“How to make passive income in your 20s?” – Have you ever thought about making money from home, part time or even full time? If you have, you’ve come to the right place.
I earned my first dollar from a passive income stream in my early 20s. So I made up my mind to explore various passive income streams like blogging, investment, and much more effective ways to boost my financial growth.
As somebody who values independence, I am always on the lookout for passive income ideas. In fact, I’m happy that I’ve found some really good ones and would love to share them with you all.
How to make passive income in your 20s? – 41 TRIED & TRUE IDEAS
You can make passive income in your 20s just by using your smartphone. There are many passive income streams like – ebooks, blogging, photography, YouTube and much more exciting opportunities to earn well.
Let me pitch some easy ideas for you to make passive income in your 20s.
This is me, jotting down ideas. I don’t want to miss any ideas so I’m practicing to note my ideas. Well, sometimes a simple idea will become a million-dollar idea.
41 SURE SHOT WAYS to Make Passive Income in Your 20s
Well, if you are ready to put initial efforts then all the doors will open for you to make passive income. Take simple steps while thinking about how to make passive income in your 20s as a beginner.
1. Know how can Pinterest be your PASSIVE INCOME source
A few years ago I was not aware of Pinterest but now I’ve realized that millions of people around the world use Pinterest. So I advise grabbing this opportunity to earn more money.
A Practical way to make money on Pinterest
On Pinterest, you can sell your own products like art and crafts even you have a great opportunity to sell affiliate products on Pinterest. Well, you can prepare a kickass strategy to make money on Pinterest.
This is my Pinterest profile. Here you can see that I’ve 700k+ views this month. So you can also build a great number of audiences and make passive income on Pinterest.
2. Publish Ebooks without any Fees and EARN MONEY PASSIVELY
I have earned pennies by selling e-books. If you invest some time to create an e-book, you can sell it online. It needs initial efforts to write your e-book. As I have earned money from selling e-books. I would like to share how I earned money by selling my own ebook.
Step by step guide to sell ebook and make money
| Step 1 – Choosing the right topic |
| Step 2 –Create a PDF |
| Step 3 –Create an attractive cover page |
| Step 4 –Decide a reasonable price |
| Step 5 –Choose the best online platform to publish your ebook |
I was preparing for competitive exams. So I was reading a newspaper and I was aware of all the current affairs. Then I created the current affairs ebook. Instamojo is the online platform that I used to publish my e-books. I signed up and listed my e-books in the digital goods category without any fees.
3. Write blogs to make PASSIVE INCOME in your 20s
When it comes to passive income, blogging can not be ignored. If you are passionate to write articles, blogging is an opportunity to earn passive income. Here you can know how Harsh Agarwal is earning more than $550K per year from blogging. He is the top blogger in India.
How I’m making money from blogging?
In the beginning, I started blogging from a free platform. But now I’ve launched the current blog – FRUGAL BEAT on WordPress. Now I signed up for Google Adsense to earn money from my blog. There are various ways to monetize your blog. For example- affiliate marketing, sponsorships, advertisement etc.
If your writing skill is good, you must try blogging to earn passive income.
I’m a professional blogger and founder of FRUGAL BEAT. I like to share my knowledge and real-life experience of frugal living through my writings.
4. Sell Online Courses or Educational Courses to Make Money
Generation z has so many new passive income opportunities such as YouTube. Now everyone is switching from offline to online platforms. Even students are looking for online courses/videos to learn new things. One can earn really a good income by creating online courses or videos.
YouTube is a very popular platform to share video content and earn. You can check out 19 top YouTubers who have millions of subscribers and earning millions of dollars.
My experience of exploring online platform to make passive income
Do you know even I created 4 YouTube channels with different niches. To be honest, the first 3 channels were failed. And finally, the 4th channel was good! So, I suggest you to have patience when it comes to making passive income. I’ve realized that I can’t earn immediately it takes time.
Well, Udemy is also another popular platform to earn passive income. Create online video courses and sell them on Udemy. You will get paid every-time when anyone purchases your online course.
These are all my YouTube channels where I experimented with them as passive income sources. You can see that I’ve a few subscribers for my 2 channels where I uploaded less video content. So consistency also matters to make passive income from the YouTube channel.
5. Increase your Passive Income by Investing in Mutual Funds
As I told earlier that one can earn passive income either by investing ‘time’ or ‘money’. But everyone can not invest their time to earn passive income. If you ask me how to make passive income in your 20s through investing money? Then my simple answer is “a mutual fund”.
