50 Passive Income Ideas for Financial Freedom

Picture yourself sitting in your favourite chair watching your favourite series in the middle of the day. You've had your green tea lesson with your Japanese tea master and soon it will be time for kettlebells on the lawn... oh, and all this time you are earning money. That is pretty much the idea of Passive Income Streams.

Often it requires a good deal of up-front work but it pays back with the potential to give you a degree of financial freedom in the medium to long term. 

Now, it is not easy to do, but if you are going to work hard anyway (and I assume, if you are reading this, you are the sort of person who works hard) then why not put that hard graft to better use and make it pay you back even after you stop.

How else are you going to take that 3-month mini-retirement in your dream Thailand yoga retreat? We have prepared more than 50 possible ideas for passive income to get your imagination flowing and your entrepreneurial juices flowing! Here goes…

1. Real Estate Ownership

One of the oldest ways to get a passive income is through owning property, such as an apartment, a house or similar. It is completely passive and only involves regular cleaning and maintenance activities during the year which, in most cases, you won’t do yourself. The money comes from renting the property on a weekly, monthly or daily basis in the case of serviced apartments. This freedom is the reason why many people decide to get into property investment. If you are willing to try any type of investment in real estate, read these tips for beginners.

2. Crowd-funded Real Estate

When you want to invest in property but lack an amount of capital perhaps crowd-funded real estate is a good solution. If you don't own any property, you can apply through many crowd-funding platforms and get your investment into some property. Check Realty Shares or Property Moose to get more info. 

3. Use Airbnb or HomeAway to rent a room or your house

Using your free space in your house or apartment and making it rentable can bring you secure money each month. That is possible through Airbnb and all you have to do is set up your space and become an Airbnb host. You can do the same for your entire home if desired. Both Airbnb and HomeAway.com offer this possibility.

4. Let someone camp on your land

Do you live in a picturesque area? Perhaps somewhere popular with tourists. Did you know you can rent a spot in your garden for a tourist to pitch their tent and sleep for the night?

Well, you can! Camp in My Garden is one such platform you can sign up to.

5. Rent out storage space

If you own any big property that you don't use, you can make it huge storage and rent it out for any number of storage purposes. Indeed sometimes people invest in big spaces for this very purpose and after some time they become their passive income. For a clearer understanding, read why storage units are considered one of the best income streams. 

6. Get dividends from investment

Buying shares and investing in stock can make you earn enough money by just receiving the dividends from the investments. It has its risks and takes a lot of investigation at the beginning and, of course, a certain sum of money, but it can pay off in the future. Some websites, like StockBrokers, offer quality and quantity reviews for the stock market and they might be a good start.

7. Peer-to-peer lending investment

Lending is a good way to increase the amount of money you have and this way will net you bigger rates, without any bank fees. As an investor, you lend money to other people interested to borrow and then receive it in return at a higher interest rate than you could hope to get from the bank. A good start is this blog, which will help you to get into the topic in more detail.

8. Annuity

Monthly or yearly investing in an insurance fund can help you receive a certain amount of money when you retire. You choose the period you want to receive the money and the investment you would give, but people usually decide to receive annuities during their pension years. If you have any doubts, read about the possibilities annuities can bring to you.

9. Invest as a silent partner

We all have friends or people we know with great business ideas. If you find those ideas inspiring and sustainable, you can help the owners with an investment as a silent partner and start earning money when they develop their business.

10. Invest with robo-advisors

There is one special type of investment that is fully automatized through programmes called robo-advisors. With robot programs, you can specify your investment wishes and capacities and let the fully automated system search for investment opportunities. Betterment is one such company providing such opportunities. Also, the likes of Wealthfront can help you with developing a good investment strategy and reduce the risks that can occur at the beginning of an investment process. 

