Passive Income Report for March 2009
OK, so it’s not quite as easy as this.—————————->
In the last year, earning money through passive income has become a hobby of mine. A huge contributor has been my blog, but other sources of income include selling used books, investing in CDs and the stock market, and trying to find the best credit cards with cash rebates.
I thought people might find it interesting to see how I make extra cash. I’m hoping this post will start a conversation of how others earn through passive income.
Here’s what happened last month. I’ve included a little history in the first table.
First, the downside:
A decrease in ING’s interest rates, and a less than expected ad revenue on the blog, were among the factors contributing to a low passive income month.
The upside:
The market had a great 4 weeks. As an aside, If the market interests you, you might want to read Walter’s article on investing, and some of the related posts with it.
- Increased my Annaly (NLY) shares dramatically. and will see a $200 dividend payout next month.
- Added Ford Motor Company (F) as a growth stock.
- Google (GOOG), Ford, and Annaly are all doing well.
Goals Review
1) Blog
Goal: Increase monthly blog income to $75 (~50%.)
Result: Increased 22% from $46.35 to $56.34.
2) Work on developing revenue through CJ ads.
Goal: Work on developing revenue through CJ ads.
Result: Decided not to use CJ (Commission Junction Ads.). I’ve also dropped Green CNBC ads. The revenue was just too low for the space.
3) Credit card
Goal: Find new best credit card cash back option. My credit card earning 2% cash back is being converted to one that earns 1% cashback.
Result: Still on to do list.
4) New passive income stream.
Goal: Identify one new passive income stream
Result: Still on to do list.
5) Increase investment portfolio
Goal: Purchase 10 more shares of NLY stock.
Result: Purchased 236 shares NLY (Own 400 shares. Dividend payout in April of 50 cents/share).
Purchased 150 shares of Ford.
Passive Income
Portfolio as of April 4th
Goals for April
1) Blog
Goal: Increase monthly blog income to $75
2) Credit Card
Goal: Find new best credit card cash back option. My credit card earning 2% cash back is being converted to one that earns 1% cashback.
3) New passive income stream
Goal: Identify one new passive income stream.
4) Investments
Goal: Research a stock to add to my portfolio. I still haven’t decided if it will be a dividend or a growth stock.
Do you have any passive income streams? How do you make extra cash?
photo credit: PicApp
Lisa: I’m a believer in creating passive income streams. I think you’re smart to focus on things that you interest you. For me personally, I’ve always enjoyed real estate – whether it’s fixing up homes and selling them for profit or buying rental properties that produce monthly positive cash flow.
As an aside, readers might get something out of Moolanomy’s 7 key factors to build successful alternative income streams. There’s also a link there for 40+ Alternative Income Ideas and Resources.
Hi Nina,
Thanks for those great links. I thought about real estate once, but never had enough capital to get it going. That’s great that you are doing well!
Lisa, one way to increase your blog’s ad revenue is to increase your Google page rank so that you bring in more traffic through click throughs. The readers who come to your site might not ever come back, but it won’t matter in the end because it contributes to overall traffic. If you want some advice about search engine optimization, send me an e-mail offline.
Good for you Lisa! Sometimes I wonder why everyone is not looking for ways to convert earned income to passive income. It’s the path to freedom! Thanks for a new idea: ebates. Wasn’t familiar with them. My passive income comes from mutual funds, specifically Vanguard bond funds and their equity income fund. I have my wife in GNMA funds there too as they are reasonably safe with high yields. One day I might have enough readership to consider monetizing my blog too…
Nina, thank you for recommending my articles.
Carol, “why everyone is not looking for ways to convert earned income to passive income. It’s the path to freedom!” Very nice quote!