'It took off and sold like crazy,' she said, and soon began generating roughly $5,000 in monthly income for her. In March, she spent a week creating her first digital product - a 50-page ebook about how to live a simplified life priced at $35, 'just to see how it would do,' she said. She used to spend several hours per week consulting small businesses on social media marketing.īut earlier this year, she decided to seek out something that would not only provide her extra income, but more of another valuable resource: time.

In addition to her full-time job, Puls says she's 'always had a side hustle' to make additional money for her family.

While Puls' husband still works, she says the income has been huge for her family's financial stability, and that her flexible work life has helped them avoid steep child care costs. Rental properties, high-yield savings accounts, and dividend stocks are some traditional examples of passive income, but today, some Americans are turning to digital products, online courses, social media ad revenue, cash-back rewards, car-sharing, and even vending machines as new-age ways to work smarter and not harder. Puls is among the Americans who have found ways to earn passive income, an income stream that often requires some initial time and investment, but then generates cash thereafter with minimal labor. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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