11. Create savings

The traditional way of "collecting" money in your bank account (or even under your bed if you are old school) is a totally passive process that can lead to creating a fund for use in future investment. Online banks have better opportunities with interest rates for creating such funds, but given previous financial crashes stuffing notes under the mattress starts to look more attractive! If you think you are not very good at saving, look at these 8 tips and start today.

12. Cashback rewards on credit cards

We all go shopping every day and the opportunity to get cash back when you buy with a credit card is something really worth doing. Once you have set the cashback rewards they only bring you income when you pay with your cards. And that is all that you need to do. Interested in maximizing cashback rewards? Check out Forbes’ advice.

13. Cashback rewards on cashback sites

When you shop online, one of the best things you can do is use cashback sites and get rewards for doing a regular thing - shopping. It’s pretty easy because all you have to do is just a few more clicks. Check out Ebates for more info of cashback opportunities.

14. Sell ice cream or better still organise someone else to do it

What do you desire more, during summertime, than ice cream? Be in the right place at the right time and it could increase your earnings a lot, allowing you to spend less time working in the offseason. If you think we are stretching the meaning of passive income here then employ somebody else to do it and take a modest cut. Relly we want to illustrate that opportunism has a part to play in earning passive income. There are always things you can start and farm out to others to actually to the legwork. 

15. Own a vending machine or laundromat

Just as with owning an ice cream stand, having vending machines around the city or laundromats is not so passive unless other people do most of the work for you. However it requires relatively little maintenance and an activity that is not a daily job. Also, it brings extra money and if it develops it can become serious business. Thinking about this business? Read this article.

16. Rent equipment you own

If you own any interesting equipment like audio, video equipment or something with a high-value that most regular folks do not own, you can rent it out and do nothing. With a few ads online you can have an income, while people come to you to take the equipment and come back to you to return it. Make a list of all possible stuff you can rent and start today!

17. Drop shipping

Going to the trouble of creating a website, marketing and selling something that somebody else has produced is not passive work on the face of it, but it can be if you are, for example, working in marketing. It's not so hard these days to throw up a website and even an e-commerce site through the likes of squarespace.com. Once the business is set up and running the processes involved can easily be outsourced so drop shipping can transform nicely to passive income. So check all starting points you need to do before you get into it.

18. Own a party space such as a marquee

All your job when your own equipment such as a marquee for parties or celebrations is to transport it to the people who have rented it. They may even come to you and pick it up if you want to make it more passive. The most important thing here is marketing and you can sit on your couch and wait for the money to come, after renting. Do you like the idea? Read this step-by-step guide and start your own business plan!

19. Post a commercial on your car

Renting your car window and door for an ad is one more way to earn certain amounts of money. You can check Carvertise and see how everything works. 

20. Earn money through platforms by doing what you usually do online

If you like watching videos, researching online or some other stuff you do almost every day, then you can earn money very simply – just doing that. Platforms like Inbox dollars and Swagbucks have these possibilities, but before you start us – make sure they are totally legit!

21. Scan a grocery receipt and earn money

We all shop for groceries nearly every day and when we get the receipts, we can earn money through several apps just by scanning them. Click here to learn how to earn from grocery receipts.

22. Drive for Uber and make money

Imagine that you can drive your car to your usual destinations and make money for that just by picking up other people going in the same direction? That is possible with Uber and it's totally passive because you are doing the things you already would do.

23. Become a referral source in your field

If you think you can help someone to sell his services or goods through your business, website or blog you can become a referral source. If you are an influencer in your community, you can help a business grow by referring others to their services and goods. Every referral can bring you a certain amount of money depending on what you agree with the business or person you're promoting.

24. Write an e-book

Of course, it takes time in the beginning to write an e-book. Keep in mind that an e-book can be from just a few pages to hundreds. When you finish publication, depending on the topic, you can receive royalties from selling your book online years after it was published. There are several platforms you can publish and sell your e-books, for example; Fiverr, Amazon, Blurb. Check these sites and find your starting point.