How I’ve started to invest money and earning passive income?
When I got my first job and started to get the salary I opened my mutual fund account. And I started to invest some part of my salary in a mutual fund. So I feel a mutual fund is a good option for me to earn passive income.
But this depends on your risk-taking capacity. So if you are ready to take money risks then you can opt for a mutual fund. This will help you to build your wealth.
This is how I invest money in mutual funds by using an app. You can see that I’ve chosen some ‘SIPs’ and some ‘One Time investment’ options to make passive income from mutual funds.
6. By creating and selling music you can earn money
There are many websites where you can signup. If you create music then visit such websites where you can sell your music. License your music and start to earn. This is also a good source of passive income.
Where to sell your music and earn money?
To start making money from music visit various online websites. For example- AudioJungle.net, Pond5 etc. If anyone purchases your music you will get a commission on these platforms. So, create some music and visit various stock music platforms and sell.
This is me playing a keyboard. I like playing a keyboard or a piano. Even I’ve created some background music for my YouTube videos.
7. Affiliate marketing can be a good source of income for you in the 20s
In simple words, without creating a product you can sell other’s products and earn money. This is known as affiliate marketing. Here you can earn in 2 ways i.e. Pay Per Click and Pay Per Sale. But most of the affiliate programs offer pay per sale. I have also some experience in affiliate marketing. I tried out other affiliate programs also like Amazon, Flipkart, Cluelinks etc.
Cluelinks is an online platform where you can get many brands, many products. All the popular affiliate programs are available on Cluelinks. Personally, I’m using Cluelinks and Amazon affiliate programs. These are huge and popular companies and one can earn good passive income. First, you need to sign up for the affiliate programs. After sing up, you will be able to sell products by sharing links. And earn a commission on each sale.
Earn recurring revenue through affiliate marketing
I have come across some affiliate programs which can generate recurring revenue. I must say this is the best option for passive income. Here you will earn money every time when someone renews their subscription. This will help you to earn more and build your wealth in the 20s.
Suppose if you are a broker and help me to get a one rented house. Then whenever I pay my monthly rent to the owner of the house, you will get a commission from that house owner. This is called as recurring revenue. Like this, there are many online opportunities to earn recurring revenue.
8. Create vector images and start to make money
As a blogger, I also use vector images to create a graphic for my blogs. There are many other bloggers like me who need such vector images. So you can create vector images and upload them on stock photo websites where you can make passive income.
When any blogger or YouTuber or even magazine publishers download such vector images by paying money then you will earn commission every time.
Here in the first row, you can see 4 vector images that are created by me. These are my own images which I created as vector images by using some tools. Then you can see other examples of vector images in the second row.
9. Publish your own book and earn royalties
Have you ever thought to become an author and make money? Well, this is a great idea to publish your own book. This can generate a huge passive income.
There are so many good authors whose books are popular worldwide. You can also write and sell books to earn money. Even I’ve read some popular money-related books which are very useful-
| Rich Dad Poor Dad |
| Think and Grow Rich |
| The Richest Man in Babylon |
| Learn to Earn |
These are all written by successful people in the world. You can also earn high royalties by publishing your book. There are some opportunities where you can publish your book for free. Some of them are- Scholargram, BooksFundr, White Falcon Publishing Solutions etc.
This is my desk, I love reading books. Money related books helped me to understand the importance of saving money, investments and passive income.
10. Start making money by teaching about gardening and plantations
If you are one of those who like plantation and gardening then share your knowledge and experiences with other people and make passive income. You can create your own blog for this or else start with a YouTube channel. Also there are so many ways to make money from growing plants.
If you are a working person then you can make YouTube videos on weekends and upload. And if you are a married woman and looking for any opportunity to make money from home then don’t lose out on this opportunity.
11. You can make passive income by making designs on t-shirts
At the age of 23, I was looking for new passive income ideas and I figured out some profitable ideas. I’ve come across some websites online which provide the opportunity to earn pennies by creating designs on t-shirts.
Well, you can also easily get such websites where you can sign up and create designs on t-shirts. You don’t need to worry about printing the design and delivery of the product, those websites will take care of all these things.
12. Make passive income from social media
Millions of people are active on social media like Facebook, Instagram and much more. Even I’ve seen that young students are more active on social media. In fact, I feel that students are wasting their time on social media. So instead of wasting time now, you can think of making passive income on social media.
