How to Bring in $45k of Passive Income by Q4 2022

Tracking TNFG’s QTR 4 2022 Passive Income Progress

The fourth quarter numbers are in. Gone are the $20,000 quarters. Our base efforts are settling near $11,500 per quarter (or $3,835 per month). Unfortunately, inflation is still kicking our collective butts. While household expenses are mounting, as we head toward a global energy crisis for the winter.

2023 is set to be a sleeper. Even though analysts say crisis, most people will carry on as usual. In the US, this will mean drawing down from savings, using more credit, and opting for a cheaper brand. With price inflation up, we narrowly avoid a hard global recession but settled for a quiet one.

China is the world’s wild card. As China tries to reopen, so will global manufacturing.

With emergencies and an expensive new AC, some of our household goals did not materialize in 2022. We had to get creative and competitive for 2023. As we work toward a new EV car, these high-interest rates will be difficult to overcome. Our primary mission for the 1st quarter of 2023 is to get credit and Debt to Income (DTI) healthy.

It’s all expenses on deck.

As always, no matter the challenge, my wife and I lean toward Gratitude. Too often we forget that these are minor problems in comparison. As such, our day-to-day growth is not and will never be centered on $$$. Instead, it’s about the journey and documenting the process for the future. By sharing our challenge, we do hope to equip you with experience, knowledge, and solutions along the way.

Final total: $5,865.71 (Down 5.92% from Q3)

Almost non-existent consulting in QTR 4 – $493.50

Wow. We went from two consultation side hustles to zero. My wife’s passive consultation was a nice boost in 2021 but she quit! Dang quiet quitter.

Most of that was because she headed back to the office. I’m remote working and puppy-sitting. The financial literacy online education boom slowed to a crawl as the market dried up in 2022.

All of this is not giving passive income vibes.

I’m looking to head back to college for the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) accreditation. Maybe that will bring in more money? At a price tag of $7,500, it’s a tough call. My wife, on the other hand, is looking for a bigger payday with better flexibility. Ultimately, we are sticking to traveling and our net/max financial plan.

See how the Business Cycle is tracking based on Fidelity’s Q4 estimations:

Passive Income Producing Side Hustles: $4,300

Well, I didn’t knock out the goal of creating e-books. We’ve been traveling and I’m being extremely lazy (the latter is more accurate).

Time to get my priorities in order. Book revenues could be as low as $500 per month, but it would still be nice.

An investment of $500 per month at 8% can turn into $1M in 34 years.

That’s easy wealth.

Additionally, I think it gives creatives like me more credibility if I became an author even though I’ve written over 300 blog posts.

This passive income is proving to not be that passive at all.

Misc. Passive: $100.00 (Dec. 2022)

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 $200 as of December 2022. The first payment of $100 was in April 2022. Imagine that, work for nearly two years for $200. That’s wild.

Small donations help folks.

Blogging is definitely not the most efficient use of time. 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

Our Rental RE income brings in $1,400 per month. However, I didn’t talk about the expenses which totaled $3,450. This includes $775 on the mortgage; $290 for the homeowners’ association fee; and, $85 for Xfinity.

Net result about +$750 for the 4th QTR, and Negative $934 YTD. All this to say, it’s not that sexy to be a real estate investor. Nor are efforts that passive.

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

Real Passive Income through Investing for Dividends: $1,072.21

In total, we brought in nearly $1,075 worth of dividends in the fourth 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 11.12% increase from the fourth quarter of 2021.

This included companies like $MAIN, $XOM, $NVDA, $HD, $MMM, $JEPI, $SBUX, $VTI and etc. Our biggest payout was $701.61 in December. The last month of the QTR is always huge.

Read “How to Make Money from Dividends: 7 Ways to Profit.”

Blog Promotion, Growth, and Passive Income Potential?

In December, there was over 1.8k in organic search traffic based on my keywords. Authority Score is 38 but the audience is growing (Up 22% YTD). The visibility increased by 13% as well. See analytics below. 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 early 2025. Until then, we look forward to seeing the world. This year, we are headed south of the board and then way more South America.

Blog Statistics to build on Passive Income Weaknesses

Total views for the fourth quarter was 38,374 with over 1.8k clicks from organic google searches and 138.8k impressions. I don’t know what it all means to be honest lol.

My average position is 29.7 (down 7.17%). 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. Oh well, I’m more focused on Early Retirement, Financial planning, and travel.

Four Quarters of Progress

Blogging is very difficult and it’s ultimately not very passive. I put in a lot of work for little to no payout. But this is the price to chronicle the journey.

I have a feeling that years from now; it will be a treasure trove. Every bit helps. So here’s the recap:

• Almost $15k Passive Income for Q1 2022 – A Little Money Here and There – $15,101.90
• How we made $20k in Passive Income for Q2 2022 – $18,813.38
• How to Do More with a Little Passive Income in Q3 2022 – $6,234.54
• Plus this 4th QTR – $5,865.71

Grand total of Passive Income for 2022 – $46,015.53

Final Thoughts going into 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.

I really favor consistency which RE and dividends dish out in spades.

For 2023, 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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