How Outsourcing can Increase your Income: Step 10 in Doubling my Money
How and What to Outsource to Make More Money
One of the biggest obstacles financially for me has been time. Not enough time, no childcare, and everything falling back on me to manage. With moving house, setting the teens up in new schools, having a toddler and baby etc. It’s a lot.
A few years ago, I made great money, travelled and had a super flexible lifestyle. My teens and I loved it. Then the world changed drastically in 2020, we had some major hurdles with bushfires, a double family death in Vanuatu, getting locked down in the Solomon Islands and needing to set up a home there, hit by a cyclone, repatriated and needing to set up a home again and buy a car.
That was just the first few months of 2020 for us. Then, then 2 back to back complicated pregnancies, a residency visa and studying for Mr Aspiring Millionaire in another state. As I said, everything fell back on me. This greatly impacts my earning capacity and motivation.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
We Can’t Do It All On Our Own
With so much going on, I neglected myself, my career/business, my life, and everything. We had agreed once we moved, the kids would go into childcare, and I’d be able to complete my studies and work.
No childcare was available, no nannies, and no options for months. The waitlist for childcare is 18+ months!
This greatly reduced my capacity to do anything and set me back mentally and emotionally as well. Doing it all on my own was slowly killing me. Plus, it meant I couldn’t do anything about my $2 to $1,000,000 challenge.
Finally, I have made an arrangement and now get time to work, do self-care etc. It wasn’t easy to set up but is essential.
Get Help
As much as we like to think we can do it all, we can’t. I get called superwoman or supermum a lot. People are amazed at all I do and wonder how I do it.
Yet often, I feel stressed out and like I’m failing because there is too much to do and I feel I am always behind. My goals, needs and wants don’t happen.
Being so busy, having so much on, trying to do everything perfectly myself is no way to live. Something had to give so I made the decision to outsource more.
How Much Can Outsourcing Make You?
How often do we waste our time on things that would be better outsourced? If you can make $50hr doing something you are great at and outsource the little stuff for $25hr, aren’t you better off outsourcing those things so you can focus on income?
The amount you make from outsourcing depends on what you outsource, how you do it and how much you or they make for you during that same time.
Outsourcing has been a struggle for me over the years even though I know I could make more money if I did it more. The desire to be in control of everything as it impacts my reputation is strong. I know if I have a good team, I can make a lot more though.
So both not being able to outsource childcare and being reluctant to outsource too much in business was costing me money.
How to Know What to Outsource in Business
When it comes to business, outsourcing should be easy but for many small business owners, it’s tricky. You have specific skills people are paying for and that is where you make your money. So your time should be spent on those tasks and admin outsourced, right?
How many business owners do you know who waste a lot of their time and energy on the small stuff? I’ve been guilty of this many times.
Write a list of all the tasks involved in your business. Next, you’ll divide the list into tasks that absolutely have to be done by you vs tasks you can outsource.
Then, place them in order of tasks that make you the most money to tasks that make you the least. How much time do you waste on those things that need to be done but don’t need to be done by you? When you could put that time into money-making pursuits only you can do?
Looking at this list can make it easier to know what to outsource first. The more you outsource the more time you can dedicate to those things only you can do and that earn you the most money.
Some tasks you might consider first are bookkeeping, emails, social media, marketing, all the administration tasks, bookings etc. Sometimes when business owners do this, they find the professionals streamline a lot of these processes for them saving even more time and money.
Take the plunge and outsource.
How to Know What to Outsource in your Personal Life
Outsourcing your personal life might sound weird but it is amazing how common it is and how much time it can free up. You already outsource somewhat.
Think about it, you outsource car repairs and maintenance to the mechanic and most families have to outsource some childcare.
Cleaning, gardening, ironing and even booking appointments are common things people outsource. There are personal concierges that will take care of picking up dry cleaning, arranging gifts, booking flights etc.
Decide what you want to outsource and make it happen.
If you want to grow your business or career, consider time vs money when it comes to outsourcing parts of your personal life. It might be quicker, cheaper and easier to have someone clean the house, do the ironing, mow the lawn etc.
How is Outsourcing Quicker, Cheaper and Easier?
Once you have the right people in place to do the tasks you’ve chosen to outsource, it flows easily. You don’t have to think about those tasks anymore. Those parts of your business or personal life get sorted without your effort.
It is often quicker because professionals usually do things faster and better than we do. That’s why they are the professionals getting paid for it. Outsourcing them is often cheaper because if you can do something that earns $50 to $100 an hour (as an example) at the same time you’re paying someone $25 to $45hr to do those tasks, you’re in front. You can earn more in that time than it costs to pay someone to do those tasks.
How to Know What to Outsource First
I outlined one way to decide how to outsource for business above. Write down all the tasks you have to do, split them into groups of things you have to do vs what someone else could do. Then order them from highest earning to lowest earning then choose things to outsource.
