What is Residual Income?

Before you can understand how to earn residual income, it’s important to understand what residual income is. Essentially, residual income is the amount of money you have earned throughout the month after you have met all of your financial obligations. Your financial obligations could include credit card payments, rent, mortgage payments, or other important expenses. 

How Do I Calculate My Residual Income?

Here’s how we can calculate your residual income. For example, let’s say that you earn $4,000 per month, and these are your bills:

1. Internet: $50
2. Mortgage: $2,500
3. Car Payment and Gas: $360
4. Credit Card Payment: $300
5. Utilities, Groceries, and Other Miscellaneous Expenses: $600

All of that adds up to $3,810, and if we subtract that from $4,000, your residual monthly income is around $190. You can earn residual income if you are living within your means or spending less than you make per month and having money left over after that. It’s important to understand financial literacy and manage your finances correctly, but life happens, and you may not always be able to plan for unexpected expenses that are out of your control. 

But what happens if you have a lot of financial obligations and consistently spend more than you make per month? Keep reading to learn more about how to earn residual income!

What are Some Ways I Can Earn More Residual Income?

Earning more residual income can sound like a hassle in today’s day and age, but it doesn’t have to be if you have the right information on hand to be financially successful. 

There are several ways you can earn residual income. One of the most common ways is through investments in stocks, bonds, or real estate. You can use the app Robinhood to try investing in popular stocks or consider buying a property, flipping it, and renting it out to earn extra income each month. It will, however, cost you money upfront to accomplish this.

By investing in these assets, you can earn dividends or rental income on a regular basis. Another way to earn residual income is through creating and selling intellectual property. This can include writing a book and earning royalties, creating and selling music or artwork, or inventing a product and receiving licensing fees. For example, if you are an expert crocheter, you can sell some of the patterns you have created to other crocheters online through platforms like Etsy! If you are an artist, you can compete in local shows and sell prints of your artwork in person or online through similar platforms that exist to showcase work from small businesses.

Additionally, participating in affiliate marketing programs can generate residual income. There are many different affiliate marketing programs, and even Amazon, Walmart, and Sephora offer them! In order to participate in affiliate programs, however, you will need to create a social media account or blog to advertise the products you are using. If you decide to work with Sephora, you can start a beauty TikTok and potentially get paid to review certain beauty products that you love or hate. 

Some other ways to earn residual income include starting a blog, TikTok, or YouTube channel and monetizing it through ads or sponsorships, creating an online course or membership site and earning passive income from subscriptions, or even renting out a room through online booking platforms like Airbnb. 

How Do I Start a Blog to Earn Money?

Starting a blog is not as complicated as it may seem. First, you’ll need to find a platform to host your blog. WordPress is one of the most popular choices because it is free, and there are many different templates to choose from. Additionally, your blog is fully customizable, and if you pay per month, you’ll be able to choose your own domain name!

Once your blog is set up, the next step is to create articles that stick to a particular niche and reflect relevant keywords in that niche. From there, you can sign up for affiliate programs and get started on making the residual income that you need!

What Can I Do if I Need Emergency Cash?

If you don't want to wait to earn money through an affiliate program or blog, you can always apply for auto title loans in order to secure emergency funding if your budget has been thrown out of whack.