And you’ve probably got friends and family and other people who want to use your time as well. And so now to find the right platform to work through, you don’t have the time to read the 30-page terms and conditions, and then go out looking for other people who’ve actually tried it. That’s an incredibly time-consuming thing. That’s why somebody actually has to make it their job to do it. And again, that’s what we’re here for.

Sandy Block: So Kathy, a personal confession here, I’m working on a story for an upcoming issue on the value of working longer in terms of how it adds to your retirement savings and that sort of thing. And I’m wondering, I don’t know that many older folks, maybe some who don’t want to drive Uber or do DoorDash, but what’s out there in the gig economy for older folks who maybe are looking to leave the nine to five, but need some extra income, and what should they be looking for when they come to you?

Kathy Kristof: Oh gosh, there are some wonderful consulting sites. And so specifically, Kiplinger readers are very intelligent, and often high-level professionals.

David Muhlbaum: Flattery will get you anywhere.

Kathy Kristof: Hey, I talked to Kiplinger readers all the time when I was doing my column, and I just love them. And so, yeah, I feel like I know the market and there are marvelous consulting platforms that will, you can sign up, and it’s not like every day, but you can get a high-level consulting position in almost any field. You can be accounting, technology, at law, everything, depending on the platform. I did a blog post on some of these. Some of them tell you to set your hourly rate at like five times what your normal hourly rate was before, you set your own hourly rate. Others suggested you set it closer to what your hourly rate is, and you’re going to get more gigs, but you absolutely can get gigs in consulting. I also know a number of retirees who decided that they would tutor, and it wasn’t necessarily tutoring in an academic subject, but in dance or music or whatever.

There’s a marvelous online platform called Lessonface. It’s specifically geared to people who want to tutor in music and the arts. They operate all over the world. So we talked to a gal who lives in Spain and teaches people a very specific type of guitar playing. And is very busy with this, but she’s doing it from her home. They have a great online interface that allows them to do it that way. And so it’s, I would never suggest to a retiree, “Oh, drive for DoorDash.” It’s like, no, come on. There’s such better options. There are also really marvelous options from renting your home or your car or your driveway or your storage space. It tends to be that those of us who have reached a certain age, we also have a certain amount of assets. I’ve done this myself a couple of times, there are online platforms who will rent your house by the hour.

Why do they want to rent your house by the hour? Well, because there are photographers and movie producers and whomever who want, they need a set. And so you rent your house out as a set. And my house, I priced at $150 an hour. But then I also require that they pay for a site rep who is onsite to handle everything, make sure nobody breaks anything, whatever. They have to have insurance, they have to have all this stuff. And so in the course of the day, you make $1,500, $2,000 for a movie production. And it’s fun. It’s actually really fun. And so that’s the sort of thing where I go, okay, yeah, retirees, you have so many options. The art options are really fun too. I mean, if you have some art or craft that you’ve always wanted to do and you want to sell it online, you can upload your art to one of these print on demand sites. So Fine Art America, Society6, Redbubble, you upload this stuff, very simple, it just has to be in proper format, but that’s not hard to do, even for me. And I’m not technologically savvy.

Then you decide what you want to sell it on. Do you want to sell this artwork on puzzles? Do you want to sell this artwork on coffee mugs, or iPhone cases or whatever, and then they do everything else, and then they just pay you a royalty. That’s kind of a fun little retirement job if you have that artistic bent. But there’s just a million of them. I mean, the thing is, is I’m always looking for things that I would find fun to do. And I’m really excited when I find one that I absolutely love. There’s actually an engineering firm that has, they call it ToD, it’s Talent On Demand, and they have a list of different professional level jobs. So you’re talking about earning between say $50 and $150 an hour consulting on a building project, geology, whatever. These are great things, virtual assisting. It’s essentially what we used to call secretaries, but they’re online, and they choose their own hours. They choose what they do. And so they might be doing your email or they might help you with your social media.

David Muhlbaum: All this talk of consulting in what are traditionally white-collar professions is making me think about how people get work these days, and also how the pandemic has changed things. The pandemic didn’t just upend people who were already in the gig economy, quite a few people who had full-time jobs don’t have them anymore, and are finding that to work in their field again, they’re having to do it by gigs. So this could be a new audience for SideHusl.

Kathy Kristof: I mean, no question. I started out thinking that my audience was going to be millennials, and Gen Z or just kids basically. And I was kind of intense about it because I felt like, okay, some of these platforms could be misleading people like my own children. And I wanted to let them know when these guys were bad actors. But I have discovered that we definitely have that young worker that’s in our readership, but we also have a very big retiree and near retiree segment of our readership that is looking for ways to supplement the retirement income, or retire a little bit earlier, but keep something coming in. This whole pandemic has been extremely stressful for people in all sorts of ways.

Kathy Kristof: And people have also looked at, you have a lot of parents who are trying to keep their main job, and then if you’re the grandparent and you weren’t really ready to retire, but your kids really need help, you still need a little bit of income. What can you do to keep a little bit of money coming in, but semi-retire? We’re seeing a lot of people looking at side hustles as a way to kind of finance that people who go into retirement, not like, okay, one day I retire, they kind of phase into it.

Sandy Block: The phased in, yeah. Phased in retirement. Sure.

Kathy Kristof: And so I’m seeing a lot of people who are kind of using side hustles as way to phase into retirement. And so maybe by the time they’re 75, they’re truly retired, but at 65, you’re pretty dang young.

Sandy Block: Sure you are.

Kathy Kristof: And you have a lot of time in the world. And you’ve got a lot of energy. And so maybe you get your pension at 65 and you think it gives me a lot of flexibility. So now I’m going to just consult six months a year and travel six months a year, or I’m going to do, you have so many options right now. And really it’s one of the things that I find so fun about side hustles. Really you get to decide, you get yes, the flexibility to decide how you want to live your life. And that’s marvelous. That’s really marvelous.

David Muhlbaum: I have one oddball question for you. Why did you spell it SideHusl, H-U-S-L?

Kathy Kristof: Well, first of all, it’s phonetic, and secondly, you can’t trademark the proper spelling of a name. Yeah. So there you go. In reality, you don’t want everybody using-

David Muhlbaum: It creates some confusion, but that confusion might actually be helpful at times.

Kathy Kristof: Well, you know, we’ve all gotten used to Google and what did Google mean? Nothing until it became you Google something. And that was because they decided to create a name that you could trademark. And so, yeah, the web world is odd and unique in that, I mean, you can have the proper spelling of side hustle, but again, you can’t trademark it. And so it is a toughie.

David Muhlbaum: That’s fun. It’s fun to finally get, to confront someone and ask why do you do that? Because we’re running a podcast, where we have companies with what we would describe as funny names, we have to stop and spell them out, because this is audio, but, that makes perfect sense.

Kathy Kristof: Yep.

Sandy Block: But that’s why we have show notes.

David Muhlbaum: Right. And we will put lots of links in, thanks again for joining us, Kathy.

Kathy Kristof: Thank you. I appreciate it.

David Muhlbaum: Before we leave you today, we want to come back to a topic we’ve discussed a good bit of late, taxes on unemployment benefits.

Sandy Block: Right. So part of the stimulus package passed earlier this month includes a big change for people who received unemployment benefits in 2020. In short, up to $10,200 of benefits per person isn’t taxable anymore, at least not by the federal government.

David Muhlbaum: That’s going to affect a lot of folks, I mean, I think something like one fifth or one quarter of Americans received unemployment benefits in 2020.

Sandy Block: People probably already know about the stimulus provision, because if you earned unemployment in 2020, you may be aware that it at one point was taxable. And for them that’s good news. If you got unemployment in 2020, and haven’t filed your taxes yet, it’s pretty straight forward. You’ll get a bigger refund or you won’t owe as much. But if you’ve already filed your 2020 taxes, well, how do you get your money?

David Muhlbaum: Yeah, Congress doing all this in the middle of tax season seems a little bit nuts.