When it comes to personal or business, I tend to outsource based on what I hate doing or what I need help with first. Previously, this has been gardening first. I hated mowing the lawns, weeding etc. So it was worth it to me to pay someone to do that.
Childcare is one I have had to do at times but I do try to be there as much as possible for my kids instead of having them in full-time care.
Work out what can be outsourced and what would free up the most time or provide the most value to you if you outsourced it. Not everyone will start with the same things, it is up to you what you outsource, how and when.
What I Outsourced to Increase my Money
Having 2 babies close together (January 2021 and February 2022) meant I did not have the headspace to outsource. During that time we were also focused on getting Mr Aspiring Millionaire his residency visa and commercial diving qualifications so he could work. Then the focus was on moving house and healing from the pregnancies.
Once settled in the new house I did a full evaluation of where my time was getting wasted, costing me money. I also reviewed what was costing me mentally and physically. Too much has been left to me to do by the whole family and I was exhausted in every sense of the word which impacted my capacity to earn an income.
1. Insourcing
My first step was to sort out the chores and things in our home. I want my kids to have all the life skills I have and more. As such, they’re involved in cooking, cleaning, repairs etc. Once this was more organised (read What is Insourcing and Why You Need to do it to understand it).
2. Childcare
Next, I had to outsource childcare a little but that was difficult. Waitlists for childcare centres are 18 months, there are virtually no nannies and even getting a babysitter has proven difficult. I finally got 2 days of care starting February 2023 for my then 2 year old but I still have my almost 1 year old at home.
As such, I had to get creative about childcare. A mix of nannies, seeking out an au pair or even getting a cousin to come over were all considered.
Paying someone I trust to look after my kids so I can work has been huge. It was hard for me to deal with it at first but it needed to be done. Without it, I was never going to progress in my career or achieve the goals we wanted as a family.
Plus, while I do spend most of my time with my kids and they are my priority, I needed the break mentally.
Originally, Mr Aspiring Millionaire was going to be with the kids in the afternoon so I could work. Commercial diving varies a lot though and even though his finish time is 3pm, he rarely finishes then. It’s not like an office job where you can up and leave, it’s underwater welding, construction, repairs etc.
Weekend work is common too, making time for me to work difficult. I have no guaranteed time I can work without finding alternative childcare.
So I worked out a plan with some help at specific times that should free up about 20 hours a week for me. I’ll try it until the end of April and see if it can continue.
This is where I spent the money from my $2 to $1,000,000 challenge. I needed to spend money on childcare to free up my time. I anticipate I’ll double my $3,849 within 1 month with the time I have to focus and do things such as reselling.
3. Admin Tasks
The next step was outsourcing more of my websites. They’ve been my ‘babies’ and I was reluctant to let go as my identity was so entwined. As a result, they have barely been touched the past 2 years while I was off having kids.
Setting up a larger team to do various tasks them has saved me significant time to earn more.
Reviewing my business and seeing where I make the most money and how I can increase that was crucial for this. Once I saw where the bulk of my income is coming from and the things that can only be done by me, I set to outsourcing everything else.
This step alone is set to double my income within a month and freed up so much headspace for me. In fact, I can work less and earn more overall.
4. Some Meals
My kids are more than happy to cook 2 nights a week each and are keen to learn more recipes from me, which we are working on. It was a bit of a juggle, me writing out and teaching recipes to my kids so they could do more, but it was worth it.
They also loved learning from and following HelloFresh recipes. We used HelloFresh a lot when I was pregnant. It was great as they could select the recipes they wanted to cook and hardly needed any instruction or help from me. If you want to try HelloFresh, get a free box here.
Why Didn’t I Outsource Cleaning, Gardening etc.
I want my kids to be good at all these chores so right now, cleaning, gardening and similar tasks are not outsourced in our home. Eventually, they will be or they might be occasionally but overall, I want my kids to still do some chores.
All the kids I grew up with who didn’t have to do any chores were fairly entitled and struggled in adulthood. My aim is to raise confident, intelligent, capable and compassionate adults. To do that, I have to teach them now.
How Did This Increase My Money?
Spending thousands on outsourcing feels weird at first but it was worth it. Outsourcing made me money by enabling me to spend time on the tasks that make me more. Plus, outsourcing to the right people means they increased the business income due to their expertise.
I was able to earn 2 to 3 times what I was paying someone else. Meaning, for every hour of any service I paid for, I was able to earn 3 times what I paid them.
For the things I outsourced in my business, they made double what it cost them to do what they were paid to do. Plus some of my time was freed up not having to do those tasks.
You can’t do everything and trying to do it all costs you time, money and your health. Do a review of your life and business to see what you can outsource to make time for what matters to you.
What Have you or Would you Outsource?
