Passive Income and Side Hustles

Passive Income and Side Hustles

Make money while sleeping. That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? When someone says that they need an additional source of income, the stereotypical solution mostly offered to them is to look for a part time job, right? But what if your situation doesn’t provide you with the extra time or energy to put in more hours of work?

The concept of amassing wealth for oneself through passive income has understandably great appeal, more so if you are worried about being able to save enough money from your employment income to meet your retirement goals. Adding these passive income streams and side hustles to your portfolio can slowly help you build your earnings and even accelerate your financial goals tremendously.

Although passive income is highly sought after, it is often misunderstood by many. Such streams require a lot of nurturing in the beginning, both in terms of time and money. Gradually, these income streams start to build and in due time, are able to sustain themselves and even bring you consistent returns without so much effort on your end.

Before we delve deeper into some great passive income ideas, it is important to first and foremost clear some misguided misconceptions. The term “passive” makes it appear as if you do not have to do anything to bring in the income, doesn’t it? This is certainly not true! Most, if not all, passive income streams will need at least an upfront monetary investment or an upfront time investment.

Therefore, whether you are looking to make a few extra bucks, or looking to amass enough money to completely override your employment paycheck, the following creative ideas could be of great help to build your passive income streams.

    Write an eBook, a normal book and collect royalties

This may seem like so much work upfront, but once the book is completed and properly marketed, it can be a source of passive revenue stream for years and years to come. You could decide to sell the book on your very own website or even offer it as an affiliate content provider to other websites that deal with related content.

        Put your photography skills to work.

Are you a fan of photography? If so, then perhaps you could convert your hobby into a side hustle and alternative income source.  Wondering how? There are plenty of photography websites on the cloud, like iStockphoto or Shutterstock among so many others, that can provide excellent platforms for you to market and sell your photos. One photo alone could represent a residual income opportunity, because it could be sold over and over again.  Any and all technicalities of the picture sales are usually handled through the website.

     E-commerce – sell your products on the internet

There are endless possibilities when it comes to this. You could just sell about any products or services you want. It could be products that you created yourself, products on behalf of others, goods digital in nature such as software and DVDs, or services.

All you need to do is set up a website or blog that you will dedicate to market and sell these products. On the other hand, you could also sell your products on an affiliate basis by either giving it to other related websites or through selling platforms.  

Invest in real estate.

Investing in real estate tends to fall more in the category of side hustles or semi-passive income, since it is a little bit of an active venture. Despite this, once you get your investment property fully established and rented, most of the work that remains is managing the property and maintaining it.

Moreover, if you completely lack the time to manage your properties, there are several professional real estate managers who could do the job for you at a little fee. With this the investment becomes more passive. You can never go wrong with investing in real estate. 

 Making YouTube videos and v-logs.

With the dot com generation, this is a venture that is growing at an alarmingly fast rate. Quick question; how often do you log in you tube to watch videos? You were probably doing that right before this, weren’t you? Now, how about making money while doing what you like?

You could easily create videos in just about anything you like. Be it music, opinions, tutorials, movie reviews, comedy – you name it.  Once you’ve made your videos, attach Google Adsense to them and this overlays your videos with automatic adverts. Anytime a viewer clicks on the ad, you earn some money from Adsense.

The catch with v-logging however, is to aggressively promote your content on social media platforms since that is where the market is. Once you have a big following, all you need to do is to make videos, sit back and watch your passion make money for you.

Build an app. 

      Apps could be incredibly lucrative sources of income. Just think of how many people have smart phones today. Almost everyone! People are always downloading new apps – and for good reason; they make life way easier. There is technically an app to suit almost every need.

This being said, you may be wondering if there as so many apps already out there, then why would you want to create one more. Isn’t the market already flooded? Isn’t there insane competition? Well, yes, but if you can come up with something fresh and creative, then there is no need to worry.

If you do not know how to code, you could easily hire a developer to build the app for you based in your ideas. Though this may cost you more, you may end up with a more professional-looking app. The end result is an app with the potential to earn you good money.

Conclusion

Earning passive income or some money through side hustles, is exactly everything that it’s cracked up to be. Grab an idea, make a good plan, and dedicate your time and efforts until the income stream comes into fruition. If you have the drive and the passion to make money, then there is nothing that should stop you.

Top 10 Things to Do to Consistently Grow Financially.

Top 10 Things to Do to Consistently Grow Financially.

Setting financial goals, just like any other goals, is not only extremely important but also greatly necessary. It will mean the difference between relaxing and enjoying your senior years, or growing old in mountains of debt.To successfully and consistently grow financially,proper financial habits will have to be developed, you will need to assess your patterns, and begin a quest to minimize debts, maximize savings, and gradually increase your financial security. Making these changes can turn out to be an internal psychological battle, and you will have to learn how to discipline yourself for this growth to be effective.

 Discussed below are some of the top ten things you ought to do to consistently grow financially in no particular order.

1.     Control impulse spending.

One of the biggest drains on finances is impulse spending. It is a highly detrimental financial behavior that is almost entirely based on one's emotional control (or lack thereof). So much money that could be put to better use is wasted away on impulse spending, online shopping, and regular eating outs. So before you take another sip of that $7 latte, or add another pair of heels to your collection, ask yourself whether in two years’ time you will be happy with the choices you made.

2.     Improve your credit score.

A big percentage of your biggest expenses are bought on credit, right? It is vital to work on improving your credit score and minimizing on debts right now to avoid a situation in the future when you wish you had done this.

Whether it is student load debt, credit card debt or medical bills, your priority should be finding ways of minimizing, and eventually eliminating them.  Your finances can thereafter, start being channeled into savings and investment s for the future.

3.     Investments (focus on passive and residual income)

Simply put, let your money work for you. Let's face it; there is only so much time in one day. It, therefore, becomes a bit tricky to accumulate wealth on the side while all of your day is taken up working for others. Focus on building new streams of income through investments, for example, trading in stock, real estate investment or running an online business.  Through this, you will find yourself making financial profits which can, in turn, grant you the financial freedom to be your own boss.

4.     Have an eye for entrepreneurship

To be financially successful and thereby grow, you will not only look for ways to cut back or manage expenses but also, come up with innovative ideas on how to increase your income. There is a whole world of opportunities available out there on how you could leverage abilities and skills to generate more income. This ultimately will not only enable you to meet expenses but better yet, help you meet your long-term plans and goals.

5.     Surround yourself with the right people.

Heard the popular saying ‘you become the average of the five people you spend most of your time with’? Well, I couldn’t agree with it more.  Regardless of whether it is in terms of health, happiness, business or social matters, the people that you always hang around strongly, reflect on your personal life or on the financial choices you make. So start identifying experts in different fields especially where you are not an expert.  Seek out good financial advisors, business lawyers, accountants, to mention but a few, and keep them in your close circle. You never know when you may need one of them.

6.     Keeping oneself informed.

Think of anyone who is financially successful, and perhaps you will associate them with being avid readers.  There is a high chance you will find them with several issues of entrepreneurial and money magazines.  The secret is simple. Stay informed and up to date with the latest developments in the financial sector and any keep gathering ideas and tips that can inspire you in the business and financial industries. There is so much to be learned from others. 

7.     Set goals and track your progress

Anyone with dreams and ambitions that they want to accomplish in life needs to set SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) and to keep tracking their progress. Doing so will prevent you from squandering time doing unnecessary things that will sidetrack you from reaching your targets. Financially, it will go a long way in managing to spend and saving more. Remember failing to have a financial plan is just the same as having a bad plan.

8.     Build up your cash reserves

Let’s face it, we can never be too sure what will happen I the next two weeks, one month or year to come. One, you may lose your job, your family's bread winner may pass away, your house may burn down, or the economy may take a plunge. It is, therefore, wise and important to put aside money for emergency cases. Approximately 4 to 5 months’ salary out of your annual income should be stored away safely for such unexpected eventualities.

9.     Automate your money.

In simple terms, this means that as soon as your money gets into your account, it is dispersed to your other accounts; be it savings accounts, retirement investment accounts or to pay off fixed bills, automatically. This will not just help to save up on time but also prevent you from wasting money unnecessarily. The secret is to make it as easy as it is on yourself. Your priorities will remain in check, and there may even be enough left over for investments

10.  Set aside money for avoidable expenses.

Begin by making retirement plans, taking up insurances and setting aside money for college tuitions, house mortgages, etc. Because let's be honest, these costs are unavoidable. It is, therefore, more realistic to start planning and setting aside funds for them as early as possible, than getting overwhelmed with them later.

