6 Assets That I Use to Generate Passive Income

There is so much information available on the internet preaching about how great passive income is. And it really is, but so many people talk about it in a way that can be misleading. Aquiring assets and building income streams that are totally passive is totally hard. However, as someone who actually successfully makes passive income I am glad to share with you my thoughts and experiences about what has worked for me.

A little background on myself. I'm currently a software engineer, which gives me a huge advantage since I have the ability to develop apps with no upfront monetary cost. This has afforded me opportunities to participate in various investments as well. This makes several streams of passive income very achievable. Dividend income, capital gains, real estate, mobile apps, web apps, and blogging. I've managed to successfully generate passive income from all of these sources, and I will share exactly how I built each stream from scratch.

Dividend Income

Investing in the stock market can yield relatively high returns, and is a very classic example of passive income. I don't have to spend any time, and I collect dividends on the stocks I own. Dividend income is one of the most accessible forms of passive income. It doesn't take much to get started, and generally speaking these investments can yield pretty decent returns.

Capital Gains

Passive income from capital gains is like the whipped cream on top of your pie. When you invest in dividend stocks, you collect dividend income. But if those stocks also increase in value, you get to collect capital gains on that increase as well.

Real Estate

Now there's a catch here. The conventional strategy of owning real estate and making income typically involves renting out units of the property. For many investors there is a really high barrier to entry though, since real estate is definitely not cheap. Luckily, multiple companies have identified this pain point and crowdfunded real estate investing has significantly grown in recent popularity. If you are interested in generating passive income from real estate, check out Fundrise and RealtyMogul.

Mobile Apps

I built my first mobile apps during my early college years, but even still to this day I make a few hundred dollars every month. This is totally passive income as I haven't even pushed updates or fixed some of the bugs which have been identified. My initial time investment for the first app I built was roughly 40 hours. It alone generates roughly $100 a month. If you are able to create apps that people really enjoy, app development is one very attainable source for generating passive income.

Web Applications

Now I will start off by saying web apps can be hard. Unlike mobile apps, you web apps aren't listed in the App Store or Google Play. This can make getting the word out more difficult, however there are also some key advantages over mobile apps. First, you are no longer at the mercy of Apple and Google and their guidelines. You don't need to worry about them approving your apps or taking a share of your app's sales. You can scale your web apps and keep all of the freedom and profit to yourself.

Blogging

Passive income from blogging comes in many, many different forms. However, the big idea is that when you can create consistent content that provides value, it will naturally attract an audience and open up opportunities to generate passive income. Blogging is a great strategy for generating passive income because it is really very easy to get started. It is important to note though, that blogging can perhaps be one of the slowest methods in terms of when to expect decent results. Most blogs do not generate any income for at least the first year, and many do take even longer. The key is consistency and putting out as much high value content as possible.

Closing Comments

Ultimately, there are many ways to get into passive income. What works for me might not work for you, and it certainly depends on your background and where your strengths lie. However, these assets are what have worked for me and I recommend anyone that has an itch to go out on their own and build something, to seriously consider scratching that itch. There are easy ways to start earning passive income that you can get into immediately, and there are tougher options as well but the payouts can also be more significant. Based on the fact that you are here reading this, you probably have the drive to learn and work hard so stay focused and just imagine what life would be like if you had additional sources of income like these making you money while you sleep.