How to Streamline Your Finances
5 Lessons From Numerous Bank Errors
Recently, $15,400 landed in my account unexpectedly with no description except ‘admin’. I had no idea what this money was for, where it came from or what to do with it.
At the same time, I was waiting on the payment of a much smaller invoice. After some follow-up, it turned out that invoice was paid into an old account.
On top of that, I was having issues with the tax department over my tax return. My return needed to have an amendment done as I forgot to add one thing (the rest was prefilled). Issues with this went on for months.
The $15,400 happened on Friday, and then on Monday, I found out what it was for and it was not mine. That same Monday, the $700 happened and I finally got a call about the tax issues. Only for me to have to teach and show the person on the phone what tax was payable and why etc. Luckily, I knew my stuff and had the proof.
All 3 of these took time and energy away from my work and personal life. I felt stuck.
When the $15,400 hit my account I actually froze. It was unexpected and suddenly, I didn’t know what to do with my money, despite being all over it normally.
I realised with all these money issues, something has to change. I need to get serious about my money, streamline it and get more organised than I ever have before.
1. Know All Your Accounts and the Details
Often, people sign up for bank account bonuses then end up with an account they don’t need or use. Check your banking, know what money is doing, where it’s going and then close any unnecessary accounts.
That old account the $700 went into really should have been closed by now. Due to my work and referral bonuses from banks, I have too many accounts.
These bank errors were the push I needed to close the accounts I don’t need and streamline the rest. Essentially, I need the business accounts, a personal account, we have a joint account for expenses with the kids etc and a joint savings account for Vanuatu and things we agree to save for together.
Yet, I have accounts with 6 banks right now, 3 I get referral bonuses through so don’t want to close them. The rest are unnecessary now.
What I need to do is edit a few payments to go into and out of another account then close them. It’s not hard, I’ve just been lazy about it which costs time, money and energy. (Note, none of these accounts have extra fees, they are fee free. It would be worse if I was accruing monthly fees on top.)
2. Work Out Your Goals
What are your money goals? Do your bank accounts and how you manage money reflect that?
Having my money managed through different accounts instead of one is a pain. There is more to check, more to juggle and when applying for rentals, I had to send across so much paperwork.
None of that aligns with my money goals. These banking errors brought to light just how far away from my goals I am with how I manage my money.
How can I expect money to flow to me quickly and easily when my financial process is such a mess?
3. Decide on the Accounts you Need
In general, the following is used or recommended:
Daily expenses account
Savings account
Sanity/Splurge/Fun money account
Larger expenses accountAn emergency fund
If you are partnered, a joint account and joint savings account are good as well as having your own.
Some people prefer to have multiple accounts for various large bills such as car registration, insurances, medical expenses etc. I have them in one account, the larger expenses account and pay for them as they come up.
The bank errors made me look at the accounts, what I want to use them for and change their names to match my goals. Plus, with Up Bank I can set an emoji for the account so the joint account for Vanuatu has the Vanuatu flag.
4. Cancel, Close and Open Anything you Need to
I have already mentioned it but will again, get rid of what you don’t need. If it isn’t being used, close it. There are rare exceptions to this rule but in general, if you aren’t using it, it’s a waste of time and energy to have it.
If you are paying fees on any banking products, look for fee free options or how you can get those reduced. Also, check the interest rates on anything you have, even call and ask for a better deal.
It’s your money. Make it work for you instead of wasting it on fees.
5. Automate
Look at your money and work out what you can automate. Most of our bills are paid by direct debit. I have a reminder set in my calendar for when things are due. Investing is mostly automated, as is savings.
The less I have to manage my money, the easier it is. In general, I prefer to have enough sitting in the expenses account to cover anything that comes up instead of having to transfer money as needed.
Doing it this way, late fees aren’t an issue, discounts are usually offered for direct debit and pay on time so I save money too.
6. Get On Track: Money Meetings
Our finances (well, the bank accounts) are reviewed on a daily basis. This is to ensure no scamming or similar happens and if it does, we can resolve it quickly.
Money meetings happen weekly in our house and cover what was spent, upcoming expenses, goals and tracking where we are at. Money wins can also be celebrated.
Being open with the kids about money has enabled them to learn and as a result, my eldest is better at saving than I ever was.
Money Manage Books I Recommend
Sometimes, getting on top of finances is a little trickier so reading a book that outlines what to do can help. Here are a few I recommend.
Profit First
Essential reading for any business owner, Profit First shows you how to implement a system and guarantee you actually have profit sitting in your account at the end of the financial year.
Money With Jess
Jess writes a regular money column and her book, Money With Jess is a great way to set up your finances. She also shares numerous tips for all areas of the budget to save money.
The Automatic Millionaire
If you want to know more about automating your finances, how and why you should, The Automatic Millionaire is a wonderful read.
