I worked in an office for many years (what people call 9 to 5, but I called 9 to 9), and I got burnt out.
I had enough.
I decided that I wanted more freedom.
I really couldn’t spend another 30 years in a job, working 60+ hours a week! But to have , I still needed to make money somehow. That’s when I became obsessed with passive income and ways to make money while you sleep!
After reading books , I knew there were ways out there to make enough money to replace my full-time income without working every day, but I had no idea where to start.
So I began researching how to make passive income a reality.
What is Passive Income?
To understand the real meaning of passive income, you must first know what active income is.
Active income is what most of us make. We go to work every day and give up our free time in exchange for money. If for any reason, we don’t go to work, then we don’t get paid. This lack of income can become a massive problem if we don’t have any other money coming in, while having bills to pay every day.
Passive income is money you make without needing to actively work for it every day.
Let me be clear: as much as dreaming is nice, and some residual income opportunities require less work than others, most passive income ideas need you to put in some (or a lot!) of effort initially.
But the amazing thing about passive income is that no matter how much work you have to put in upfront, you will reap the rewards for years to come without having to sweat for your money all the time.
If the only way you have to make money is to go to the office, you will never be able to quit!
Passive income allows you to put effort today into something that will repay you every single day of your life.
And once the amount of passive income you can generate equals or covers more than your expenses, you can stop working entirely.
Why Passive Income?
Passive income for me means just one thing: freedom.
This quote from Warren Buffet sums up my reasons for pursuing it:
“If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die.”
Passive income means having more time to do all the things you really love: spending time with family, traveling the world, and enjoying a flexible schedule.
What I love about passive income:
- It doesn’t depend on how many hours you work: once your revenue stream is set up, you can make money with little work needed to maintain it.
- It requires you to put in the work upfront, but you will then be able to generate revenues day after day!
- You will have more time to do what you love while still making money and paying your bills.
And even if you are not dreaming of quitting your day job, it’s never a good idea to depend on one single income stream. Your job isn’t 100% safe, and generating money passively will give you more security.
But there is one thing I want you to remember that I learned during these years:
Passive income is not EASY: it takes time and hard work to build. Whether it will come from a product or investments, you need to have the motivation to create it in the first place!
But if you put in the hard work and do your research, it is possible to make money while walking in the park or sipping a margarita on the beach.
Best Passive Income Ideas
* Invest money you already have
* Rent out things you own
* Get paid for things you already do
* Create an online business
Below you will find all the passive income ideas I researched over the years.
Some of these passive income strategies require more work than others upfront, and some come with financial risks that you will have to evaluate before jumping in.
I classified each money-making idea by:
INITIAL INVESTMENT: The amount of money you need to invest to generate a significant income.
RISK: The risk you will need to take (including the danger of losing your money). This will also depend on your risk tolerance.
TIME: How much time will you need to put in, which could be research time at the beginning or actual work to set up your passive income stream?
MONEY GAIN: Income potential. This is based on average. Every passive income idea can generate an amazing gain (or very little if poorly executed or dependent on external factors).
This score, of course, is just based on my personal views and experience.
But the question you need to ask yourself is:
How many people will commit to learning how to make money through passive income?
Take action. Just do it!
Choose a few ideas that sound interesting to you and try them out! If you don’t start to create passive income now, you will never escape the rat race to live the life of your dreams!
Invest Money You Already Have
Investing is the most straightforward form of passive income and doesn’t require much day-to-day effort.
If you can save money, or you already have a substantial amount of funds sitting in your bank account, there are plenty of passive income ideas for you to choose from.
INVEST IN DIVIDENT: PAYING STOCK
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 10/10
RISK: 9/10
TIME: 4/10
MONEY GAIN: 8/10
What are dividends?
Dividends are cash paid by a company to its shareholders.
When you invest in a dividend-paying stock, you buy a share of the company, and you literally become part-owner of that business.
As the company grows and generates extra cash that it doesn’t necessarily want to re-invest, it might decide to return some of it to the shareholders in the form of dividends.
And because you own a fraction of the company, you will receive a portion of the cash!
Dividend-paying shares can be an excellent tool for generating income, but make sure you do your research on the shares you buy, as dividends are not guaranteed. If the company isn’t generating enough cash, it can cut or suspend its dividend.
