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Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

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Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#41
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In hindsight, was it worth it compared to just investing all that money into the S&P500?

I think that's his point; that 5% returns aren't actually that great.

He stated 5% without accounting for the 100% price appreciation in the actual real estate. So the real rate of return is actually much better!

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#42
post #33

Publish books on Amazon. I've published 4 and make about $3k in profit per month, after paying for ads on amazon. Don't write them yourself, that's a lot of work. Instead, do key word research about what books sell in non-fiction categories (fiction is a whole different ballgame). Look for keywords that 1) auto complete in the amazon search bar, and 2) have less than 4,000 matching books, and 3) have an average Amazo…

Are the books any good? What are reviews like?

They are poor quality and clearly written by ghost writers.

I don't blame people for going for the easy money, but it's like paying "writers" to write thousands of articles about "best pool equipment 2021" to target keywords on Google just so you can soak up Amazon affiliate revenue. Sure you make money, but how many people are reading your "blog" as fact?

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#43

Publish books on Amazon. I've published 4 and make about $3k in profit per month, after paying for ads on amazon. Don't write them yourself, that's a lot of work. Instead, do key word research about what books sell in non-fiction categories (fiction is a whole different ballgame). Look for keywords that 1) auto complete in the amazon search bar, and 2) have less than 4,000 matching books, and 3) have an average Amazo…

Wouldn't the author have to be knowledgeable about the subject? 30k words for $1000 sounds pretty low for an expert.

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#44

Publish books on Amazon. I've published 4 and make about $3k in profit per month, after paying for ads on amazon. Don't write them yourself, that's a lot of work. Instead, do key word research about what books sell in non-fiction categories (fiction is a whole different ballgame). Look for keywords that 1) auto complete in the amazon search bar, and 2) have less than 4,000 matching books, and 3) have an average Amazo…

Wouldn't the author have to be knowledgeable about the subject? 30k words for $1000 sounds pretty low for an expert.

They do their own research too, but they're not experts. You'll have to get at least mildly informed on the subject to make the outline and make sure the writer stays on track. I tend to read several book on whatever the subject is to make sure my book captures the best information I can find.

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#45
Truly passive income doesn't really exist (and shouldn't exist, outside of perhaps some type of state sponsored basic income). The exception in recent history is ETF's, which provide a relatively high level of reliable growth due to a questionable tax exception and government monetary policy that favors stock market positions over other economic metrics such as wealth inequality. I believe ETF's are bad for the economy, despite how popular they are on HN, but if you are looking for truly passive income, I think that's about as close as you can get.

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#46
post #9

So, about renting, I bought a single family home for $500k in bay area. It now is worth $1M. Gets me rent before expenses of $40000. So far, I have spent about $5k per year on. Repairs etc. So effectively, I make about $20k after taxes, repairs, mortgage interest etc. Overall, I spent $350k by way of downpayment, mortage interest payment, etc. No major tenant issues. Hence, I would peg my return on investment of 5% i…

In hindsight, was it worth it compared to just investing all that money into the S&P500?

In hindsight not investing in a FAANG was a huge mistake.

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#47

So, about renting, I bought a single family home for $500k in bay area. It now is worth $1M. Gets me rent before expenses of $40000. So far, I have spent about $5k per year on. Repairs etc. So effectively, I make about $20k after taxes, repairs, mortgage interest etc. Overall, I spent $350k by way of downpayment, mortage interest payment, etc. No major tenant issues. Hence, I would peg my return on investment of 5% i…

FWIW, your returns are likely significantly above the 5% mark you're referencing. You haven't factored in the unrealized gain of 500k, which would significantly change your returns. All in all, you've got a cash flow positive real estate asset who's valuation has doubled. Unless you purchased 15 years ago, you're likely looking at returns in the mid twenties.

My advice; learn how to actually put together a DCF model and get some real insight into your returns.

EDIT: I realized that my last statement might come off a bit condescending, but that wasn't my intention. Fundamentally, evaluating Real Estate returns is significantly more complex than other investments, such as holding stocks, ETFs, or Bonds. A Distributed Cash Flow (DCF) model will help you gain some understanding that will likely help you to make better decisions about your existing investment and make a more educated plan for the future (e.g. upcoming maintenance, when to exit at what price). You don't have to build a complex model, but even a simple one can help. There's plenty of resources out there, and you don't need much more than Excel to build one.

Source: formerly employed at a national REIT

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#48

Publish books on Amazon. I've published 4 and make about $3k in profit per month, after paying for ads on amazon. Don't write them yourself, that's a lot of work. Instead, do key word research about what books sell in non-fiction categories (fiction is a whole different ballgame). Look for keywords that 1) auto complete in the amazon search bar, and 2) have less than 4,000 matching books, and 3) have an average Amazo…

How much do you have to spend on ads to make the $3K? I I imagine it's a hefty sum?

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#49
Cheeky-and-also-serious response:

Soil, for the food you grow to eat, share, or sell. Much about a green, growing area is passive income for is.

Another option is lobbying your elected officials to regulate in the interest of healthier land, water, and air, which will help you and many others.

Making something useful and giving it away (or charging a nominal amount for hosting costs, or asking others to help with that to keep the use-barriers low) is an investment in other people that may continue paying dividends long after you’re dead.

Re: Ask HN: What passive income investments exist to supplement your salary?

#50
My advice is this: Think about your unique domain knowledge.

Ask yourself:

* What do I know that gives me an advantage over the average joe?

* What other resources do I have that give me an advantage over the average joe?

Generally speaking, if your idea to make money sounds really lame, boring, risky, complicated and/or esoteric to an uneducated layperson - but due to your domain knowledge you know that it's not - you're on the right track. Bonus points if it benefits from obscure, difficult-to-get resources that you already have (for instance, a best friend who owns a niche website you can advertise on, or family connections in the X industry, or you live in a town that has a huge Y industry.)

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