Retirement Hobbies: Crossword Puzzles

Crossword Puzzles are great for the aging brain... keep your brain fit! Crossword puzzles have been a favorite pastime for years.

When a person tries his first crossword puzzle, his ego gets challenged to solve it the best he could and then on to the next one. That is when he gets hooked. Studies say that a number of people buy newspapers just for the crossword puzzle!

These black and white squared puzzles have occupied people when they think there is nothing better to do. Crosswords are quite a brainy activity that may actually be healthy for the mind.

Especially for us retirees, crossword puzzles help to prevent onset of Alzheimer’s.

Crossword puzzles aren’t just a great retirement hobby but also a therapy for the aging mind. 

Another advantage in being a crossword puzzle hobbyist is that their expertise in such, makes them not only capable of answering word puzzles but also in creating one. It is encouraging to find out that the modern makers of crossword puzzles are the hobbyists that have retired from their long careers.

They are most credible to be in that position because of the experience they had throughout the years. If you are one of this crossword hobbyist for a long time now, it is not too late to try making a puzzle and discovering a new skill even in your late years.

A lot of different word puzzles have been introduced but the crossword puzzle remains popular. In recent years, crossword puzzles have even gone online. You could actually make your own website exclusively featuring your own crossword puzzles -- people from all over the world could play.

For crossword hobbyists that are interested, links and sites are available for your reference.

WordBuff.com has an interesting article about the world famous crossword puzzle maker, Merl Reagle. He was interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey show and even appeared in The Simpsons. Crossword puzzle enthusiasts could very well get inspiration from this guy. He started as a crossword puzzle hobbyist and began making his own. Now, he is making crossword puzzles for over 50 newspapers in the country.

Could crossword puzzles become your Future?

Crossword Tournament is the world's largest and longest existing crossword puzzle tournament in America. This could be the most extreme challenge for all hobbyist in this field. This annual tournament is inviting crossword puzzle fanatics to join in their 35th year now. Scoring is based on accuracy and speed. Prizes are awarded in over 20 categories. $5000 is awarded to the grand prize winner. This is directed by no less than Will Shortz, the New York Times crossword puzzle editor himself.

Earn Money by Creating and Selling Crossword Puzzles discusses how to start earning from making crossword puzzles. A forum is in place for hobbyist to talk about concerns in this particular field. Frequently asked questions have been listed for your easy reference. Unbelievably, crossword puzzle hobby is not just entertaining, as it could possibly boost your retirement funds too as well.

Amazing how such a hobby has evolved with the changing lifestyle. No matter what the current news is featured in the headlines, the crossword puzzles of the leading newspapers like the New York Times have always been there.

For the retirees, a career in creating crossword puzzles is an interesting idea. Some crossword puzzle fanatics find solving and creating these puzzles the same in level of entertainment. Both are mind boggling and not easy to achieve if you are not into it.

The New York Times and LA Times that has been noted to have the widest readership in the country has also the reputation with the most popularly in demand crossword puzzles.

Their puzzles are acknowledged to be hand-made and contributed by people from all walks of life all over the country. Although they have crossword puzzle editors within their publishing company, the reading public are the main contributors of these puzzles. The editors main job is to check the puzzles for consistency and quality.

Depending on the publication, creating crossword puzzles is noted to earn as much as $200 per a puzzle published on weekdays and even more for larger crossword puzzles published on weekends. However, some other local newspaper companies may pay lower than these rates. Still, for a hobby turned into cash, this amount is not bad at all.

Although there are several computer programs that may assist in creating crossword puzzles, it still requires human touch to complete it. Particularly in the choice of words and clues that are often themed to be coherent and related to each other, the creator plays an important role in doing this task.

Truly a great bonus to be entertained in such activity and earning from it at the same time.

Crossword puzzles anyone?