Ideas to invest in your time off

An uncertain economy and job insecurity can cause anxiety for those with a single income source. A shortage of time and money can also limit business opportunities.

Thankfully, several options are available to increase your sources of revenue. You can earn money from passive investments that only require a little dedication every now and then. You can manage them at night and on weekends, without compromising your day job.

Here are 4 passive income ideas for all budgets:

Forex trading

Trading currencies and gold online is pretty easy thanks to companies that allow you to create an account in a few clicks and get started. You should try with a demo first, to make sure you are comfortable with the platform and trading tools, then you can trade for real. The trading can be as active or passive as you like, providing an hedge for a future holiday or a purchase in a foreign currency, or a little extra income every month.

Peer to Peer Loans:

Traditional financing from banks often requires strict criteria be met. Many otherwise promising business ideas or social causes fail to meet these rigid standards. Venture capitalists may finance larger scale projects, but what about loans for the everyday person?

The rise of peer to peer lending is helping reduce this funding shortfall. Crowd funding sites such as prosper.com or lendingclub.com feature borrowers for an array of purposes. The sites will prequalify prospects for basic legitimacy.

Along with other lenders, you can loan money to individuals (or to businesses through peer to business lending) based on specified terms. Peer loans are mostly for a few months and often cap how much you can lend to one borrower. You can choose various maturities to create a laddered loan portfolio at minimal cost.

Personal loans have no security or collateral and should be evaluated closely. However, with low barrier to entry, potential interest income and no commitment, peer to peer lending can improve your cash flow.

Dividend Paying Stocks:

Some companies share their profits with shareholders by paying out cash dividends. Several stocks have a history of dividend payments that provide passive income for investors, mostly on a quarterly basis.

While dividend paying stocks run the gamut, these are generally larger companies with brand recognition. Such stocks are often available through direct stock purchase plans that allow you to buy shares directly from the company with low minimums.

Telecom and utility stocks are among the industries that have relatively high dividends.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs):

For passive income and diversification, you may also consider REITs (real estate investment trusts). These are corporations that own real estate and collect rent or loan money to earn mortgage interest. Hybrid REITs do each of these.

To maintain tax exempt status, REITs are required to pay 90% of taxable income to shareholders. This often results in high yields that are paid on a monthly or quarterly basis.

Since real estate often rises and falls differently than stock markets, owning REIT shares may lower your total portfolio risk. Shares of publicly traded REITs can be purchased through online brokerages at lower costs.

Diversify Your Income and Asset Classes:

Improving your cash flow helps increase quality of life. Earning passive income leads to better personal finances and preserves your most important asset…Time.