25. Write a few Kindle books

Fancy yourself as a novelist? Amazon’s very powerful publishing platform, Kindle, is a place where you can publish your own books and start earning money from them. Make sure the topic is popular, the content is authentic and note: you don't need to be a writer. Kindle is not under the e-book topic because it requires special formatting and conditions, so check them here.

26. Buy a website or blog

Buying already established websites or blogs with specific traffic can give you a good starting point for developing a business. You can either develop business for profit or increase the current traffic and resell it. Flippa is a good place for looking at such websites and domains.

27. Create a blog and market it

To create a blog and start earning from it requires many skills and knowledge and also the not so passive activity of creating it and making it profitable. Once it is established, however, there are many possible ways to get a passive income rather than active income from it. Posting quality pictures, sharing your content on social media and create the bound relationship with your readers are just a few of many ways that can help your blog be the recognizable and good basis for marketing ideas, such as Google Adsense or Affiliate marketing. A lot of the process can be “automated” and outsourced thus getting some way to doing what you want to do an earning that passive income.

28. Email marketing

Another type of online marketing that can get an additional passive income is email marketing. By sending emails for products and informing people to buy you can get additional income. One good example of passive email marketing is just sending affiliate offers through an email network which is even better if you have platforms where you have gathered many subscribers and you got a good email base. You can also put in the hours (or pay someone else to do it) in creating a valuable network of high worth individuals through lead generation or networking through LinkedIn, although of course, it is difficult to be credible in doing the latter.

29. Network marketing

Network marketing includes developing a network of people working for you and selling your products. One of the best examples is the Avon company for this type of marketing. In the beginning, you need to provide all the resources, but after the network itself grows and at the same time it grows your earnings.

30. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is something like a referral. You offer other people’s products and expect to earn a certain commission from the purchase or sign up. If you are into some topic and have relevant platforms, you can sell products or services from other people and get your own earnings from that or you can create an affiliate platform. If you are new in this, we suggest a beginner’s start. 

31. Make Youtube videos or tutorials

Filming a video and posting it online with the many millions of people who can watch it, is something that can genuinely create passive income. Of course, you have to generate enough views, but there are a lot of possibilities to earn money. 

32. Create online courses and webinars

Setting up the right course on the right online platform, and with a popular topic, can make you increase your earnings long-term just with a bit of hard work at the beginning. Every purchase of a course or webinar earns you royalties from it and if you get the topic right you can keep earning from one course for a long period of time. Check Learn Words and Teachable for a good start in the world of selling courses.

33. Google Adsense

If you own a website, blog or Youtube channel you can add Google Adsense and allow ads to show on your platforms. Depending on the traffic you have this can give you a decent income, although it is fair to say that web users are more and more inured to adverts.  

34. Create comparison, guide site or library site

These kinds of web sites can bring you a lot of traffic over time and help you earn with various online advertising techniques and if the niche and content are good, it doesn't necessarily take too much upkeep. We all use comparison sites for example, so this is an ongoing investment with a great chance of remaining active for many years.

35. Build a store for your own offline selling business

Do you have you a successful offline business? Create a store in the online world and start earning money from the same business both online and offline. There are a lot of things that need to be done, like shop website, marketing, before you start operating but it is relatively simple these days with the likes of Shopify.

36. Create an app for Android or iOS or use money making apps

Building an app is not an easy job, but if that is your job, then make it much easier. Also, if you are not a programmer, you can check apps that can bring you some passive income.

37. Buy an existing online business

Similar to domains, people buy already established online businesses and take the revenue or make them earn even more. Usually, they receive immediate passive income if it is developed. On BusinessesForSale.com you can find various types of businesses that are waiting for people to buy them.

38. Outsource your active business online

By getting someone else to effectively run your business for you, you can create passive income. You may struggle to see the benefit of relinquishing some of your hard-earned profit to bring in outsourced labour, but it does allow you to do other things, whether they are sitting on the porch drinking beer or starting another passive income stream.

