HELP! I Hate My Job. How Do I Create Passive Income ASAP?

Question

Hello!

How would you recommend creating a passive income stream of at least $5K per month, in the shortest amount of time?  What would your strategy be (and how much capital would be needed)?  For example, would you recommend Buy-and-hold rentals, Crowdfunding (e.g. YieldStreet), Bonds, CD's, P2P Lending, etc?

I am a freelancer approaching my mid-30's, and am getting weary of trading my time for money (along with the uncertainty of freelancing).  My current plan is to purchase rental properties, and wanted to see what other options are available to diversify my passive income stream & live a comfortable life as I get older.

What do you recommend?  Please HELP!

Fredrick Hock · Answer

@John Corey, thank you for insight.  Perhaps I should clarify that I am okay putting in some work hours with my investments - e.g. if I have rental properties, I am okay working 5-10 hours each week to manage them.  I would much rather do that than continue working 40+ each week hours in my current profession.

With that in mind, I currently work in the entertainment industry.  Unfortunately many of the job requirements cannot be outsourced or redeployed as I have to be present in order to perform the job.  In hindsight, perhaps this is not the best profession to be in when it comes to passive income (although I do receive "residual" checks for some productions... so there is some passive income involved).

At this point, it looks like my most feasible path to $5K/month passive income would be to scale a RE portfolio, and have some diversification in my investments as well.

Fredrick Hock · Answer

@Bryan Blankenship, so true!  I definitely like rentals for the relative stability & consistency of monthly cash flow.

I am already sold on real estate being a great investment, and was curious as to what other investments the BP community would recommend (to diversify my portfolio).  I have been researching other investment options (outside of real estate) to see what else is available.

FOR EXAMPLE:  I saw an ad for 'My Constant' (www.myconstant.com) P2P lending service that claimed at least a 10% ROI with secured returns for investors.  According to their website - "if borrowers default, collateral is sold to refund the investor. If collateral falls in value, it is sold at a threshold. It’s all automated by an unstoppable smart contract - investors will always get their principal and profit."

I will do more research into other investment options (outside of real estate) and diversify accordingly.

P.S. Another option I am considering is Real Estate Crowdfunding.  I read an article by Financial Samurai, who gave positive reviews for Fundrise & RealtyMogul... however I also read discussions on the BP forum where people advised against crowdfunding.

John Corey · Answer

Fredrick,

First, a truly passive income would be generating something between 2% and 5%. What ever a bank would pay for a 1-year CD. You will never get a phone call about problems. You will have a taxable income each year. You will be able to spend you time as you like.

If you want $60K a year (the $5K a month), you would need $3M, cash in the bank at 2% or $1,2M if you could earn 5%.

So, how passive do you want it? How quickly can you save those amounts?

If you can not save your way to the goal, either scale a business (income not tied to your hours; employees generating income for you) or scale a RE portfolio (tenants are producing the income in exchange for a place to live).

What do you do now? Can any fo the skills or talent be redeployed? I was speaking to someone earlier today about some interesting ideas for repurposing what they do so they can build from strength.

Bryan Blankenship · Answer

@Fredrick Hock It all depends on your long-term goals and overall timeline, but you're tackling this at a great time in your life! You already partially-answered your own question. Rental properties provide you with a passive income stream that flows and flows into your bank accounts. :) That's where you should invest for stability and consistency. Real estate is pretty uniquely insulated from the fluctuations of the market at-large, so investing in other things comes with greater inherent risks, of course (plus you can re-fi out and re-invest depending on the circumstances). Diversifying is great, and you have plenty of time left to experiment with your funds, but it is ultimately all up to you!

I could ramble on for about 56 hours about the pros and cons of each of those things you mentioned, but I know others will chime in here and put things much more succinctly than I can. It's all a delicate balance of risk vs reward and rates of return vs time.