There's no question about it if you ever want to retire and create more financial freedom for yourself to do the things you love then building passive income is going to be one of the most critical parts. No more exchanging hours for money but instead exchanging dollars for more dollars is the name of the game.

What Is Passive Income?

Passive income is income that is generated with little to no daily effort. A once and done passive income method is rare and pretty much does not exist. Your passive income streams will require some amount of work but the amount of work required no longer is a trade of time for money like when having a job of either by hour or salary.

What Are the Benefits of Building Passive Income?

Wealth is created by money, money is your tool for providing you and your family with the things they need and doing the things you want. It provides more freedom of hours of your life and possible new opportunities. It also allows you the ability to only work one job if you're currently working two and start reducing your dependence on your job. If something were to happen such as an unexpected expense or a loss of a job it gives you a cushion to be able to better weather the unforeseen blow.

• Increases your wealth
• Ability to retire early
• Protection
• Another income revenue during retirement years
• Less dependence of hours to money

1. Savings Account

Yes, the good old savings account which will start you on your way to building a passive income. Currently savings accounts are pushing 5% APR which is pretty healthy when you consider the average return of a much more risky investment like the stock market only pushes 8%. A savings account will also help you build your first asset of protection called your Emergency Fund. We keep track of some of the best Savings accounts via Saving Money section of our blog.

2. Dividend Stocks

Dividend stocks are a great way to get yourself exposure in the markets and start collecting dividends. These types of stocks are often not growth stock and instead pay their profits out as dividends back to investors. This dividend yield can range from sub 1% to upwards of 20%. However in many cases the ones that pay those high attractive dividends often fall in stock price and are risky bets. Instead find a solid company with growth and an ok dividend payout of 2%- 6% and you should be in good shape. (Of course do your own research before investing) We also have a section on our site dedicated to apps and sites offering the best sign up bonuses and options for you to start buying today via out Investing apps section.

3. Real Estate Investing

Remember that show house flippers? Well that's one type of real estate investing however the risks are extremely high. Instead you now have more options than ever before with investing into real-estate. You can get involved with real estate through what are known as REITs which often have high end dividend yields as they are a more risky investment. Or you can now crowd fund into projects through site like Ark7.

4. Create and Sell Digital Products

The great part about digital products is they come with no overhead costs. This allows you to build huge profit margins you wouldn't have been able to get otherwise. Unlike selling of physical products which require making, packaging, shipping and inventory costs a digital product is always there. In many cases once it's created the only thing left to do is sell it requiring minimal work unless a change or update needs to be added to it. 

5. Crypto Staking

Much of the P2P networks have been dissolved and that's why we put crypto staking here instead. By staking tokens on such as ETH (Ethereum) and others you can earn passive rewards through sites like Coinbase. This passive income could also be added into the form of USDC which is coinbase's stablecoin which currently earns a 5% APR as well. We go over in more detail about how to make passive income via our earn crypto section.

6. Create, Create and Create More (Content)

Creation of content online is one of the greatest ways to build passive income. From creating Youtube videos that earn from ad revenue, subscriptions and affiliate links to creating articles that have affiliate links within them or the selling of your own products are all ways to generate passive income from one piece of work you created. 

7. Peer to Peer Lending (p2p)

We put this one last mainly because a lot of states and the government have been cracking down on them. There was once a time you could use your funds to allow others to borrow and then earn a high rate of return. Pretty much acting in a way a bank would with their loans but you cut them out. This is a pretty rare thing to find these days now which is why we put it last on the last.