At the very least you can delegate a number of processes and repetitive tasks to a virtual assistant and free up valuable time that you can invest as you see fit!

39. Buy and sell domains and usernames

When the Internet started domains that were created with the most basic keywords can now be worth thousands of dollars (maybe more). The same is true for usernames on social media platforms. If you can find them, buy them, or you already have some you own, you can sell them and earn money without really doing much. Check some tips for selling before you start. 

40. Sell photos online

If you are passionate about photography, you can earn some extra money by selling your photos online. It will take some time to create a portfolio and a profile, but after that, by posting photos you can get some income depending on your photos download. Posting and selling photos can go through several platforms such as Shutterstock or iStock photo.

41. Make royalties from music

Create a little jingle and earn money from it? Yes, it is possible once you post it on a platform that sells music. Before you start, look at this guide and find your right path. 

42. Make royalties for graphic design content

A graphic designer usually sells the content online and the best thing is that content is once created, but every time brings money when it is purchased from the platform where you post it. You can create vector or other format graphics and sometimes if you just have fun and make a logo or a poster, it can bring you in extra money. Zazzle and 99designs are good platforms to start with. 

43. Produce an audiobook

In recent years, audiobooks have become very popular and they can be used in many ways to increase income. It's similar to an e-book, but you do need to have adequate equipment to record the book and post it online. Feiyr is one of many platforms where you can sell your audiobooks.

44. Establish a membership community

If you are an influencer in your field and well-known to people, you probably have a gathered community around you. If you have a website or blog, you can create membership fees for community members and make them receive valuable info from you or something else in return. Ready to start? Check this 7 tips for creating your first membership site. 

45. Install an ATM/cash machine

This is, of course, dependent on local laws but becoming an ATM (cash machine) vendor could earn you some decent passive income. 

Perhaps you own a store in which you could place an ATM or perhaps you can find a company which allows you to place multiple ATMs at different locations, thus earning a small percentage of income.  Depending on the deal the ATM supplier may take care of all the maintenance for you. Here is one such example in the UK.

46. Create a lead collection website

Collecting leads that can turn into possible customers is something every business in the world wants. By creating such a website, know and lead capture website, you can collect leads and sell them to businesses all around the world. Here are more than 20 examples of lead generation forms.

47. Design and sell T-shirts or other products online

If you are a designer or you want to start this type of business some platforms offer the easiest way to start with little effort. If your T-shirt is good it can go viral and bring you a lot of sales. Usually, people start this type of business doing only marketing and all other things people do for them – make and print T-shirts and then send them. Amazon offers such opportunities and there are also many other possibilities, like Spread Shirt and Teespring.

48. Sell your crafts on Etsy

If you are a creative person you can get some income from selling various crafts through Etsy. There are a lot of possibilities out there and you can think of converting your hobby from fun into profitable fun. Whilst not really passive per se, it can be if you would do it anyway.

49. Selling through eBay

Selling on eBay can be a great business; you can sell used things, you can sale other people's things and you can sell also other people's products for your own income. Perhaps a little effort to sell somebody else's things can earn you a little money if those same people are not interested or don’t have enough knowledge to do it for themselves. You can even outsource the listing process to ensure you do minimal work.

50. Create website themes and sell online

If you are a web designer it will be a piece of cake for you to create a website theme. You can use some platforms and sell them online and start getting a passive income from each purchase. Envato market and Template Monster are ones with the best reputation in this field.

NOW, WHAT?

Have you found another way of making passive income? Perhaps you rent out your apple trees to a cider maker? Whatever it is let us know! 

If not I hope this has given you some ideas on how to increase your income and go some way to creating the quality of life you are looking for.

Author: Thomas Smallwood is an outsourcing specialist. Having worked in companies around Europe, from the support desk to the boardroom, he founded bizee.co to help small businesses grow through efficient delegation to skilled virtual assistants. He is an award-winning blogger and a passionate advocate for mental health awareness.

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn.