If you want to make some extra money as a single mom, there are ways to do it without getting a second (or third!) job.
Aja Dileah, a single mom in Chicago, started renting out rooms in her home in 2017 to college students volunteering on the South Side of Chicago.
What began as a way to bring in some extra money has since become a lucrative passive income stream. Dileah is now a licensed real estate agent in the state of Florida, and she has purchased six properties to rent out as Airbnbs. Depending on the property, she earns anywhere from $1,000 to $4,000 per month in gross rental income. She and her children relocated to Puerto Rico in 2023.
While her investment properties do require some work upfront, Aja sometimes hires a property manager and pays around 20% to a management company to run her rentals.
“It’s not 100% passive for me since I’ve managed a lot on my own, but I’ve also worked with a property manager at times and it’s been very flexible in terms of the time I put in, so I don’t consider real estate investing 100% active income either,” Dileah says.
Dileah uses her rental income to either save up for new investment properties or to build more equity in her existing properties by paying down the mortgages. She says investing in real estate has been a complete game-changer in her life.
“It has provided an additional stream of income, which allows me to work less and eventually retire earlier than I would have without it.”
Keep reading for a list of ways to earn passive income for single moms:
7 passive income ideas for single mothers
- Affiliate marketing
- Car advertising
- Flipping retail products
- Investments
- Real estate
- Selling printables
- Selling your stuff
Pros and cons of passive income
What is passive income?
Passive income is money you earn without actively working for it. The idea behind passive income is that you put in the work, time, and effort upfront, then continue to earn income over time from that initial work. Passive income often doesn't require regular effort to keep the money flowing in.
Any income you earn/receive can still be taxed, and you will be responsible for reporting it to the IRS. If you have investments, for example, or a rental property, you will receive tax documents each year that you need to include in your tax return.
Earning passive income on top of your regular salary or wages, like through a side gig, could also bump you into a higher tax bracket depending on how much you make.
It’s important to talk to a tax professional if you have questions or concerns about how earning passive income may affect your personal tax situation.
Learn more about filing for taxes as a single mom and about free help with tax preparation. Also, learn about ways to manifest money.
Passive income vs active income
Active income is any money you earn by actively doing work — either for yourself or someone else — and is typically paid out as a salary, hourly wage, or commission. It's income that requires you to actively complete work in exchange for payment.
Passive income, on the other hand, is money you earn without active involvement, though you may have to do some work upfront to begin receiving it. An example of passive income is money you earn from an Etsy shop that sells printable downloads.
While you have to put in the initial work to create the printables, once they’re listed for sale, you don’t have to do regular work to earn money.
Types of passive income
There are different levels of passive income, based on how much regular work you have to do to earn money:
- Full passive. This is income you bring in without any active effort, such as dividends from investments. Completely passive income can take a long time to earn and often requires money upfront to establish an income stream.
- Semi-passive. Semi-passive income is a common form of passive income that requires some upfront effort and some level of ongoing work and maintenance. However, you can frontload a lot of the work and set up systems to earn money in the future without your direct involvement. This is appealing to people who are looking for a flexible way to make money on their own schedule. Examples of semi-passive income include affiliate marketing and selling items online.
- Residual income. Residual income is a form of passive income where you earn a regular amount of money after you’ve put in the initial time and resources. Residual income can be something like a monthly subscription you charge for people to access certain materials that are valuable to them. Or perhaps you decide to renovate and rent out your garage or outdoor shed to someone for a monthly fee.
7 passive income ideas for single mothers
Here are some great passive income ideas for single moms that can help you make extra money while still being able to spend quality time with your kids:
1. Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing involves promoting someone else's products and earning a commission on the sales you make. You can promote products through your blog, social media, or through other channels. You can join affiliate programs through retailers like Amazon, ebay, and Walmart or through affiliate networks like Commission Junction and ShareASale.
One Reddit user pointed out some of the most common mistakes people make with affiliate marketing:
Learn about more business ideas for single moms.
2. Car advertising
Companies like Carvertise and Wrapify pay you to wrap your car in advertising decals. Some let you choose the types of advertisements you’re willing to display, and you just drive as you normally would.
One Reddit user makes $100 per month advertising with Carvertise:
Drivers who are interested in participating sign up on the Carvertise platform. You usually need to meet certain criteria, such as driving a certain number of miles per day, having a clean driving record, and owning a car that fits the advertiser's requirements (often a newer model and in good condition).1
Carvertise matches drivers with advertisers based on their location, driving habits, and the target audience of the ad campaign. If selected, the driver brings their car to a designated location, where professionals install the advertisement wrap. These wraps are vinyl decals that can be easily removed without damaging the car's paint.
3. Flipping retail products
Flipping retail products involves purchasing items at a discount and reselling them for a profit. You can purchase items at thrift stores, garage sales, and through online marketplaces like ebay and Amazon. You can then sell them through your own website or online marketplaces.
Many argue that flipping retail products is not entirely passive income, which is true. You still have to do some work upfront and maintain this income stream, so it falls more in the semi-passive category.
One Reddit user explains it best with their experience:
4. Investments
You can invest in individual stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, and many online brokerage firms allow you to make regular investments automatically so you don't have to actively manage anything. You can also set up a dividend reinvestment plan, which allows you to reinvest your dividends automatically. This can compound your earnings and help you build wealth over time.
Investing takes time, and how much you make depends on the amount you’ve invested, as well as the level of growth in the market over time.
One Reddit user was able to earn more than $300 per month in passive income after investing for five years.
5. Real estate
You can purchase a rental property and earn rent every month. You can also invest in a real estate investment trust (REIT), which is a company that invests in real estate and passes on the profits to its shareholders. Another option is to participate in real estate crowdfunding, where you can invest in real estate projects with other investors.
Ashley Hamilton, who runs the Instagram page Detroit Investor, is a single mom and serial real estate investor bought her first rental property in 2009 at 22 years-old.
Hamilton says real estate can be a great option for single moms because you can have a flexible schedule and you can set your own budget in terms of how much you can afford to invest.
She bought her first investment properties with help from her annual tax refunds and says you need an abundance of either time, money, or knowledge to get started.
“If money is a struggle, I suggest you learn as much as you can and maybe even work with a mentor to figure out creative finance strategies,” Hamilton says. “If you have a credit score over 700, you have options and can also look to networking and real estate events in your area to get more established.”
Hamilton now owns 35 residential rental properties, and 14 of those properties are owned free and clear with no debt. She gives her followers and coaching students tips on how to afford getting into real estate, such as obtaining a hard money loan, which is a short-term loan usually funded by private investors or companies.
6. Selling printables
Holly Hanna, a blogger and founder of The Work at Home Woman, has been earning passive income for the past few years by selling printable templates on her blog and marketing her products in blog posts, on social media, and to her email list.
“My assistant is highly skilled in graphic design, so I paid her to create my printables and templates, but I also recommend using Canva to create your own printables as well,” Hanna says. “I originally sold my printables using a popular e-commerce platform, but I didn’t like paying the annual fee, so I created a shop on my website using custom Gutenberg blocks and ThriveCart.”
Hanna makes $1,000 to $2,000 per month selling her printable templates and adds that if you don’t have a website, you can also start selling on Etsy for just $0.20 per listing.
7. Selling your stuff
You can sell your old clothes, furniture, jewelry, and other items that you no longer need for cash. Websites and apps like eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook Marketplace allow you to sell your items online. You can also sell them in person at consignment stores or garage sales.
While selling items might sound like an easy way to make money, Brittani, founder of the Essential Endeavors YouTube Channel, says it’s really a lot of upfront and ongoing work.
Brittani became a part-time seller four years ago while she was pursuing a graduate program for Mechanical Engineering. When the pandemic hit in 2020, she used the extra time she had to grow her reselling business and start her YouTube Channel. Brittani has now been selling items primarily through Poshmark live shows full time for the past two years.
“I earn anywhere from $8,000 to $10,000 per month with my reselling business, but I am also working 40 hours per week,” Brittani says. “In my opinion, the only way to bring in passive income is through social media if someone wants to use that as a platform to grow their business and sales organically.”
She says she’s still reaping the fruits of her labor from three to four years ago through ad revenue and affiliate income from her resale business.
Brittani says reselling clothes online has a very low barrier to entry and can be scaled over time.
“Getting to work for yourself is so freeing, and I feel incredibly fulfilled being a work-at-home dog mom while getting to set my own hours and work as much or as little as I may want or need.”
Check out this video where she packs up $2,750 worth of items she sold on Poshmark:
Pros and cons of passive income
Passive income sounds great on the surface, but there are still some potential drawbacks to consider. It’s best to carefully weigh the pros and cons of generating passive income before you decide if this is the right path for you.
Pros:
- Make more money with little to no effort after a while
- Have more flexibility and control of your time
- Easier to diversify your income and maintain more than one stream of income, setting you up for more financial independence
Cons:
- Requires initial effort and time investment
- Can be unreliable and unpredictable
- It may not work out even after putting in time, money and effort (high risk)
Avoid passive income scams
Passive income has been a hot topic online for a while now. Beware of passive income scams designed to take advantage of people in difficult situations. Some red flags include opportunities that promise to pay a significant amount of cash but don’t require you to do any work.
Another red flag is an opportunity that requires you to pay money upfront to get started. Some job ads or business opportunities ask applicants to pay for a startup kit, training or marketing materials, but you should always exercise caution with these types of companies.
If you’re interested in investing as a passive income stream, it’s important to know where your money is going and to confirm you’re working with a legitimate firm. The L.A. Times shared an article2 about how a man from Columbus, Ohio, sent $25,800 to a fake cryptocurrency investing website after receiving a WhatsApp message and getting to know a stranger online.
The Federal Trade Commission3 found that investing scams and job and employment scams were among the top five most common types of fraud committed in 2022. They also found that losses to investment scams totaled $3.8 billion that year.
Always avoid opportunities that promise unrealistic returns or require you to pay a significant upfront investment. Do your research and read third-party reviews to make any opportunity is legit.
Answers to FAQs about passive income
Is passive income legit?
Many people are often skeptical about the idea of passive income. They may think it's too good to be true or that it goes against traditional values of working hard for a living. However, passive income is a legitimate way to earn money and can be a great option for single moms who want to make some extra cash.
At its core, passive income is simply a way to earn money without actively doing work to get it. This can include things like purchasing rental properties, investing in dividend stocks, or creating and selling digital products. The point is that once the initial work is done, you continue to earn money without putting in additional (or much) effort.
What is the easiest way to earn passive income?
There is no one-size-fits-all easiest way to earn passive income. However, we gathered some solid ideas people shared on Reddit about their experiences.
If you’re looking for the easiest and quickest way to earn passive income, you should start by figuring out how to use your existing skills rather than trying to learn new ones, and market your expertise.
This could involve writing an ebook about a topic you’re knowledgeable and passionate about and selling it. Or, you can create a digital product that helps people solve a common problem. Love to organize your home? You can create weekly cleaning schedules or chore charts that people can print out and sell them on Etsy or Shopify.
Saving and investing your money is one of the most basic ways to earn passive income over time. You just need to start out by having some money to set aside, so you’d be relying on your active income earned from a job to get started.
High-yield savings accounts pay interest each month, and you can also invest in the stock market long-term to receive a return when the market goes up.
Another option is to create a digital product you can share, such as an ebook, printable worksheet, or templates. How much you make will vary depending on the product, the price you set, and how well you market your digital product:
Is passive income a lazy way for moms to make money?
Not necessarily. Depending on which passive income stream you choose, earning money may require a lot of time and effort upfront. Sometimes, it may even require a significant investment to get started. Typically, you will need to work consistently to set up your income stream before you start seeing any passive income.
Can you earn passive income on Amazon?
Amazon has become a popular platform for people looking to earn passive income. With millions of products available for sale, it may seem like a great opportunity for single moms to make some extra cash. However, earning passive income on Amazon is not as simple as just listing products and waiting for the money to roll in.
To be successful on Amazon, you need to put in the time and effort to research, source, and market your products. This can involve finding the right niche, competitive pricing, and effective marketing strategies. Once your products are listed, you also need to continuously monitor and update them to stay relevant and competitive in the market.
SOURCES
- Carvertise. https://carvertise.com/drivers/
- “Investment scams are everywhere on social media. Here’s how to spot one,” by Cora Lewis for the Associated Press. Aug. 17, 2023. https://apnews.com/article/investment-scams-crypto-fraud-social-media-f9e053a6c555c25c90e5f7330607d90c
- “New FTC Data Show Consumers Reported Losing Nearly $8.8 Billion to Scams in 2022,” Federal Trade Commission. Feb. 23, 2023. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2023/02/new-ftc-data-show-consumers-reported-losing-nearly-88-billion-scams-2022
