Menu Close

Passive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beach

This post may contain affiliate links.  If you make a purchase I may get a commission at no cost to you.  Please see the Disclaimer for additional information.

Money.
 
It’s the only thing, with Time, that we seem to never have enough.
 
After my master, I started to work in an office environment, and already I had started to find ways to make more money while I was working, I wanted my time to be doubly profitable.
My researched, which is a never ending journey, shed light on several topics, namely Financial Freedom and how to retire early and it made me dream of a life where I had nothing to do but live a life doing what I liked while my money was working for me.
 
To this day, it is still a dream.  I have yet to succeed in getting a large portion of my money from passive income sources.  However, I have tried several of the possibilities out there and I think it’s a good idea to let you know what option you also have.

What is a passive income stream?

A passive income stream is, basically, a stream of money that comes in without you having to, really, work for it.  You will need to put some work up front, but once it is set up, there is very little maintenance to keep it up.
However, there is one thing that you need to remember, there is no magic.  You cannot just decide that you want to have a passive income and BAM! there it is, it is not that easy.
You need to do your research, you will need:
  • to determine what suits your desires;
  • the amount of risk you are willing to take;
  • the amount of upfront work you are willing to put in;
  • the amount of maintenance work; and
  • the amount of money you are willing to invest.
 

Why Passive income?

First of all, why should you and I choose a passive income strategy?
Well the answer is simple enough, to make money while you are doing something else!  Be it to pursue your passion, cook, spend time with your family and friends, or even travel, you would be free to do as you please!
 

Passive Income Ideas

Here are some of the Passive income stream I have researched and, for most of them, tested.  Are these the best? It really depends on what type of individual you are and how much work you are ready to pour into it

1. Dividend stock

A dividend stock is a normal or a preferred share from a company. It’s one of the most passive income stream that people have. It gives you the opportunity, not only, to be one of the company owner but also be part of the profit sharing.  
What does it means?  Simply put, the company will take a portion of it’s income and will redistribute it to the share owners.  
High dividends paying stock, some paying 5%, can be a very powerful income generating tool. 
However, like every investment you will make, you need to do your homework and research the company you want to invest in.
You can hold the share forever, but do not forget to verify your investment at least every quarter, with the financial results of the company, to make sure that your investment is still valid.  There is no grantees that the company will continue paying dividends if the financial situations deteriorates.
 
Before starting investing, I recommend that you read these fine books:

And that you look at this Investment 101 Guide.

Finally, you can look at this Guide to Dividend Growth Investment

If you are more into EBooks, you should definitely try the Free Kindle Unlimited Trial. 

You will have access to Dividend Investing book easily and on the go! 

Passive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beachPassive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beach

Investing your spare change

You want to get into investing but don’t know where to start?  Or where you having trouble getting the minimum amount required by several large brokers? 

If you are in the USA, Acorn is the place you should be looking at now!  It allows you to invest your spare change into defined portfolios.  You definitely need to try it out!

If you are in Canada, you want to check out Mylo, it’s basically the same as Acorn.  

Check out the complete review or check it out yourself!

2. Real Estate Investment Thrust

I love real estate.  I have just not been able to convince myself that I would be a good renter, I am too good hearted it seems.
However, another way to invest into real estate, without the trouble associated with managing properties and tenants, is to invest into REITs.  The Thrust is the one who owns, manage, finance the real estate properties.
You only need to buy the Thrust share (unit) and you will participate in the profit sharing of the Thrust.   Most often they pay monthly which means that you can reinvest faster into new Units and grow your portfolio faster.
If you want to know more about REIT follow this link What is a REIT.  

Before you decide to invests in REIT, I would suggest you take a peek into a master’s mind:

 

3. Crowdfunded Real Estate

The biggest road block for most people to get into Real estate is the actual cash down that you need to buy the property, the second being to learn to deal with your tenants.  
By choosing to invest your capital using crowdfunding, you do not need that huge upfront capital, nor do you need to deal with anyone.

What you are actually doing, is loaning money that will be used to buy or upgrade an existing property. 