2. BUY INDEX FUNDS AND ETFS
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 10/10
RISK: 8/10
TIME: 2/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
If you have the capital to invest but don’t have the time, knowledge, or energy to get stuck in dividend investing, index funds and ETFs are a much easier alternative. Both index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) track specific returns of a market index.
If you want your money working for you, you are looking for a simple long-term approach, and you don’t want to play with risky investments, this strategy might be for you.
It took us a long time to decide how to invest our money.
I have always been terrified of investing in the stock market as I am the worst gambler in history. Then I discovered index investing and ETFs, and I am converted. Last year my investments made a return of over 20%!
But investing in the market can be a bit of a rollercoaster.
3. OPEN A HIGH YIELD ACCOUNT
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 3/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 1/10
MONEY GAIN: 2/10
With inflation hitting the highest levels in , having your money in your checking account means losing cash every day.
If you have money sitting there and still don’t know how to invest it or prefer a no-risk investment strategy, make sure you pick the best possible rate you can get.
And if you want to get high-interest rates, you need to look at an online savings account .
, my favorite, has no fee, and you can open it with as little as possible.
And keep an eye out for welcome bonuses!
4. CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT (CD)
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 5/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 1/10
MONEY GAIN: 2/10
A certificate of deposit (CD) is similar to a high-yield savings account. Banks will offer you a premium interest rate, BUT you need to leave a lump sum untouched for a certain period of time.
Most financial institutions offer CD terms in multiples of six months. So you can open one for six months, 12 months, 18 months, etc. Usually, the longer you agree to leave your money, the higher the interest rate you can get.
At the end of the fixed term, you will get your money back, plus any interest you have earned during that period.
CDs are great if you have a sum of money you know you won’t need in the short term, but you want to maximize your return without any risk.
When you look for a CD that suits your needs, make sure to check any penalty fees you might have to pay in case you need to withdraw your money before the end of your term.
5. BONDS
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 6/10
RISK: 3/10
TIME: 2/10
MONEY GAIN: 3/10
When you hear people talking about investing, you’ll typically hear them discussing stocks and bonds.
But what are bonds?
When you purchase stocks, you are buying a tiny part of the company. When you purchase bonds, you lend money to the company and receive interest payments on that loan.
Companies aren’t the only ones issuing bonds. The government can issue bonds to finance projects too.
The two key elements of bonds are the interest rate you will get and the term (how long the money is being lent).
Bonds are much less risky than stocks but do not usually produce as high of a return, as you don’t benefit from the company’s growth.
But they have two significant benefits:
- They are income-producing assets and give you a fixed stream of income.
- They can offset some of the volatility you might see from owning stocks, although they still carry some risks.
6. INVEST WITH ROBO ADVISORS
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 7/10
RISK: 7/10
TIME: 2/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Until a few years ago, if you wanted to invest your hard-earned money in the market, you had to hire a portfolio manager or financial advisor.
This not only required a minimum sum to invest but also came with substantial fees.
What are Robo advisors?
Robo advisors are digital platforms that aim to change how you invest using algorithm-driven technology. This makes high-quality investing available to everyone, even if you have little money.
Not only will they work to reduce your investment fees, but they will also rebalance your retirement portfolio based on your birthdate and retirement age, to help you reach your retirement goals.
7. PEER TO PEER LENDING
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 8/10
RISK: 9/10
TIME: 3/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Peer-to-peer lending (P2P) means loaning money to other people. Specifically, you lend money to people who don’t qualify for traditional financing.
Companies like these offer 6-10% returns, much higher than typical savings accounts.
With P2P, you can select an investment based on your risk assessment strategy. But before you get too excited by the rates on offer, you need to consider that the higher the returns, the bigger is usually the danger of losing your money.
Although companies like Lending Club cherry-pick borrowers according to credit checks, you still need to consider risks before putting your money in.
So always make sure to do your own research!
8. CROWDFUNDED REAL STATE
INITIAL INVESTMENT 7/10
RISK: 7/10
TIME: 3/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
I love real estate investing, but it requires a lot of upfront capital, plus you need to learn to love your tenants (see point 10 below)!
Crowdfunded real estate investing allows you to still invest in the real estate market without necessarily putting in a lot of money upfront. It’s a much more passive investment than owning rental properties!
When you invest in crowdfunded real estate, you usually fund loans, which are then used to buy and improve real assets, and you get paid for that.