You can create your own social media page and make passive income from affiliate programs. Know about 44 high paying affiliate programs. Also, you can engage more people on your social media page and apply for sponsorships. This is how by doing smart work you can make money on social media.
13. Share gift ideas and earn passive income
I really get confused while picking up gifts to present my friends and families. While choosing any gift I check gift ideas on the internet. So there are so many people like me who look for gift ideas on the internet.
Well, if you are good at choosing the right gifts then I must say that you have one good skill. So just start to make passive income by sharing new gift ideas. Create your own blog and make categories like kids’ gifts, and which type of gift ideas will be amazing for people in the 20s.
These are all the gifts that I’ve received from my loved ones. All these gifts are very close to my heart. well, I really loved the book Atomic Habits, which is gifted by my mentor. This book is helping me to transform my life. Like this think fresh ideas of gifting and start to make passive income.
14. Ask questions and earn money
Recently I’ve seen that many people are making money just by asking questions online. Well, here I’m talking about a very popular Q & A online platform Quora. There is a program which is launched by Quora where you can just post questions and earn money.
But for this first, you have to build good followers and be more engaged on this platform so that you can get access to such programs where you can make passive income. Even I’ve an engaging community on Quora, you can join.
15. Click photos from your smartphone and earn money
You can click pictures from your smartphone and make money by uploading them on stock photo websites. You can choose a particular topic like nature or cats or dogs or any other topic. Then click pictures related to your niche.
You don’t need to be a professional photographer for this. There are many websites like iStock, Getty images etc. So you can sign up there and make money. When people buy and download your images you will earn a commission every time.
16. Sell handmade jewellery online
When I was working as a clerk at the office I found that my colleague was doing a side hustle. Along with the job, she was selling her handmade pieces of jewellery on Amazon. This is how she was making money from multiple sources of income.
Even once my friend gifted me the handmade jewellery which was created by her. So if you have this type of skill of making handmade jewellery then take your business online and start to make passive income in the near future.
17. Turn your hobbies into a profession to make money
I feel that in this 21st-century one can easily turn any hobbies into profession. Well, this is so amazing feeling that one’s hobby and profession both are the same. So if you have any hobbies like playing the guitar, drawing, painting and any other hobby then you can use the internet to make money from your hobbies.
For example, if you are good at painting and drawing then create your social media page and start taking orders. As your business start to grow on social media then you will also get sponsorships that will increase your revenue.
18. Sell affiliate products related to sports
I’ve seen that some youngsters are passionate about particular sports. Well, I’m not that good at sports! But in my school days sometimes I used to play cricket and volleyball. And still today sometimes I play badminton. So if you are also a sports lover then create a blog and start to encourage teenagers and youngsters to play outdoor games.
According to the research that is done by Rohnda Clements nowadays children spend less time on outdoor games. So as a sports lover you can motivate youngsters to play outdoor games. And also share the benefits of playing a particular sport through your articles. You can really earn well by sports affiliate products like cricket kit, sports shoes and much more through your blog.
19. Give tips to crack competitive exams in the 20s
After completion of my graduation, I was also preparing for competitive exams. And realized that there are lakhs of youngsters who are preparing for various competitive exams. And also they are wasting their money on unwanted books and coaching classes instead of saving money in the 20s. So if you have already cracked any competitive exam then guide others. In this way, you can also earn pennies.
Share your journey and experiences along with techniques to crack competitive exams. You can create your own YouTube channel for this.
20. By translating the language you can earn well
Well, even though this idea is not a fully passive income idea. But Just by working for a few hours you can make money. There are many people who want to translate their content into different languages that may be an audio or an article. So you can find such tasks on freelance job websites. So know the different types of opportunities to make money in your 20s.
21. Start making money by teaching grammar
One of my relatives teaches English to kids and from her tuition classes, she earns money. I’ve seen some married women who make money by working at home. So there are tremendous opportunities to make money.
If you are good at English grammar then start to teach grammar classes online. You can create your own YouTube channel or else you can create English courses on Udemy. Also, I suggest creating a social media page and start to post daily some new English vocals with examples. By doing this your followers will grow and you will earn more money.
