A Simple Idea To Create An Emergency Fund

Although life would be far easier if we could predict, based on past trends, what to expect in the future, this is not how the game of life works. Yes, you can anticipate some future needs based on past events, but you can’t predict all future eventualities. You have to expect a few wild joker cards in the deck.

So, when it comes to budgeting your money, you will need an entry on your spreadsheet labeled “emergency funds.” By tucking aside some savings every month, you won’t panic when you’re asked to fork out more money than you can comfortably afford when something unexpected happens.

Unfortunately, if your budget is already strained because the income flowing into your family’s bank account barely meets the costs flowing out to meet your modest needs, it can be hard to figure out how to build your emergency fund. And, this can be especially challenging if you have a little one with child hypersensitivity or sensory perception issues because the cost of compression clothing for kids can be a little higher than average.

Besides creating an emergency savings account, shopping around for the best prices, and keeping up with maintenance by scheduling time for car and home repairs, another thing you can do to contribute to your emergency fund is to create a passive income source.

Passive Income vs. Active Income

While we’re all familiar with the idea of active income–exchanging time for dollars, receiving a salary, wage, commission, or tip for our labors–we tend to only have a vague idea about passive income. This is usually because passive income is tied to high finance like rental property or investing in the financial markets.

However, it’s possible to create a small trickle of passive income without devoting your time to learning real estate or investing in stocks and bonds.

Let’s take a look at two examples of how you can do the work once and then get paid for it over and over again.

2 Doable Ways to Earn Passive Income

1. Write an ebook.

If you can write simple sentences in plain English, then you can make money by writing and selling an ebook.

Here are the basic steps you would take to create and sell your ebook:

• First, identify something that you know really well. Then, figure out how to monetize it. If, for instance, you happen to be a wonderful cook, then you could create a book that teaches young people just out of college how to prepare basic meals for themselves when they rent their first apartment.
• Second, set aside time each day, say an hour or two, to organize your ideas, supplement your core ideas with some research, and write a rough draft from between 50 to 75 pages. Next, set it aside for a day or two, and then write your final draft.
• Third, do some research on how to set up a website to sell your ebook or publish it on a popular online platform for books like Amazon Kindle.Don’t be concerned about the technical aspects of setting up an online business or formatting a book for an online bookstore—you can always hire someone from a freelance job site to help you out.

2. Create an affiliate blog.

If you don’t like to write and you have no technical skills, then you can create an affiliate marketing business where you manage the business and outsource all the work. Usually, the best way to sell affiliate products is through blogging.

Here are the basic steps you would take to set this up:

• First, identify a niche around something that you are interested in selling. As an example, let’s imagine that you would like to encourage kids to read more because you love reading to your own children and because you loved reading books when you were little. You can set up a blog for parents that reviews children’s books. If a reader is interested in a particular book for their child, your affiliate link can direct them to Amazon or some other bookseller to buy either a paperback or an ebook version.
• Second, hire someone to set up your blog.
• Third, build a small team that consists of freelance writers to review children’s books and an editor to provide quality control and ensure that all the links are working.

Thinking outside the Box

Instead of only focusing on managing your money better and making your stuff last longer, also think of ways to earn extra money through passive income generation. Writing an ebook or setting up an affiliate website are just two examples of how you can create passive income. In truth, there are many ways to use the Internet to create a home-based business that creates residual income.