NEW YORK -- Despite the word itself, being re-tired doesn't mean that one is tired again. Today, active retirees are putting their hobbies to work, making money doing what they love.
People who don t have [a hobby] degenerate physically and mentally much faster than those who do, said Ted Richards, publisher of San Francisco-based Senior Magazine, a travel and leisure publication for the 50-and-older crowd. I have always advised people to wear out rather than rest out. All the time, I see people who are 63, and in nursing homes, and I think, what the hell is the matter with these people? said 74-year-old Richards.
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Some of the more popular retirement hobbies that generate a profit are gardening, art and computer-oriented interests, according to Richards.
The message I am getting is that [the retirement funds] some people thought were going to last them the rest of their lives aren t working out that way, he said. So people get involved in things that can help out. We get a lot of arts and crafts fairs out here, so seniors can participate in that. There are big farmers markets everywhere, so if someone wanted to do gardening -- on a scale larger than a couple of vines in their backyard -- they could go into business, he said.
Computers have been a source of enjoyment and money for Jim Casey, a resident of Warrenton, Virginia. Casey retired as the manager of an electronics company at age 48. After three years, he said he realized his finances might not stretch through his golden years, so he decided to go back to school. After a year s worth of database training and reading a book entitled HTML in a Weekend, Casey built a web site for his brother.
After I did that first site, I said, well, maybe I can parlay this into some money. After I got money in my hand, I was in business, Casey said. Casey now operates as M3Company and has 68 clients. On the weekends, he teaches computer courses at the local library to fellow seniors interested in learning to communicate via the web.
I love helping out the community and helping some of these [older people] get e-mail from their grandkids, he said.
Hobby art is one of the more popular courses taught at the Longmont Senior Citizens Center in Longmont, Colorado, where classes cost about $9 per week.
Many of our students have turned their art into successful sources of income, said Recreation Supervisor Theresa Schulte of the 55-and-older population that attends classes in oil painting and photography. Most of them are not in it for the money, they just want to feel like they contribute and that they are involved in the community," Schulte said.
"There is a source of pride and accomplishment when they have completed a portrait or glazed their pot. They might start out to learn something, but then they see they are gaining companionship and broadening their focus," she said.
Hilda Baum, 78, began sculpting when she retired in the late 1970 s.
I entered a competition and won first prize, that convinced me, Hey let s do some more of this, Baum said. I realized, now I have time. The kids are off in college, and I can pursue what ever interest has been so latent for such a long time.
Although Baum still sculpts, she said she has not sold any sculpture recently because of what she referred to as the art recession, and people not being as interested in purchasing art as they once were. Her pieces once sold for around $125 or less, depending on how much work went into them.
I am no Picasso or Michelangelo, but I love what I do, and it s a form of great relaxation for me, she said. Baum sculpts everything from children to menorahs, and said that it s a real ego trip to have her work admired and purchased.
Another retiree, Yoko Massa, 64, began making stained glass windows after she retired eight years ago.
I was so bored in my retired life, I said 'I have to do something!' so I signed up for a stained glass class, and pretty soon I was better than the teacher, she said.
Massa works on commission and exhibits pieces such as fused glass jewelry and plates at local craft fairs and galleries. Her windows cost $1,000 on average, but she has charged as much as $3,200 for larger more intricate pieces. She once even accepted a trade for her work.
The man was an acupuncturist, so I knew he wasn t rich. So instead of money, I took acupuncture and massage every week for a year. It was a great trade, and it really helped my health! she said.
Massa said she plans to continue working for at least another ten years.
This [hobby] has turned out to be pretty good -- just like my windows, she said.