Sandy Block: I’d agree, and I bet a bunch of IRS administrators would agree too, but that’s how it is. Now the usual way to deal with something like this is to file an amended tax return. And there’s a form for that. It’s called 1040X. And we even have information on our website about how to file an amended return under normal circumstances. But the IRS is specifically asking people not to do that this time

David Muhlbaum: To wait.

Sandy Block: To wait until the IRS issues additional guidance.

David Muhlbaum: “Please hold, additional guidance will be coming soon.”

Sandy Block: “And your call is very important to us.” Pretty much, but one possible option is having the IRS, the overburdened IRS, automatically adjust the reported taxable income, and issue refunds to people who already filed their 2020 tax return and reported unemployment compensation. This is what a group of 21 democratic lawmakers requested in a recent letter to treasury secretary, Janet Yellen and IRS commissioner, Charles Rettig.

David Muhlbaum: So it’s not impossible that a solution for people in this situation will show up between the time we’re recording, and the time this drops. And if that happens, I will do my best to put our latest news in the show notes. Senior tax editor Rocky Mengle has been all over this topic, and he’ll have an update as soon as we know.

Sandy Block: And you should also note that how states treat the taxability of unemployment benefits is also changing in some cases. Arkansas, Maryland, and Delaware have already made changes to exempt some of this income, and Rocky thinks other states may follow suit, so stay tuned.

David Muhlbaum: We’ll put in a link to our piece with state-by-state unemployment tax policies, which we keep current. And if the IRS gives word the next few days about what people who have already filed should do, we’ll include that as well. Of course, you can always go to kiplinger.com/taxes.

And that will just about do it for this episode of Your Money’s Worth. If you like what you heard, please sign up for more at Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your content. When you do, please give us a rating and a review. If you’ve already subscribed, thanks. And please go back and add a rating and review if you haven’t already. To see the links we’ve mentioned in our show, along with other great Kiplinger content on the topics we’ve discussed, go to kiplinger.com/podcast. The episodes, transcripts and links are all in there by date. And if you’re still here because you want to give us a piece of your mind, whether it’s about inflation or something else, you can stay connected with us at Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or by emailing us directly at podcast@kiplinger.com. Thanks for listening.

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Hannah Morgan is founder of CareerSherpa.net, which offers advice on searching for a job and changing careers.

People are often told that networking is key to getting a good job, but how do you do that in the age of social distancing? Over the years, I’ve used social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to forge relationships with people that I know and to reach out to people that I don’t know. I find that works well when we can’t get out there and meet face to face. I think it really helps to start with people you already know, in your immediate circle of friends and acquaintances on social media. Use them to help get introductions to people that you may want to meet. If there are com­panies that you really want to work for, follow those companies on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram because you never know who’s going to be joining a conversation on those platforms. And look for an opportunity to contribute to that conversation.

What industries are hiring, and where should job seekers concentrate their search? Education (particularly online learning), banking, real estate and companies that provide delivery, entertainment and streaming services are all ramping up hiring. A lot of these companies are scrambling to find employees, and they might be more willing to take a risk on somebody who doesn’t have the exact qualifications or experience they’re looking for. But your chances are better if you can stay within your area of expertise.

Many workers have been laid off or furloughed because of the pandemic and economic downturn. How do you address that on your résumé? While job seekers may feel vulnerable because they’re furloughed or unemployed, that’s not neces­sarily important to a recruiter. Recruiters first and foremost are concerned with your ability to do the job and whether you have what they need. People who are furloughed are tech­nically still employed by their employer, and the employer could call them back, so they need to conduct an undercover job search. Discreetly reach out to past coworkers or friends via e-mail or phone, and ask them for advice. Let them know you are conducting a confidential job search, and ask them to keep you in mind if they hear of anything.

Don’t actively post stuff on LinkedIn that says you’re searching for a job, and don’t post your résumé on job boards that your current employer may stumble upon. When working with third-party recruiters, be sure to let them know that you are currently employed and that you do not want your current employer to know you are searching for a new job.

