2020 has been both financially and emotionally devastating for people around the world. Even if you have not lost your job, business, or a loved one, there are high chances that the economy’s current state has negatively impacted your finances. Consequently, you might be looking for alternative or passive income options amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, to get through these difficult times with the least financial damage possible.
What is passive income?
Passive income basically implies to regular earning from any source apart from an employer or contractor. These alternative income streams can prove quite an incredible supplementary source of funds for people of varying ages and educational backgrounds. With the government imposed lockdowns, travel restrictions, and social distancing regulations prevalent today, almost all industries and sectors have suffered heavy losses. A considerable number of people across India have lost their jobs or have had to close down their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Passive income options can ensure that these individuals shall have at least a certain amount of money flowing while facing certain financial hardship in their professional life, including job loss. Apart from helping you maintain your monetary standing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, building wealth alternative income options can help you meet your retirement goals.
Passive income options available in India
There are several advantageous passive income options available in India, which you can leverage to steady wealth in the current chaotic times. Here are some of them:
- Selling information products: If you have any specialized skills, or are an experienced professional in any industry, then developing an information product like an audio or video course, or even an ebook, would be a great way to earn money for you. There are multiple websites available today through which online courses can be distributed and sold. However, to be successful in doing so, you must have to put a fair amount of effort into developing and marketing your product.
- Renting property: Rental income has been one of the most popular passive income streams availed by people over the decades. If you have a property that you are not currently using, no matter residential or commercial, renting it out shall be a great way to earn a consistent income. Property rent prices are incredibly high in most of the metro cities and urban hubs of India. Hence, you can enjoy quite a lucrative income if your property is located in one of these regions.
- Affiliate marketing: The social media boom has made affiliate marketing a great choice to earn some extra money. In this system, website owners, bloggers or social media “influencers” tend to promote the product or service of any third party by including their brand/product link on their website or social media account. Ideally, whenever a visitor clicks on this link and makes a purchase, the website owner earns a certain commission amount.
- Investments: Investing money to earn regular returns from it has been one of the oldest ways to enjoy a passive income. While fixed deposits and shares have been the most prominent traditional investment avenues, new options like P2P and SIPs have also become quite popular in recent years. Here are some of the key investment options available to enjoy a good passive income stream:
Equity investment: If you have adequate money in your savings account, then now would be a good time to make an equity investment. You can easily opt to invest in mutual funds, shares, or SIPs (Systematic Investment Plans), as per your feasibility and preference. Investing in companies involved in healthcare would especially be a prudent option at the moment. You can always start off by making SIP investments, owing to their low risk factor.Fixed deposits: Rather than letting money lying around idle in your savings account, it would always be a better option to put a feasible sum of it into a fixed deposit. FDs would provide you with a much higher rate of interest than a regular savings account. They are also a low-risk investment option compared to mutual funds, shares, ULIP’s, etc.
Peer to Peer Lending (P2P): Through this system, people can acquire loans from other individuals, instead of any kind of financial institution. This way, the expenses incurred by the “middleman” in the lending process are eradicated. As an investor, you can choose the loans you find in the case of Peer to Peer Lending, and enjoy a passive income through the interest payments made on these loans. It is among the best passive income options for investors planning to build up a diverse portfolio of assets. There are many P2P platforms in India through whom you can engage in this lending system, Lendbox being among the most reliable and prominent ones. Through these RBI Certified NBFC P2P Platforms you can invest money in a plethora of products online to avail of superior returns.
- Freelancing: In this digital age, the freelancing culture has become quite popular. There are numerous freelancing projects available online of a wide variety through which people can earn good money. The dynamic nature of freelancing makes one of the most popular passive income options. The freelancing projects available can range from content writing, graphic designing, web development, and much more. Hence, people having varying skills can choose to engage in it.
- Starting a side hustle: If you have certain valuable skills like making homemade jewelry, chocolates, candles, or so on, then you can easily start a side hustle by leveraging your talents. You just have to take off some time from your daily schedule to try and make these items, and go on to selling them online. Firstly, you must figure out the thing you are good at, identify the ways to monetize it, and subsequently start off a project you truly are passionate about. The items you make can easily be promoted on social media platforms, and hence you do not even have to worry about investing extra money to market your side hustle.
The passive income options mentioned above can go a long way in ensuring that you get through the tough COVID-19 times unscathed, at least when it comes to your finances. These tough times have shown how important to have an income backup to balance out drastic situations. Hence, you must consider trying out the best alternative income methods for yourself to stabilize your financial future.