Bottom Line

Always remember that, if you are going to grow financially, and build on your savings, your withdrawals will have to be outnumbered by your deposits, not just in quantity but also in magnitude. Transforming your financial position will take up a lot of strategy and effort, but the outcome is sure enough worth it.

Investment ideas

Investment ideas

Having one’s hard earned money invested profitably is a daunting prospect for many people. There are many options available in the market for investors, with each having its own unique characteristics. Investors put their money to risk after carefully assessing these characteristics and choosing the investment ideas that suits their needs best.

2016 is a year that didn’t start off that well and you might consider it more appropriate to hide your money in the closet than to invest it anywhere. Many of you would also take into consideration relying on professionals for providing expert opinion regarding which investments to make. Because the fact is that any money that isn’t invested is practically useless, therefore, we have some investment ideas for you that might help and the best part is they generally work well in all conditions good or bad!

Investment Idea 1;

Invest your money in GOLD. While this might be a very obvious course for some of you but there are reasons for gold to be an ideal choice when it comes to low risk investments.

First of all, the prices of gold are relatively unaffected by fluctuations in currency value. This is an asset whose worth generally rises in the long term. This makes it a better alternative to stock which is very volatile and can face a sudden and potentially irrecoverable plunge in prices! Secondly, gold is a liquid asset which means it can easily be converted into money if you require some “Cash in Hand” urgently.

However, gold is difficult to store if purchased in large quantities and it may be wise to invest in a locker/safe in order to protect your investment.

Investment Idea 2;

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENTS are another suitable option to consider if you are looking for both profitable and low risk investments. They are usually included in a portfolio of investments to reduce the overall risk but they can also be invested in separately to generate significant returns.

Real estate can make you some real cash, let’s see how!

If you own a property that is rented, you can benefit from annual rental increments that can add to your income every year. This means that as inflation rises each year, the value of your property and the rental income you receive from it both rise proportionally. In addition to this, the returns from a real estate investment can be increased by physically enhancing the property and its appearance. This might involve adding extra rooms, maintaining the present condition of your property or repairing anything broken such as leaked pipes

However, there are some disadvantages of investing in real estate. A property is not a very liquid asset which means it cannot be easily sold without incurring significant transaction costs. Also the maintenance of a real estate property is an expensive venture that can cut back on any profits you have already earned from it.

Investment Idea 3;

TREASURY BONDS or BILLS are another form of investment that is considered relatively risk free and secure. This is mainly because they are issued by the government and the returns from them are predictable. The way they work is that you simply purchase a treasury bond/bill from brokers or the treasury itself. The bonds have a maturity date until which you receive a specific percentage of interest. When the maturity date expires, you get your principal amount back.

Treasury bonds have many advantages. In addition to being a secure form of investment like we already discussed, they also provide tax benefits to their holders in that they are exempt from local income tax and state tax. They are short-term investments which implies that they are not held for long periods of time which can be ideal for people of old age and any other individuals who does not want their money tied up for the long haul.

As we all must be familiar with, “the higher the risk, the higher the return” principle, the downside to treasury bills is that since they are less risky, they provide less returns. Therefore, if you are someone who is in search of tremendous returns, you probably shouldn’t go down this road!

Investment Idea 4;

Another option for all of you looking to invest their money in is STOCK. This refers to shares of various companies that are available to be bought and sold on the stock exchange. Stocks are considered quite a “High Paying” form of investment as compared to others. They are also a means of purchasing a piece of ownership in the company you are investing in, however small it may be. This qualifies you to vote on certain matters of the company which gives you some say on how things are governed in an organization that has your money.

However, with stocks, you are at a bigger risk of losing your money. This is because every high-return investment requires you to have a good risk appetite (as mentioned earlier!). Also stock investments are dreaded by many people due to their complexity and time commitment involved. It requires a lot of research and analysis to find the most suitable entity to invest in. One solution is to hire professionals to do this tiresome job for you but that requires some additional investment of money in the form of these professionals’ fee.

To sum it all up, finding the perfect course of action when it comes to investment is a time taking and complicated job. A quick fix can be to benefit from all the professional help that is available out there but that can be quite expensive for some people. We would suggest to start from the basics and test the waters before committing a huge amount of money. Another option is to invest in a portfolio which includes different forms of investments so that the overall risk can be managed effectively.

We hope that this article was useful in providing some insight into the arduous and challenging world of investments. We also wish you all the luck in your journey of unravelling the ideal course of investment for you!