Life Admin Hacks
Not only for your finances but your life in general. Life Admin Hacks will share all the ways to destress your life by streamlining all the general admin tasks that build up.
How do you streamline your finances?
How to Create Multiple Income Streams and Why You Need Them
How to Create Multiple Income Streams and 8 Income Stream Ideas
Life is no longer as easy as going to university, getting a job then retiring. Chances are, if you do go to university, you’ll leave with significant debt and it can be hard to get a job. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it, it simply means make sure you have other options too.
It’s becoming increasingly common for people to do university, trade or other career and have a business or side hustles at the same time. The cost of living has risen so much, that most people feel they have no choice but to have multiple streams of income.
In our view, having multiple streams of income helps buffer you against adversity. If one income drops or you lose your job or anything along those lines, the other incomes help pull you through. Plus, why not make extra money with little to no effort if you can?
Disclosure, this post may contain affiliate links for products and services we use.
How to Create Multiple Streams of Income
We jump on any opportunity that can make us extra money without taking time away from our family or using a lot of time. With a clear view of the life we want, it’s been easy to see what works for us and say yes to the right opportunities, as well as no to the ones that don’t match our lifestyle.
Decide what you want to do, be open to ideas and experiment. That’s how simple it can be. Always do your research though and know what you are getting into.
As an example, Mr Aspiring Millionaire wanted to be a commercial diver from the moment he started diving years ago. For many, commercial diving is not a career they would choose due to the hours and risk.
Currently, he has done his third certification and has to work in the industry for a while before he can move to saturation diving. Saturation diving is the offshore oil rig style work. 4 weeks on and 4 weeks off.
For us, that is great as the pay is high and when he has 4 weeks off, we can travel anywhere as a family.
I, (Ms Aspiring Millionaire) have multiple streams of income which are predominantly online. As such, we have great incomes, the flexibility we want and one parent available for the kids at all times. With 5 kids, that’s important to us.
Why Have Multiple Income Streams
Relying on one income means if you lose that income e.g. get fired, you have no other money coming it. Multiple streams of income protect you against this plus they help you save and invest faster. If you are aiming for FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) like we are, multiple streams of income enable you to get there faster.
Wealthy people all have more than one income stream but they aren’t working for all of them. Owning businesses, investing, creating passive income streams is the aim. You can check out 10 passive income ideas here.
Income Stream Ideas
Here are some income streams you might want to include. Adding an income stream doesn’t always mean more time and effort put into something. Some of them can be pretty simple.
Careers/Occupations
The first obvious income stream for most is your chosen career, occupation or any form of employment. When it comes to a career, those pursuing FIRE (financial independence, retire early) typically look for high-income options.
As mentioned, Mr Aspiring Millionaire is a commercial diver. This is what he chose when we came to Australia and within a few years, he will earn thousands a day. The 3 courses to get to his current level were $25,000 plus accommodation and other expenses.
Our outlay was $30,000 all up and a few months study. After some experience in the field, he can then do the final level at the same cost of $30,000 for course and accommodation etc. That is when he will do offshore work at a few thousand a day, month on month off.
For myself, Ms Aspiring Millionaire, I have stuck to more flexible career options including blogging, writing, marketing, CEO of a marketing company, speaking etc. All of it has been done at the same time and around my kids.
Business
Even though many small businesses are done as side hustles, there are numerous entrepreneurs and business owners who focus solely on their business. My income has been from my own businesses instead of employment almost my entire working life.
If you choose to go the business path, ensure you are committed and set it up correctly. Get a lawyer and accountant so it is established legally. Read Profit First to learn a great way to set up your accounting.
Make sure you have insurance, know what you can and cannot claim on tax, your legal obligations and marketing.
Owning a business is not an easy taks but as you grow and outsource, it can be a great income. Once you can afford it, if the business is fully outsourced and managed by others, you will have an income stream rather than a job.
Our Businesses
With all our businesses and endeavours, the aim is for them to be fully outsourced and we simply collect money. Currently, we have a few small businesses we are growing. We saw some opportunities and took them.
One of our recent businesses has been quite different for us as it relies so heavily on others from the beginning. Usually, our businesses have been developed by us then outsourced. This one, we couldn’t do without others.
We have more businesses we want in the future and are currently restructing some of them to free up more of our time and money to invest elsewhere.
Side Hustles
Aside from a career and a business, there are numerous things you can do to make money on the side. Part of my challenge to double $2 until it is over $1,000,000 shows what I have done or am doing. Below are a selection of my favourite side hustles that are easy.
You don’t need thousands to set it up and you don’t need to spend a lot of time doing them.
Blogging
There is more to blogging than most assume but it is a business that can be done from anywhere and outsourced quickly if you know what you are doing. I’ve bought and sold websites over the years as well as created then sold my own and still have a portfolio of sites I make money from.
Read how to make money building and selling websites for more on this.
