DISQUS

fathersez · 1 year ago

I like the statement you made about the viral nature of alternative income. Success in one stream does give you a "rush" and confidence to try out others. And like you said, you do run into leads.

Cheers

Hunter Nuttall · 1 year ago

I'm glad you called it alternative income. Just about every stream of so called "passive" income I hear about seems to require much more work for the money than a job does!

Curmudgeon · 1 year ago

Two points. First, many employers of professionals (especially out of the Fortune 1000) require much more than a 9 to 5 day. They usually don't define it as such, because of various overtime regulations, but rather heap on the work with little regard to how long it takes to accomplish. I for one would love to find an employer who defines a full time job as 40 hours a week. It's not a prohibition of alternative income, but it is a deterrent.

Second, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and perhaps others, defines many categories of alternative income as "unearned income," a sobriquet that provides prima facia justification for claiming a greater percentage of it in income taxes. I'm not a MA resident, but I take every opportunity to rail against such an inherent disincentive to initiative and creativity. Of course it's earned, idiots!

No Debt Plan · 1 year ago

Very true. In the past three weeks, I've earned $200+ blogging. Nice little bit of side income.

MoneyDummy · 1 year ago

I agree that earning alternative income sounds absolutely fabulous! Spend less than you earn, however, is a great fallback plan for those of us who haven't yet (I remain hopeful, thus the "yet") found a great plan for alternative income.

I read lots of blogs which talk about how great alternative income is, and I think, "Well of course it is! Everyone knows that!" The posts that are most useful, however, are those which help other people learn HOW to produce alternative income.

Patrick · 1 year ago

I agree, Steve. Making money outside your day job is a great idea. There are very few guaranteed jobs out there, and even fewer guaranteed pension or retirement plans. Alternative income gives you a little breather room should something bad happen. And as you mentioned, it could serve as the catalyst to something bigger than your current day job. There is a lot of opportunity out there. Why not grab some? :)

Ron@TheWisdomJournal · 1 year ago

As a corporate employee, I echo what Curmudgeon said. I'm working far more than 40 hours and many times, I end up "required" to work weekends to boot. This isn't an excuse...it's motivation. I'm highly motivated to develop alternative income streams, but I'm hampered by this stinkin' job!

I do have a co-worker who wants to buy some rental houses with me and I do have a vendor who wants to develop a business that would ultimately compete with where I work now. I'm interested...

PamelaP · 1 year ago

I agree about the over 40 hour job - I'm a director and a 55-60 hour week is "normal" - however, like Ron, I don't see it as a stumbling block.

I have several pieces of rental property, I make jewelry as a hobby & found a place to sell it for me, I run across great bargains and re-sell on Ebay and I just last week purchased (for very little) the contents of a frame shop - about 200 paintings & 50 frames. Don't know exactly yet how I'm going to re-sell them but I have several ideas and know I'll figure it out.

To Patrick's point, there IS a lot of opportunity out there, you just need to find your niche.

Akemi - Yes to Me · 1 year ago

Great post! Too many personal finance blogs talk only about penny pinching saving ideas. It's important to be conscience of what we are doing with our resources, but when we focus on spending less, life just shrinks, and eventually, it becomes no fun to live. And we are here to live.
Thinking of making more money, on the other hand, is more fun, as you say. I am building my business, and adding a new service soon. For those of us who like challenges, this is the way to go!

deepali · 1 year ago

We think in similar ways, I think, which is why I love reading this blog. I really like how you embrace possibility, and while I'm not focused on income right now (my possibilities lie in other areas), you've at least gotten me thinking on it. I'd love to see more articles of this sort, including some more specific ones (and maybe some featuring other people's successes with wealth streaming?). I'm a sucker for a good case study... :)

Bill · 1 year ago

Great post, Steve!

Gold Coin Collector · 1 year ago

totally correct.

I turned my passion of coin collecting into an affiliate site to generate extra income every month.

I also run several blogs and together its enough money to pay rent and put food on the table - quite a good safety net to have.

home based · 1 year ago

Now, this is what I call an encouraging post. Been blog hopping today and I read quite a bit of discouragement from some blogs. Of course, I had to tell them that I am making more money now for lesser effort since I am already better skilled in ways of acquiring alternative income. Regards!

Writer's Coin · 1 year ago

I needed this advice a few months ago when I wasn't generating any alternative income. Now I've crossed the $100 dollar mark and shooting even higher.

Debt DownLoad · 1 year ago

This is a huge motivator. I love the idea of having several different streams of income each generating about 10% of the total. One of the things that many people focus on are the rock stars who make six digits per month from Adsense. There's an idea that this is easy. Compared to working as a salaryman it is easy, but it's also hard work. I enjoy sites like John Chow or Affiliate Confessor where the authors publish a report on the income streams their sites generate. Its not all adsense. If a bit of code on my site generates only $10 per month, that's $10 I wouldn't have otherwise. Of course the goal is to generate a lot more than that, but it all adds up at the end of the year.
Don't forget to put 30% aside for the KGB IRS...

move to portugal · 1 year ago

Great, great post Steve.
I have a trickle of blog income, only a trickle, however it will cover the cost of hosting for my new business website, which in turn should provide extra income.
:)

Mike · 1 year ago

I totally agree that increasing income is important. But I think people might be misled by the assertion "spend less than you earn is the wrong way to think!" You still have to spend less than you earn, or you're in trouble! Personally I think someone who truly desires financial freedom has to focus not only on earning more, but on spending less. There are two sides to the coin of financial success...

