22 Amazing Passive Income Ideas For Retirement

Passive income is a proven way to earn additional income so that you can have a more enjoyable retirement and make up for those shortcomings.

In this post, I am going to share 22 incredible passive-income ideas to shed some light on potential passive income strategies to generate revenue for your retirement, stress-free.

What is Passive Income?

Passive income is a type of revenue you receive when you are not only at work or paid for the hours that you work. While it is a passive result, there is still some work involved with setting it all up in the beginning, and managing it in the future, so it may require a few hours here and there.

The plus-side? If your passive income stream is successful, it will continue to generate revenue and put money into your accounts with minimal effort.

A great example of passive income is earnings that come from Rentals. This could be from a second house that you buy or even a vacant room in your home that you rent out. If you have a second house, you could get a property manager to manage it for you; now that would be the perfect type of passive income! 

Another fantastic example is investments with dividends. You will need to also manage this income stream to ensure they are performing well.

There are different levels of passiveness; it all depends on how much time you want to invest in managing it.

Peer-to-Peer Rental For Extra Retirement Income

Also known as Sharing Economy, this is the first and one of the easiest passive income streams I want to explain. This is a way to rent out the things you own, and I write the term ‘things’ on purpose because this is a vast income stream and it is difficult to summarize them all into just one category.

It can be anything from a spare dining table, a surfboard, car, caravan, boat, or even the vacant car parking space at the front of your house; literally, anything is possible!

You may be concerned about your belongings while they are in the hands of a stranger. This is why I think the best way to rent out your things is by registering on a website because they usually come with an insurance cover that covers your things while they are with that person.

There are designated websites to rent out your cars, parking space, and ones that are specifically for renting out items such as a surfboard or professional camera. 

Some popular peer-to-peer renting websites include:

• RVshare – caravans (US)
• Camptoo, Camplify – caravans (AUS)
• Spacer – unused parking spaces (US and AUS)
• Parkopedia – unused parking spaces (worldwide)
• The Volte – designer clothing (US)
• Rubber Desk – co-working space (AUS)
• Camp Space – camping spaces (worldwide)
• Turo, Get Around – cars (US)
• Rentzi, Peer Renters – miscellaneous

My camping trailer sits in the garage for ten months every year. After researching these different income streams, I definitely want to try out Camplify because I think my camping trailer has the potential to generate a good amount of revenue. What do you have just sitting around that could possibly be earning you money?

Generating Online Content

Online content can come in many different forms and is a wonderful way to keep you mentally occupied during your retirement, especially if you are a creative person.

Blogging

Are you a writer, or do you enjoy writing? You can start your own blog as a way to generate passive income! It’s also a great way to build an audience. The money generally comes from ads or affiliate marketing.

You can check out our other articles for more information on how to start your own blog and a guide to affiliate marketing.

• Blogging For Retirement Income: A Step-By-Step Guide
• Why Affiliate Marketing Is Perfect For Retirement

Creating Books

If you love writing, you might also enjoy becoming an author and creating your own books. These could be on anything from cooking guides, fiction-works, how-to guides, healthy living, yoga, and much more. 

These days, you don’t need to be accepted by a well-known publisher. You can self-publish your own books on Amazon for free. If you’re retired, why not write a book about the life of a retiree? That would definitely be a good read.

Creating Online Courses

Have you got a specific skill or expert knowledge in a particular area? Maybe you’re an expert on sewing, cooking, surfing, painting, or building.

Did you know you can create your own online course and teach your valuable skills to others who are willing to learn? Through your experiences and expertise, you could be well on your way to generating a good amount of passive income through creating and selling online courses.

The two best-known websites for hosting and creating these courses are Teachable and Udemy. They have thousands of courses available for students to enrol in; who knows, maybe you will become a super-star teacher at those platforms. You may also find something you would like to learn.

Photography & Videography

Are you creative and experienced in the field of photography and videography? You can upload and sell your photos or videos through online image and video websites such as iStock and Shutterstock.  

The higher quality and unique the content is, the more likely people are to buy it. Once you upload your digital assets to those platforms, you won’t need to do anything further, but will keep getting paid when people over the world buy your photos or videos. True passive!

Create a YouTube Channel

Anyone can create a YouTube channel. If you enjoy creating video content, you will love this idea. You can create videos on anything from cooking, living a healthy lifestyle, what life is like during retirement, or travelling.

The earnings from creating YouTube videos is through ads or affiliate marketing. You can visit our channel to find an example.

In my opinion, I think creating online content is an excellent idea if you are already retired. You could even do a combination of these ideas to increase your revenue further.

Creating content will keep your mind active and mentally stimulated, and you could also build up an audience that you can talk to.  