Airbnb
Paula Pant is one of many who use Airbnb with their rentals and make good money. We’ve used Airbnb both as guests and hosts. Being a guest gave us great ideas to improve ourselves as hosts.
How much you can make from Airbnb depends on the location, condition, what you include and local events. Check out this guide on how to make money with Airbnb.
Reselling
My $2 to $1,000,000 started with buying things to resell. It’s been easy to find items under $5 I can resell for $10, $20 or even $100. When I focus on reselling, I can make over $10,000 in a month.
How to Make Over $10,000 a Month Buying Things to Resell covers what to buy and resell, where to get it, how to photography and list it, postage and other tips. Only $9.95AUD.
Investing
More of a long term income plan than a current income option, investing is essential in our view. It requires minimal effort unless you want to research it all. Most choose to invest in indexed funds or similar which is pretty much set and forget instead of investing in individual companies.
It is lower risk and proivided you don’t freak out when the market ebbs and flows and you are doing it long term, statistically you’ll make money. Get professional advice and learn about your own risk tolerance as well as the risks involved with various investments.
We have a selection of investments for income in the future and to continue after we pass as well as side hustles for income now.
Books
Once written, if you outsource marketing, books can be a great side hustle. Authors don’t typically generate huge income from the book sales themselves, they do provide some income though.
I get royalties from a book I wrote 10 years ago, as well as income every month from eBooks I’ve written. Audiobooks are another great option. Essentially, you write one book, provide it in a variety of formats and you have 3 income streams from one piece of work.
How to create eBooks shares my experience and tips.
Other Side Hustles
There are so many side hustles available. I wanted to focus on ones that don’t require much effort. However, if you want to check out more side hustles, even if they require your time and effort, there are some great ones in the eBook 99 Side Hustles for Aussies plus most can be done by anyone, not just Aussies. Only $9.95.
What are you doing to have multiple income streams?
How to Make Money Building and Selling Websites
6 Steps to Build Then Sell a Website to Make Money
Blogging and websites have been my main income for years. It’s something I’ve enjoyed but not pursued as much as I could have due to other commitments. This is a basic overview but I have links in the article for more information.
As part of my $2 to Millionaire challenge, my most recent double was building then selling a website. For my challenge, I started with $2, doubled that and will continue doubling until I have over $1,000,000. This was my seventh time doubling my money. You can read all the others here.
For this one, I had $480 to use and managed to sell the site for $1,500 rather quickly. If I kept it longer and made more money with it, it would have sold for more.
Disclosure – This site contains affiliate links for products and services I use.
1. How to Set up a Website
Back when I started blogging, I had to learn to code. Now you can drag and drop it all with loads of free tutorials making it super easy.
In fact, I can set up a website within a few hours with all the graphics, social channels, some articles etc. The thing that takes longer is the content and marketing. Both of which I have extensive experience but you can also outsource.
2. The Basics of Website Creation
In a nutshell, you need to decide on a niche, pick a relevant and available domain name, check the socials are available for it then get set up. Buy your domain name. Get your hosting package and my preference is to install WordPress then build the site that way.
All of this probably sounds like a completely different language if you have never had anything to do with creating websites, blogging or social media.
You can teach yourself all of it or hire someone. If you want to learn for yourself, I recommend doing a course and stepping through it. If you want a full tutorial on how to do it, I have written one here.
3. Outsourcing
Hire other people to do the work for you. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should DIY it all either. If you have the money, it’s easier, quicker and you can do more of them if you outsource. Make sure you have a clear plan for what you want and vet the people you hire thoroughly.
Get a virtual assistant, a writer or two, someone else to set up the site etc. These positions can be sourced relatively cheaply through Fiverr, Upwork and similar. Get them to do the grunt work and you can oversee everything instead.
4. Market the Website
A website needs to make money and to make money you need to get it out there. Marketing is something I did for years but for a website, it is easy to outsource it.
Scheduling posts on social media, updating content on the website, ensuring everything has good SEO, these are all things that help grow your audience and your bottom line.
With any business, including websites, you need a marketing strategy. It can be basic but you need one and need to be consistent to make it grow and have value.
5. How to Make Money with Blogs/Websites
This is the part I get asked abotu the most. Firstly, you need traffic to the website, an audience and things for them to buy.
The most common way people make money from websites is through affiliate links. This is where something is mentioned and linked to. When someone clicks on it and buys it, the website owner gets a percentage of the profits.
Ads from companies such as Google for Adsense or MediaVine if you have enough traffic make great money. They manage the ads shown on your site and it is the easiest process.
Sponsored posts are less common. This is where a company pays to be linked to from your site either in a new article you write, they provide one or in an existing post. You need to disclose it and realise there are many ways this can harm your website long term with Google.
Dropshipping is where you create a product customers can buy and it is created then shipped by a third party.
