When it comes to money, more is often better and this also applies to your income streams. Having multiple income streams is the only guaranteed way of achieving financial progression. Now, a common question is, “which streams do I need or which are most lucrative?”. Well, keep reading and you will find out!
Stream #1: Employment income
At one point or another in our lives, we’ve been told the following, “you need to go to school, get good grades so you can get a good job” and while more and more people are veering away from this traditional life path, it still doesn’t take away the relevance of getting a good education and subsequently a good job.
Firstly, employment income is a kind of income that we get from our day-to-day job, popularly called a “salary” or if you’re from the UK “wages”. This income could be paid daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly depending on your employer, whichever it is, it doesn’t take away the importance it plays in your quest to be financially successful.
Now, as you should, you’re probably wondering why this source of income is important and I’ll tell you why. Employment income is very important as it gives you a sense of stability; it is fixed and paid regularly (typically every two weeks). It is also the most predictable income amongst the 3 incomes I am going to be sharing with you here. Predictability is important when it comes to income because when you know you will have money coming in every two weeks, it allows you to do things like budget your money, plan for future expenditures while also allowing you to ease your financial stress. Of course, jobs are becoming less secure these days but they are still generally a reliable means of making an income.
Not to mention, employment income is generally the easiest way to start making money especially after you finish your post-secondary education. You see, most people graduate college with a ton of student debt and by starting to make money right away with employment income, you will dramatically cut down how long you carry this debt, as long as you’re using that new income source to pay down debts that is! So especially in the short term, having employment income offers you the ability to generate income and pay off those pesky debts as soon as possible!
Moving on, employment income also allows you to gain access to debt making you eligible for mortgage loans, lines of credit and other forms of debt. When you have a job, you become a more trusted borrower in the banks eyes and as you know, debt is a great tool that can be used to buy assets that can increase your cash flow month after month.
Finally, having a job allows you to meet new people and start to build your network. When you start your career, chances are your professional network won’t be that mature just yet but over time you will likely connect with people of all working backgrounds and each new person you meet can be an opportunity to learn and grow. Not to mention, the individuals you meet can often act as aids in your quest to find new work in the future therefore they can become valuable allies in your quest to increase the employment income you’re aiming to earn.
So overall, employment income acts as the foundation of your income. It is secure, timely and by being employed you allow yourself the ability to gain valuable experience and connections that will pay you tenfold in the future!
Stream #2: Internet income
Ahh, the world wide web, often described as a global village, is the best description of the internet there is. As many people know, the internet has opened up a new lane for making a ton of money and for this reason, internet income is the second type of income stream everybody needs.
In fact, it’s not surprising that some of the the richest men in the world made their fortunes with the help of the internet. Think Jeff, Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and the list goes on. In effect, the internet is limitless in its financial potential and we all must jump into this trend and make some money online if we are looking to be financially successful in our own right. One of the major advantages of earning from the internet is that there are a ton of ways to make income passively. That is, you don’t have to be there actively to make money from the digital assets you have set up online. Once you’ve set up everything, you can mostly just go to bed and the money will be made automatically for you. All you’d just need to do is periodically maintain whatever platform you have, whether it’s a website or social media account or even your online software or tool. It also lets you work from anywhere and makes it easier to network with people all over the world.
Now, I know how I touted networking as being a huge benefit of being employed however the rise of social media has really made networking way easier than it has ever been before. With the rise of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn amongst other platforms, networking has been made as easy as hitting the follow button on your screen, typing a message to people half a world away and them receiving the message instantly. These apps and platforms have totally revolutionized interaction with customers, colleagues, friends and this in short has expanded the networks we can all tap into.
Now, you may be wondering how you can get started making money online, even if you’re not a tech guru. To help guide you, I’ll share with you a couple ways you can earn money on the internet today.
For starters, there’s freelancing. Basically, freelancing is where an individual works for themselves, as opposed to for a company. While freelancers do take on provisional labor for organizations and associations, they are at last self-employed. Freelancers are not considered “staff” by the organizations they work for, yet rather “contractors”. To put this simply, a freelancer is a self-employed person that offers services for money. Now there are a lot of gigs you can do online as a freelancer and they range by skills and difficulty. If you’re just getting started in the freelance space and have yet to find clients to work for, don’t worry, you’re in luck. There are many website out there where you can offer up your services to clients and start to build long-term relationships with them so that you can make your internet income a reliable one. If you’re just starting out, check out websites like Fiverr, Upwork and Freelancer.com.
Now, another major advantage of working on the internet is that it can easily be paired with your 9 to 5 job. Generally, you can work online at all times of the day so you can integrate this work around your 9–5 schedule. One major advantage of freelancing is that it gives you the freedom you need to still keep your regular 9–5 job while offering your services and making a lot of money during your free time. The major downside of freelancing is that you cannot make passive money with it. However, it is a good way to get started in making money online.
Now, if you are looking for a more passive approach to making internet income, an option you have is affiliate marketing. This is basically selling other people’s products for a percentage of the total sales. And the best part of this is, when you sell some product that clients pay monthly for, that is to say, recurring monthly payments, you’d get paid every single month for just referring a client once, and whether you do anything after that or not you get paid regardless, every month. Sounds great right?
Typically to get started making money through affiliate marketing, you’re going to need a platform that gains traffic on a routine basis. This can be a YouTube channel, a blog etc. and you will effectively pitch products and services from other people’s companies in the hopes that customers will use your affiliate links en route to making a purchase. While this is passive in nature, building up your platform may not be so just keep this in mind before diving into this internet income model.
Overall, there are a ton of ways to make money on the internet, many of which offering you the potential to make more money that you could ever imagine making at your 9 to 5 job which is why you want to pair this income stream with your presently employment income.
Stream #3: Dividend income
This is by far the most passive amongst all of the previously mentioned sources of income but it is another important stream of income everyone needs. If you’re unfamiliar, dividends refers to a reward, or compensation that an organization provides its shareholders for having invested in their company. Dividends are typically disbursed in the form of cash or stocks and are derived from the profits the company generates year over year. However, you can’t start making dividend income without starting to invest in dividend stocks.
Investing in stocks and shares is what differentiates the wealthy from the middle class and the poor. Investing in stocks, in effect, is buying a small piece of a company, and when the companies value and stock value increases, your holdings in the company increases with it. This is basically letting your money work for you.
However, before you invest your money, you must first decide what type of investor you are. An online broker will most likely ask you before you get started about your investment goals and how much risk you’re prepared to take on when you open a brokerage account. Some investors tend to manage their money’s growth actively, while others prefer to “set it and forget it.” Stocks, shares, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index funds, and mutual funds are all available via more “traditional” online brokers.
A minimum deposit is required by many financial institutions. In other words, unless you deposit a certain sum of money, they will not approve your account application. Some businesses won’t even let you open an account with a deposit of $1,000, and some do not have a minimum deposit requirement. Others will frequently reduce expenses, such as trading and account management fees if the balance exceeds a certain threshold, and others can offer a set number of commission-free trades in exchange for opening an account. This is all to say that if you presently don’t have an investing account set up, this is the first step in starting to earn from this third stream of income.
Once you have your investing account up and running, you’re ready to invest in dividend producing stocks. What I recommend is you research companies with a proven history of paying out dividends. You will come to realize that some companies offer more reliable dividend payments than others and earning regular dividend income is necessary for this third stream of income to be effective!
Alright so there you have it, 3 income streams everyone must have. Now, all you have to do is get these streams flowing and collect accordingly!