Don’t you want to Make More Money?

One important distinction about personal finance that other bloggers may or may not incorporate into their thinking is that the art of finance is not just saving and investing, but generating money as well. I love the idea of taking what money you currently have and putting it to work to generate more money. I also employ the thinking that if you work smarter, not harder, you can create alternate “streams” of income.

No, I haven’t read Robert Kiyosaki and I think the idea of passive income is a bit of a misnomer, considering that no wealth-generating income stream runs itself all the time. Even one of the greatest wealth generating methods ever created (Thank you, Mr. Bogle), the Index Fund, requires some amount of maintenance is therefore by definition not passive. You can, however, maximize the passivity of these streams to the point that you have the option (note: not the requirement) of leaving the rat race and pursuing whatever goals you see fit. We’re not talking about a pie in the sky mentality here, generating enough wealth on your own to not require working at a traditional job is a long, twisting road littered with the failure of others who didn’t have the vision, determination, or tenacity to cling to what they believed in until they saw it through.

After reading that, you may think that this is not the road for you, and while I wouldn’t blame you for thinking so, there are a number of steps you can take right now to get there. Even if you never leave your traditional job, creating additional income outside it can be your own path to prosperity.

Where to start? Let’s go with quick, easy, and painless right? I’ve written a number of money making projects that anyone with a computer and internet access can take advantage of. You won’t be leaving your job of course, but you can make some spending money or saving money to pad your income. You can find those here.

Obviously that’s hardly an exhaustive collection of resources, just side projects of my own. If you’re looking to further expand into the world of making money outside your job, here are my absolute favorite resources:

1. Genius Types
2. Self Made Minds
3. Location Independent

Nerdy Nomad gets an honorable mention because she’s downright fascinating to read.

-Xias