I’m 34 and make £39k a month in passive income – the top side hustles you can start without spending a penny
A MAN has revealed how he makes a staggering £39,000 a month in passive income – and has shared tips for how you can too.
Ryan Hogue, 34, claims you don’t need to invest huge sums of money to be able to rake in the cash, and he has four free ways that you can try today.
Speaking to CNBC, he said: “I started my first side hustle on Amazon in 2017 for £0.
“At the time, I was working two jobs and freelancing, and I was excited about the potential to make some passive income by selling print on demand t-shirts with Amazon Merch on Demand.
“The Amazon side hustle ultimately allowed me to leave my day job in 2020.
“What began as one experimental side hustle has grown into 10 income streams that now bring in £39,000 ($49,000) a month in passive income.”
Here are Ryan’s top four side hustles that don’t require a penny to set up…
1) Amazon Merch on Demand
Hailing it his “favourite passive income opportunity”, Ryan said that print-on-demand is the ideal side hustle for passive income.
It works around products being printed and shipped following a customer purchasing it online.
You don’t need to hold stock, as Amazon sends the order to one of their production facilities where it is created and shipped on your behalf.
Each month, after creating graphic designs and listing them for sale on different products on Amazon Merch catalogue, he receives a payout on royalties once sales are made.
Ryan advised that “simple, text-based designs can generate plenty of sales”.
2) Print on Demand
You don’t just have to make money off your designs on Amazon Merch, as you can also take them and place them on products in other marketplaces too.
Ryan has been an Etsy seller since 2018 and all he has to pay is a 16p ($0.20) fee to create a product listing.
And if you use an invite link you can get 40 free listings available to you.
He uses Printful to create orders, and this also automatically fulfils orders and notifies shoppers when they are shipped out.
You can also consider cross-listing your products on Walmart, eBay and Redbubble.
It can take some time to scale these income streams to the point where they can replace a full-time income, but in my experience, it can be done
Ryan Hogue
3) Amazon Influencer Program
Being part of the Amazon Influencer Program can also generate you passive income, advises Ryan.
He creates video reviews of Amazon products that he owns, and if someone watches them, you can be paid a commission between one and three per cent.
The program doesn’t cost a penny to join, and you can start filming on your phone right away.
If the item is on sale on Amazon, you can review it and post your video review, even if you bought it via another site.
Ryan has reviewed hundreds of products, while his fiance, who is also on the Amazon Influencer Program, has reviewed up to 1,000 items.
He described it as a “great potential passive income stream.”
Do I need to pay tax on my side hustle income?
MANY people feeling strapped for cash are boosting their bank balance with a side hustle.
The good news is, there are plenty of simple ways to earn some additional income – but you need to know the rules.
When you’re employed the company you work for takes the tax from your earnings and pays HMRC so you don’t have to.
But anyone earning extra cash, for example from selling things online or dog walking, may have to do it themselves.
Stephen Moor, head of employment at law firm Ashfords, said: “Caution should be taken if you’re earning an additional income, as this is likely to be taxable.
“The side hustle could be treated as taxable trading income, which can include providing services or selling products.”
You can make profit of up to £1,000 a year tax-free via the trading allowance, but over this and you’ll usually need to pay tax.
Stephen added: “You need to register for a self-assessment at HMRC to ensure you are paying the correct amount of tax.
“The applicable tax bands and the amount of tax you need to pay will depend on your income.”
If you fail to file a tax return you could end up with a surprise bill from HMRC later on asking you to pay the tax you owe – plus extra fees on top.
4) YouTube
Many people know about YouTube as a side hustle, and you can monetise your content with AdSense if you have 1,000 subscribers and over 4,000 hours watched.
Once you are approved, money comes in monthly depending on how many ads were watched by your viewers.
Ryan said he loves it as an income generator as it “doesn’t feel like work” as he shares clips about his passions and hobbies.
His channel earns around £3,917 ($4,900) a month) and he has just started another one with his fiance unboxing Amazon return pallets.
Ryan concluded: “There are a ton of exciting side hustle opportunities out there. It can take some time to scale these income streams to the point where they can replace a full-time income, but in my experience, it can be done.”