Julia, what are you doing?

Julia，你在幹什麼？

I'm just sitting on a beach.

我只是坐在沙灘上。

While money gets handed to me on a silver platter, thank you.

雖然錢是白花花的銀子，但還是要謝謝你。

How is that possible?

這怎麼可能？

It's called passive income, babe.

這就是所謂的被動收入，寶貝。

Deal with it.

接受吧。

Oh yeah, I've heard of that.

哦，是的，我聽說過。

But is that really possible outside of daydreams?

但是，在白日夢之外，這真的可能嗎？

Daydreams?

白日夢？

Oh, dang it.

哦，該死。

You just have to ruin everything, don't you?

你就是要毀掉一切，是嗎？

Passive income is technically a real thing, but that's not how it works.

被動收入在技術上是真實存在的，但並非如此。

If I had a nickel for every time a person or client asked me to tell them how to create passive income, well, I'd have a lot of passive income.

如果每次有人或客戶讓我告訴他們如何創造被動收入，我都能得到五分錢，那我就會有很多被動收入。

Passive income, a.k.a. mailbox money or unearned income, is the ultimate dream of every investor.

被動收入，又稱「郵箱錢」或「不勞而獲」，是每個投資者的終極夢想。

Investopedia defines it as money earned from an enterprise with little or no ongoing effort.

Investopedia 給它下的定義是：只需付出很少或根本不需要付出持續努力就能從企業中賺到的錢。

It's important to separate this from having an investment grow in value.

重要的是要將這一點與投資增值區分開來。

Let's say you buy a single stock, and three days later it's worth $100 more.

比方說，你買了一支股票，三天後它的價值增加了 100 美元。

That is an unrealized gain.

這就是未實現收益。

If you sell the stock, pay the tax, and pocket the difference in cash, that is income.

如果你賣出股票，繳納稅款，並將差額以現金形式收入囊中，這就是收入。

Thankfully, there are options to create a stream of income that don't require you to directly trade your time and effort.

值得慶幸的是，有一些創造收入來源的方法不需要你直接付出時間和精力。

Some people with specialized skills, talents, or training can create content, such as an online course, a book, a piece of music, or intellectual property.

一些擁有專業技能、天賦或培訓的人可以創造內容，如線上課程、書籍、音樂或知識產權。

Believe it or not, we actually already made a Webby-nominated episode detailing how much content creators really make.

信不信由你，其實我們已經制作了一集獲得威比提名的節目，詳細介紹了內容創作者的真實收入。

Spoiler alert, the majority of normal, non-celebrity creators are making pennies on the hour.

劇透一下，大多數普通的、非名人的創作者每小時的收入只有幾分錢。

Plus, it's a ton of work, even for those who won the influencer lottery.

此外，這也是一項繁重的工作，即使幸運成為網紅的人也不例外。

How often do you see even the most successful make a video about how burned out they are?

即使是最成功的人，你又有多少機會看到他們製作影片，講述自己是多麼的疲憊不堪？

So income?

有收入嗎？

Possibly.

有可能。

Passive?

算被動收入嗎？

No.

不算。

You could also start your own business that eventually runs itself.

你還可以自己創業，最終實現自我經營。

But there are a lot of steps to get there.

但要達到這一目標，還需要很多步驟。

First, it has to be successful enough to create consistent profit.

首先，它必須足夠成功，能夠持續創造利潤。

Unfortunately, if you ask anyone who has a profitable business, they'll tell you that it is the opposite of effortless.

不幸的是，如果你問任何一個擁有盈利業務的人，他們都會告訴你，這與毫不費力恰恰相反。

Secondly, you need to have the skill to make great hires and eventually step back from your role while maintaining some sort of payout structure.

其次，你需要具備僱用優秀人才的技能，並最終從自己的崗位上退下來，同時保持某種薪酬結構。

So this, too, needs to be kicked off the passive list.

所以，這也需要從被動清單中刪除。

So what does fit the definition of passive income?

那麼，什麼才符合被動收入的定義呢？

Let's start with a shout out to defined benefit plans, a.k.a. the pension.

首先，讓我們為固定福利計劃（又稱養老金）鼓掌。

I know they may seem like a thing of a bygone era, but they're not completely off the map yet.

