Here’s How to Bring in $5k Passive Income in Q1 2023

Tracking The Neighborhood Finance Guy’s (TNFG) QTR 1 2023 Passive Income Progress

The TNFG Houshold 1st quarter numbers are in. Gone are the $15,000 quarters of 2021, now it’s the season of the humbled quarters of $5,000 or less. While CY 2022 ended with over $45,000 in passive income, we will likely get a smidge over $20,000. Household expenses are still rising however this is why we value everything over the long term. In a year, we will reach Millionaire status.

With all that said, 2023 is going to be tough but fair. That’s the only way to rebalance the economy.

A lot of Americans are still drawing down from savings, using more credit, and opting for cheaper brands. Without an adequate (net) cash flow strategy and passive income, many are headed toward generational poverty. China is the world’s latest wild card. As China reopens, they have the potential of dragging the world out of this downward spiral.

As always, no matter the challenge, my wife and I are minding the businesses that pay us i.e. our 9-5 jobs. After that, we are traveling to unwind a bit. One thing that I realized this quarter is that we constantly make EDITS to our financial plan. It’s important to stay flexible when a car breaks down and you take out of loan for $55,000 for a new Hybrid.

Final total: $5,441.94 (Down 7.22% from Q4 2022)

Non-existent consulting in QTR 1 – $0.00

We went from two consultation side hustles to zero dollars in 2023.

Americans are headed back to the office and a super broke. With the market tanking, most don’t see the value in financial literacy, don’t have the discretionary income to pour into their own growth, or don’t like me.

The latter is more likely accurate.

Most people crave the easy answer and end up missing out on setting themselves up for success. Even with the turbulence, our net worth went up $26,379 in March. That’s the power of a great financial plan.

In 2024 as expenses soften, 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 new job and interviewing constantly. We might end up in Alaska at this rate. Wherever we end up, we are sticking to the net/max financial plan. It’s beta tested.

See how the Business Cycle is tracking based on Fidelity’s Q2 2023 estimations:

Passive Income Producing Side Hustles: $4,400

Still working on the mental notes for the e-books. In the meantime, we purchased a new car with cost nearly $900 per month. And we are back to travel planning and trip purchasing season.

The goal in the future is to get book revenue of $500 per month, it would still be nice. An investment of $500 per month at 8% can turn into $1M in 34 years.

That’s easy wealth. That’s also known as the get-rich-slow scheme.

Additionally, I think it gives creatives like me more credibility if I became an author even though I’ve written over 400 blog posts. Time to be an author!

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

Misc. Passive: $200.00

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 $200 (April/December 2022 respectively). Imagine that, work for nearly two years for $200. But this $200 wasn’t some miraculous web fund, instead, it was a back pay of a loan to a friend.

Yeah, I’m writing for FREE.

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 or $4,200 for the quarter. However, I didn’t talk about the expenses which totaled $3,450. This includes the monthly $775 on the mortgage; $290 for the homeowners’ association fee; and, $185 for Xfinity.

Net result about +$450 for the 1st QTR. All this to say, it’s not that sexy to be a real estate investor. Nor are efforts that passive. Some like to say they bring in more than $1,000 per month but for some reason exclude their expenses. The net value is not as cool when you say it to someone.

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

Real Passive Income through Investing for Dividends: $1,041.94 (Up 11.72% from Q1 2022)

In total, we brought in nearly $1,042 worth of dividends in the first quarter through our five investment vehicles. Not a bad sum at all.

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 11.72% increase from the first quarter of 2022.

This included companies like $MAIN, $XOM, $NVDA, $HD, $MMM, $JEPI, $SBUX, $VTI and etc. Our biggest payout was $548.69 in March 2023. The last month of the QTR is always huge.

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

Blog Growth and Passive Income Potential? Meh!

In Q1, there was over 1.4k in organic search traffic based on my keywords. Authority Score is 38 but the audience is growing (down 20.66% YTD). The visibility increased by 5.04% as well. See analytics below. As we headed into next year, I’m closing out a lot of the outstanding posts to make room for a pivot toward Government Employee + Personal Finances.

While I didn’t set out to be an influencer in any shape, I’m considering bringing my career into alignment with my hobbies. In the meantime, I’m still cranking out what I consider to be high-quality financial information even if it doesn’t muster a lot of views.

I’m not sure how I will feel once we become Millionaires by April 2024. Until then, we look forward to seeing the world. This year, we have headed south of the board and then way more South America. Next year, back to Europe. The goal is to get to 50 countries by 50 years old while knocking out world wonders, UNESCO heritage locations, and all the continents.

Blog Statistics to Build on Passive Income Weaknesses

Total views for the first quarter were 19,220 with nearly 95k impressions. I still don’t know what it all means to be honest lol.

My average position is 34.5 (up 5.04%). 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, 101 quotes, or the best list of something. Blogging is definitely more work than a gold mine.

1st Quarter Kick-Off For 2023

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 while keeping my day job.

I have a feeling that years from now; this website will be the treasure trove that it was meant to be. 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, How to Bring in $45k of Passive Income by Q4 2022 – $5,865.71

And now $5,442 to kick start this 2023 game!

Final Thoughts about 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 in 2025. I really favor consistency which RE and dividends dish out in spades.

It’s all about getting in alignment with yourself. Got to create synergy to breed more tangible opportunities.

For 2024, 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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