The trick to building lasting wealth is finding lucrative ways to draw in passive income. Passive income is money that comes your way without you having to do very much in the process.

There’s always a little work required on the front end, but a good source of passive income will generate wealth in a very hands-free way. We’re going to take a look at some passive income ideas for you to consider this year, hopefully moving you one step closer to the wealth you’re looking for.

Let’s get started.

1. The Stock Market

The most timeless and effective way to build wealth is by investing in the stock market. Any 401k or retirement plan that accrues interest will have some influence from the stock market.

That said, you don’t have to have a formal retirement plan or company-sponsored contributions to earn money on the market. You only need to sign up to one of the many online stockbroker websites and link your bank account. If you are trading in Europe, check out the broker search tool from Brokerchooser to easily find and compare brokers based on location.

You could start with $1 or $10,000. Whatever your bank account looks like, see if you can pinch away a few dollars each week to put toward the stock market. The process of earning money in stocks is difficult, and there are many ways to go about it.

One consistent way to make significant money is by investing in low-risk, long-term stocks that are projected to grow over a long period of time. We’re talking decades, not weeks.

If you do this and make regular contributions, there are some stocks that you could reasonably expect to make you tens of thousands of dollars. A well-organized portfolio can set an individual up for a healthy retirement.

You have to learn the ropes a little bit, then get started as soon as you’re able. The more time you give your stocks to grow, the earlier you’ll be swimming in pools of money.

2. Storage Units

Investing in storage units might not seem like the most glamorous way to build wealth. If that’s you’re impression; you are absolutely right.

However, when you think about it, a storage unit is one of the spaces that require the least maintenance. So long as your units have security and climate control, very few costs go into the investment.

Your tenants rent the space, put their things into it, and all you’re expected to do is keep that stuff safe. If you can do that, you’ll receive a significant rent check from numerous tenants each month.

Further, the value of the property will accrue over time. The more space you invest in, the more money you’ll draw. This investment can stick around for a long time so long as you choose a property that isn’t going anywhere.

You could market this space to store many things, depending on the popular interests in your geographical area. In some cases, you’ll have to adjust the space to meet your target demographic’s needs.

For example, boat storage for the winter is a little more complicated than storing boxes for ten years.

3. Rental Properties

Investing in real estate is another way for individuals to make a lot of money. Renting out your properties gives you an excellent chance to make a healthy chunk of income on top of the rising property value that you can expect.

A well-tended property will fetch more than your mortgage payment in rent fees each month and a lot more if you know how to create a quality living space. If the idea of being a landlord isn’t exciting to you, though, you can always work with a property management company.

While a management company will cost you a little bit of money each month, their presence will make your investment a lot more passive. You won’t have to do very much at all, and you’ll see revenue coming your way regularly.

A smart move is to invest in a single rental property, then use the revenue you get from that property to invest in another. Keep that process going until you have several properties, all sending money your way each month.

If you play your cards right, rental properties might give you all of the income you need to survive and save for retirement.

4. Airbnb

Renting out a room in your home is a fantastic way to earn a little cash, especially if you live in a destination area.

If you don’t live in a picturesque landscape, you can still use Airbnb as a source of income. Many people look to these home rentals to get a room for the night without taking on the exorbitant cost of a hotel room.

Try to outbid the price of the hotel rooms in your area and make your rental space even nicer than a hotel would be. If you’re in a metropolitan area where people come in and out for work, you’d be surprised at how much business you might get.

You can take a look at this website for good Airbnb investment options as well. Putting money toward a camper or RV and setting it up to be rented is an exciting option for travelers and campers to enjoy.

You can place this on your property or explore other options for placement that might be a little more in line with nature. Remote areas are hot items for people trying to rent a place on vacation.

Some people even list their backyard as a spot to sleep for a night. You can set up a tent or a comfortable outdoor sleeping arrangement, create fences for privacy, and see who comes.

5. Invest in Small Business

When you’ve got a little chunk of money saved, please don’t rule out the possibility of putting it toward a small business that needs funding.

