50 Fabulous Ideas for Staying Active in Retirement

by Teresa on

Wondering how you’ll fill your days when you retire? Here are 50 fab ideas for staying active in retirement!

1. Take up a new sport – A few ideas to get you started: walking, swimming, badminton, tennis, canoeing, croquet, golf, biking, curling, bocce ball, shuffleboard, bowling, Tai Chi.

2. Be a campground host – If you own an RV, fifth wheel or travel trailer and enjoy being around people, this might be the perfect way to camp for free for the summer, plus in many instances, earn a small wage. Some things you might be responsible for: greeting guests and answering any questions that they may have, explaining the campground layout and directing guests to campsites, daily maintenance and cleaning of restrooms, fee collection, and cleaning and maintaining campsites.

3. Help in a classroom – Enjoy helping young minds soak up knowledge? Volunteer at a local school. Contact the principal to find out if any volunteers are needed. This might be especially fun in your grandchildren’s classrooms.

4. Take a yoga class

5. Attend a camp for adults – Yes, there are camps for adults! In addition to the camps offering the classic camp experience there are sports camps and this somewhat unique group:

6. Join the Peace Corp – there is no age limit! Read more about the Peace Corp for the over 50 crowd by clicking on the link.

7. Start a business – want to work longer, but do it on your own terms? Think of pursuing your passion with a start-up business.

8. Join a chorus or choir

9. Visit shut-ins at home or in nursing homes – loneliness is a major problem for the elderly in America. Taking a little time out to visit each week could change someone’s life.

10. Take an art class – Some craft stores such as Michaels offer adult art classes. or attend a class at your local college.

11. Grandkids – you finally have more time to spend with the most precious people in your life!

12. Snowbird – never want to spend another winter shoveling snow or another summer in smothering heat? Then think about following the nice weather by snowbirding.

13. Go for a bike ride – bike with a friend, or consider starting a biking group.

14. Sell your crafts on Etsy – now that you have more time to work on those crafts you love to make, work away and make some spare cash by selling them on Etsy.

15. Work on your genealogy – if no one has researched the family tree yet and you’re wondering how Uncle Joe could possibly be related, now may be the time to find out.

16. Be a school crossing guard – help the local children to arrive safely at school by being a crossing guard.

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17. Learn to sail – once you learn to sail, you might love it so much you decide to live on a sailboat!

18. Write a novel

19. Volunteer at your public library

20. Renew an old friendship

21. Get involved with a political campaign

22. Adopt a pet

23. Volunteer at an animal shelter

24. Write a memoir

25. Learn to play a musical instrument

26. Go to movies or better yet, host movie nights in your home – follow-up with a discussion of the movie – likes, dislikes, acting skills, did the movie have a moral message and did it successfully get it across?

27. Volunteer for hospice – Hospice loves their volunteers and will put you through a training program before you begin.

28. Start a new charity

29. Read, read, read – reading expands the mind! Are you a passionate reader, but never had the time to spend with the books that you longed for? Now you can plan your days to allow yourself that time.

30. Learn to fish

31. Take a dance class – and then go out and dance!

32. Usher at a theatre, concert, or sporting event

33. Become a zoo, museum, or aquarium docent

34. Travel – adapt your travel according to your budget. Flying, cruising, sailing, by train, or driving. More and more people are choosing to RV and take off on the open road to explore America!

35. Go back to school

36. Learn to fly – get the pilot’s license you’ve only dreamed of.

37. Be a mentor – share the knowledge gained from years of experience with others.

38. Make new friends of a variety of ages – having friends of different ages can help to keep you young, provide different points of view, and be interesting and educational, besides just plain fun.

39. Get a part-time job – doing something you always wanted to try, but couldn’t quit your career job to do.

40. Join a walking group – a great way to stay fit and make new friends.

41. Become a pet sitter or dog walker – love our four-legged friends? Make a little extra money while spending time with them.

42. Visit each of our national parks – this is one of the goals on my bucket list.

43. Sign up to be a secret shopper – make a little extra cash by being a mystery shopper, but beware of scammers! Read what the FTC has to say about that in their article “Mystery Shopper Scams“.

44. Remodel or redecorate your home

45. Get involved with a community theatre group

46. Browse flea markets, yard sales, and antique stores

47. Rent a booth in an antique store or flea market to sell your finds from other flea markets, yard sales, and antique stores

48. Learn a new language

49. Learn to cook again – lose some of those cooking skills after the kids grew up and left home, but still love to cook? Regain those skills by taking some cooking classes. Adult education classes at the local college might be a good source.

50. Take up hiking