The idea of financial freedom is appealing to most people, but many aren’t sure how to achieve it. A stable nine-to-five job has long been considered the most reliable way to earn money and support yourself and your family. But with the rise of technology and the uncertainty of the economy, people no longer want to depend on one way of making money that can be easily lost and are looking to diversify their income streams. Building passive income streams has become more popular, as they don’t require that you leave your regular job and can bring in a decent amount of cash.

Passive income refers to making money without the effort required by a full-time job. People can create passive income streams by investing, selling online products, writing a blog, and more. While “passive income” might make it sound like these are quick and easy ways to make money, that’s not the case. It takes work and ingenuity to create passive income streams. You probably won’t become rich overnight, but with patience and effort, you can make a generous income. Here are some ideas to earn passive income.

1. Invest

One of the best ways to create a passive income that requires little effort and produces big rewards is investing. In the long term, a retirement account with a diverse portfolio of stocks is one of the most popular ways to build wealth and retire comfortably. But there are other ways to invest that can earn you cash that you can use before you reach your 60s.

Dividend investing offers regular payouts to investors on their stocks’ earnings. You can also invest in REITs, or real estate investment trusts, which buy, rent, and sell properties. There are also many businesses that allow individuals to invest, even with a small amount of capital. All investments come with risks, so make sure you do careful research.

2. Sell something online

Creating your own online business is easier than ever. Many online businesses can be set up quickly and take only a few hours a week to run if you choose the right one. For example, print-on-demand shops are an easy way to create an online store without having to keep your own inventory and ship products yourself. You create your own designs for t-shirts, mugs, pillows, or other products, and the print-on-demand platform takes care of printing and fulfilling orders.

Another option is to create a digital product. Digital planners, art prints, printable coloring pages, and other digital products are very popular on platforms like Etsy, and if you create a product that people love, you can make a lot of money without much effort.

3. Rent out your house (or a room)

Rental properties can make a lot of money. Long-term rentals require less work than vacation rentals, but vacation rentals can make a lot more if they’re in the right area. Don’t have a house to rent out? You can rent out your own home when you go on vacation temporarily, or even rent out a room.

Rental homes are a great way to make passive income, but you need to calculate the costs. You need to make sure you make a profit after paying the mortgage, taxes, cleaning fees, and other expenses.

4. Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing is perfect if you want to make passive income online. To get started with affiliate marketing, you’ll need to create a blog or social media profile where you can share affiliate links. Then you’ll want to join affiliate programs, preferably ones with a good commission. Once you have some affiliate links to share, your affiliate programs will pay you per click or purchase made through your link. It can take some time to set up your website and get traffic, but once you get going you can make a decent income from affiliate marketing.

5. Sell a course online

Do you have a unique or desirable skill? Do you have knowledge or expertise in a niche that could help others to be successful? Then you can make an online course. Many people will pay to learn something of value, whether it’s a hobby, a way to grow a business, or something else. If you know something that other people want to learn, you can use that to create a course you can sell online. You want to make sure you’re teaching something people really want to learn and that will be helpful if you want your course to be successful. You can record your course lessons and create materials and templates for your students to download. Once you’ve created the course, it’s just a matter of putting it out there for people to buy, and you’ve got yourself a passive income stream.

Creating passive income isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. Having more income streams means you are making more money and aren’t entirely dependent on your day job. If you’re interested in generating passive income, try some of these ideas to get started.