Passive income is defined as income that requires minimal effort to earn. For example, if you invest some money and your investment increases in value, that’s passive income.
If you have money that’s just sitting in a savings account, you can instead put it somewhere where it will earn more money, letting you invest in your future.
Alternative assets, or alternative investments, are often headline news. Because traditional investments like stocks and real estate sometimes involve a lot of market volatility, and savings accounts only offer low-interest rates, people are looking for other options.
One example is DiversyFund. It’s a private REIT (real estate investment trust) that allows you to passively invest in professional real estate for as little as $500.
Lending Club allows passive investors to diversify their assets by investing in different types of loans. Lending Club will enable you to loan your money out to people and groups looking for funding.
Dividends are profits paid out to owners of stocks. Some companies pay dividends regularly, which means that dividends can become a dependable source of income if you amass a significant number of shares over time.
The best high-interest banks are online-only, so you won’t need to mess with going into the bank to get started. And some pay as much as 0.70% interest per year.
An index fund is a mutual fund that owns a wide assortment of assets. Some index funds are focused (e.g., an automotive index fund might own all automotive stocks).