Is earning $1000 a month in passive income really that difficult?

Someone asked whether passive income is truly passive — actually, not quite. In the beginning, you need to invest effort to build the system, but once it’s up and running, it can generate a continuous cash flow. The key point is: you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money.

Financial expert Erika Kullberg, who has a background in law, suggested several approaches:

Invest in cash flow products — Buy dividend stocks or real estate investment trusts (REITs), and wait for monthly dividends. With an annual yield of 9%, investing $140,000 can generate about $1,000 per month. Sounds like a lot? You can start small and gradually increase your investment.

Monetize digital products — Write e-books, record online courses, create printables, and sell them once to many buyers. Platforms like Kindle, Udemy, and Etsy are ready channels. Marketing is needed, but once popular, the income can be significant.

P2P lending or crowdfunding — Platforms like Fundrise can lend money to individuals or invest in real estate, earning interest. P2P loans typically have annual returns of 5-9%, with some reaching over 10%.

Other creative ideas — Affiliate marketing, blogging, renting out parking spaces, YouTube channels… all are possible, but require time to develop. The good news is that many can be started with little to no cost.

Warning — passive income still involves taxes, don’t forget that.

The core idea is: once you earn $1,000 a month passively, you break through the traditional job income ceiling. The rest is just adding more.