Life seems to be getting more and more expensive every day. It can be challenging to keep up, much less plan for retirement. Picking up a second job or another side hustle is exhausting. Passive income can help you meet your financial goals while working full-time. With some work or research upfront, passive income will give you a little boost that keeps money flowing in with little to no effort. Focus on your career trajectory and let passive income help pay off student loans, start a retirement fund, or save up for vacation. Here are five ways to set up your stream of passive income without taking up too much of your valuable time.
1. Invest in Vacation Rentals
Rental property investment is a surefire way to bring in passive income. Owning property has always been a way to generate wealth. But, you don’t necessarily need to spend thousands to buy an apartment building. According to a Zillow rental estimate and data from AirDNA, vacation rentals were 160% more profitable than traditional rentals in 2021. Renting a guest house can bring in monthly income, especially if you live in an area popular for tourists. If you have the funds, you could flip a condo by the beach or another destination, use it for your vacations, and rent it out for the rest of the year.
Even if you don’t have the capital to buy a home and list it on Airbnb, you can still invest in vacation real estate using fractional investment. Companies like Here allow you to invest in a vacation rental for as little as $100 upfront. You’ll become a part-owner of that property and receive a monthly share of booking income. Here takes care of managing the rental and will automatically deduct those expenses. All you have to do is choose your investment and relax while the payments roll in.
2. Build an Online Course
You’ve spent years developing valuable skills – why not turn that into an online course? Sure, it will take some time to create and develop the class. You’ll have to construct a lesson plan and spend a few days filming and editing the content. But, when the course is live, you can relax as it continues to bring in revenue long after you’ve published it. If you have a large following on social media, you can create your website for the course. Alternatively, use a site like Skillshare to support you in developing and marketing your course. You’ll get paid monthly based on how many members watch your class. Some people earn up to 100k or more just from launching an online class with Skillshare.
3. Write an E-Book
If teaching a class on camera isn’t your thing, you can leverage your skills into an e-book to share your knowledge with the world. Amazon self-publishing has made it easier for independent authors to put their ideas into the world and turn them into money. You can write a self-help book or harness your creativity to write a fictional series. Once published online, the work is over. Each month you’ll get paid based on how many people purchase your e-book.
4. Set Up an Investment Account on Your Phone
Investing in the stock market has always been the go-to way to develop passive income. Yet, if you aren’t financially literate, jumping in can feel overwhelming. Unless you studied finance, it’s probably not something you learned in school. There are a variety of apps and resources available online to educate you and help you get started. Stash is one of FinanceBuzz’s top picks to quickly create an affordable investment portfolio. You can access banking, a personal investment account, and budgeting/saving tools for just $3 a month. Stash is on a mission to help everyday people build wealth by improving financial literacy. Let this app help you start your journey to financial freedom.
5. Start an Online Storefront
This method of passive income has become extremely popular with social media influencers, but you don’t have to be TikTok famous to take advantage of an online storefront. Having a few thousand followers can certainly help if you want to sell branded t-shirts or coffee cups. Even if you aren’t an influencer, you can effortlessly start a storefront on amazon or eBay selling basic things everyone needs. Simply find products at low prices in bulk and then sell them at a profit to average consumers.
Take this a step further by creating your brand under the umbrella of Amazon. You’ll instantly become accessible to millions more users who otherwise may never have found your products. Once you’ve filled your online storefront, you can spend minimal time managing it while you reap the rewards.
