Almost all of us own at least a few assets. But do you know that you can turn some of these assets into income-generating assets if you know how to use them or where to invest? In this article, learn more about how to generate income from your assets.
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Making good money is everyone’s dream. It’s no cakewalk, I get it, but you can find your way around if you put in some serious effort.
Sometimes, it’s just a matter of smart decisions and investments, which can lead to long-term financial stability.
Do you get the hint?
If you own something valuable, you may have guessed I'm talking about income-generating assets. Usually, people invest in the things they need to upgrade their lifestyles, such as cars, gadgets, property, and whatnot.
However, if you choose your assets according to their income-generating capabilities, you can earn considerably.
Not only can you pay off your initial investment, but you can even earn that amount over tenfold. The good thing is you can do most of these things online as well.
I talk about income a lot in my free course about side hustles and blogging, but what about keeping that income snowball going by reinvesting your money in assets that generate more income?
Table of Contents
List of Top Income-Generating Assets
Are you excited about earning some passive income? Here’s a list of the best income-generating assets to help you get started.
A High-Quality Computer System
In today’s world, you can’t think of making steady side income without being a little tech-savvy. The internet is full of opportunities, which makes your computer one of the best revenue-generating assets.
First of all, when purchasing a computer for this reason, make sure to go for the latest model and the fastest operating system. This way, you can diversify your range in the future.
There are many ways you can use your computer to earn money.
Blogging
Blogging is perhaps the most popular way to make money online. All you have to do is choose a profitable blogging niche, sign up with a reliable ad network, and get the cash flowing.
I know what you’re thinking: all these things are easier said than done. I'm not saying that you can become a successful blogger overnight. You won’t get anywhere without regular organic traffic on your page.
So what’s the trick? The mantra of getting good traffic is to create engaging, productive, and consistent content.
Doing that will earn you a handsome amount of money.
You cannot do any of this without a computer or laptop. So, the first step is to buy a good desktop, or if you already have one, you can go ahead and build your blog.
Alternatively, you can even create guest blogs or social media content for people. I used Bluehost to build a blog that earned over $10,000 per month of passive income.
If you join with my link, you'll get a FREE domain name along the way and hosting for as little as $3.95/month.
Freelancing
Freelancing is another remarkable way to double your income. Whether you’re a designer, writer, content creator, developer, or coding expert, you can land high-paying gigs on online freelance platforms.
You can find physical gigs like running errands or completing small tasks as a freelancer through your cell phone. You will need to install freelancing apps to get started.
However, a computer or laptop is necessary if you want to create virtual content, designs, codes, illustrations, etc.
You can do your nine to five job and complete tasks for your freelance clients from home. Your computer setup can prove to be the best income-producing asset.
Another good thing? If you want to develop skills, you can take free or paid courses offered by different sites like Udemy.
Polish your skills to become an expert, learn how to pitch for clients, and stay confident.
Start finding freelance jobs with FlexJobs or SolidGigs.
Renting Computer Power
You can rent out your computer power for some extra income. I know it sounds unbelievable, but you can actually get paid to leave your computer running idle, while you’re not using it.
It’s a legit way for earning some money on the side if you're familiar with the term distributed computing. Many companies and online brands need extra computing power to run their online portals and complete their essential operations. That’s where you come in.
You can find such companies from networks like MQL 5 or Honeygain and start renting out your computer’s CPU for them to use.
This way, you can use your computer for blogging or freelancing while you’re free, and rent it out to someone else while you’re busy. It’s a win-win situation.
If you want to earn from your computing power, our top pick is Honeygain where you'll earn money directly into your PayPal or bitcoin wallet.
Savings Accounts
Saving accounts are one of the top assets that generate income. However, with a savings account, you won’t make it big overnight.
You’ll have to be patient and satisfied with the monthly income you get on your savings.
To earn the maximum possible income from your savings account, you should choose a bank that pays good interest. Compare the rates carefully before you choose your bank.
While you won’t make much even if you choose the bank offering the highest interest rates, it’s still better than nothing.
You can pair your income-generating strategies by purchasing other assets and keeping a savings account. Nevertheless, a savings account is an excellent place to get started.
I use CIT Bank for savings accounts. They offer a better interest rate than the peers and it's pretty seamless to join and manage your accounts.
Peer-to-Peer Lending
Peer-to-peer lending is another popular income-generating asset nowadays. You see, there will never come a day (most likely) when people won’t need debt. Usually, consumers take up the debt they need through banks, in the form of credit cards.