With Crowdfunded real estate investment, you can get returns in the range of 7-10%, similar to peer-to-peer lending, but you have the actual house to back up the investment.
9. INVEST IN REITS( REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS)
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 7/10
RISK: 7/10
TIME: 3/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Another way to invest in real estate is to invest through a REIT.
A REIT is a company that owns, operates, or finances real estate and allows anyone to invest in portfolios of real estate assets, the same way as stocks: you can purchase individual stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF). You can then earn a share of the income produced through the real estate investment without owning, managing, or financing a property.
A REIT offers capital growth and generally high dividend yields.
RENTS THINGS OUT
Taking advantage of things you already have is one of the best ways to make passive income a quick reality.
10. INVEST IN RENTAL PROPERTIES
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 10/10
RISK: 6/10
TIME: 8/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
This is one of my favorite ways to generate passive income!
It’s the first one we explored, as we love real estate and the idea of having tangible assets. You will generally need some capital to invest, and you will need to do quite a lot of work upfront to find the right rental property.
Although many people don’t consider rental properties a passive business, it’s more passive than going to the office every day!
We have two rental properties at the moment. Last year we generated over $22,000 net income (after mortgage payments, expenses, and taxes), and all I had to do was inspect the properties three times to make sure the tenants weren’t destroying them! They are actually keeping them in perfect condition, and they are lovely people! Call me lucky.
Every time we buy a rental, we renovate it to high standards to ensure it’s in perfect shape and won’t need much work done for quite a few years. If you want to make it even more passive, you can outsource the property management and maintenance tasks.
11. RENT OUT YOUR SPARE ROOM
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 4/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 5/10
MONEY GAIN: 6/10
What could be better than making money from home ? Earning passive income from your home!
If you own your house and have a spare room or rent a place with some extra space, you can start earning money on websites like Airbnb
If you are renting, check with your landlord first, as you need their permission to rent out the extra space.
How much you can make will depend on your home’s location, size, and condition, but this is a way of earning money from space that might just be sitting there empty.
Going away on holiday?
List your home while you are away, and you could earn more than your holiday costs you!
12. RENT OUT YOUR CAR
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 3/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 4/10
MONEY GAIN: 4/10
Got a car that you don’t drive all the time?
You should probably rent it out!
Like renting a property, this will require some maintenance and work, but you can earn some good money.
If you want to rent out your car while you are on holiday or while you are not using it
13. RENT YOUR PARKING SPACE
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 3/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 2/10
MONEY GAIN: 3/10
If you have a free parking space, driveway, or empty garage, you can easily turn that into money. You could list the space yourself
GET PAID FOR THINGS YOU ALREADY DO
14. GET PAID TO SHOP
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 2/10
MONEY GAIN: 2/10
We all spend money shopping, no matter how frugal we are.
How about getting money back on everything you buy?
Using cashback apps and websites isn’t going to cost you anything other than a bit of time.
And you can get anything from 2 to 10% back on your money. If you spend $1,000 in a month, you could get $100 back! That’s a lot!
The best cash back apps:
SWAGBUCKS : This app has over 1500 shops to pick from, including places you already shop from, like Starbucks, Amazon, and Target. You just need to select the shop you need, click on it, and earn cashback. You can then use the points you make to buy gift cards (from places like Amazon) or get paid via PayPal.
RAKUTEN: This website gives you cash back when you shop online. You just need to go to the website, download the app, select the store you need to shop from, and earn money! You’ll get a free $10 bonus when you sign up, and you’ll be able to see how much cashback you can make on each store when you select it.
15. CREDIT CARD REWARDS
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 2/10
MONEY GAIN: 3/10
Credit card rewards work a bit like cash back apps.
Choosing credit cards with a reward program can get you $1 to $2 back on every $100 you spend. It’s a great way to maximize what you can earn on your spending!
But before you run away to open several credit cards, remember that:
Credit card rewards are only valuable if you pay off your cards in full every month. There is no point in earning a 2% cashback if you pay 15% interest. Remember: paying off your debt and becoming debt-free should always be your priority!
Don’t open too many credit cards at once to avoid your credit score dropping.
Choose a credit card that has a reward program you’ll use. If you love to travel, you can pick a credit card that will reward you with frequent flyer miles. Or, if you eat out often, you can choose a credit card that gives you high cash back at restaurants. Don’t let points and rewards go to waste!