我知道它們可能看起來像是過去時代的東西，但它們還沒有完全消失。

Pensions are, for the most part, paid for and managed by the employer or an employee organization, like a union.

養老金大多由僱主或僱員組織（如工會）支付和管理。

The amount the person gets paid out is a function of how long they've worked and how much they were earning over that period of time.

支付給個人的金額取決於其工作時間的長短以及在此期間的收入。

Many of them can last no matter how long you live and sometimes be transferred to a remaining immediate family member upon your death.

無論你活多久，其中很多都可以持續下去，有時在你去世後還可以轉移給剩下的直系親屬。

Unfortunately, pensions within the private sector are pretty much toast.

不幸的是，私營部門的退休金幾乎全都泡湯了。

Some unionized employees, like the United Auto Workers and the Teamsters, have fought to keep some version of pensions around, although not often for new or younger employees.

一些工會員工，如聯合汽車工人工會和卡車司機工會，一直在為保留某種形式的養老金而奮鬥，儘管新僱員或年輕僱員往往不享受養老金。

Public school teachers, active duty military members, and federal, state, and municipal government employees also tend to have access to them.

公立學校教師、現役軍人以及聯邦、州和市政府僱員也往往有機會接觸到它們。

But in order for you to get enough money to live off of, you need to work in the same sector for a long period of time.

但是，為了獲得足夠的生活費，你需要長期在同一行業工作。

And you can't access them until retirement age.

而且要到退休年齡才能使用。

Between the ages of 25 to 34, the average worker is going to hold four and a half different jobs.

在 25 至 34 歲之間，平均每個員工要從事四份半不同的工作。

So if you do happen to gain a relatively small one during your time in the workforce, you can deal with it in a couple ways.

所以，如果你在工作期間碰巧獲得了相對較小的一筆收入，你可以通過幾種方法來處理。

You could roll it out into an IRA and pick the investments yourself.

你可以將其轉入個人退休帳戶，然後自己選擇投資項目。

You could accept a lump payment and take the substantial tax hit, or just leave it alone, especially if you think you might go back to that job again at some point.

你可以接受一次性付款並承擔鉅額稅款，也可以置之不理，特別是如果你認為你可能會在某個時候重新回到那份工作。

Ideally, you should talk to a professional about which approach is right for you, as there are a lot of factors to consider.

理想情況下，你應該向專業人士諮詢哪種方法適合你，因為有很多因素需要考慮。

Let's say you want a steady, passive income stream, but you don't have access to a pension.

比方說，你想獲得穩定的被動收入流，但你沒有養老金。

You could purchase an annuity.

你可以購買年金。

An annuity is simply a guaranteed payout over a period of time.

年金是在一段時間內保證支付的款項。

Sounds great, right?

聽起來不錯吧？

But this is serious buyer beware territory.

不過，買方可要當心了。

For one, the fees on these are super high due to the fact that the commission payout is massive.

其一，由於佣金支付數額巨大，這些費用超高。

Sales reps in the disguise of financial advisors push these hard, especially if you're within a certain age bracket.

偽裝成財務顧問的銷售代表會大力推銷這些產品，尤其是如果你在某個年齡段。

Secondly, you gotta have 20 to 25 times more of what you want in an annual income before you start to take from it.

其次，在你開始從收入中提取之前，你的年收入必須是你想要的收入的 20 到 25 倍。

So if you put a million dollars in up front, that will equate to a $40,000 to $50,000 annual income.

所以，如果你先投入一百萬美元，就相當於每年有四五萬美元的收入。

And yet again, these are usually only paying out in your golden years.

而且，這些通常只在你的黃金歲月才會支付。

So wait, I already have to be a millionaire and old to get paid decently on these things?

那麼，等一下，我必須是個百萬富翁，而且年紀很大，才能在這些事情上得到體面的報酬？

Well, where can I make money I can use in my younger years?

那麼，我在哪裡可以賺到我年輕時可以用的錢呢？

Like rental properties?

像是出租物業嗎？

Well, more bad news is coming your way.