If you believe in the business and know that they could do well, owning a little piece of their success might not be a bad way to earn a passive income. The best passive income is an investment in something that takes off, although there’s no sure bet when it comes to investments like this.

So, keep your eyes open and wait for a company or business that you believe in. Put your money toward them in exchange for some share of the profits.

Investing in a small business is no different from putting money into stocks. The thing is, you’ll have a closer relationship with the real people that your money is working for.

This can be a meaningful change when most of your investments only exist as numbers on a screen. Whether you’re a personal friend of the business owner or you have no idea who they are at all, investing in a small business gives that business a chance.

You’re not just philanthropic, though. If that business grows, so does your bank account.

6. Flip Thrift Products

This option might require a little time and effort on your part, but it’s certainly no full-time job.

If you can develop an understanding of a particular niche and the value of the products within it, you’ll be able to make a killing by flipping thrift items. Visiting multiple thrift stores and secondhand sales in your area will give you access to many great goods.

In most cases, people get rid of things without looking at their real value. Turning those things around and selling on them online or at trade sells might yield a significant profit.

It’s never a bad idea to look for worn-out products of all kinds and try to fix them up. Refurbishing anything from furniture to technology could fetch a lot of money in returns, more than justifying the amount of time you put into trying to repair them.

If you’re really clever, you might be able to supply an industry expert with the money to find and buy valuable products, taking a cut of the earnings when they turn around and sell those products.

7. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is the process of running an online store that sends merchandise straight from the manufacturer.

That meant that when someone makes a purchase, that order gets run through the warehouse and straight to the customer. You don’t have to do a single thing other than manage customer service.

Once your dropshipping business takes off, though, you can always hire someone to take care of your customer service. Many people have made a killing through dropshipping, and there’s no limit to what you could achieve if you hit the market at the right time.

You don’t have to stick to the same product that you sell right away, either. You can treat dropshipping like an investment that changes when the market changes.

Fine-Tuning Your Product Selection

Since you don’t have to deal with housing products or to order specific items at any given time, you can adjust your product lines with the click of a button. You have to choose the right distributor and let them know when you want to change things.

Keep an eye on keyword trends and the popular items on Amazon to get a pulse for what the market is doing. If you have an inkling that something will take off soon, put it up for sale on your storefront.

There’s no rulebook on the variety of products you can sell. You might want to sell a hodgepodge of the most popular items on the internet. Alternatively, you might have one or two niche items that work well for you.

In any case, you can market your storefront and create a buzz through social media and pay-per-click advertising. Doing that will draw traffic to your site, letting Google know that it’s a site worth ranking.

When those rankings start coming in, you’ll be seeing a steady flow of revenue without having to handle any packages or products.

8. Sell Ad Space

Do you have a business with a website?

Depending on the size and success of the business, you might be able to sell advertisement space on your website. Businesses are always looking for ways to market themselves on popular sites, especially when SEO and digital marketing are so hard to crack sometimes.

Numerous sites help put you in touch with clients that could be interested. Even if you’re not that successful online, you never know if you could pinch a couple of extra bucks from advertising a business or two.

9. Stockpile Money in A Savings Account

It’s great to explore creative ways to make passive income, but it never hurts to spend some time on the oldest ways as well.

Old methods still exist because they work. One of the most common ways to do it is to put money in a savings account when it comes to passive income. You can shop around savings account, as some of them have annual returns of roughly 2 or 3 percent.

That might not seem like much, but over the course of a few decades, that growth can lead to a significant shift in your bank account. This is a great way to supplement and anchor the other investment methods you’re trying to explore.

You can think of your savings account as your retirement investment. Figure out how much money you’d need to invest each week with the account’s annual return to set yourself up for retirement.

If you’re young, you might be surprised by how small your contribution has to be. You could even look at larger contributions earlier and examine tipping the scales that way could lead you to retire at a younger age.

Need More Passive Income Ideas?

So, what is passive income? It’s a way for you to make money while freeing up time to live the rest of your life. Sounds pretty nice, right?

The only thing you have to do is find the right opportunity for yourself. We’re here to help. Explore our site for more passive income ideas, understand how to make passive income, and much more.