How I Built 9 Streams of Passive Income

There’s an old picture of me that says everything you need to know about how I used to live.

In the photo, I’m sitting at my desk holding my newborn son, a half-written blog post on the screen, and a BlackBerry in my hand. Back then, I was running my financial planning business 40+ hours a week, working on my blog for 20 hours, and trying to be a new father.

That seemed normal to me—grinding nonstop, responding to emails at midnight, and always “plugged in.” However, I was trapped in the same cycle I warned clients against: trading time for money.

The wake-up call didn’t come until a few years later. I stopped asking, “How much can I make per hour?” and started asking, “How much do I make when I’m not working?”

All of a sudden, everything changed because of that one mindset shift.

As a result, I embarked on a long (and sometimes messy) journey toward true passive income—where your money and ideas work for you, rather than against you. I want to share with you how my journey has evolved over the last few years: nine ways I earn passive income each month and what you can learn from them.

For simplicity’s sake, I used Robinhood, deposited $100,000, and began investing in dividend-paying stocks like American Express, Verizon, and Starbucks.

Even with way too much cash in the portfolio, it earns me about $127 per month in dividends.

Additionally, I receive $97 in dividends each month from my M1 Finance portfolio, which includes growth stocks such as Apple, Tesla, and Nike.

That’s roughly $224 in dividend income each month that shows up without me having to do anything.

For example, I have over half a million dollars parked in a large, traditional bank. How much did that account earn me? A measly $22.43 per month. Yes, that’s real.

Back when BlockFi was operational, I used it to experiment with high-yielding investments: I put $25,000 into USDC, and it earned around 8.6 percent annual percentage yield (APY), which equaled about $156 per month. This came with risks, not FDIC coverage, custody risk, regulatory uncertainty, and BlockFi eventually failed.

Fundrise, for example, is a platform for crowdfunding real estate notes.

For years, I have received $116.66 per month from a private REIT I invested in. As a result of my investments in residential and commercial projects with Fundrise, I receive an additional $43 in dividends each month.

With no tenants, no repairs, no late-night phone calls, that’s $160 per month in passive real estate income.

Whenever people see my YouTube channel, they assume all my income comes from new videos. Nope.

Despite no longer promoting them, two videos I made over five years ago still earn about $1,000 a month. When a video hits, YouTube keeps paying you long after you’ve moved on.

Overall, my channel generates $5,000 in ad revenue per month. That’s not counting sponsorships, affiliates, or course sales—just ads.

I launched it well over a decade ago to share financial advice. This passion project evolved into a business—and now a significant source of income.

Affiliate marketing, referrals to financial tools, investment apps, and banks, and banner ads generate most of the blog’s income. Since much of the content is evergreen, it continues to generate revenue for years after it’s published.

It’s possible to generate over $30,000 in a single month with a lean team managing updates and partnerships.

In some cases, dividends are paid quarterly, while in others, equity returns are paid over the long term. Despite its higher risk, it is also one of the most rewarding parts of my portfolio—both financially and personally.

Although I’m no longer actively launching new courses, I continue to generate steady revenue from my email list and evergreen funnels.

It didn’t start passively—I worked hard and slept little to build a business that eventually ran without me. Eventually, it became a tradable asset.

It was a completely hands-off deal, involving an upfront payment and monthly installments over seven years totaling about $10,700 a month today.

Knowledge has the potential to be powerful. The real power, however, lies in taking action based on what you know.

I’m grateful when I look back at that photo, the stressed-out dad juggling a baby, a Blackberry, and a blog. There was a part of me that was hungry enough to start something.

If you’re in that phase right now, don’t give up. You just need to shift your focus from working harder to working smarter. Start by building one passive stream. After that, another.

Soon you’ll realize your money doesn’t need you every minute of the day.

That’s the freedom you’re pursuing. And it’s worth every bit of effort to get there.