In 2012, I walked away from my investment banking job with a $3 million net worth and roughly $80,000 per year in passive income. At 34, I had enough income to cover my basic living expenses in San Francisco.
My friends thought I was crazy to leave such a lucrative job. But what they didn’t see was the work I had done behind the scenes for over a decade — quietly building multiple streams of income that didn’t depend on my time or labor.
Since then, my passive income has given me the freedom to write on my personal finance blog, spend time raising my kids, travel to Hawaii regularly to reconnect with family, and invest in higher-risk opportunities that I never would have considered if I were dependent on a paycheck.
Passive income is not truly passive at the start. Building the foundation takes time, effort, and strategy. Here are 10 of my all-time favorite passive income ideas.
Best for: Long-term, low-maintenance investing