Your own products such as courses, eBooks and other resources.
For more ways to make money with websites, read this.
6. Sell the Website
With the website up, good traffic and income, it can be sold. Websites can be bought and sold on sites such as Flippa. Alternatively, there are Facebook groups for selling websites and email lists.
As I have been doing it for a while, I have access to and have utilised all 3.
Why Make Money Selling Websites
Creating and selling websites is something most people can learn and can be done from anywhere. If the last 2 years are anything to go by, having multiple streams of income and being able to make money remotely is important!
My preference has been owning them for a while, generating income and then selling off some. I can outsource all of it now, focus on the ones that are doing well and then sell the ones that aren’t performing as much as I’d like.
My plan moving forward is to continue with this but the websites will be held for 6 to 12 months each time to see which are performing the best. Previously, I owned 10 websites at once and that generated great income.
Due to changes in my life, I had to sell them to pay for something extremely important to my life.
Now, I am in a position to get back to it and am excited.
10 Passive Income Ideas
How to Make Passive Income
Millionaires typically have 7 income streams. Since no one can work 7 jobs, you need to look at other options. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Be smart with your time, find ways to generate income with little or no effort and you’ll find your net worth increases much easier.
Passive income is income you generate with little or no effort. Often you need to spend some time and money upfront but once it’s ready, it can make money easily for you, even in your sleep!
How I Make Passive Income
Personally, I’ve been working on passive income for years and it is something we are now working on as a family. Our current passive income includes:
Book royalties, blogs which don’t require me to work on them to make money, shares, business, eBooks, rental properties, stock photos and peer to peer lending.
That said, while we technically get an income from these, most of them get reinvested. For example, dividends from shares/stocks get reinvested. Rental income is being saved to develop our property portfolio further.
In the future, we will be focused mainly on business, real estate and shares.
Image of money and a plant. Text reads 10 Passive Income Ideas. Photo by Justin Saula of Blackbeard Photography 1. Digital Products
Anyone can be an eBook author on Amazon or similar now. If you have your own site, you can sell your books on there too. I have eBooks listed in a variety of places so get royalties each month from Amazon, direct payments from my site and royalty payments from my publisher too.
Digital products are great because you can make them once and sell them for years. Two of my eBooks are over a decade old.
Two other digital products include printables which you can sell on your own site or sites such as Etsy and courses which is another option popular among bloggers and influencers.
2. Book Royalties
In 2010, a large business publisher saw an article I wrote and wanted to turn it into a book. We did this and there was an extra eBook created from one of the chapters. For years I collected royalties on the print book then I negotiated the rights back.
However, I still collect royalty payments for the eBook AND since you get payments as an author in Australia for anyone borrowing the book from the library, I get paid for that too. I forget about it until I get the email every few months.
It’s a nice surprise which I can invest immediately into shares or crypto.
3. Rent
Being a landlord is not always as passive as it is made out to be. Repairs, dealing with tenants or property managers, late rent or similar issues can chew a lot of your time.
However, if you are fortunate enough to have one managed well by someone for you, all repairs etc taken care of and the money simply put in your account, it is a great passive option. This is where we are at.
Our properties are overseas and taken care of by family there. The money is split, they get some and some is saved for us to develop the property. Since they live in Vanuatu, the income they have is pretty low and the rental income helps put family members through school, ensuring a brighter future for them.
Airbnb is a popular option for many as well. Since people can self check-in, you have rules and can have a cleaner for between bookings, for many, it is pretty passive. I (Ms Aspiring Millionaire) have previously done quite well with Airbnb.
Renting a room in your home can be fairly passive. Whenever we’ve done it, we were usually lucky enough to get people we know. Rent/board was set up to be paid automatically and since we come from big families, it didn’t bother us to have extra people in the home.
As a single mother (previously), having a boarder reduced my workload as they also helped clean at times.
Lastly, renting out the garage. Other than handing over the keys, this has always been a passive option. The garage has been used by people to store items, run a business or store a car. Each time, payments were automatic and I barely saw the person using it.
4. Shares
Invest in index funds, learn and invest in specific shares you want or look at micro-investing to get started. Before investing, take some time to learn. Too many people invest blindly then lose money.
The sharemarket goes up and down but if you have a longterm view, reinvest and don’t plan to use the income (dividends) until retirement, your portfolio can continue to grow nicely.
5. Advertising on Your Car or Fence
With a newer car, you can be moving advertising for any business. They pay for a car wrap or magnet to be placed on your car. This works best in cities and if you drive a fair bit or your car is parked somewhere with a lot of traffic.
If you live on a busy street, some businesses will pay you to have signage on your fence as well.
Both of these don’t require effort after the initial set up. But be aware it can damage paint.
