8 of the Best Ways to Earn Passive Income

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Wouldn’t it be nice to lie down in bed and sleep comfortably knowing you’re making money even with your eyes closed?

Passive income can make that happen.

Passive income is a way to make money with little to no effort, as opposed to active income from a full- or part-time job. Getting money this way can relieve financial stress and give you a sense of freedom.

Whether you need to pay down debt, pay your bills or just want more money to spend, these earning methods will help.

1. Invest in dividend stocks

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Dividend stocks are a particular type of company stock that regularly distribute their earnings. When a company makes money, shareholders get a piece of the profit, called a dividend. These payouts could come monthly, quarterly or annually.

You can reinvest these dividends somewhere — even in the same company — to earn more. Or you can pocket them for your savings, use them to pay debt or take care of other important financial responsibilities.

These kind of stocks generally provide a level of stability, coming from well-established companies, though they typically won’t outperform growth stocks as an investment. Consider talking to a financial advisor to figure out how to best balance your investment goals.

2. Invest in REITs or fractional real estate

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Are you interested in earning passive income by investing in real estate — but not the challenges and effort of being a landlord? Consider investing in a real estate investment trust (REIT) or exploring fractional real estate opportunities, such as those offered by platforms like Fundrise — which enables you to invest in real estate with as little as $10.

REITs are companies that own, operate or finance income-producing real estate across various sectors, such as residential, commercial, or industrial properties.

Note: This is a testimonial in partnership with Fundrise. We earn a commission from partner links on moneytalksnews.com. All opinions are our own.

3. Rent out unused space in your home

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If there’s an area in your home collecting dust, wipe that off and give it a new purpose. Make some money off the space since you aren’t using it.

If there’s a spare room in your house that you rarely touch, list it on a platform like Airbnb. People can then rent the room for a few nights and put extra cash in your wallet.

Platforms like Neighbor allow you to rent out spaces like your garage. Some people need an extra place for storage or parking, and you can give them that space without much, if any, extra effort on your end.

4. Rent out your driveway or yard

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Parking can be hard to come by, particularly in more populated areas. If you live in or near a city or other busy spots like a shopping center, school or airport, consider renting out your driveway on a platform like Neighbor for those who want cheaper and easier parking.

If you need your driveway for your own parking but have a spacious yard, you can rent that out instead. Pet owners need a spot for their dogs to run around freely without having to go to a public dog park. And if sprawling yards are hard to come by, people in your area may be willing to pay for yours. One California father makes $4,000 to $5,000 a month renting his yard out to pet owners on Sniffspot.

5. Rent out your stuff

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Extra space isn’t the only property you can rent out for passive income.

Platforms like Turo let you rent out your car. Boatsetter lets you rent out your boat. Spinlister allows you to rent out your bike, surfboard or ski and snowboard equipment.

There are other more generalized rental sites as well, like RentMyEquipment. Whether it’s outdoor gear, power tools or photography equipment — there’s a high chance you can use this service to post your items and make some extra cash.

6. Monetize your hobbies

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Do you enjoy writing, knitting, painting or another product-producing hobby? If you have completed projects lying around taking up space and no idea what to do with them, list your projects for purchase online.

Drawings, knitted pieces and other kinds of artwork can all be sold for the right price. You can upload digital art and turn it into stickers, stationary or other printed items and use dropshipping services that will do the rest of the work for you.

If you have short stories or any form of writing sitting idly on your computer, you can turn it into an e-book and post it on Amazon.

If you don’t want to sell your work, or the end product of your skill isn’t widely considered valuable, you could also create a YouTube channel with instructional videos. Revenue will start trickling in from ads as people view them.

Be careful not to turn this into a job, though. Your hobbies are meant to be enjoyed, and if you push yourself to create only for the money then it won’t really be passive income anymore — and it could suck the joy out of something you once did for fun.

7. Take stock photography

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If you have a library full of high-quality photos, you can put that to work.

Upload your pictures to sites like Shutterstock or Adobe Stock and earn royalties whenever your images are downloaded. These pictures don’t have to be of once-in-a-lifetime landscapes or of amazing artistic value either.

Online publishers often need photos of “mundane” everyday things. Did you take a high-quality photo of a meal? How about your city’s skyline, your pet or even (for whatever reason) your local grocery store? Those all have the potential to earn you money.

8. Sell your voice

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Businesses often need voiceovers for videos and some may not have the time or money to hire a professional voice actor. That’s where you come in.

Companies like LOVO, an AI voice-over platform, take your voice recordings and then use those samples to create a profile. Companies looking for voice-overs can then pay to use your voice — but you’ll never have to step in front of a mic after uploading your initial recordings. Artificial intelligence technology is then used to sample your voice reading a script submitted by buyers. You’ll get passive income anytime someone buys the rights to use your voice.

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