CREATE AN ONLINE BUSINESS
If you don’t have savings and don’t own many things, you can still generate residual income by creating an online business. This usually requires more time upfront, making it a bit less passive than other ideas, but if you stick with it for long enough, you will be able to reap the benefits and generate real passive income streams.
16. START YOUR ONLINE STORE
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 4/10
RISK: 3/10
TIME: 9/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
To be completely honest, having an e-commerce store isn’t the most passive way to earn money.
I included e-commerce in this list because if you set up your supply chain in a clever way, you could create a business that can make thousands of dollars a month with little effort to maintain it.
There are several business models for an e-commerce website:
Sell your own physical product: this is a lot of work and requires some capital to invest, but you could create something unique with a high-profit margin.
Dropshipping: you will not have to own stock. When someone purchases a product from your online store, the manufacturer will ship it directly to the customer. It’s great as you don’t have to handle deliveries and returns, but you don’t have much control over quality and customer experience.
Sell other people’s products: you get to sell many different products from the start, but it’s hard to differentiate yourself and make a profit in a competitive market.
If creating an online business intrigues you, check out Shopify.
Shopify is by far the best e-commerce platform out there. They have beautiful templates that will make designing your site a breeze.
They also have many tools and adds-on to help you process payments, handle deliveries and returns, set up promotions, and more.
17. START A BLOG
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 2/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 8/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Really? Yes really! Blogging isn’t 100% passive and requires A LOT of hard work in the setup phase.
Believe me, I did it! It took me three months before I launched to generate enough good content, and don’t trust anyone who tells you that you can create a money-making blog in a week!
But I found out that if you put in the hard work and are clever about what you write, you can quickly generate traffic, and TRAFFIC = MONEY.
There are so many ways to make money blogging, some more passive than others: you can simply add advertising to your blog, or you can generate money using , selling your own products, or creating partnerships with brands.
17. BUY A BLOG
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 3/10
RISK: 3/10
TIME: 9/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
If feels like too much work, how about purchasing a blog that is already making money?
You can simply learn how to maintain it, but all the leg work will be done for you.
The main advantage of buying a blog is saving time. Starting a blog and building an audience takes a lot of time and effort. By buying an already established blog, you can take a shortcut, as the design, the look, and social media accounts will be already set up.
You will also be able to verify if that particular niche is profitable before you buy without the risk of spending months on an idea that won’t get you anywhere.
18. AFFILIATE MARKETING
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 8/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Affiliate Marketing is my favorite way to produce passive income on Gathering Dreams. It makes up over 60% of my revenues.
The idea is that you will research a potential niche that can be profitable, use SEO techniques and advertising to drive traffic to your website, and earn money by getting a commission for recommending products or services.
Building a large audience takes time and effort, but you will earn a good income with very little work once you have created the right platform.
And that’s why I love it!
All this, of course, comes at a bigger cost than starting from scratch. But it could save you months and months of hard work.
19. WRITE AN E-Book
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 8/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Self-publishing is great: you write a book, hit publish, and then collect royalties for years to come.
If you love writing content, you won’t find it hard to write an 80-100 page e-book on the things you love. Make sure you pick a profitable topic and market your book through bloggers and influencers in that niche.
Non-fiction e-books that educate your potential audience on specific topics like finance, online marketing, and business will make you more money than fiction books. Of course, there are always exceptions, and you could write the next Harry Potter book, but if you want to create some residual income quickly, I suggest you go for what sells first!
Using the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Platform is an easy way to get your e-book on Amazon as quickly as possible and start making some money!
20. MAKE MONEY PUBLISHING BLANK BOOKS
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 8/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
We talked about self-publishing just before.
But let’s be honest: writing a book is no easy feat. Especially if you are not a professional writer!
What if I told you that you could publish books without writing? And still, make money? Yep!
Have you ever heard of low-content self-publishing?
With low-content publishing, you will be creating books that are made with mostly blank internal pages.
Think about:
diaries
planners
journals
notebooks
sketchbooks
With these types of books, as long as you have a good eye for design and pick a profitable niche with good demand, you won’t have to write 50,000 words that possibly no one will read.
Once you create a great book layout, you can simply keep it as a digital file, use Amazon’s print-on-demand service, hold no physical inventory, and collect passive royalties whenever a book sells.
What’s not to like?
