How We Made $5k+ in Passive Income for Q2 2024

Tracking TNFG’s 2nd Quarter (QTR) 2024 Passive Income (PI) Progress.

The second quarter was standard (from a PI perspective). While investments went for a rollercoaster ride, our PI streak from 2020 stopped. It would be nice to bring in an extra $1,000 per month, the age of easy pandemic money is over.

No grand victories, just minding our time until we retire early. With price inflation up on some goods, we are on pins and needles. A soft landing is tentative while American households are being pushed to the brink of financial insolvency. The game is ‘Cash Flow’ Management. Those who manage their time and money the best will survive the next decade. As such, our mission for the 2nd half is to pay down debts, clear up paperwork issues, and plug leaks.

Time to pump money into $40,000 in home renovations, and prep to sell. Our travel goals are keeping us fulfilled as we remain hopeful for baby #1. The IVF cycle sucks but we are trying while being drained emotionally. We are choosing to have grateful hearts. If you are going through your challenges, courage. Life gets better. We all want the same thing, “peace, happiness, and impact.”

With all that said, let’s review the passive income breakdown of Q2 2024.

Final total: $6,973.97

Almost non-existent consulting in QTR 2 – $1,831.40

My wife had a second job consulting in 2020, we were swimming in money. I used to do more speaking engagements. However, times are tougher.

Money is more expensive to come by. The savings dried up and no one wants to invest in extra labor or 1-on-1 consultations. Nowadays, people are tapped. It makes sense. As such, we are relying on our 9-5s.

I remember people quitting their jobs in 2020-2022. Unemployment is climbing while lucrative tech jobs are harder to come by.

For now, we are grateful for one client.

Financial Consultation: $1,831.40

I need to draft a book for some real passive income and recognition. Additionally, I will get a certified financial planner (CFP) and start contracting with the government. At least that’s the hope. I’m 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: $0.00

Unfortunately, I missed the 2020 wave of mediocre 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. There is a new wave of young book authors as well. Financial literacy is the new self-help industry.

Fortunately, I have morals. All the resources that I created, are available for FREE on this website from Budgeting, Taxes, Wealth Building, etc. I could use the Book revenue. 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: $108.80

Although the blog launched in July 2020, it’s not making any money. I’m guessing it’s a failure. The total Ad-sense value is $210 as of April 2024. I worked for nearly four 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: $3,500.00

Rental Real Estate comes in consistently at $1,400 per month. However, I didn’t talk about the expenses which totaled $3,555. This includes $775 on the mortgage; $290 for the homeowners’ association fee; and, $120 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 +$55 for the 2nd QTR. Read, “How To Build Wealth by Investing in Rental Properties.”

Real Passive Income through Investing for Dividends: $1,533.77 (+39% from Q2 2023)

We brought in $1,533.77 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 2023.

This included companies like $MAIN, $XOM, $NVDA, $HD, $SBUX, etc. Our biggest payout was $866.46 in April (due to the HSA rollover).

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?

For Q2 2024, there was over 6.69k in organic search traffic based on my keywords, with an average impression of 322K. Total impressions are how often a user sees a link to your site in search results.

Authority Score is 30 but the audience is growing. The engagement rate increased by 73.28%. Post-traveling, I’ll have to carve out a better 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. Shout out to the USA being our biggest audience with 237.6k impressions. After that, it’s Canada, the UK, India, and Australia, rounding out our top 5.

It’s all about putting out quality and meaningful content for now. However, I’m not sure how I will feel once we become multi-millionaires by December 2026.

Blog Statistics to Build on Passive Income Weaknesses

My Q2 average position on Google is 17.3 (down 5%). Average position is the average position of your site in search results, based on its highest position whenever it appears in a search. I have a lot of work to do regarding 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 are 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 2024 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 2024.

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 favor consistency which RE and dividends dish out in spades. For 2026-2027, I’ll pour into a CFP certification and instruction.

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

About Author