How can people looking for a job stay motivated? Create or join a group of people who are also job seeking so you can brainstorm ideas and share your war stories. There are many job seekers’ groups meeting online these days that provide education and motivation. I also recommend that people schedule “buckets” of time for activities they want to do throughout the day. So from 9 to 10 in the morning, for example, look at job postings and apply for jobs, and from 10 to 11, make follow-up phone calls. Trying to have specified buckets for activities helps you manage your time the way most of us do when we’re working. If you’re really into yoga or gardening, build time in your day to do those things—especially right now, because you don’t know when you’ll get that chance again.

Working as a real estate broker wasn’t giving Cort Howard the steady income he wanted or enough time with his family, so last October he began looking for a new job. In addition to networking, Howard, 54, hired Joe Konop, owner of One Great Resume, to help him craft a resume that highlighted his relevant experience and skills, not his age.

The ageless resume omitted key dates while emphasizing Howard’s sales experience and the 15 online technology courses he’d recently completed. The $350 Howard spent for the resume, cover letter and an edited LinkedIn profile produced a big payoff: By late December, Howard landed a salaried position as a territory sales manager with a software manufacturer.

Even in the best of times, older workers may have difficulty attracting prospective employers, who typically prefer tech-savvy younger generations that can be hired for less money. But these are not the best of times. Between February and May, unemployment soared from 3.5% to 13.3% because of the pandemic.

Although some businesses have started hiring, many jobs may be slow to return, if they do so at all.

Whether you’re looking for work later in life to advance your career, supplement retirement income or replace a job lost to the pandemic economy, you’ll need to market yourself to prospective employers without scaring them off. That will require a LinkedIn account as well as a resume that will get past the computerized applicant tracking system, which most major companies use to winnow down candidates.

As a result, 75% of resumes are never seen by human eyes, and if yours does get past these electronic gatekeepers, the initial glance at a resume is just 10 seconds, says Amanda Augustine, a certified professional career coach and resume writer with Talent Inc., a career services company.

Emphasize Recent Experience

In an age of social media, networking through professional and personal contacts to land a job matters more than ever, but to secure the initial interview you’ll still need a resume. Howard had to submit one even though he knew someone who worked at the company that ultimately hired him.

Professional resume writers describe three types of resumes: the chronological (organized by dates), the functional (jobs grouped according to skills), and a hybrid of the two, which Augustine considers the ideal format. Using a functional resume can signal to employers that you are trying to hide something, whether it is age or employment gaps, Augustine says.

At the same time, older job seekers should provide only select details to guard against age discrimination, Augustine advises. “Cut back on what you’re sharing,” she says. Generally, it’s best to remove dates of graduation unless they are within the past year or two.

Your resume also shouldn’t list every job you’ve ever had. Only the past 15 years of work experience belong on the resume. If a position you’ve held in that time began earlier—say, in 2000, lasting until 2013—include it anyway. Older relevant experience can be noted in a short paragraph with the heading “earlier roles,” “career notes” or “earlier career experience” to show the progression of your career, Augustine says, but describe the role or title without dates.

Age discrimination isn’t the only reason to limit work experience from long ago. Technology and industries evolve rapidly. From an employer’s perspective, it’s not just what you know that counts but how current that knowledge is, says Rich Feller, a professor of counseling and career development at Colorado State University and a past president of the National Career Development Association.

Highlight Your Selling Points

A resume is a marketing tool with you as the marketed product, so think about the details that might catch an employer’s eye. A professional summary at the top of the first page or a list of key skills in the top third of that page should give a quick snapshot of why you qualify for the position you seek.

The resume should also tout major accomplishments at each job. Hiring managers want to see how you have used your skills and qualifications to the benefit of past employers. Did you generate savings and profits, or develop new ideas and products? Show what you accomplished for a particular employer such as “grew sales by 25%” or “saved the company 30%,” says Dawn Fay, senior district president for the Northeast at staffing agency Robert Half.

Keep it short; limit the resume to two pages.