With peer-to-peer lending, consumers can eliminate the bank from this scenario and get their loans directly from their peers. As an investor, you can invest your money into peer-to-peer lending and earn money through interest.
However, you’ll have to deal with a lot of risks. Let’s face it: where there’s money involved, there is always some sort of risk factor. Here, the biggest one is that your consumers may default on their loans.
An effective way to minimize this risk is by choosing a reliable peer-to-peer lending platform to invest your assets. Some platforms strictly scrutinize their consumers before they loan them your money, to make sure there are no investors.
Still, it does not eliminate the risk, but hey, there’s no fun in the investment game without it, right? Hope for the best!
Dividend Stocks
Dividend stocks are perhaps the most potent assets that make money for you. That doesn’t mean there’s no risk involved here. Nevertheless, you can earn a steady income if you know what you’re doing.
If you’re new to this, many companies have dividend-paying stocks in the market. It’s simple: you invest in these companies by buying their shares, and they pay their shareholders annually according to a specific percentage.
The most reliable stocks belong to companies like Procter and Gamble and Dover Corp. Such brands have been paying dividends to their stockholders for about 25-30 years, which makes their stocks a reliable asset.
The percentage of the dividend, which decides your annual earnings, depends entirely on the company policy. You can learn more about the stock market by being a part of it.
This way, you can always move your investment to a company that pays more. I own a bunch of dividend stocks in my Robinhood portfolio. I can add a small number of shares at my discretion with no transaction fees.
Want to try Robinhood? Join and get a free share of stock.
See Related: 10 Sites That Give Free Stocks
Real Estate Rental Properties
If you have the money for it, real estate rentals are like a breath of fresh air. All you have to do is buy a property; it can be anything from a house, apartment, office space, or even a room.
Next, find reliable tenants and enjoy the fat rent check you get every month.
Even if you don’t have the money, you can buy a house on mortgage, and use the rent to pay your installments.
However, here’s the catch: as an owner, you’re responsible for the condition of your property at all times. This means you’ll have to conduct constant repairs, maintenance checks, and worse, face defaulting tenants.
I understand if that doesn’t float your boat. In this case, you can go to sites like Airbnb. They let you rent out your property at your discretion. You don’t even have to buy a new property; you can just rent out a spare room and earn money through an existing asset. It’s that convenient.
Certificate of Deposit (CDs)
CDs are an example of low-scale investment assets. While they pay very little interest compared to other high-scale assets, the money is enough to give you some comfort in your time of need.
They work in a way similar to savings accounts. Only here, you cannot access your money anytime you want. Instead, you can only take it after a specific amount of time, decided beforehand.
Look at it this way. It’s like you’re paying the bank a loan from your investment money for a set amount of time. When the time is up, you’ll get the money back along with interest.
CDs are a relatively safe way to invest your money, but inflation can affect your earnings, so you should consider that.
REITs
I cannot list generating assets without the mention of REITs. REITs are real estate investment trusts, which are operated by companies that own multiple real estate properties.
The benefit of going with REITs is that you don’t have to be concerned about the maintenance and repairs that come with owning a property.
Similarly, you can work on your real estate portfolio and add apartments, houses, and corporate buildings without actually buying multiple properties.
The best part is yet to come. You see, the law mandates that these REITs distribute about 90% of their earnings to their shareholders. This ensures that you’ll get a steady passive income every month.
Bonds
You will also come across bonds when you search for assets to make money. Bonds work in almost the same way as CDs. What makes them different? Instead of depositing money in banks, as you do with CDs, you are giving it to government projects and corporations.
A few examples of income-generating bonds include municipal bonds, treasury bonds, and corporate bonds.
Bonds are a more stable option if you want passive income as compared to the stock market.
However, the more risk you take, the greater your chances are for higher returns. But if you’re someone who believes in ‘better safe than sorry,’ bonds are the ultimate income-generating asset for you.
See Related: How to Invest Small Amounts of Money
A Small Business Setup
Small businesses can be income-generating assets. They give a vast range of options to choose from and produce a considerable income every month.
On the downside, you’ll have to invest quite a lot if you’re planning to earn from a small business. Your initial setup will require hard work and hustle, along with, of course, your hard-earned investment.
You can search for businesses that are popular or are in demand in your areas, such as car washes, laundromats, book shops, gaming cafes, or even food trucks.
Once you have a vision and money to back it up, you can earn a steady income and a whole lot of self-satisfaction through your own startup.
