Passive income is the buzzword today!
I’m pretty sure you have heard this advice repeatedly as a broken record; how important it is to build wealth by having multiple sources of income, of which passive income should be at least one source.
As a refresher, passive income is simply income earned without you being actively involved in working. The advantage is that you can have some more time to focus on your studies, while your bank account gets fatter!
Allow me to open our mind to 10 creative ways to generate a passive income:
1. Open and Keep Cash in A High-Yield Savings Account
A basic and effortless way to earn a passive income is to open a high-interest savings account. Although you won’t earn much, you’ll still earn a few Canadian dollars a month depending on how much you’ve got deposited and for how long.
2. Invest in REITs
You can invest in a range of real estate assets using a real estate investment trust (REIT) platform like Fundrise, with a $500 minimum investment and increase your passive income as the value of your investments rises.
Smaller investors can pool their funds in this way to make investments they otherwise couldn’t afford.
3. Run an affiliate marketing business
The act of suggesting a good or service to a customer is known as affiliate marketing. Because you receive a commission every time someone uses your referral link to purchase the suggested good or service, it’s a fantastic passive revenue source.
4. Rent Your Car
If you own a car which you do not frequently use, you can rent them out on Turo, Getaround, and HyreCar. Make as much as $500 monthly average earnings, without necessarily being the driver.
If you do not own a car, you can make extra bucks by driving others around during your spare time using ride-sharing platforms like Uber and Lyft.
5. Sell Stock Photography
Good in photography? How about you sell those lovely shots as stock photos and make some cool cash from brands, publishers, or anyone who might have an interest in using your photos?
Websites like Shutterstock, Alamy, 500px, and SmugMug Pro are places to post your photos and receive a percentage of money every time someone purchases the rights to use any of them.
6. Become an Influencer
Social media influencing offers a variety of ways to make passive income. If you have huge followership and engagement on Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook, and Twitter, you can get paid by companies or brands to promote their goods and services online via your posts.
7. Sell Items Online
There are many websites including social media platforms, where you can sell new or neatly used items like clothes, electronics, textbooks, or even handmade items.
Alternatively, you can start your own online store when you sell products made by you or others. One platform you can use to set up your e-commerce store is Shopify.
8. Sell digital products
Digital products are assets that customers can’t physically touch. These comprise files that may be downloaded or streamed, including PDFs, templates, plug-ins, and Kindle novels.
Digital goods have large profit margins, making them excellent sources of income. The asset just needs to be created once, and you may sell it repeatedly through your online store. No inventory or storage space is required.
9. Invest in Stocks, ETFs, bonds, GICs and more
Build your investment portfolio from scratch using stocks, ETFs, bonds, GICs, index funds, etc, and earn some dividend and/or interest income without active work.
Self-directed investors can use an online discount brokerage platform to buy and sell investment assets to make money.
10. Use Cash Back Apps
There are free cash back apps you can utilize to make/save money whether you shop in-store or online. E.g include Koho, Rakuten, Swagbucks and Caddle.
Final thoughts
Making more just got easier! Which of these options will you be exploring? And while you do, and those earnings start rolling in, don’t forget to file your taxes as a student. You’ll be amazed at the numerous tax refunds, deductions and credits available when you file as a student. You can get started here and now!
