The summer temps are starting to heat up, and so are my passive income streams! May was a great month to start the summer with our AirBnB business picking up! We had every weekend in May booked, which was one of biggest contributing factors to the increased income.
Overall, we were able to generate $1,317 of additional side income, which was our best month so far in 2017. May and June should help get us on track with my overall goal for AirBnB, and possibly could help accelerate the mortgage payoff. It really has showed me how if we do a little hard work, then it can pay residual dividends.
I've continued to do research on buying dividend paying stocks, but still no action until closer to our mortgage payoff. In addition, I feel like I'm seeing a lot of distractions from staying focused on paying off the house. This includes new investment options, acreages, and possibly buying a new washer & dryer. I feel like this time period has required a laser focus on what is our priorities, which can be hard.
Here is a breakdown of my mortgage pay off countdown and how my passive incomes fared.
Mortgage Pay Off Countdown
Balance: $38,122
Paid last month: $2,667.00
Extra Money That Was Applied: $1,359
Goal of Pay Off Date: August 2018
Due to the solid month with AirBnB we were able to contribute a significant portion to our mortgage paydown. Focus this summer will be on the mortgage and having enough saved up to prepay for private school in the fall. As of right now, I'm a little short on having it fully covered.
Here is a breakdown of my passive income streams from this past month and how we are doing it:
2017 Goals
- Pension – [2017 Goal $1308] [made $545 in 2017] – didn't lift a finger this past month to cash in on my previous employers pension and collected $109. Sweet!
- Blog Income – [2017 Goal – $7500] – [made $2708 in 2017] – May was down a little, but still another solid month. I would like this revenue stream to be in the $600 range, but I'll take it. Probably will see a small slowdown in revenue over the summer.
- AirBnB – [2017 Goal $2500] – [made $858 in 2017] – felt really good about the extra $796 we were able to make this past month, and make our goal of $2500 achievable.
- Sell Stuff – [2017 Goal $2500] – [made $54 in 2017] – I really haven't tried to sell anything this year, and am not confident that I'll make the $2,500 goal. I'll see how my other income sources go, but will probably be in a holding pattern with trying to sell stuff.
- Peer-to-Peer Lending – [2017 Goal $25] – [made $13.79 in 2017] – I've had a bad taste in my mouth about lendingclub.com over the past few months. As people payoff their loans, I think I'll take my money out, and start preparing to invest in dividend paying stocks after Aug 2018.
- YouTube Channel – [2017 Goal $25] – [made $12 in 2017] – didn't earn much from YouTube this past month, but I'm still on track to make my yearly goal.
- Schwab Monthly Income Fund – [2017 Goal $10] – [made $3.72 in 2017] – my 2016 investment of $500 from egg sales and selling other household items continues to pay dividends each month. I continue to reinvest these dividends to help grow this passive income.
I was really pleased with the big revenue jump we had last month! I hope to keep the passive income stream train rolling by continuing to put time and effort into the blog and AirBnB, which are my biggest revenue streams.
This is my report of how I'm making side income and using that to payoff my mortgage. I'd be interested to hear what side hustles you've got, and what you are doing with your extra cash! Leave a comment below!
10 Comments
This is so cool Charlie! Your transparency is motivating!
Thanks Jeff! I have actually liked being transparent about my passive income streams, because it holds me accountable. I like tracking it too, which is rewarding to see how your efforts are really paying off!
Really interesting to see all the different ways to pull out some extra income. My wife and I make extra money in four ways primarily – renting out our guest room on Airbnb (gasp! we let strangers into our house); dog sitting using Rover; delivering food on my bike using Postmates, DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Tapingo; and selling furniture that people throw out on the street. It’s amazing how much income builds up over time.
By the way, I’m a fellow Minnesotan like you guys!
Financial panther – way to go! It feels so liberating when you aren’t so reliant on one income source, but are working towards a greater purpose to produce multiple income sources slowly.
Where in Minnesota do you live? Aaron lives in Minnesota and I live in Nebraska.
Killing it Charlie! Impressed by your laser focus.
Thanks Aaron! Really hoping to keep this going.
Anything specific about Lending Club that’s making you feel uneasy about the investment? Our family’s 3 accounts are returning 5.75%, 12.5% and 17.9% with only 1 note with a late payment in the last 1.5 yrs. Pretty good returns for such a low risk IMO.
I have about 25 loans, and I’ve already had 3 defaults. I’ve mainly invested in B, C, and D loans.
Congrats on that side income! And wow, your house payoff is exciting! It’s going to feel wonderful to eliminate that mortgage. :)
As far as side hustles, my main one is freelance writing via UpWork. The amount I make depends entirely on how hustle-y I’m feeling and how much work my clients feel like sending over. But I can make a good $200 – $300 a month.
Nice Picky! I haven’t heard of UpWork before. I like investing in passive income streams that require a little bit of work and a huge return on time investment. But then again…isn’t everybody? :) haha