Online Investments For Retirement Income

If you have some savings piled up, it’s a great idea to consider investing. You can do this through the traditional way, such as with an investment broker or a financial adviser, or you can make Online Investments.

This is an ever-growing category; I looked into them, and there were several that were new to me, also.

Crowdfunding

This is a way to invest your money into new small businesses, start-ups, or other projects. If they become successful, you get your investment back plus interest.

These investments are usually carried out online, and the amount you have to invest can be minimal. Websites for Crowdfunding include Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Go Fund Me.

Crowdsourced Investments

This is similar to Crowdfunding, however, in this case, you would only be investing in commercial real estate. It sounds huge, but don’t worry. Just like Crowdfunding, you don’t have to invest huge funds.

It can be a tiny amount, for example, $500. Some useful crowdsourced investment websites are Crowd Street and Luxe Crowdfunding.

Trading Online Business

You can also buy and sell online businesses, such as websites, internet domains, apps, online shops, and many more. These are online assets, so their values increase and decrease over time. It is up to you to find the perfect moment to buy them and to sell them.

Peer-to-peer Lending

This is an alternative way for people to borrow money without doing it traditionally through a bank. You, as the investor, would essentially become the bank. This can make substantial returns for your investments between 5-10%. With significant gains, usually big risks are associated.

One way to minimise these risks is that say, for example, you are investing or lending $5000. You would not lend this to just one borrower, because this would be quite risky. Instead, this sum should be split into ‘notes’ which each have a value of $25. These are then distributed to several borrowers to reduce your risk. The risks of P2P lending described by Money Smart can be found here.

This is a slightly more complicated investment option and isn’t advised for beginner investors. I will be making more content in the future, specifically for this passive income strategy, where I will explain everything in further detail.

If you’re interested in peer-to-peer lending, a couple of great websites are Prosper and Lending Club. 

Robo Advisors/Investors

This is a way to invest money with minimal human intervention. It is a more recent class of financial adviser that provides financial advice or investment management online.

You simply invest your money (this can be a small amount), and then you set a goal on how much you would like to earn in a certain timeframe. This will decide for you how aggressive the investment strategy must be.

The decisions on how much to invest, where to invest, when to buy, and when to sell will be determined by an algorithm. This way of investing is very passive on your end; you basically invest your money and forget about the rest until the deadline!

Not everyone is comfortable with a computer deciding what to do with their money, so this one may not appeal to everyone. It is entirely up to you to decide whether or not you are comfortable with this investment option.

If you like the idea of Robo Investors, these are some great websites I found:

• Stockspot
• Betterment

Offline Business Ideas For Passive Income

There are many passive income ideas that are online, but what about offline? Here are my top ideas for offline income strategies.

Laundromat

This idea may sound random, but it’s actually a great one. The only significant active process is during the beginning and setting it up. Then, you only have to collect the money, pay the electricity, water, and cleaning bills, and perhaps deal with any technical problems that arise.

Of course, the cost to set it all up is something to consider, but it’s actually not that bad. I researched further into this and came across several articles that estimated the start-up costs to be about $22,000 for a 40 machine service. A service this large is also expected to have a revenue of approximately 46,000 per year. Who knew, right?

Vehicle Wrapping

This was a completely new concept to me. I’m sure you have seen those cars with various magnets, window decals, or even full wraps advertising certain products and services on the road.

Most people do this to promote their own companies, but many others can do it to earn additional income by wrapping their own vehicle. There are businesses that will pay you to advertise their products/services on your car!

This can be a simple monthly payment, or in other cases, the payment comes in the form of a commission when somebody calls or visits the information advertised on your vehicle.

We have created a video about how to get paid wrap your car. Find out how you can earn money advertising on your car.

Vending Machines

Vending machines can contain a range of different things, not just food or drinks. The ones with snacks are about USD $3,000, depending on how fancy you want them to be.

You will have to keep them stocked and collect the money, and the success of this passive income idea depends highly on the location you set it up in, and also what type of deal you strike with the owner of the area. It is usually common to give 10% of the earnings to whoever owns the spot you are using, but remember, you can also use their electricity connections to power the vending machine.

Takeaways

So there you have it, these are my top ideas for generating passive income during or before your retirement. Before you act on these ideas, I strongly suggest considering if they will suit you based on your financial situation, your objectives, and your personal needs.

After researching these ideas, I think I will try out this peer-to-peer renting of my camper trailer, and I’ll give those Robo advisors a go. I’ll be sure to post videos on my own personal experiences with them.

What strategy captured your interest? Which one will you use to boost your retirement income? Do you know of any other great passive income streams? Let us know in the comments below.