5 Passive Income Ideas Under $100 — Step-by-Step Guide & Transcript

[00:00] Hi, I'm Nisha. I'm a qualified accountant and a former investment banker and I used to think that you needed thousands to start making passive income. Turns out I was completely wrong. So in this video, I'm sharing five ways you can start building passive income with less than $100.

[00:16] I'll show you exactly how to get started, what to expect and how much you can realistically make from each one. Starting with number one, passive income through investing. This is probably the most boring one on this list, but it's also the most accessible and the most passive. And that

[00:34] is high interest accounts and investing. And you might be watching this thinking, Nisha, how is a saving account going to make me rich? It's not. I'm not going to lie to you. It won't make you rich. But this is about building the habits, realizing how passive income feels. Because once you get a

[00:50] taste of it, you'll want to keep going. And that's really what this is about. Getting started and proving to yourself that your money can work for you even if it is just $100. So let me break down the two options for you and tell you exactly what you need to do step by step. First, the high

[01:05] interest savings account, also called high yield savings account. They're basically bank accounts that actually pay you decent interest. We're talking 45% annually right now and this is mostly for online banks. Compare that to the 0.01% most traditional banks give you and it's a no-brainer.

[01:20] Then there's investing but I'm not talking about trying to pick the next stock. I'm talking about putting small amounts, maybe it's 20, 50, 70, whatever you can manage into something like an all-world fund or the S&P 500 that has historically generated between 8% to 10% annually over different

[01:35] 10 to 20-year timeframes. Both of these are passive in probably the truest sense. Your money is literally working while you sleep. So how do you get started? For saving accounts, go on websites

[01:47] like Bankrate or Money Saving Expert and compare the rates. Look for accounts with no fees, government protection and easy withdrawals. Most of these accounts have a cap to how much you could put in or how much they'll pay you interest on. So if you have quite a lot of savings, then you

[02:03] want to split up your savings across different accounts and maximize the amount that you're going to make interest on. So using real numbers, if you put $100 into a 5% high interest savings account, you'll earn about $5 per year. Small but completely risk-free, scale that up to $10,000,

[02:17] that earns about $500 per year. And that's purely passive. My high interest savings account pays me daily. So the interest is the same, but it pays out daily. And so that really feels like I'm making a quick win every single day.

[02:29] It's tangible. I can see it growing. For investing, there are loads of apps, Vanguard, InvestEngine, Trading212. Choose the diversified funds like the ones I mentioned. And let's say you use an app that automatically invests $1 per day.

[02:41] That's about $365 per year you're investing. Over 20 years, assuming a 7% annual return, That goes to nearly $15,000 or from what's basically spare change. If you want to go from complete beginner to having a diversified portfolio

[02:55] and a roadmap to financial freedom within six weeks, then I am hosting an investing accelerator bootcamp. The waitlist is about to close. You can find out all the information in the link in the description.

[03:07] The second one is print on demand. If you've been wanting to start an online business, but you don't want to risk money on inventory, this one is perfect. And for that, I want to introduce Gelato, which is today's sponsor.

[03:19] Gelato is a print-on-demand platform that lets you design and sell all kinds of custom products, from T mugs photo books calendars posters with no upfront costs and without ever holding inventory So when someone orders from your store Gelato handles everything from the printing the packaging and the shipping

[03:38] What makes Gelato stand out is they're produced locally in over 30 countries. If a customer orders in London, the product is printed and shipped from the UK. If another orders in Sydney, it's produced and shipped right there in Australia. That means faster delivery, lower cost and a much

[03:52] smaller carbon footprint compared to traditional manufacturing. So how to get started? Super easy. First, you need to sign up. It's completely free. Gelato.com forward slash Nisha. Then connect to your store, whether it's Etsy, Shopify, TikTok shop, or even Amazon. After that, pick your product

[04:08] from Gelato's huge catalog, upload your design, and create your mock-up using their magic mock-up feature. Set your description, decide your price, and then publish to your store. In less than 10 minutes you can have your first product ready to sell and if you want to check quality beforehand

[04:23] you could order samples to your door they let me trial out the platform and I ordered this product it was a really smooth process calendar is great quality I even I got my name on it the thing is with printing demand you never know what's going to take off so it takes trying and testing with

[04:38] as many designs you can and seeing what lands I recommend picking a niche that lines up with your interest because you'll be the one creating the content and promoting it the more it fits you the easier it is to keep going long term.

[04:50] An example of someone who's done this, Rachel Roffay, who's an early print-on-demand entrepreneur. She shared how one of her mug designs sold thousands of units and has generated more than a full million in sales, according to an article online.

[05:03] So if you've been waiting for the right time to start, this is it. Head over to tilato.com forward slash Nisha to sign up for free. And with a link in the description, you'll also get 50% off your first order within two days of signing up. Thank you so much, Tilato, for sponsoring today's video.

[05:17] Next, moving on to number three, and that is rental properties. Now when most people think about real estate investing or property investing, they picture buying a whole property with tens of thousands on a down payment, if not more, getting a mortgage, dealing with tenants,

[05:30] but you don't need tens of thousands to invest in real estate. And like the title of this video says, you can start investing in real estate now with as little as $100 or whatever money you have through REITs. That is Real Estate Investment Trust. These are essentially stocks in companies

[05:46] that own a lot of real estate. So instead of owning a property directly yourself, you just buy stock at a company that owns a lot of properties. It's kind of the same thing.

[05:58] So here's what makes REITs really interesting. They're legally required to pay out 90% of their profits to shareholders in the form of dividends. So when these companies collect all the rent payments, they're going to pass on 90% of that to you.

[06:11] REITs are a good option because instead of one property, you get exposure to thousands of different properties that gives you a huge amount of diversification. Plus, the REIT has professional management, so they know how to manage huge portfolios of real estate.

[06:24] So you kind of get the benefit of professional management, passive income, diversification, and you don't have to do anything for yourself. It's very different to actually owning real estate. There are REITs that invest in apartment buildings,

[06:36] in commercial properties, like shopping centers, in data centers. There's even ones that invest only in things like storage facilities or specific sectors. The dividend yields can range anywhere between 2% to 6%, and you're also getting the potential appreciation when the stock price goes up.

[06:51] So it's a nice thing to have in your overall portfolio. A lot of platforms let you invest in REIT with as little as to or the equivalent for whatever currency or country you in Moving on to number four and that is affiliate marketing And I be honest this one gets a bit of a bad reputation because all the videos out there that says

[07:10] I'll make $10,000 a month from affiliate income and things like that. That said, when I started creating videos online, affiliate income was my only income stream for a very long time. And I would say as a content creator, it's actually the most accessible income stream.

[07:26] You don't need many followers at all to start earning a little bit from your affiliate income. Unlike sponsors or selling products, it takes building an audience to be able to monetize those two.

[07:38] Or even YouTube assets, you need a thousand subscribers to start making money from YouTube. But affiliate income, the barrier to entry to start making money for affiliate income is a lot lower. I definitely wasn't making thousands from this. I was making maybe $20, $30, $40 or equivalent a month from recommended products I actually use.

[07:55] With this, the easiest way to scale it is you do have to create content, maybe blog posts, newsletters, TikToks, and include links to products that you actually use. So when someone clicks your link and buys something via your link, you get a small commission off of that.

[08:11] That's how affiliate income works. So breaking this down for you, you can start this completely for free if you start a newsletter, subscription through Medium, Substack, or even you start posting content on TikTok. I suggest starting with a niche that you know really well.

[08:24] Don't try to review random products that you've never used. Choose something you use daily, maybe finance apps, productivity tools, books you're reading, whatever you're already spending money on anyway. And then the more aligned your content is that you're creating, the more likely it is

[08:37] that someone who's watching your content will end up clicking on the link to check out whatever it is that you're recommending. In terms of affiliate programs, loads of companies have them. Amazon Associates is the most obvious and most popular one.

[08:49] Apply to three to four programs in your niche. Banks and investment platforms are another one. Plum, Trading212, Notion, they all have affiliate links and then start creating some useful content around it. So if you can do some real numbers so you know what to expect. Amazon pays around 1-3%

[09:04] commission in most categories. So if someone buys a $50 item through the link, you might earn $0.50 or $1.50 and you might also get a percentage on anything else that they buy within that 24-hour timeframe. But again, with the idea of this video, it is just seeing what's possible, building the

[09:20] habits and understanding how passive income works. Because once you get that feeling, you're going to want to do it more. Some of my first videos still earn you small commissions years later via Amazon links, and I've done absolutely nothing to maintain them.

[09:32] And so if you are looking to potentially start on the content creation or start your own newsletter or start a blog, then this is one of the most accessible ways to make money before waiting for sponsors or before making your own product or before relying

[09:47] on any other stream of income, which usually takes a lot longer to monetize. And number five, creating and selling digital products. This one is one of my favorite because I do it myself

[09:59] and it's also a way to package whatever knowledge that you already have into something that is very scalable, accessible, and can get to people in all parts of the world. So how this works, you create a product once,

[10:11] maybe it's a PDF, it's a guide, it's an ebook, it's a video course, And then you could sell unlimited copies without any actual work. There's no printing, no shipping, no stock to manage.

[10:23] Whether 10 people buy it or 10,000 people buy it, the effort really stays the same. Digital products sound amazing and I really do think they are but there are a few downsides to know about First is saturation Because it so easy to create lots of people are doing it

[10:37] You're not competing with a handful of local businesses as you would with physical products anymore. You're competing with people all over the world. That means your product has to solve a very specific problem or stand out in a very crowded space.

[10:50] The second downside is copying. On marketplaces like Etsy, if you make something good, chances are someone will just buy it and copy it and tweak it and then sell their version. You'll lose some profit here and there, and it's part of the reality.

[11:04] And then third is the perception. Some buyers still don't value digital products in the same way they value physical ones. That's why pricing here really matters. The flip side, however, is the margins are incredible.

[11:16] With physical products, even if you've got healthy profits, you're still covering things like materials, packaging, shipping. With digital, once you've made the product, every extra sale is basically pure profit. And because you don't have to fulfill the orders, you also free up your time and location.

[11:32] You literally can make sales while you're asleep or away on holiday. And that's the kind of freedom that physical products don't really match. So if you're a beginner here, the best way to start is to keep things very simple. Don't overthink it. Cut down the options and pick one product you actually understand.

[11:47] Build on what you already know. Look at things you've bought recently or problems you've solved. and then ask yourself, could I package this solution for others? Stick to the basics. Make sure your product clearly solves a problem, your focus stands out, and your listing is easy to find through search.

[12:02] And if it's your first time, start on a very beginner-friendly platform like Etsy. It already has buyers built in, which makes getting traction much easier than starting from scratch on your own site. You're no longer trading time for money.

[12:14] You're selling the law as once, and then you're getting paid for it again and again. and there's nothing quite like getting a notification for a sale while you're asleep or away from your desk. And then I wanted to write up this video to say passive income is one of those buzzwords that gets thrown around a lot.

[12:30] Usually with a palm tree in the background and someone telling you that they make $50,000 a month while sipping cocktails on a beach. The idea that's often sold is that you set something up once, you walk away and money just flows into your account forever.

[12:42] But the reality is nothing is truly passive from day one. You've got to write that e-book. You've got to create that content. You've got to research those funds and those fleets. You've got to set up those systems.

[12:54] The passive part only comes after you've put in the effort. And even then, it's not completely hands-off. You'll need to update things occasionally. You need to respond to questions. You might need to hire a team to manage some of the stuff for you.

[13:06] What makes these income streams valuable isn't that they're effortless. It is that they can eventually earn you money whilst you're doing other things. and a lot of my business model has turned from active income to passive income.

[13:18] It's still a lot of work, don't get me wrong, but there is something very rewarding about making money that's not necessarily tied to you or your time. And that's what this video really is about. You might think, oh, it's just $20 or another $50 here.

[13:30] But when you're doing this, when you start making passive income, what you're really doing is learning how you can make money work for you instead of you always working for money. You're building skills, you're understanding markets, you're creating systems. and some of these will work for you and some of them won't and that's totally fine.

[13:45] The goal isn't to get rich, it's just to start somewhere and then build something that grows over time because even if it takes a year to earn your first 500 in passive income, that's still 500 you didn't have to trade your time for. So it's absolutely worth exploring.

[13:58] Thank you so much for watching. If you haven't already, don't forget to subscribe and see you in the next one.