How much do you think about diversifying your income? Have you ever tried it?
According to this article from Budgets are Sexy, a guy by the name of Whiskeytrail is trying to add a new income stream for every month of the year. Now that’s diversity!
As I read through the post and comments I could only think about how important it really is to diversify your income. While creating a new income stream 12 months in a row might be a challenge it’s a surefire way to help you determine which streams are worth pursuing more seriously and which are a waste of time.
In my quest to diversify my income I thought it’d be helpful to share some of things I’m doing. Here are some ways I’ve already diversified my income this year and others that are on my to-do list.
What I’ve Done to Diversify my Income
Here are some of things that I’ve already done this year to create more income streams for myself.
Took On a New Kind of Work
Since October of 2013 all of my income has come from writing. Since I write for several people I am already diversified but I wanted to take it a bit further.
I started offering virtual assistant services a couple months ago and it has worked really well. As of right now I’m bringing in an additional $400 – $500 a month by offering this service.
Started Investing in Dividend Stocks
Investing has always been one of those things that I said I would do but never got around to. Earlier this year I decided to change that.
My start was kind of shaky since I made the rookie mistake of buying penny stocks. I’ve then smartened up a little bit and have decided to build a portfolio of dividend stocks. I’ve invested a portion of my money in dividend stocks for the last four months and I plan to make this a lifelong routine.
What I Am Going to Do to Diversify My Income
There are a lot of things I’d would like to try to create new income streams. For the sake of this post I am only listing the things that I believe I will be able to successfully pull off this year.
Open Up a SEP IRA
I still haven’t opened up a retirement account. Yeah, I know. Shame on me.
I’ve started researching SEP IRA’s. Since I’m self-employed this looks like my best bet. I can contribute up 20 percent of my net self-employment income and I’ll also lower next year’s tax bill by contributing.
This account will be opened up this month.
Sell Stuff Online
I’ve also challenged myself to see how much money I can make by selling all of my junk online this month.
My “yard sale” pile is rapidly growing and I need to cash in on my old stuff. And with two growing young children I feel like I’ll always have things that I need to get rid of!
Final Thoughts
Since you never know what life will throw you I think it’s very important that you find 2-3 reliable income sources.
It takes trial and error to figure out what will work best but if you don’t try you won’t know!
In what ways have you tried to diversify your income?
Photo Credit: PPIBoon