Passive Income Report for May

It’s been many moons since I did a Passive Income report update; I thought it was about time again. Since I last posted a report, I’ve added a few new sources of passive income. These include Ibonds and Udemy. Three months ago I added two new courses on udemy.

Passive Income Sources

• Digital Products
• Patreon
• Youtube Monetization
• Music Royalties
• Skillshare
• Udemy
• Google Adsense
• Dividends
• Ibonds
• Crypto Staking
• Bank Interest
• Credit Card Rewards
• Amazon Affiliate

Digital Products

In case you’ve never tuned in, I sell sheet music and tablature. That’s what I’m referring to when I say Digital Products. These tabs only range in price from $1-$8, so it takes A LOT to make much money. I made $33.97 from digital tab downloads. It turns out, I’ve already surpassed that number for June, so looking better.

Patreon

I don’t consider Patreon 100% passive. On the other hand, it isn’t much work at all for me. I have so much music and videos uploaded, it’s almost set it and forget. I simply upload new material about once a week. Sure, it takes time, but it beats a “real” job. I made $269.24 from Patreon. I’ve lost a few members over the last month or so-People come and go on there.

Youtube Monetization

Once again, Youtube isn’t 100% passive. At the same time, I barely do anything with my youtube now. I have over ten years worth of videos uploaded onto youtube and it pays me regardless if I upload anything new. Here lately I’ve only uploaded shorts (which don’t pay much at all!). I made $30.19 from Youtube.

Music royalties

Music Royalties are pathetic, hahaha. If I bothered calculating it (which I won’t), it is less than $1. This includes royalties from Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and more. My music is just not that popular on digital streaming platforms.

Skillshare

I’ve been on Skillshare awhile. It’s never been a great paying platform except during the pandemic. I made $35.48 from my two classes on Skillshare. I wished it paid better, but it doesn’t. I have hundreds and hundreds of “students” on Skillshare.

Udemy

I have only been doing Udemy three months. I’m actually really liking it. Sure, they take a HUGE cut of my pay, but they handle EVERYTHING. I like it a bit better than teachable. I just got two five star reviews, which I’m sure will only lead to more people signing up for the two courses I have on there. I made $21.49 from udemy. Not bad for month #3.

Google Adsense

I made $2.08 from Google Adsense. I don’t make much from Adsense, some times I think about cutting it off entirely. However, my website traffic is picking up. I also made some changes to the AMOUNT of ads I’m showing (less but more strategic). Still experimenting. Furthermore, in the field of music, ads simply don’t pay much per click.

Dividends

I made $61.75 in dividends in my Brokerage account. I made $9.35 in dividends in my retirement account. I’ll spare you the individual breakdown.

I bonds

I put a little in for my 2021 I-bond contribution and some in for 2022. Right now, I’m making around $17.80 in interest on my I-bonds. If you read my blog, you know I had to reconfirm my account, so I’m waiting for that and I plan on adding another couple thousand to it. I-bonds are paying almost 10% in interest, so it’s a no brainer right now.

Crypto Staking

I’m not heavily into Crypto like I once was (thankfully!). All I own now is Elrond, a few hundred bucks worth of TRON, and about $50 of Gemini USD, lol. I’m guessing my rewards are somewhere around $8 at most. I used to make like $30 from ADA, but I sold out of that first of the year.

Credit Union Interest

I made $36.57 in interest from my Credit Union in May. To get the interest I have to use my credit card 12 times (easily done, it could be a pack of gum) and spend like $300.

Credit Card Rewards

I always feel weird listing this, but I guess it’s “passive income.” I have the Citi Double cash rewards card. I made $2.51 in rewards back. I generally oscillate months between this credit card and the one I have with my Credit Union for larger purchases.

Amazon Affiliate

Amazon is one of those things I barely make anything at. I made a whopping .14 cents, hahaha. What can I say, I had a customer buy a music book from them and I got like 4% I guess.

Total Passive Income for the month of May 2022

I made a total of $521.06 in passive income for the month of May. I’ll take it! My credit union savings and interest gives me a healthy boost on the months I don’t have much dividends.

GOALS with passive investing

I really want to get my passive income up to a CONSISTENT $500 a month. For many, this isn’t much money. However, this really helps me out to have this money to fall back on when my business is slow. Looking back over my spreadsheets, in 2020, I was making $200-220 in passive income a month. So within two years I have DOUBLED my passive income. I do feel like I should be further along, there are things I could be doing a better job of. However, I’m making progress.

In the near future, I think the Udemy course is going to grow faster, now that I have some reviews. I’m also already outlining a part 2 to one of the courses. Given my newly acquired skills in search engine optimization, I am seeing an immediate improvement in my website visits and conversions. I think my Digital Products sales are going to continue to grow. I suspect my Youtube income will hold steady or drop, as I have little to no interest in spending time on that “project” anymore.

Anyways, thanks so much for tuning in, I appreciate the views. Please let me know if you have any questions; I’d also love to hear about your PASSIVE INCOME JOURNEY!