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Ah, residual income - easy money. Well, not quite, unless you look at the long view. It can take a lot of effort to create streams of residual income. But since this is income which continues to come in long after your work has ended, it might be considered easy for the amount you make.

A little over years ago I decided to make a web site about removing stains from carpet. Not knowing that much about the subject, I bought lunch for the owner of a carpet cleaning company. In return, he gave me some tips on how to remove various stains, and how to care for carpet in general. I asked questions and took notes throughout lunch. I later made a fifteen-page web site from those notes.

It took a week to build the site initially. Twice over the last couple years I have spent a few hours updating it, so I might have 50 hours into the whole project. I have left the site untouched for as much as nine months at a time, and as I write this, I can't remember the last time I even looked at it online.

The result was a site that still generates about $200 most months, from automated advertising and affiliate programs that don't require any attention. This is residual income at its best. I put in the effort up front, but still paid every month years later. When my wife and I visit family in Ecuador, the income keeps coming. Some of our web sites do much better, but this is a great example of residual income, because it requires virtually no attention. Wouldn't you love to have a couple dozen web sites like this?

Residual Income - Other Examples

The idea is income that continues after your efforts are done, and without much if any additional effort on your part. You may not like the idea of making web sites, so what are the other ways that people do this? Here are a few examples of others who receive residual income.

Real Estate Investors - Buy a strip mall, hire management, and have the cash flow deposited into your account - a classic form of residual income. Apartment buildings and rental condos are other possibilities. But be sure there will be enough income to cover management fees. If you have to manage it yourself, you just bought yourself another job.

Inventors - This could be a difficult, but fun one. Inventions are often licensed to companies, which means that as long as they keep selling, the inventor has regular royalty fees.

Writers - Authors typically get about 5% of the retail price of a book, and those checks could keep coming for decades. Sell e-books from your own web site, and you can keep 90% of each sale, with nothing to ship. Have a processor handle the orders (that's where most of that other 10% goes), and you'll just have to answer an occasional e-mail.

Musicians - Create a hit song, and you'll get royalties as long as people still want to hear it. Don't sing? Song writers get royalties as well.

Insurance Agents - When you sell a policy, you normally get a commission every year when the customer renews. Insurance agents have been known to retire young with a healthy stream of residual income.

What do you do when that stream of income slows down? Find another! That's another great thing about residual income. It leaves you with time to look for more opportunities.