Use Key Words

Although it’s useful to have a base or foundational resume, make sure it will “suit the role you are going after today,” Augustine says. That will require tailoring the resume as much as possible to each position. Because that takes more time, only apply for jobs that are a good fit. “Slow down to go faster,” Fay says. “You may apply to fewer positions but may get more traction.”

One way to tailor a resume is to pick up many of the same key words used in the ad to describe the skills, training, education and experience the position requires. “Go into the job description and take out all the competencies and put them in your resume,” Feller says. Check for descriptors, even the kind of lingo used in the job description, adds Fay.

The more key words the resume has, the better the chances are that it won’t be eliminated by the applicant tracking system in a search for skills and experience that match the position. But don’t just parrot essential words; you must be able to document the skills you have, experts say.

If you don’t have a key requirement, take a course in it right away. “You have to demonstrate that you’re learning,” Feller says. Search coursera.org for an online class from a top-tier university, or obtain a certificate in a specific technology or area of expertise that improves your qualifications. This is particularly important if you are segueing into a related or different field. If so, you may want to research the qualifications employers seek. Websites like onetonline.org describe different types of work and the specific skills required.

Keeping skills current is a good way to go even if your career isn’t changing direction. Researchers have found that age discrimination is higher for women and for those in lower-skilled positions such as administrative assistants, retail salespeople and security personnel. “With higher-skill jobs, recruiters are looking for skills and fit rather than demographics,” making age discrimination less likely, says Patrick J. Button, an assistant professor of economics at Tulane University.

Still, age discrimination only worsens in a bad economy. “When unemployment increases, discrimination increases,” he says. Many employers believe “it’s more difficult for older workers to work safely” during the pandemic. Recruiters and hiring managers think older workers will be bored in a job that requires less experience and won’t stay long, adds Augustine.

Although it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing “‘nobody’s going to hire me, I’ve been around too long,’ don’t assume the objection,” Fays says. “You have so much knowledge and experience to add value to an organization.”

Make Your LinkedIn Profile Ageless, Too

In a digital world, a LinkedIn profile rules. Although it began as a networking tool, the profile, which describes a person’s experience and accomplishments, has morphed into something more.

“LinkedIn is clearly the new resume,” says Rich Feller of Colorado State University. “Employers look for that first. They think you’re not tech savvy if you don’t have one. It’s a screening device. It was the college degree; now LinkedIn is.”

Some employers encourage candidates to apply for a job through LinkedIn, and it’s also where recruiters go to fill positions. If your LinkedIn and Facebook profiles don’t match your resume, the discrepancies will raise red flags, and recruiters look for them.

Here’s how to ensure your social media profiles and your resume tell the same “ageless” story:

• Change the privacy settings on your social media accounts so that any information that might give away your age, such as photographs of you or your grandchildren, is limited to friends and family.
• If your resume is limited to the last 15 years or so, edit your social media profile to match. “Don’t focus on the length of time you’ve been in the field,” says One Great Resume’s Joe Konop.
• If you’re not working full-time, keep your skills sharp with temporary, consulting or pro bono work and webinars. Just as you would include those things on a resume, make them part of your LinkedIn profile. “We see people get hired permanently from doing consulting work,” says Dawn Fay of Robert Half.

Being a working mom was challenging prior to the coronavirus shutdown — juggling work, racing to school or sports, planning quick, nutritious dinners, and giving my kids and husband all the attention they deserved. Then COVID-19 hit, and life changed.

I’m not one who weathers change well, but within a few weeks — OK, maybe a month — I hit my stride. I get to see my kids more. I’m taking better care of myself and am enjoying work, tackling more issues and projects than ever before.

This reset was about adapting and thriving, and the guidance of my teammates at Halbert Hargrove was key. I’ve always looked to my colleagues’ best practices and adopted what makes sense for me, but never more than now. Here are some gems from our team’s thoughts on working from home successfully.

Top Tips to Stay Productive at Home

As financial professionals, we’re focused on creating disciplined processes. Although COVID-19 posed a new set of challenges, we were ready to figure this out. Our tips could easily be applied to your own work-from-home situation.

