How We Made $5k+ in Passive Income for Q2 2023

Tracking TNFG’s QTR 2 2023 Passive Income (PI) Progress

The second quarter was mild (from a PI perspective). While investments raged on, our PI streak from 2020 stopped. It would be nice to bring in an extra $500 or even $250 consistently but that’s not the case anymore.

No grand victories, just minding our time until we become millionaires. With price inflation up on some goods, we are on pins and needles to land softly into the next expansion cycle. Our primary mission for the 2nd half is to pay down debts, clear up paperwork issues, and/or generally plug leaks.

My internal compass still leans toward overall gratitude, and even more toward owning a bigger forever home with an office. Additionally, our travel goals are keeping us fulfilled as we remain hopeful for baby #1. If you aren’t at this stage yet, I can tell you that life gets better. In the end, all you want is peace, happiness, and impact.

With all that said, time to go over the passive income breakdown of Q2 2023.

Final total: $5,297.52

Almost non-existent consulting in QTR 2 – $50

My wife and I use to do some consulting in 2020. When people had money, they invested in extra labor and even one on one consultations. Nowadays, people are tapped. It makes sense. As such, we are relying on our 9-5s.

Might get a small stipend for a Yale group consultation or nah. For now, this year is worth a total of $50.

Financial Consultation: $50.00

Basically, In the future, I would need to draft E-Books and a real book for passive income that could generate consultations. Or get a true certification and start contracting with the government.

All in all, I’m definitely not a salesperson so I’m leaning into sharing opportunities for building wealth versus merely as a means to passive income.

Passive Income Producing Side Hustles: $4,200

Unfortunately, I missed the last wave of e-books. And maybe that’s a good thing. Everyone was dropping half-baked financial information that was often extremely negligent just to get a buck.

Fortunately, I have morals. All the resources that I created, are available for FREE on this website from Budgeting, Taxes, Wealth Building and etc.

I could use the Book revenues. Even $500 per month, would still be nice. An investment of $500 per month at 8% can turn into $1M in 34 years.

That’s easy money.

Additionally, I think it give creatives like me more credibility if I became an author even though I’ve written over 500 blog posts. This passive income is proving to not be that passive at all.

Ad Revenue: $0.00

Although the blog launched in July 2020, it’s really not making any money. I’m guessing it’s a failure. The total Ad-sense value is $100 as of April 2022. Worked for nearly three years for that.

This is terrible. Blogging is truly God’s work. If you want to succeed at this; read, “How to make money with ads on your site with Google AdSense.”

Rental Income: $4,200.00

Rental Real Estate comes in consistently at $1,400 per month. However, I didn’t talk about the expenses which totaled $3,520. This includes $775 on the mortgage; $290 for the homeowners’ association fee; and, $108 for Xfinity. With a pending $500 repair for the garage door (mandated by the HOA) and $500 for annual cleaning (as a thank you for my tenants).

Net result about +$681 for the 2nd QTR, and Positive $300 YTD.

Read, “How To Build Wealth by Investing in Rental Properties.”

Real Passive Income through Investing for Dividends: $1,047.52 (+30% from Q2 2022)

In total, we brought in $1,047.52 worth of dividends in the second quarter through our five investment vehicles.

These vehicles include one M1 account for our after-tax portfolio, two ROTH IRAs, one HSA, one traditional IRA, and one Health Savings Account (HSA). Well, that part that’s invested.

This represents over a 39.16% increase from the second quarter of 2022.

This included companies like $MAIN, $XOM, $NVDA, $HD, $MMM, $JEPI, $SBUX, $VTI and etc. Our biggest payout was $515.97 in June.

The last month of the QTR will always be huge. Read “How to Make Money from Dividends: 7 Ways to Profit.”

Blog Promotion, Growth, and Passive Income Potential?

In June 2023, there was over 2.2k in organic search traffic based on my keywords. Authority Score is 30 but the audience is growing (Up 19.8% YTD). The visibility increased by 11% as well. Post-traveling, I’ll have to carve out a better time schedule for weekly blog post releases that I can keep up with.

I like the element of being consistent for the few viewers that I do have.

It’s all about putting out quality and meaningful content for the time being. However, I’m not sure how I will feel once we become Millionaires by December 2023 or multi-millionaires by December 2026. Some of the Financial Griot Podcast team is headed to #FinCon2023; however, I won’t be there.

Go to conserve money where possible. Still likely to go to Texas in October and (back to) Philly in November.

Blog Statistics to Build on Passive Income Weaknesses

The total number of views for the second quarter was 28,175 with 177.1k impressions. Interesting improvements overall. Over 50% increases here and there. I’m guessing it’s from the feature in Marriage, Kids, and Money as well as the New York Times article on 401k Financial Hardships.

My average position is 30.9 (down 3.6%). I have a lot of work to do in regard to ranking keywords. This is among the things that I needed to learn in my 20s as well as better branding. Building a following isn’t what it used to be.

High-quality photos and engagement is the name of the game. Some people get the clicks and likes but I don’t. Oooh well, I’m more focused on Early Retirement.

2^nd QTR 2023 Progress Report – Final Thoughts

Blogging is very difficult and it’s ultimately not very passive. I put in way too much work for little to no payout. And the wifey doesn’t like it either.

However, I have a feeling that years from now; it will be a treasure trove. For now, at least we did better than Q1 2023.

In regards to increasing our passive income streams, I’m strongly leaning toward just making more money in my day job and focusing on owning more Real Estate for rental revenue and investing for more dividends (later).

I really favor consistency which RE and dividends dish out in spades. For 2024-2025, I’ll pour into a Certified Financial Planner certification and instruction.

In the end, there are multiple ways to build wealth and some ways might not be a great fit for you. Check out the Financial Griot Podcast where we chat all things Financial Literacy and Life. Or link with me on Instagram.

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