It is similar to peer-to-peer lending, but it is less risky because there is a physical property to back up the loan.  However, like any investment, there are risk and you might loose.  So before you try it out make sure that you do the proper diligence and that you are convinced that it will work out for you.
 
If you are willing to give it a shot, here are 2 well known websites with free sign up.
 

4. Open a high yield account

This one will not make your rich for sure, interest rate on saving accounts has been pretty low for the last decade, but it is a good place to keep your ‘just in case’ money.

You do have an emergency fund right? If you don’t read this! It’s very important!

It a good idea to keep funds that you either don’t know what to do yet, or funds you will need soon. By the way, if you have money laying around and you do not know what to do with it, just send me an email and I will be happy to give you my PayPal account!

United-State

A very nice online high-yield savings account is offered by CIT Bank. Its Premier High-Yield Savings Account currently offers up to 2.30% APY with no maintenance fees or ongoing balance requirements. Its accounts are also FDIC insured, it offers great interest rates, and the setup process takes just minutes. However, it doesn’t have a regular checking account option available, so it isn’t a good option for someone looking for a day-to-day bank.

Canada

And at the same time, why not chose an account that has no fees for day to day banking? That could potentially save you 100$ of dollars each year! For my Canadian friends, Tangerine offers just that!

They offer highish (1.1% sometimes up to 2.50%) interest rate accounts, higher then most bank anyways, plus you save on banking fees all year long.
If you open an account with my Orange key (48396560S1), you will get a nice bonus!
It cost nothing, it has no fees, plus you get a bonus! just sign up here.

5. Buy a rental property

I have been looking at this income stream for quite a while now.  
It has the opportunity to be a very passive and very lucrative passive income stream.  But it is dependent on a lot of factors
  • Property price.
  • Tenants.
  • Maintenance fees.
  • Possible renovation.
  • Rent prices in the area.
  • Mortgage rate.
Before deciding to buy a rental property, you need to sit down and do some maths to make sure that it is a viable long term investment.
 
 

6. Rent one of your house room

Ever heard of Airbnb?
 
I’m sure you do!
 
Renting a room, or a complete house as a mater of fact, is a good way of making a passive income.  It’s not hassle free I admit it, but it can provide a good revenue stream.
 
The amount you will be able to make will mostly depends on your location and the look of your place. A beautiful decorated room in a highly touristic area will attract more people ready to pay a hefty price.
 
A friend of mine is almost paying half of it’s mortgage by renting one of the room of is condo on Airbnb.  
It’s a very nice way of making an unoccupied room work for you! 
 
 
It has also a nice side effect, you will meet new people possibly from around the world!
 

7. Rent your car

If you are not using your car, be it because of an holiday or you away on weekends, it could be nice if it could be able to work for you.  Check out this website
It’s a nice way to get your car to bring back some money to pay for it’s own maintenance or to pay for itself!
 
 
But what happen if your poor car get into an accident?
 
Fear not! They got your car covered!
It is insured, by their insurance partner, if something happens while your car works for you.
 
If you want some extra info, take a look at this guide here.
 

8. Rent your garage or parking spot

This is an interesting one, specially if you live in a crowded or metropolitan area.  
You cannot imagine the amount of people that are looking for a stable parking spot near their home or their work area.
 
Location, location, location
As always, the potential revenue stream is based on the location of the parking spot, a good location will bring a higher amount of money.
 
As an example, my aunt and uncle bought 2 parking spots in the indoor garage at the same time as they bought their condos,
Both parking spots where paid within 5 years by renting only 1 of the 2.  
It is a pretty good return on investment considering each parking was worth 35000$.
 
Passive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beachPassive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beach

9. Peer lending

Lending money has always been very profitable for banks.
Since you, probably, do not have the lending power a bank has, and because lending money to your friends is not profitable, you probably never tough of lending as an investment…
 
But think otherwise!  There is a possibility of making money by lending to perfect stranger!
 