Brenden Melrose, Wealth Advisor, San Diego:

• Working from home makes it easy for work/life boundaries to blur. Having a dedicated space puts my mind in work mode when I get there. It doesn’t have to be an office or a desk — just the same space every day. Moving from spot to spot in the house doesn’t allow for a consistent work environment.
• Keeping a schedule allows me to be fully present for both work and life. With easy access to my office and tasks, it’s easy to slip away after hours to get “a couple quick things done.” Conversely, it’s just as easy to step away to do things around the house. If you keep a routine of a dedicated work block and personal time, you’ll be able to focus knowing you are giving appropriate attention to each.
• I make it a habit to turn off the computer when my workday is done. Having to boot up is a great deterrent to lapsing back into work mode.

Cecilia Williams, Director of Investment Operations/CCO, Long Beach

• Set up a workspace that keeps you focused and motivated. The right chair, desk height, lighting, etc. matters when you think about how many hours a day you spend staring at your screen.
• Look for online training and learning opportunities. We’re now missing an extra element of the storytelling/training that happened just by being next to one another in the office. Join a webinar, read articles, make sure you don’t zone out so much on your specific role that you forget that focus on self-improvement.
• Start and end your day consistently. I make sure everything unrelated to work is cleared off my desk each morning, that I have my coffee in hand, and spend the first 10-15 minutes organizing my day, listing priorities and moving things around to make my day more successful. I end each day the same way, making sure I have looked at what needs to get done the following day. This helps me mentally unwind. It will all be there tomorrow!

Tony Collins, Associate Wealth Advisor, Long Beach:

Having more frequent voice and video calls with my team helps keep me more motivated, stay productive and feel more connected with the work I’m doing. It’s easy to get bogged down by email and instant messages, and sometimes things can be lost in translation. Nothing beats direct conversations in getting issues prioritized and ironed out.

Craig Eissler, Wealth Advisor, Houston:

Invest in some earbuds that allow you to stay connected to your phone — rather than tethered.

Best Practices for Working at Home with Kids

Kids and work are definitely not an optimal pairing — before COVID-19, it was a big no-no for many companies. But many of us enjoy the kids who have appeared on screen or snuck into the background of a Zoom call. The majority of our advisors have children — and have figured out ways to “make it work.” Here are some highlights.

David Koch, Senior Wealth Advisor, Long Beach:

• Break up the day into manageable chunks. Your kids can’t sit still without a recess at school, what makes you think they can do it at home? Consider the Pomodoro Technique. This is a time-management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, which uses a timer to break work into 25-minute chunks separated by short breaks. The “Pomodoro” (tomato in Italian) comes from the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used to keep track. The technique helps to divide large projects into smaller, more manageable ones and supposedly improves creativity and concentration. Meanwhile, use your breaks to check in with the kids and have a recess.
• Rowdy kids? I make them do burpees. I tell my kids, “You’re either going to get smarter or you’re going to get stronger, and right now, you’ve chosen to get stronger.” I usually start with 10, but escalate to 15 or 20 if I get any lip. If they complain, I’ll add more and let them know that, “Pain is just weakness leaving your body.” Pro tip: During schooltime (M-F 9 am-3 pm), I make them respond to every order I give them with, “Aye aye, captain,” and a small salute. This ensures they know I mean business.
• Going to jump on a work call? Put a sock on the doorknob. That’s their signal not to interrupt.
• Checklists, checklists, checklists. Make one for you and one for the kids. You can’t give your kids one task at a time — it’s just not efficient. Make a list, write it down, and have them check items off as they go through their day. Not only does this give them direction (when you may still be on that one-hour call 90 minutes later), but it gives them a sense of accomplishment — and a chance for you to reward them. Incentivize them to make a stretch goal, and reward them for hitting it — or even for a strong effort.
• Prep meals ahead of time, and keep plenty of snacks on hand. Batch process a stack of PB&Js, make sure you’ve got all the ingredients for Triscuit nachos, hoard those boxes of Stouffer’s French Bread pizza, pre-slice five apples at a time, stock big bags of organic baby carrots, break out that Crock Pot — or better yet, the Instant Pot. Now is your chance to make that slow-roasted recipe that makes several meals at once.
• Let the kids take advantage of all the amazing media out there. Now is not the time to ration their screen time. You can use it as a reward for them to watch their favorite slime videos (anyone else have a 6-year-old girl?). There are phenomenal apps, podcasts and YouTube channels to augment their education as well. Khan Academy is a staple in our home — there’s the Khan Academy app, the YouTube channel, and now there’s a Khan Academy Kids app as well. The Brilliant app is great for math. There are TED Talks galore that discuss subjects your kids might be into. Have a burgeoning entrepreneur? Let them watch Shark Tank!

