Being out of money isn’t that bad. What’s much worse is being out of ideas. Everyone can earn money passively with the below ideas. Some might require capital, while others rely mostly on your imagination and proactiveness.
High-Yield Savings Account
Whenever passive income is discussed, savings accounts are always mentioned. However, not all accounts can bring you enough income, even with large amounts invested. One or two percent of the annual percentage yield (APY) isn’t enough to count as a passive income.
Savings accounts with more than 5% APY can already be considered a form of passive income. It’s a very low return on investment, but it’s better than nothing, considering the low risk involved.
Dividend Stocks
Ordinary stock can only bring you profit after you sell it, but dividend stock can be considered passive income. These are stocks of companies that guarantee, usually yearly or quarterly, payouts straight to your account.
Usually, these are stocks of well-established companies that can afford to pay their investors frequently instead of reinvesting all the money back. For example, AT&T is known to produce one of the best dividend stocks that pay for themselves in a few decades.
Renting Real Estate
If you already have the money to invest in stocks and wait for a couple of years, then buying rental properties might also be an option. However, renting isn’t a passive income method just for the rich.
You can rent a part of your house or a room in a flat and still get some passive income. You can also rent things like parking spaces, garages, and other lower-value real estate assets that won’t require you to have millions to acquire.
Renting Equipment
Equipment for construction or other similar work is very expensive, and most people need it only once or twice a year. If you are not afraid to invest, it can be a passive income opportunity for you. Simply purchase drills, chainsaws, or even forklifts and put an advertisement on social media.
The same passive income strategy applies to entertainment equipment, such as stage equipment, lights, smoke machines, and similar. You can also have some success with portable hot tubs and saunas in rural areas.
Lending Money
The last tip to make passive income when you have some spare money is to simply lend it. Plenty of peer-to-peer lending platforms help people get interest from the money they give to others.
The interest can be much higher than with any stock or savings account, but you’ll have to take more risk as well.
Online Courses and E-books
If you are skilled enough in something and have some useful knowledge to share, consider creating an online course or writing an e-book about it. Nowadays, anyone can self-publish on Amazon. You don’t even need physical copies of your book. Creating a PDF is enough.
Platforms like Udemy and Skillshare allow anyone to create their own courses and price them as they like. It might take some time to get the hang of filming lectures and attracting an audience, but it’s one of the best passive income methods in the long run.
Unused Bandwidth Sharing
Out of all the ways to make passive income online, internet sharing is the only one that really works. First off, it’s actually passive. You simply press a button in an app and start earning money. Secondly, no legitimate bandwidth-sharing app asks you to pay money to register or cash out.
The thing is that IP addresses are a finite resource, and other people need to use multiple of them. Their IP addresses might be restricted by governments or their ISPs. When you rent your connection to them, they are able to bypass these restrictions.
Of course, you won’t make a lot of money by sharing your internet connection as most of the work is to build a system for sharing it. Still, it’s a nice source of income that doesn’t cost you any effort at all.
Advertisements on Your Car
Companies that used to offer people money for putting stickers on their cars are out of business because nowadays, you can do it yourself. Simply contact local businesses you trust and ask if they would be willing to pay you for putting on their sticker.
An even better strategy is contacting local politicians during the election season and asking them for money in exchange for a sticker. It could cost you a couple of hundred bucks to simply drive around your city.
You may also consider exploring services that offer efficient leaflet distribution. These services allow you to display various advertisements on professionally designed flyers, potentially reaching a wider audience and maximizing your earnings.
Affiliate Marketing
Platforms like ShareASale enable almost anyone to become an affiliate marketer. It takes only a couple of days to get your account approved and receive your own affiliate links. Each click or purchase on the link brings you a small amount of money.
The most difficult part is amassing an audience on your blog, social media account, or YouTube channel that will press on the link. If you are successful in getting enough clicks, this is one of the best passive income strategies.
Stock Photographs
If your hobby is to take quality photos, your only option isn’t to become a wedding photographer. Platforms like Shutterstock and iStock allow people to upload their photos and earn money from them.
It’s a way to make passive income from your shots since all you have to do is upload a collection of photos and sell them for royalties. Each time someone uses them, you get a little bit of money.
Making a living from stock photos is increasingly difficult, especially after the rise of AI-generated images. However, you can still make a significant side income if you have a large enough catalog of photos.
Final Tip
A secret to passive income is managing your expectations and steadily increasing earnings. You will not become a millionaire overnight unless you already are one. Start with a few dollars per month and then build on what you already earned to increase your passive income. It’s the best way to financial success.
