‘I top up my pensions income with £600 a month from my social side-hustle’ | Personal Finance | Finance

A pensioner has spoken about her fun side-hustle that boosts her monthly income and has made her some friends along the way.

Gina Gee Mann, 67, is a direct seller for Forever Living Products, providing wellness and beauty products to her customers.

She told Express.co.uk: “What I love about direct selling is that I get to become friends with my customers. Direct selling offers an incredibly personal service which is so different to the high street – there’s a really nice social side to the job.

“I really enjoy sharing the benefits of the products and helping people to live their best lives. I have many regular customers, none of whom I knew before I started direct selling. And I love that with the business opportunity I have a vehicle that allows ordinary people, like me, to step out of the hamster wheel of sameness and live a life with choices.”

She earns between £400 and £600 a month which tops up her income from her state pension and other pensions, and she spends the extra money on socialising with her friends.

She said: “I started claiming my state pension as soon as I was 66. I found myself in the situation of being single after 40 years of marriage and with no money from the divorce.

“I use the money I receive from my pension to live on while my direct selling money allows me to afford non-essential things. Therefore it is so important for me to have a supplemental income from Forever Living. I wouldn’t change it and am definitely not ready to retire my direct selling just yet.”

Ms Mann is a member of the Direct Selling Association (DSA). Research from the group recently found that direct sellers are now earning £833 a month on average.

Ms Mann said: “Almost half of direct sellers don’t have school-aged children yet the number of us doing the work during school hours has increased compared to last year.

“This indicates that this form of work is increasingly becoming a lifestyle choice for many, and it certainly works well in retirement as it’s so flexible and it really doesn’t feel like work. When you find a product you love, talking about it doesn’t ever feel like a job.”

Her most popular products are Forever’s flagship product, the Aloe Vera drinking gel. She also sells a lt of Marine Collagen as well as the brand’s toothgel.