Besides, you don’t necessarily have to work for the business yourself. You can hire people to do the work for you while you reap the benefits.
See Related: 70+ Ways to Make Extra Money
Online Assets
Did you know that US citizens spend billions on online products every year? And the figure only goes up. If you create an online asset that offers a solution people need, you can get a steady income stream online.
You can also develop online courses or organize webinars, imparting your knowledge and skills to people all over the world.
For example, if you’re good at tech, you can make webinars regarding computer repairs servicing. The best way is to create your own website advertising your online products.
You can even charge a membership fee for visitors wishing to access the full information you offer.
Once your website starts getting regular organic traffic, you can place affiliate links on your site. Or you can even join in with an ad network such as Google AdSense.
As with blogging, ads can help you generate passive income through your online assets.
Online assets are easy to acquire because you don’t have to worry about finding physical space or worry about logistics. You just need some time, your skills, and motivation to get started.
Here is how I use niche blogs to earn over six-figures online.
Royalties
If you’re an artist with a fan following on social media, you can turn your artwork into assets and earn through royalties. You might not know that most of the songs we hear in restaurants or on the radio are patented and copyrighted.
The original singer earns a specific amount every time the song is played anywhere. One of the most common examples is the famous ‘Happy Birthday’ song.
Have you ever wondered why restaurants don’t play that song anymore? It’s because the writer got it copyrighted back in 1935.
The same can be done with books, paintings, and other pieces of art. Once you create them, you can charge people whenever they use or recreate them.
See Related: How to Buy Royalties
Timber Farms
In this case, money does grow on trees. If you own some land and are willing to build an asset, you should consider creating a timber farm.
All you’ll need is good soil and a whole lot of patience. Valuable timber will take almost 15-20 years to mature. But after that, the profit is unimaginable.
Let’s look at some stats. You can purchase good timberland for around $100 to $500 per acre. After your trees are fully grown, you can sell the same land at about $1000-10000 per acre.
In the case of high-demand trees like the Black Oak and Walnut, you can get a staggering $100,000 per acre. That’s because they’re always in demand for furniture.
Besides that, if you want some fast money, you can start harvesting nuts from walnut and chestnut trees in 1-2 years and sell them for a profit.
Sooner or later, you’ll get the value for your investment.
Race Horses
You must’ve heard about investing in horse racing stakes, but have you ever thought of owning actual racehorses?
I know, owning professional racing breeds is for the elite, but you can own a horse in partnership and earn passive income whenever your horse wins a race.
You can check out the price ranges from different racing horse stables to get an idea of how much you’ll spend. Usually, you can partially own a horse in syndication for $500-$1000.
Once you’re a registered owner, you’ll get a percentage from the prize money if your horse wins, and a cut from the stakes.
See Related: How to Invest in a Company
Annuities
An annuity is just like purchasing a bond or CD, but with an insurance company. Mainly, you purchase an annuity by transferring some funds to a company. The company will eventually pay your investment back, along with the decided percentage of interest.
What makes annuities great for retirement plans is that you can choose to receive monthly payments for 10 years, 20 years, or for a lifetime.
However, you cannot cash out all your funds whenever you want.
Nevertheless, if you have the right amount of money to invest, an annuity is an asset that can create a reliable source of passive income.
Your Own Product
Last on my list of income-generating assets, investment is an great way to turn your passion and skills into a profitable asset. Your product doesn’t need to be a physical one that requires designing or carpentry skills. You can create virtual products as well, such as e-books or online courses.
Digital information products are in demand these days, as most of the people want to broaden their learning.
If you think you’ve got the skills or expertise that people might be looking for, create your product, develop an excellent marketing strategy, and wait for the cash to flow in.
Remember, unlike real estate and savings accounts, this asset doesn’t only require your money. You’ll have to invest your time, effort, and hard work to keep your product in demand.
The good news is, you can create a product even if your budget is tight and produce passive income. The key here is marketing, so keep that in mind.
See Related: Best Robinhood Alternatives to Consider
Final Words
That concludes my list of the most powerful income-generating assets you can go for. To get more in-depth information, sign up for my free 5-day email course.
Let’s face it: no one wants to work grueling nine to five jobs all their life. That’s why planning to create a steady income stream is essential, so you can be relaxed and concern-free for your future.
There are many ways you can achieve that, but nothing beats a valuable asset that brings in money with minimal effort.
However, before investing your resources anywhere, make sure to conduct complete due diligence about the platform or company to avoid falling into a scam.
What are your favorite income-generating assets?