Passive Income – The Best Business Models Allowing To Make Money Leaving You Time To Live
There’s no bigger regret than spending all your time trying to make money and missing out on life. While being financially secure is absolutely important, there must be a way to strike the balance so that you enjoy life the way you want to. Thankfully, passive income is the answer to the question. What’s passive income? Simply put, passive income is when you earn money without actually being actively involved. Let’s take a look at some of the best ways you can actually put it in practice.
1. Investing in lending clubs
You can earn interest on your safe investments such as the treasury securities and bank certificates on deposits. However, the paltry return on those is less than a percent. This brings in the idea of Lending Clubs. A web-based platform for peer-to-peer lending, it is where people come for loans as well as investors. The platform lets you earn an interest rate more than 10% a year, which is about ten times the amount you can make in conventional investments. It is advisable to check your waters carefully before going with the option so that you can avoid defaults.
2. Investing with robo-advisors
This is basically an algorithm that manages your investment. According to the settings you choose, the algorithm will consider the risk factor and manage your account on your behalf. It’s a good option because the algorithm is designed to keep your portfolio balanced. In this way, you cut the risk of getting a bad credit. There’s a certain amount of fees that the algorithm will charge but it’s far less than the amount you would have to pay a real person. There are few robo-advisors that do not charge you any interest on the first chunk of money you invest. Keep a lookout for such plans and offers before you lock in with such an algorithm.
3. Try out index funds
If you invest in index funds, it will be an investment made in the general market and you won’t have to balance your portfolio, choose your investment or be concerned about the right time to sell or buy companies individually. All such requirement will be taken care of by the fund which will design your portfolio according to the underlying index. Look for an index fund plan that doesn’t involve any broker and lets you choose a fund according to the index you decide. For example, if you set your index to market sectors limited to precious metals, energy and market, the fund will invest only in those areas.
4. Making money out of everyday things that you do
There are platforms where you can actually earn money for doing things that you would have done anyway. Platforms such as the InboxDollars let you earn money by engaging in activities such as playing games and shopping online. These websites come with a compensation plan, through which you can make extra money. If you’re travelling in different cities, and if you choose to drive yourself around, make a schedule with Uber. This way, you can pick up tourists who match your schedule, drive them around and make money out of your sightseeing.
5. Buy a blog
Blogs are created in thousands every year, and most of these blogs are totally abandoned by their creators after a time. Look for a blog that has some amount web traffic as well as a reasonable cash flow. Most blogs work with Google AdSense. This will let you reap the benefits of a monthly revenue system which is based on the advertisements placed on the website by Google. Besides, you may also get affiliate programs for generating some additional revenue. Once you become the owner of the blog, both sources of income will be yours.
6. Making money out of cash-back rewards on credit cards
If you make purchases on credit card, it is a good idea to pursue credit card rewards. Most reward cards will let you earn anywhere between 1 to 5 % on the money you spend, and the best part is there’s hardly any effort on your part. Another good idea would be to take advantage of the signup bonus. You don’t have to be a heavy spender on your credit card. With a good signup bonus, you can earn well even on petty expenses such as gas bills, grocery, insurance etc. as far as travelling is concerned, a lot of people use bonus offers on travel credit cards and save thousand every year.
7. Earn by becoming a silent partner of a business
It’s not hard to find a successful business that is need of some capital for expansion. If you spot one, do not offer a loan. Instead, take it up as a business opportunity and grab an equity position in the venture. All day-to-day operations will be handled by the business owner, while you will only remain as a silent partner who only participates in the profits. A good idea would be to look for a business credit card offer to manage your business finance well. At the same time, it is advisable to keep track of how your partner is handling the business.
8. Creating an online course
If there’s technical skill that you are confident about, why not impart your knowledge and make money out of it? However, unlike other means of passive income, this will require a considerable amount of effort initially. However, once the course is ready, the platform on which you choose to upload will take care of the business and send you your remuneration. Teaching a new language, teaching how to play an instrument, photography lessons – the options are quite varied.
9. Being an ATM vendor
This will require a heavy investment but it is extremely profitable. Setting up an ATM in malls, small corner stores and so on is quite the norm these days. All you have to do is find a company that allows you to set the ATM at various business spots in exchange of a small portion of the income that is generated. ATM machines earn a minimum of $5 for every transaction, and you can a piece of the revenue generated by every transaction. More the number of ATMs you set up, more the money you earn. There is a certain amount of maintenance that is involved, but the returns are quite rewarding.
10. Building a guide website for referral income
Generating referral income by building a niche website will require a bit of SEO and online marketing knowledge. The most popular industry where you can capitalize on the trend are diets and weight loss, credit cards and insurance. It is advisable that you choose an industry you have an idea about. It is also important to build good relations with the companies you want to link in your website. Building credibility with people by referring them to the right services and products will be imperative in order to get a substantial amount of commission on the sales.
11. Renting out your real estate
If you have an apartment, or an office space, it is the best way of generating passive income. Make the best use of peer-to-peer property rental websites, which will let you rent your space to guests for short term durations. Airbnb is a great option if you want to go with such a deal. In case you want to go without a broker, a perfect website for you will be NestAway. Short term lease is preferable if you plan to reclaim your property in near future once the need for the cash flow is over.
12. Rent your car for Ad Space
You can actually drive your car around and make money out of it. No, it doesn’t involve picking up any passengers. All you have to do is allow companies to place their advertisements on your car window. Agreed, it won’t help the aesthetics of your car much but it is the easiest way to generate passive income. A quick online search will get you a whole list of companies that are willing to pay you to wrap your car up with their advertisement.
13. Investing in bond ladders or bond interest
Investing in bonds is a lot safer than stocks. It is more like a payment of debt from which you can earn interest as a loaner. If you have enough bond coupons, the passive income stream gets quite steady. Every year you acquire a set of bonds at a high paying rate of interest, and thus let the interests pile over a period of time. After some time, the bond will be due and you can buy yet another long-term bond, and this time, preferably a one with higher interest rate.
Final Thoughts
These are just some of the numerous ways you can earn money without giving 12 hours of your day to a cubicle. If travelling is your passion, you can pursue it with a steady flow of cash by investing your money smartly in one of such options.
