All our working lives, we move towards retirement like it’s the holy grail. We may get stuck in the rat race for the best part of our lives, but one day, we stand to see our days doing what we want. Ahh, to not have to get up in the mornings. How blissful would that be?

Of course, it’s no secret that retirement days are forever getting further away for many people. Now, the majority of us have no choice but to keep working past retirement. Even those of us who do make it often face the prospect of a retirement job. There’s nothing wrong with this path if you take it because you want to. Many retired people choose to rejoin the world of work. An easy position in a quiet shop could, after all, be the ideal way to get out of the house for a little socializing and adding to one’s coffers. Others, myself included, used retirement as a means to explore new career ambitions. After all, retirement should be defined as the absence of needing to work, not the absence of working.

This only becomes an abomination and retirement failure if you’re forced into a retirement job you really don’t want to do because of money worries. You didn’t work all your life, just to go back into a job you hate in your seventies. Just because our savings and investments take a dump in a bad market, we experienced a loss of benefits, or took some other financial hit causing financial distress, we shouldn’t jump at any crappy job as the only answer. Which is why it’s worth considering these alternatives if it looks like a job is approaching your retirement horizon and you have absolutely no interest in re-joining the rat race.

Retirement Funding Is Short- Oh No, Not The Retirement Job!

Can you reduce your expenses?

First, ask yourself whether you can reduce your expenses. Many of us enter retirement thinking we can keep up the same standards. But, that’s not usually financially viable, especially over the long-term. After all, you’re now operating on finite finances. That car which costs a fortune no longer fits into that. Neither does overspending on all kinds of other things. This isn’t to say you should put yourself on the bread line. But, letting go of some luxuries could make your life more financially comfortable.

Consider things like reducing or dropping your expensive cable or satellite TV service and wireless phone plan. Those 2 items alone can represent hundreds of dollars a month. Shop your insurance plans for better rates. Insurance companies are always making rate changes but seldom tell their existing customers of money-saving options. There are many cost cutting opportunities to explore to lower your lifestyle costs. Thus, you could do away with the need for a retirement job altogether. Even where we live should not be off the table. Downsizing and relocating should be looked at. Reducing your retirement lifestyle costs is the first place to look when money becomes tight and you don’t want to return to the grind.

Is there an easier way to make money?

If you hate the idea of going back to a working environment, why not consider new ways to make money? There are passive income options which stand to earn more than a part-time job could. Investing some of your retirement fund in a rental property could stand to earn you a lot each month if done right. If you are a homeowner, you could rent your home out either fully or partially. Consider moving to a lower cost location and rent out your home or take advantage of your space by taking on a roommate or using a short-term lodging service like Airbnb to bring in extra cash.

Equally, many retired individuals turn to investment to make some extra money. When our portfolios can’t deliver gains, interest, and dividends fast enough, there are other ways to make money in the market. If you’re unfamiliar with trading, but enjoy a good wager now and then, you could look at something like spread betting. This is a form of trading using principles stolen from the sports betting world. To make it work for you, all you would need to do is bring forward your betting knowledge and ask yourself, where can you spread bet?. Or, if you have the confidence to stick it out playing in the stocks and shares market, you could make your money that way.

Do your research, get educated, don’t overestimate your skills, and be smart!

This isn’t for everyone. It takes a certain skill set and having a risk-taking personality to pull it off. Anything that involves making a spread bet or day trading may have the potential for high reward but also comes with higher risks than you may be willing to take or should take. You are working with your life’s savings so don’t put all of your eggs into this basket.

Could you work for yourself?

We may think of entrepreneurs as young go-getters, but individuals over 50 are actually dominating the startup market. You could always opt to do the same. After all, a home based and/or internet based business can be started with minimal upfront cash. What’s more, a successful startup could keep earning for you, even if you decide to take a back seat down the line. If a startup isn’t in your cards, you can consider jumping into the gig economy. As a freelancer you choose when and where you work. While working for yourself does have the downside of still being work, at least you won’t have to answer to a boss anymore.

If after considering all the alternatives you still find your answer is returning to paid work to fix your retirement funding shortfall, then choose your retirement job the right way. Figure out what your payable skills are and find something you have interest in doing. Not everyone considers working in retirement as being a good retirement. But having a job doing something you want to do or enjoy doing isn’t a bad retirement either. With some cost cutting and earning a little extra each month you may find that you can return to your retired unemployed bliss sooner rather than later.