Image of plant, phone with calculator app open, Australian $50 notes and a notebook with pen.Text reads 10 Passive Income Ideas. Photo by Justin Saula of Blackbeard Photography. 6. Affiliate Marketing
We do this through our websites and it forms a significant part of the website income. It’s easy enough o set up a website, market it well then outsource it to make money without your input.
Affiliate marketing is where you get paid when someone buys something through your link. Many sites are set up as Amazon affiliate sites or similar. It’s a way to sell or promote items without having to have them in stock.
Some of our best affiliates involve food and finance items.
7. Ecommerce
Build a website (The Thrifty Issue has a simple guide on it) and either sell your own products, do dropshipping or do affiliate marketing as mentioned above.
Dropshipping is a hugely popular option as you can design and create products but not have to stock them. They are sold through your site and shipped directly to the customer without needing a warehouse.
8. Silent Business Partner
Partner in a business without being one to make all the decisions. You can either set up a business and be a financial partner or buy into a business. The businesses we own are split between us being active partners and one where we are silent partners.
9. Stock Photos
Sell your photos on sites such as iStock. Since we travel and take numerous photos for the marketing work we do through our travel, selling stock photos is a great side option. Once uploaded, we make commissions when they sell.
We do not upload our best, only generic style ones we don’t care about.
10. Peer to Peer Lending
We’ve mainly done this as a charity option but if you have a decent amount of money, you can start doing peer to peer lending through various websites. We have just started with Plenti and will share our experience with that soon.
How do you make passive income?
$10,000 in 10 Days Challenge
How Can You Make $10,000 in 10 Days?
After reading We Should All Be Millionaires, I was inspired to try the $10,000 in 10 days challenge she sets. When I decided to do it, I had no idea how it would work. With a baby who was teething and completely unsettled, teens, study, work and so much else on, it felt like a lofty goal.
Amazingly, within 10 days I got 2 payments totalling over $10,000! Both were unexpected but welcomed.
Because of the success the first time, I decided to do it again. Only this time, I made it public.
Last time, I had no doubt I could do it even though I had no idea how. Whenever I feel that way, live with that completely confident mindset, everything falls into place. If I have doubts, it fails.
Image of Australian money with a plant and a laptop. What Can You Do?
When you’re looking at making money, one of the best things you can do is have a brainstorming session. In this session, write down all the ways you can make money, even if they seem ridiculous at the time.
Once you have your ideas, work out which ones feel the best to you, which excite you and which you will actually follow through on. Focus on them. Here are some ideas. Remember, it doesn’t need to be $10,000 from one thing, although that can be nice.
Make $10,000 Buying Things to Resell
I listed a few things today and used to make thousands a month doing this. In fact, when I was dedicated, I made over $10,000 a month doing it. There is a guide on how to make $10,000 a month buying things to resell which can help.
My best items are $1 to $2 pieces of clothing from second-hand stores which I can resell for $50 on average, sometimes more. Websites, I’ve bought and resold cars, photography equipment, books, collectables. Anything I know about and know I can make a profit from, I’ll try.
One time I bought some jewellery from a store when it was closing down. I tripled my investment with that one.
Rent or Boarders
I’m going away and can rent my place for $1,200 for the time I am gone. Other times, I have made $1,300 in a week doing this and when I had boarders they usually paid $250 a week rent which meant I made well over $10,000 in a year from it.
Have a clear contract in place and interview thoroughly if you do have a boarder.
Your Services
If you have a business, can you increase prices? Is there an extra service you could provide? What about creating and selling a course or book or doing presales for something. Brainstorm how you can use what you have to generate more without much work.
Online Surveys
They won’t make you rich, however, have you checked your accounts recently to cash out? Octopus Group is the highest paying one in Australia. PrizeRebel pays in USD.
Check all your online survey accounts and cash out those you can. during these 10 days, I cashed out $720 with Octopus Group, PrizeRebel and Swagbucks. Every bit helps to get to $10,000!
Freelance Writing
One of my favourite ways to make money has been freelance writing. I see loads of opportunities for new writers as well as better paid opportunities for experienced writers.
Facebook groups has been my best source of getting freelance writing gigs and by spending a couple of hours pitching, I often secure $2,000+ worth of freelance writing when I want to.
Domestic Chores
Cleaning, gardening, mowing lawns, ironing, babysitting or any domestic style work is often high in demand. It will take a while to get to $10,000 but is still income.
Airtasker
Some of the tasks I have done took only a few minutes for $50. You really need to sort through but those odd jobs pay within a few days and you can take on as many as you’re accepted for.
Money Hunt
Check all your VIP and reward programs to see if there is anything you can cash out. Look for refunds and rebates you can cash in. If you are a member of any cash back programs, check them too. Cash Rewards gives a $10 bonus, as does Shopback. I use both for all my shopping by comparing and using the one with the best cash back offer at the time.
Go through your home, car and everywhere to look for cash. Under your lounge, under appliances, in pockets, purses, the console of your car etc. You’ll be surprised at what you find.