However, you will need to do your research because lending is always associated with risk!  You could potentially loose money.
By choosing who you lend to and by diversifying your lending portfolio, you will be able to reduce the risk and still make a good 4 to 10%.
 
Here are 2 websites that offer peer lending, the first one is one of the leading Peer lender in the US, the other one, the first regulated Peer to Peer lending platform in Canada.
Passive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beachPassive Income or How to make Money while sleeping at the beach
Another, very nice and supportive way to lend your money for a good return of 5% is to use StreetShare.  It’s a social impact investment that helps Veterans and main street business to get loans that are affordable and fair.  

10. Teach your knowledge

Wait…
Teaching is not passive…
Why did it made it into passive income stream?
Teaching your knowledge doesn’t mean that you are always in front of a class.   Online video courses are good example.
By creating an online course and selling it will generate you a income stream that will be pretty much passive.  You can also create additional teaching material, such as an e-book, extra videos, print-outs, that could be sold separately.
 
Let’s face it, creating an attractive online course will require quite an investment at the beginning to set-up the course. Also, you might want to customize your course(s) for different budget, it will make your course much more attractive to a variety of people.
 
To help you start, here are some of the best location where to set-up your online course.  They are also a great source of help and information.
  • udemy;
  • Skillshare; and
  • Teachable.com

11. Write e-books

You love writing?
 
You are passionate about a subject?
 
Why not write an e-book!
 
Yes, it will take you some time to get it right.
Yes, it requires more time investment then some other income stream.  However, don’t forget that the satisfaction of writing a book from beginning to the end is a nice added value.
 
The only drawback I can potentially see is that you cannot write on any subject you want
 
Let me explain.  
I love science fiction and fantasy.  
I would love to write a fantasy story and try to publish it.  But I know that it will probably not make me a lot of money…
You need to select a subject that people want to become better at, namely personal finance, online marketing, entrepreneurship, small business.
Also, you must not forget that your book will not sell all by itself,  you cannot just sit back and wait, you will need to get influencer, friends, blogger to push it and sale it for you.
 
You had an idea.
You now have your book written.
The last step is to publish it.  The easiest way to have an e-book published nowadays would be to use the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing platform which is free.  All you need to have is an Amazon account.  They have amazingly simple instruction on how to do it.
 
You should try it out! Go ahead! You can do it!
 
About me

12. Write a blog

I’m still not 100% sure if blogging should have made the final cut.
However, it can bring you a solid revenue stream once it’s set up properly and you can drive traffic to your blog.
 
You saw the word traffic?
That has to be the single most important concept for a monetized blog…
 
No traffic, no money.
 
As such, you need to write about stuff that people want to read about.  And you still need to actively try to attract traffic.
 
Blogging money is made in different ways :
  • Ads
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Courses
  • Other material
There are stories of blogger making millions of dollars through affiliate marketing and advertisement.

I’m not sure I will reach that point one day, but even several thousands of dollars per month make its a pretty attractive revenue stream.

If you think that you are ready to Start your own blog, read this guide!
Or you can go directly to BlueHost to host you blog!
 

 

What’s to gain from all that?

Making money while you sleep/travel/have fun is certainly possible.

I am!  

Not as much as I wished, but since I have started, I have kept learning and investing and now the streams are increasing.

 
Now, if you ask yourself, can you do it? 
The answer is: Absolutely!
 
You can use any of the ideas above as a starting point.
 
Here are some “not to forget” points:
  • Do not invest without doing your due diligence, investing on emotion is the worst thing you can do!
  • Fix yourself some reasonable objectives at first, do not believe you will make hundreds of thousands of dollars just with a single mouse click.
  • Do not stop looking for information.  Knowledge is power!
  • There are no easy solution, you will need to invest time and sometimes money to make more money.
Have you tried any of those?
 
Do you have any other tried streams?
 
Don’t forget: Keep the dream alive!

Enjoyed this post?

Follow us on Pinterest for additional awesome ideas!​

Some posts on this blog contain affiliate links.
At no additional charge to you, I receive a small commission whenever a product is purchased through these links. The Dreaming Dad is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.