21. TEACH YOUR EXPERTISE
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 8/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Teaching your skills by creating an online course has the potential to become a fantastic way to earn passive income.
There are plenty of people that make a living by selling online courses. You can create videos, e-books, checklists, and audio files to supplement your lessons and share your passion with others.
Creating different courses at different prices can help you to maximize your chances of selling them.
The best online websites that make it easy for you to sell your skills and create online courses are:
Teachable
Udemy
Skillshare
If you are seriously interested in generating passive income by starting an online course, a great place to start is the Teachable free webinar. Teachable offers free live training to help you launch your online course in no time.
22. FLIP DOMAINS FOR PROFIT
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 2/10
RISK: 2/10
TIME: 4/10
MONEY GAIN: 6/10
This is the idea: you purchase domain names for cheap that can be valuable to companies in the future, and then you resell them for a profit.
Some people made millions by purchasing the right domain name, although most of their success is due to luck!
You need to do your own research and make sure you pick keywords that can make you money. A great place to start is to select a specific niche, narrow your focus, and find out what domain names could sell well in that niche.
If you want to try it out, make sure you don’t spend much money on a domain. Don’t invest more than $10-$100 to start with, and remember, the money is in your sales abilities, not necessarily in the name.
There is only one domain name, and if someone wants it and you own it, your negotiation skills will make the difference between a small and a big profit.
23. SETUP YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 3/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 9/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
I won’t lie: it’s not easy to make money from a YouTube Channel. You will need to create quite a lot of video content before you can earn a significant amount of money. But if you pick the right niche and manage to create great and valuable content, you will get organic traffic from YouTube and Google.
You can make money by displaying ads on your channel and will get paid every time someone watches your videos.
On the plus side, great quality video content is relatively scarce compared to text-based content. Also, people prefer watching a 5-minute video recipe to reading a long set of instructions.
Right now, the market is less competitive. If you have great video and editing skills, you should give it a try!
24. LICENSE YOUR PHOTOS
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 2/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 6/10
MONEY GAIN: 4/10
If you have a great eye for the perfect shot and friends keep telling you how beautiful your photos are, you can select the best pictures from your hard drive and make money by selling them online.
You don’t have to be a professional to sell photos: you still have the opportunity to earn some money, even if you are a novice.
Most websites pay you based on the number of downloads: you get paid a percentage every time someone downloads one of your pictures. So once the pictures are uploaded, you will earn passive income every time someone buys them.
Best websites to sell your photos online:
Shutterstock
iStock
Adobe stock
25. LICENSE YOUR MUSIC
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 1/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 7/10
MONEY GAIN: 5/10
If you love composing your own music, you can make thousands of dollars by licensing it to be used on many platforms: from YouTube videos, computer games, and movie trailers to TV adverts or corporate promotional videos.
By creating stock music, you can earn royalties (a bit like with photos) every time someone downloads and use your music for their productions.
26. DEVELOP AN APP
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 4/10
RISK: 6/10
TIME: 7/10
MONEY GAIN: 7/10
Building an app can cost quite a bit of money unless you are a developer yourself. But if you can get together with people with the right skills and come up with a clever idea, you’ll be able to generate a nice little income every time someone downloads your app.
The best way to develop an app successfully is to look for gaps in the market and apps that will help people solve a problem. You can also look for apps that have been downloaded many times but have a terrible interface or poor user experience.
If you think you can do something better, give it a shot!
27. SELL PRINTABLE ON AUTOPILOT
INITIAL INVESTMENT: 2/10
RISK: 1/10
TIME: 7/10
MONEY GAIN: 6/10
If you love design and have an artistic soul, selling digital products on Esty could be a great way to earn passive income.
Digital products require little maintenance. Your customers will simply receive a link to download them (which means you don’t have to worry about shipping and returns handling). All you need to do is spend time upfront to create beautiful artwork! (Easy, right?)
Some examples of the most popular printables include:
Greeting Cards
Wall Art
Organizer
Decorations
Invitations
Are you a great cook? You can sell meal plans and recipe cards. Are you a fanatic organizer? You can sell beautiful planners or calendars. These are just a few examples: there is no limit to your imagination!
You can simply use your knowledge and expertise to make beautiful products. As long as your printables are appealing to your target audience and of high quality, they will sell!
Julie, for example, earned while on a sky vacation selling printables on Etsy!
Autumn 