6 Best Ways To Make Hundreds in Passive Income During a Snowy Winter
Written by
Angela Mae
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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If you’ve been feeling like the winter months drag on, you’re not alone. And if you’re thinking now’s a good time to start earning a bit of passive income, you might be right.
Even if you’re juggling a full-time job and all of life’s other responsibilities, you could still earn a few hundred bucks without ever leaving your house. Considering how much snow certain parts of the country are getting right about now, that’s probably a good thing.
Here are some of the best ways to earn hundreds of dollars in passive income during a snowy winter.
Room Rentals
Perhaps one of the easiest ways to earn passive income if to rent out a spare room — and not just on sites like Airbnb.
“An often-overlooked way to earn a passive income is by renting a spare bedroom to a roommate,” said Matt Hutchinson, global communications director at SpareRoom. “And one of the busiest months of the year for rental moves is January — right in the middle of winter.”
According to Hutchinson, the average room rental in the U.S. is $1,028 per month. This is about $12,336 a year before taxes.
“Renting out a room can be a great way to earn extra cash and requires relatively little input beyond the initial setup and researching your responsibilities as a landlord,” he said. “In many cases, you can bring in much more than you would through taking a second job.”
Airbnb Rental
In a similar vein, you could also put up a spare bedroom, guesthouse or vacation home on a site like Airbnb. Earnings vary, of course, but you could bring in several hundred dollars or more a month that way.
According to Airbnb’s latest data, hosts earn an average of $14,000 a year — that’s a little over $1,000 a month. There are certain expenses, like taxes and cleaning, to consider. But even with those, that’s still easily a few hundred bucks a month.
Dividend Investing
For an even more passive way to earn extra cash, you could try investing in stocks that pay dividends.
“Think of it as planting seeds that develop into normal profits streams,” said James Francis, CEO of Paradigm Asset Management. “Companies that pay dividends are regularly solid and reliable, offering you with steady payouts even if the marketplace is unpredictable.”
Sell Old Items
Even passive income sometimes requires a bit of time and effort at the start. If you’ve got a lot of items you no longer need or use, and that are in good condition, you could earn a few hundred dollars by selling them online.
“The cold winter months are the perfect time to clean out cabinets and closets,” said Dawn-Marie Joseph, founder of Estate Planning & Preservation. “Use an online app to sell unused items, clothes and shoes. This could be a great way to create passive income.”
Create and Sell Digital Products
If you’re creative and don’t mind putting in a bit of time, you can always create digital products like e-books or online courses.
You’ll probably need to use a platform or, if you have enough of an online presence, you can use your existing audience to start generating sales. Once you’ve got the ball rolling, you can sit back and keep earning from what you’ve created.
How much you can earn depends on things like the product type and platform. Say you decide to publish an eBook on Amazon. Right now, Kindle Direct Publishing offers royalty rates of 60%. This means you get 60% of whatever your books sell for. A $10 book will net you $6. Sell 200 of these a month, and you’ll get $120.
Course creation may be more profitable in some cases. According to the latest Teach:Able data, some people who create online courses, digital downloads and other online content like this can earn $3,000 a month. It just depends.
Alternative Investing
If you have a bit of capital, alternative investing could be another option for passive income. According to Francis, some of the best options here include real estate crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending.
Each of these comes with its own risks and potential returns, so always do your research and weigh your options carefully before picking one over the other — or any at all.
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