Unexpected Money
I have learnt to be open minded when it comes to where the money can come from. Most of the large amounts of money I have received when doing challenges like this have not been from my work. Referral bonuses, small inheritances, unexpected cash gifts, refunds etc have all added up to thousands of dollars.
None of those I could have planned for but they all made a big difference. Be open to money flowing to you instead of focusing only on what you can do.
Other Options
Check out 99 Side Hustles for a huge guide on ways to make money, how to get started, different options you have and how to market them to make more money.
What Am I Doing?
I’ll share my daily updates below. In the next 10 days (today being Day 1 which is Sunday, 19 September 2021), I am going away which limits my options. I can’t list as much for sale as I normally would because I won’t be here to post or meet if I sell anything. That doesn’t mean I won’t be able to do it.
Day 1 – $1,200 Renting Out My Home
Since I am going away, my place can be rented out. I’ve done this many times before through Airbnb. Living a few hundred metres from the beach in a popular tourist spot this time makes it even easier. There is also a significant housing crisis here so no shortage of people needing a place to stay.
I could rent it out for more but wanted to help someone who is currently trying to secure a rental instead of renting to a holidaymaker. Having a solid home for a few weeks will give them some breathing room to focus on getting a place.
This feels better to me ethically given the situation where I live right now because I have been homeless before.
How to Rent Your Home out
Airbnb is my preferred method because if anything goes wrong, there is help, insurance and a security bond. Facebook groups or friends and family are also great ways to find someone to rent your place. Unless it is someone I know, I will always create a listing on Airbnb and send the person the link so they can book and I am covered.
There are fees associated with Airbnb but I feel it is worth it for protection. If I had a regular holiday rental, I would have it managed by a real estate here.
Look up how much homes are going for in your area. Clear your home out of personal items and your valuables. Take a video before you leave of everything so you have proof of how it was before you left.
Create a welcome kit. I usually have some chocolates, basics such as milk, bread, butter, some nice items from locals and sometimes a bottle of wine, depending on the length of the booking. I also have coupons for the local area with a guide on things to do, the public transport etc.
Make sure your entire home is spotless. Provide all the necessities including toiletries, cleaning supplies, linen etc. People are critical!
Think of how you would want a holiday home presented and make your home be the same.
Day Two $455
Today I unexpectedly sold a device of ours. I say unexpectedly because I had not listed it for sale yet. A reader of another site of mine emailed asking for advice on second-hand devices for Vanuatu as my partner is Ni-Vanuatu and we have spent lots of time there. I gave advice and said we were about to sell this one if they were interested.
They were and it worked for everyone.
$55 came from referral bonuses.
I also spent time today pitching for freelance writing but due to a 2 hour medical test and helping a friend, my time today was limited. Still happy that my current total is $1,655 in 2 days!
Day Three $10
A sick baby, teenagers needing stuff and not much time meant I could barely think about my $10,000 in 10 days challenge today. I got $10 from a referral bonus through my cousin but that’s it.
We did drop some things at the second-hand shop to clear the clutter. Whenever I clear out the clutter in my life, it frees up my headspace to be able to focus and I needed that. Whilst there, we picked up a few items for $1 to $5 to resell for around $50 each.
Day Four $95
Today I flew to Tasmania so my day was spent driving to Brisbane, at the airport, in the air then getting settled. I managed to sell a few things online still but it was not a hugely profitable day.
Day Five $2,500
On the first day, I pitched some freelance writing gigs and today confirmed some. They might not be paid within the next 5 days but they will be paid promptly. It all fell into place unexpectedly as they are in Tasmania, where I am now and would not have happened if I wasn’t here.
Day Six $720
Originally, I was going to wait until day 10 to cash out from my online surveys but because of a slight error with one, I decided to cash them out now. Online surveys are easy to do when you are waiting at the doctors, waiting in line to pick up the kids or sometimes at the grocery store.
All those little pieces of time where you are bored and scrolling Facebook you can now make money with!
The three sites I cashed out wereOctopus Group, PrizeRebel and Swagbucks.
Day Seven – $147
I cashed out my cashback programs today. $147 cashback total between Cash Rewards, Honey and Shopback. Some of this is my own spending, some referral bonuses.
Day Eight – $4,000+
Yesterday I listed something for sale which should get around $4,000 to $5,000. Today, I am negotiating with a few interested buyers. This may or may not be finalised within the 10 days but I am including it.
Day Nine – $0
Today I went for a hike down where there is limited reception. I had no time to even think about way to make money, list anything for sale or do anything else.
Day Ten – $0
Returning from the hike and time with family meant another day of nothing.
Overall, while I didn’t get all the cash in the 10 days, I did generate $10,000 so I am happy with that. Maybe next time, I’ll be able to get the money all in the 10 days.