Craig Eissler, Wealth Advisor, Houston:

• While on a conference call, utilize the mute button on your phone as much as possible whenever you are NOT talking.
• Establish some boundaries. Walls and doors work great.
• Utilize the virtual backgrounds feature in Zoom. Kids can run and dance all they want behind you. No one will see them.

Finally, My Own Input

After connecting with my team, I developed my own top tips:

• If I have a particularly important meeting, my kids are sent on a long walk around the neighborhood with their caregiver, so there’s no chance of an interruption.
• My 5-year-old has a set-up on the window seat in my working room with markers, crayons, coloring books, Legos, books, etc. to self-entertain for parts of the day.

Whether you’ve enjoyed this change — or you’re eagerly anticipating the day you can return to the office — there are ways to thrive in this new environment. If you seek advice and are open to changing your routine, the aha’s will come. Just keep experimenting with new solutions, and some are bound to bear fruit.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

Being a stay-at-home parent is a full-time job. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with a full-time paycheck. As a result, it can be hard for some families relying on just one income to make ends meet or build savings.

However, there are ways for stay-at-home moms and dads to earn a bit of extra cash to supplement the family budget without leaving the house or sacrificing time with the kids. In fact, here are 10 money-making opportunities that can be pursued when your children are at school or asleep, or possibly even when they are awake and demanding your attention. The earnings potential is modest, and not every opportunity will be right for you, but over the course of a year you could pocket hundreds – and possibly even thousands – of dollars.

Get paid for your opinions. Taking surveys online can be a relatively quick way to earn enough to afford a few extras. Harris Poll Online, for example, awards points for the completion of online surveys, which can take between five and 25 minutes to fill out. Survey takers accumulate points and can redeem them for gift cards from retailers such as Amazon and Starbucks. Other online outfits that will pay you to take surveys include SurveyClub, Global Test Market and Swagbucks. There's no cost to sign up.

Evaluate Web sites. Another way to make extra cash in a short amount time – $10 for about 20 minutes of work – is to sign on with UserTesting and evaluate Web sites. You need a computer with a microphone and Internet connection, and you’ll have to fill out a one-page demographic profile. You’ll receive work if your profile matches that of the target audience of sites being tested. Then it’s just a matter of using UserTesting’s screen recorder, which you'll need to download to your computer, to record your verbal comments and on-screen movements as you click through a site. Site owners typically are looking for feedback about whether the Web site is confusing to navigate.

Serve as an online juror. Some attorneys use large panels of online mock jurors to get feedback on their cases before they go to trial. However, the mock jurors must live in the county or federal district where the case will be tried. You can sign up at a couple of sites and receive e-mail notifications if a case is posted in your area. EJury.com pays $5 to $10 per case via the online payment system PayPal. You can't be an attorney, paralegal or legal assistant – or even related to an attorney – to participate. EJury says you're likely to have better luck getting picked if you live in a large metropolitan area, where more cases are tried, rather than a rural area. The average case takes about 35 minutes to review. At OnlineVerdict.com, where cases typically take between 20 minutes and one hour to review, fees range from $20 to $60. Payment is made by check.