Steve (Brip Blap) · 1 year ago

@Mike: Well, I stick by that assertion for this reason: if you think of a way to save a $1, you benefit, true. If you think of a way to add $1 to your income you benefit again and again and again. I focused on getting my spending to a minimal level but after that I gave up on finding out ways to save. Spending time trying to save money on coupons, for example, is time I can spend working on new income streams.

I hear you. You can't continually increase spending AND income, but at the same time if I increase my expenses 5% per year and my income 10% per year, I'll get ahead in a hurry. If I cut spending 5% per year, and income remains steady, there's only so far I can cut spending. There are two sides, but one side is far, far more important.

Steve (Brip Blap) · 1 year ago

Great bunch of comments, by the way. My problogging gig isn't' providing me with the time to respond to every comment immediately - nothing like having a toddler and an infant in the house to disrupt your schedule - but I hope my post the day after this one answered a lot of the comments!

Shanti @ Antishay · 1 year ago

This post is right on track! I work at home doing multiple businesses and I love that my income is so diversified.

Thanks for this awesome post :)

GG · 1 year ago

Hmmn. Very, very interesting post. You're saying something that--you're right--we don't hear on PF blogs too often.

Off to think of ways I can earn additional income....

Steve (Brip Blap) · 1 year ago

@GG: A lot of PF blogs don't say it but a lot do: a lot of the blogs in my blogroll think that way!

Bill · 1 year ago

As the "Millionaire Next Door" shows, successful small businesspeople do indeed ruthlessly control consumption expenses (small house, used domestic car) to conserve capital to build their business.

I grew up in a family of 4 in nearly 6,000 sq.ft., and I know what that costs a household.

My family of 4 lives in under 1,500 sq.ft. and living is cheap and easy (paid off my house before age 40).

Think about how much free cash flow you would have with no mortgage.

Pink Golfer · 1 year ago

so how many income streams do you have apart from your job?

Tim Bennett · 12 months ago

I don't go to work! Yes I am very fortunate that I love what I do. I follow my passion and therefore I do not consider what I do work. I don't care if I work all day as I actually love it. It is just the way I am. If I love if - why would I want to take holidays or retire? In fact even when I do go away I still do my passion.

I am not some rich kid. I am just a normal guy in fact I didn't do any formal education past high school, but 30 years later I live on the other side of the world from my home town and live a great life because I made decisions to do things that I love doing rather than going to work.

I earn enough to sustain a nice lifestyle, but I am not a millionaire. I have my own small company (in fact 2) one providing laser special effects and the othe providing training to people who want to make more money. Maybe you can take a look at Millionaire Anonymous if you are interested.

My suggestion is...don't get a job. Get paid to do something you love and life will be much sweeter.

mttwokids · 9 months ago

Thanks for this article - I really enjoyed it and I think it has renewed my inspiration. I have been struggling for the past few months as far as my business is concerned, and am working on several different income sources. Thank you for putting it all together in such an eloquent manner.

Moneymonk · 6 months ago

..."extra work isn’t what anyone wants."


You can say that again, that's what keep middle class middle class

Steve @ bripblap · 6 months ago

@Moneymonk - "extra work" in the sense of "unnecessary work" isn't what keeps middle class middle class, at least in my opinion.

ptmoney · 6 months ago

Loved the post, Steve. I liked your point about making debt payoff quicker. Dave Ramsey talks much about beans and rice, but you don't have to think like that like you say. Flip it on its head and start bringing in some more money. I've also been able to do it with my blog and I'm getting ready to pay off our student loans. A debt we'd never considered paying early until the secondary income started coming in. Alternative streams help you do things you once thought weren't possible. I love mine.

Julie @ Write for eHow · 3 months ago

I love this article! Plan to bookmark it to save for the future. I especially love the point about not sneering at a $10/month stream. So true!

Tiranga · 2 months ago

I totally agree that increasing income is important. But I think people might be misled by the assertion "spend less than you earn is the wrong way to think!" You still have to spend less than you earn, or you're in trouble! Thanks for sharing such a nice post.

Steve @ bripblap · 2 months ago

@Tiranga: In all honesty, the "spend less than you earn is the wrong
way to think" is a bit of blog showmanship - I'm writing a "WHAT DID HE
SAY?!?!" headline and then explaining it. Of course you have to spend
less than you earn, but many people would argue that there are cases
when you shouldn't. Good example? Taking out student loans to get an
education, or getting a loan to start a business.

I'm glad you enjoyed the post!