22. Earn money by becoming a master of effective communication skill
In my school days, I was not at all good at communication. My teachers were advising me to improve my communication skills. Well, in my 20s I’ve realized that to even get a simple job one must impress an interviewer with effective communication. I’ve also come across the research which is done by four experts -Beatrice Donati, Alession Ferrari, Pala Spoletini. The abstract of this research proves that there 9 main communication mistakes which student do often.
So if you are someone who is good at communication then I suggest starting your own YouTube channel and bring an impact on the youngsters’ lives by teaching them effective communication skills. Thereby you can monetize your videos to earn money.
23. Share your poetries online to make money
I’ve seen that many people write poetry and stories as a hobby. But if you have this talent then you can make money through this talent. Well, there are many ways to use your talent and make a passive income. You can publish your own poetry ebook or on YouTube, you can create a poetry channel.
24. Make passive income by creating stock videos
Stock videos are similar to stock photography. You might have seen that many YouTubers use some short video clips in their video content. And even bloggers and companies also use such video clips. So you can create such short video clips and upload them on stock videos websites. When YouTubers or bloggers or companies buy those video clips then you will earn a commission.
25. Join reseller programs to make passive income
There are many online reseller programs, which are the best options to make money passively. You have to figure out such reseller programs and register your name. Some reseller program allows you to decide your own profit margin.
Let me help you to bring more clarity about this by giving an example. If you the product price is 100 INR and if you sell decide that you will share that product for 150 INR then you will earn 50 INR. So this is how you can decide your own profit margins. But in some reseller programs, you will earn just a fixed percentage of commission. Recently I’ve seen that Instamojo has launched reseller programs where you can resell and make money.
26. Publish art and craft books
There are so many people who are interested in art and craft. People search for books to learn art and craft. Well, you can find a good book which teaches you about how to make different types of teddy bears.
In this same way if you are interested in any art, DIY or craft then you can also bullish your book and earn money. Also, you can think about publishing an ebook as well, with zero investment.
27. Guide how to handle criticisms in the 20s
As I’m in my 20s I personally feel that one who learns to handle criticisms at this age will really grow well in career and life. But I’ve seen that not all people can handle criticisms well. And I’ve also seen that there are so many search queries on Google like ‘how to handle criticisms’.
If you are someone who handles criticism sensibly then you can guide so many youngsters. Well, this topic may look very simple and small but you can cover this topic deeply. Through your own blog or through YouTube you can guide people to handle criticisms at the workplace and in personal life.
28. Create a YouTube channel and take interviews
Well, there are so many success stories and take charge stories in this world but nobody knows them. There are youngsters who are doing social services and they can be the inspiration to so many other youngsters. So start to figure out such people and take interviews on your own YouTube channel.
By this, you can motivate other youngsters to lead a meaningful life. Bring such untold stories which will be the inspiration to youngsters. And if you really bring an impact on youngsters’ life through your YouTube channel then you will also grow as a YouTuber and make money.
29. Sell fashion designs online
If you can illustrate fashion designs then just by working for a few hours you can make money. I have found that there are freelancing websites where people look for fashion designers to illustrate designs. So you can sign up for such websites and get work.
30. Share ideas to make the best out of waste
Using all the resources without wasting them is part of frugal living. As I am interested in art and craft I have also created some crafts out of waste. There are also so many books related to making the best out of waste, you can read more such books and innovate more.
You can create the best crafts out of waste and make money by selling them. You can also share the best out of waste ideas on YouTube and make money by monetizing those videos.
31. Know how to use Instagram to make money
Recently I have come across news on TV, which was about the Instagram page. That Instagram page is all about ‘cat pictures’. Yes, just posting the pictures of cats that person is earning a lot of money on Instagram. To be honest I was just shocked when they revealed their income.
So you can also think something unique like this and starts to make a passive income on Instagram. Well, if you choose a particular niche and start to post pictures on Instagram then people who are interested in that particular topic will start to follow your page. When you have more followers and engagement you will get more sponsorships.
32. Guide youngsters to overcome mobile addiction
According to research done by Mustafa Ozkan and Betul Solmaz, mobile addiction is affecting the life of the generation Z. As I also belong to gen Z, sometimes even I felt that I was getting addicted to my phone. But somehow I’m balancing the time which I spend on mobile. So mobile addiction has become one of the main problems among youngsters.
Even I have found that youngsters search queries on Google like ‘how to overcome mobile addiction’. So as a youngster you can help all other youngsters to overcome this problem. You can particularly choose the niche about mobile addiction and write articles about it. Give practical solutions to this problem. Thereby you can monetize your articles to make passive income.