Run virtual errands. If you have a computer with Internet connection and are good at searching the Web and communicating with others, you can become a virtual personal assistant with Fancy Hands. The service hires assistants, who set their own hours, to help its users tackle tasks such as making calls to service providers, scheduling appointments, and finding the best prices for services and products. You get paid per task, starting at between $3 and $7.

Tutor students. If you have an academic specialty and can squeeze in a couple of hours during the week while Junior is taking a nap or Janie is at gymnastics, share your knowledge with struggling students. Find students looking to improve their grades on your own through your kids' schools – check a site such as Craigslist.org to gauge hourly rates in your area – or sign on with an online tutoring company, such as Tutor.com. You must be available to tutor at least five hours a week and have a college degree to tutor certain subjects for Tutor.com. Tutoring is done virtually from home via a computer, not in person. Tutor.com tutors are paid an hourly rate based on the subject.

Be a mommy (or daddy) blogger. If you haven’t used your free time between changing diapers, washing clothes and shuttling kids around to hop on the blog bandwagon, it’s worth considering this potential source of income. And just because you’re a parent doesn’t mean you have to write about parenting issues. In fact, given that there already are so many blogs about life as a mom (or dad), consider writing about another topic about which you are passionate. The more original, entertaining and informative you are, the more likely you’ll gain followers – and you need an online following to make money.

You can create your blog using a free platform from WordPress.org, but you’ll need to pay a small amount – as little as $4 per month – to have your blog hosted. Try GoDaddy.com, which can provide a domain name for your site, email addresses, database storage and other Web hosting services. To make money, you can use the free Google AdSense service to display advertisements on your site. The amount you’re paid varies by ad and usually depends on how many people see it. There's also what's called affiliate marketing, in which you earn a commission (usually less than 10%) whenever someone clicks on an ad on your site and purchases a product. The Amazon Associates affiliate program allows you to advertise the retailer’s products on your site, or try affiliate networks such as CJ Affiliate or ShareASale that work with thousands of companies. Depending on how much time you put into your blog and how many people visit it, you could be making a few hundred dollars each month within a year.

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Get freelance editorial work. Maybe you don’t want the commitment of a blog but like to write or express your creativity. You’re in luck because plenty of media, corporate and nonprofit Web sites are looking for freelancers to write, edit or produce content. Some pay by word, some by the hour and some pay per project.

For example, if you register for free with Textbroker.com and submit a writing sample, you’ll receive a rating based on your content quality. Then you can choose which projects you want based on your quality rating and earn 0.7 cent to 5 cents per word, or more. FreelanceWriting.com provides a long list of freelance writing opportunities culled from several top sites. Many of the recent listings offered hourly rates of $25 or more. For $21 a month, you can join Mediabistro’s freelance marketplace to post your qualifications for review by media managers seeking writers.

Profit from you photos. If you’re skilled with a camera, you can turn your photos into cash by selling them to stock image sites, such as Shutterstock.com. If the photos you submit are accepted, they can be downloaded by Shutterstock’s subscribers and you can earn anywhere from 25 cents to $120 per image download. Other sites that accept photos from contributors include iStock, Dreamstime and Sqeeqee.

Sell baked goods. Working parents might not have the time to whip up a birthday cake or cupcakes for school parties. That’s where you come in if you can create tasty baked goods. A friend of mine who is a single mom started making cupcakes as a way to keep herself occupied while staying with her dad when he was undergoing chemotherapy. She posted a picture of her cupcakes on Facebook and instantly received several orders from friends. Now she makes about $200 a month making cupcakes for others who hear about her through word of mouth or see pictures of her cupcakes on her Facebook page.

Watch other people’s kids along with your own. There’s a good chance your friends who work outside of their homes would be thrilled to have an experienced parent watch their children while they are at the office. It can be manageable if your friend in need has only one or two kids. Plus, the new playmates will help keep your children occupied for a few hours. Pay varies widely based on where you live and the ages and number of kids you'll be watching, but babysitters and nannies typically can make up to $10 an hour in small cities and much more – even double that hourly rate – in larger cities.