If you really want to get more money for your time, then you need to know about passive income.
Passive income, also known as “letterbox money,” can allow you to significantly increase your income without increasing your time at work.
So how do you start?
How to earn mailbox money
Believe it or not, there are a number of ways you can generate passive income.
Here are 11 ways you can get started on getting that mailbox money in your pocket.
1). Collect royalty checks from real estate
One of the most popular ways people become wealthy on their own is by investing in real estate. There are a number of ways you can make money from different types of real estate. You can ‘repair and convert’ houses, you can buy properties and rent them out on a month-to-month basis, or you can convert a property into a short-term ‘AirBnB’ rental.
Because real estate is a complex subject, you would like to know more about it. One of the best sites to learn about making money in real estate is the site Bigger pockets. They can show you how to buy your first home and start making money right away.
If you’re looking for an easy way to invest in real estate, you should start with Fundrise.
With Fundrise you can invest in real estate from €500.
2). Use Acorns to invest your spare change
The Acorns app is a great passive income app for people who only want to invest small amounts at a time.
This is accomplished primarily through their “Round-Ups” feature, which detects when you make purchases, “rounds it up” to the nearest dollar and invests the difference.
For example, you buy coffee for $2.50, and Acorns rounds it up to $3 and invests the 50 cents.
3). Open an e-commerce ‘dropshipping’ store
Do you want to make money while sitting in front of your computer? Then you can start an e-commerce ‘dropshipping’ business 100% online.
So what is dropshipping?
This is a business where you sell an item that you do not have in stock. Instead, someone orders the product from you and you purchase the product from a wholesaler and ship it to the customer.
After the costs, the profit is in your pocket!
You can get started with dropshipping by opening an account on Shopify with a 14-day free trial. The site offers many great tutorials on how to get started with dropshipping.
4). Buy stocks that pay dividend income
Here’s a secret of the rich: most of them make their money. Well, you don’t have to be rich to start making money with your money. You can start by buying stocks that pay a dividend.
Dividend-paying stocks are typically well-established companies that pay a portion of their profits to their shareholders every quarter or every month. There are a number of high-quality dividend-paying stocks you can buy today.
Here’s a look at some great dividend-paying stocks:
- Coca Cola (KO)
- Income Real Estate (O)
- Conoco-Phillips (COP)
- Pfizer (PFE)
- Apple (AAPL)
Finding the right investment platform is important. The following investment platforms offer an easy to sue platform with excellent service:
5). Use apps that pay you For Doing Nothing
Making money can be as easy as downloading apps on your phone. There are a number of apps that pay you for completing simple withdrawals.
For example, you can take surveys, watch videos, or simply walk with your phone in your pocket.
Here are some of the best money making apps that pay you to do simple tasks. Each of these apps is available in the Android or iOS store:
- Sweatmint
- Swagbucks
- Survey Junkie
6). Turn yourself into a brand
Did you know that you can potentially make millions of dollars a year by turning yourself into a brand? You don’t have to be called Kardashian to show who you are.
So how do you start? You will need to have a social media presence. Open an account on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter and start sharing your life. Stay consistent and you will build a following. After a few years you can start making money in different ways:
- Sponsorship
- Sale of merchandise
- Subscription services
7). Rent your car
Do you have a vehicle that you don’t use very often? You can make an excellent passive income by simply renting your vehicle to others. You can rent your car by the hour or by the day via the Turo website.
So how do you attract people to your listing and get more car rentals. Here are some excellent tips to help you get started:
- Clean your vehicle and take high quality photos.
- Price your vehicle competitively.
- Make sure your customers are happy so they leave excellent reviews.
8). Get paid to borrow money with peer-to-peer lending
Do you have some extra money in your savings account?
Well, you can put that money to work by lending it to other people.
There are a number of peer-to-peer lending sites that can help you earn up to 8% on your money.
Over time, you can grow your money to build real wealth.
You can get started by visiting some of the best peer-to-peer lending sites:
- Credit Club
- Pear shape
- Financing circle
View my credit experience.
9). License your videos
Do you like making videos? Then you can make money by selling your videos.
There are a number of news and media outlets that need to add content to their sites or news channels. Instead of sending video crews, these outlets pay money for your video.
So what kind of videos are they buying? Almost everything. Was there a strange weather event in your area? Maybe you have a video of a celebrity in your camera. Selling your videos can be one of the easiest ways to earn passive income.
10). Declutter your house or turn some items over
I don’t have a lot of money, but I do have some time on my hands. You can start building excellent “mailbox money” by flipping items.
With flipping items you buy something at a lower price and sell it at a higher price.
For example, you can buy old tablets, board games, or laptops at a garage sale and then resell them on Craigslist or eBay.
Look, where can you sell used board games?
You can start flipping items as low as $10. Over time, you can generate a good income stream as you become good at finding valuable items to flip.
11). Sell your expertise online
Everyone is good at something. Now you can take your talents and sell them online. There are several sites that allow you to create a digital course that you can sell through your social media accounts.
Selling digital courses is easy. You simply write down your lessons or record them with your microphone or camera. There is no need to print books.
Digital courses are a great way to easily earn a great monthly income. These are the two best places to sell your online courses.
- Educational – Ideal for expensive courses
- Udemy – Ideal for cheaper courses
See how much I made from the sales course on Udemy.
12). Write an eBook
Writing and publishing an eBook on a popular or niche topic can generate passive income through royalties.
To start, choose a topic that you are knowledgeable or passionate about, and conduct market research to identify any gaps in the market or areas of interest for potential readers.
Then, outline your eBook and write the content, making sure it is well structured, engaging and informative. Consider hiring an editor to review and update your work, and a graphic designer to create an eye-catching cover that will appeal to your target audience.
Once your eBook is complete, select a publishing platform, such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), Barnes & Noble Press, or Apple Books, to distribute your work.
13). Invest in bonds
Bonds are basically the same as providing a loan. You lend money to a company or government, and in return they promise to pay you back on a certain date, plus a little interest. It’s a pretty normal way to earn some income.
The interest is your mailbox money, which ends up in your account periodically, usually about every six months. Government bonds are generally seen as safer, but generally offer a lower return than corporate bonds.
14). Annuities
When you buy an annuity, you make a deal with an insurance company. You give them a lump sum of money or a series of payments, and in return they promise to pay you a steady income, either immediately or at some point in the future.
There are different types of annuities, but they mainly fall into two categories: immediate and deferred. Immediate annuities pay out immediately, while deferred annuities begin paying out later, often at retirement.
Here you have fixed annuities that pay out a guaranteed amount, and variable annuities where your payments depend on how well the underlying investments perform.
15). Invest in franchises
Investing in passive income franchises, such as buying a store that is part of a major brand. You invest money to get the store operational under the name of that brand. Instead of running the store yourself, you hire people to do it for you.
You are the owner, but you are not there to make the daily decisions or run the day-to-day operations. The money the store makes pays all expenses and what’s left is your passive income.
Deliver letterbox money to your home
Chances are there is a great way to earn passive income with the ideas mentioned above.
Make sure you try several of these approaches and see which one is right for you.
With some perseverance you can get some valuable ‘letterbox money’ every month.