33. Share ideas about plastic alternatives and make money
This universe, this earth is a really beautiful place to live in. But it’s our responsibility to save the resources and also not to harm nature. Well, nowadays most of the countries are taking action to avoid the usage of single-use plastic, which is very harmful to nature and even for health.
So in this situation, people are figuring out new ways and alternatives for plastic. So you can create your own blog and share ideas to avoid usage of plastics. And there are so many affiliate products to monetize your blog and make money. You can share ideas like how to make your kitchen and workplace plastic-free.
34. Create kids DIY YouTube channel
Kids love exploring new things and I’ve seen that nowadays kids watch art and craft videos more on YouTube. Even my niece who is 11 years old always asks me to play craft videos on YouTube. So you can create a DIY YouTube channel for kids and teach kids to create a new type of crafts.
Well, if you are a stay at home mom then you can easily explore this passive income idea and also involve your kids to make art and crafts.
35. Write fiction stories and start to earn
I usually don’t read fiction stories. But today I was reading some answers on Quora and suddenly one particular answer grabbed my attention. That answer was penned so beautifully and that was a fiction story. Then when I visited the profile of that author I found that his novels are gaining popularity and he is also making money from his stories. He is even getting offers from TV shows to write for them.
So if you write stories then don’t keep them with yourself. Just publish them on any platform or even create your own blog to publish them. You never know how opportunities knock your door and your passive income stream will be waiting for you.
36. Review mobile apps to make money
There are millions of mobile applications. But still, people find it difficult to choose particular apps. Also, one may not able to trust some apps. So as a user you can use mobile apps and share your reviews about those apps on YouTube. Once your YouTube channel will be popular then app creators will approach you to review their apps and approach for sponsorships. This is how you will be making money from this idea.
37. Share market is a source of passive income
Here I don’t want to misguide you by telling you to invest in the share market. Personally, I’ve not invested practically in the share market. But I’m in a learning phase.
So I suggest you to take the help of your financial adviser to invest in the share market. There are also share market brokers who have deep knowledge about the share market. Approach such brokers to earn more passive income by investing wisely.
38. Invest your money in a good business
Well, I’ve completed my graduation in the commerce stream. I’ve heard about silent business partners. By being a silent partner in business by investing money one can earn passive income. There are some new business’ which looks for private investors.
If you get an opportunity to invest in good business, grab the opportunity. It is very risky to invest in a business. But with more risk, one can also get the high potential to earn more passive income. So, you must choose a good business here.
39. Create your own mobile app and earn
If you are interested in creating mobile applications then you can earn money. Many people have created apps and earning millions. On Apple’s iOS platform and on Google play store millions of apps are available. Create a gaming app or any valuable app.
You can sell your app on the ‘app store’ and earn residual income. To list your app on the Google play store you need to pay an initial amount. But this is very minimum charges. After this, you can list more than one app and earn income.
40. Real estate can be a good option for you to earn extra
You may know about this, real estate is the oldest passive income stream. Crack a good deal by purchasing land which you can sell later. Here you must look for a good deal which provides you with a good income. You can even invest in farmland which helps to generate more passive income.
41. Semi-Passive income ideas to earn extra bucks
What is a semi-passive income idea? Well, the semi-passive income idea requires little maintenance. Here you can’t just put initial efforts and forget about it. You need to pay a little attention to your semi-passive business. Let me elaborate on a few ideas here-
| Rental services for passive income
1. Renting a room. 2. Rent out your car. 3. Rental service of furniture. 4. Rental service of dresses like a bridal dress, groom’s dress etc. |
Rental service is semi-passive business idea where you can earn passive income. You can opt for various rental services here. Let me share some real-life examples regarding how to make passive income in your 20s.
I have a neighbor who earns passive income by renting out a room for a student. And one of my relatives rents out his car. From this, he has earned a huge amount of passive income. Now he has bought one more new car. This is the power of passive income. You can also opt for any rental services like this. I have seen that people are renting out their furniture, computers etc. With this, they are earning well.
Make more money passively
Passive income ideas will help you to have multiple sources of Income. So you can your time efficiently to build wealth in your 20s.
One must have a little patience while thinking about how to make passive income in your 20s. Some approaches require upfront money investment and some require upfront time. Analyze your strengths and start to earn passive income.