更多壞消息正向你們襲來。

First off, unless you can buy a house in cash with no mortgage or a very small one, you're going to have plenty of overhead.

首先，除非你能用現金買房，沒有貸款或貸款很少，否則你會有很多開銷。

There's repairs, lawn upkeep, property taxes, HOA dues, insurance,

還有維修、草坪養護、房產稅、HOA（美國屋主協會）會費、保險，

and if you do have to get a mortgage, the cost to borrow money for real estate just went up significantly thanks to the Fed raising rates.

如果你必須辦理抵押貸款，由於美聯儲加息，房地產貸款成本剛剛大幅上升。

Many experts consider $100 to $200 a month net cash flow to be a good return.

許多專家認為，每月 100 到 200 美元的淨現金流就是很好的回報。

To be clear, rental properties aren't necessarily a bad investment, but they're best used to play a long-term game focused on building equity.

說白了，出租房產並不一定是一項糟糕的投資，但最好用來玩一場以積累資產為重點的長期遊戲。

That way, down the road, you'll have a paid-off house that can create a decent amount of cash flow.

這樣一來，你就會擁有一套已付清房款的房子，並能創造一筆可觀的現金流。

We've talked in a previous episode about watching out for people online trying to convince you that rental properties are effortless cash cows.

在上一集中，我們談到過要警惕網上有人試圖讓你相信出租物業是不費吹灰之力的搖錢樹。

Believe me, they're not making most of their money on their own properties.

相信我，他們的大部分錢都不是從自己的房產上賺來的。

They're making their money selling you the promise that you possibly could.

他們向你兜售可能實現的承諾，以此賺錢。

Finally, there are securities that pay income.

最後，還有支付收入的證券。

For example, there are stocks that pay dividends.

例如，有些股票可以分紅。

This is when a company basically pays the stockholder's cash, which you can then choose to pocket or reinvest.

這時，公司基本上是向股東支付現金，然後你可以選擇將其收入囊中或進行再投資。

It is taxed, of course, but it is accessible outside of locked-up retirement accounts.

當然，這筆錢是要繳稅的，但它可以在鎖定的退休帳戶之外使用。

Big, very established company stocks like Exxon and McDonald's are classic examples.

埃克森石油公司和麥當勞等歷史悠久的大公司股票就是典型的例子。

If you're curious about what they typically yield, you can look up their dividend yield online.

如果你想知道它們通常的收益率，可以上網查詢它們的股息率。

Bonds and mutual funds that are a combo of both can also pay interest or dividends.

債券和共同基金這兩者的組合也可以支付利息或股息。

But here, again, you have to think about percentages.

但在這裡，你又必須考慮到百分比。

Most options in this space that you can rely on will consistently yield somewhere between 2% and 5%.

在這個領域，你可以信賴的大多數期權收益率都在 2% 到 5% 之間。

You might think $100,000 is a lot of money, and it is,

你可能會認為 10 萬美元是一大筆錢，的確如此，

but if you tried to create consistent, passive income from it now, you'd realistically be looking at $2,000 to $5,000 a year.

但如果你現在就想從中創造穩定的、被動的收入，那麼你一年的實際收入將在 2000 美元到 5000 美元之間。

Now, the options we've talked about so far are the most universally accessible ones.

目前，我們所討論的這些方案都是最普及的方案。

There are others, of course.

當然還有其他的。

The easiest one is just make sure any savings you have is in a high-yield savings account, which are paying more than ever, thanks to high interest rates.

最簡單的方法就是確保你的所有存款都存在高收益儲蓄帳戶中，由於高利率，這些帳戶的收益比以往任何時候都要高。

It's still not much, but it's better than nothing.

雖然不多，但總比沒有強。

You could get your car wrapped in advertising.

你可以讓你的汽車被廣告包裝起來。

You could get a roommate.

你可以找個室友。

But those aren't going to be enough to do anything close to quitting your day job, which is what most people are after when they start Googling this type of thing.

但這些並不足以讓你辭掉日常工作，而這正是大多數人在谷歌上搜索這類東西時所追求的。

Realistically, creating significant, passive income between the ages of 30 and 50 requires a substantial amount of luck and effort.

實際上，在 30 歲到 50 歲之間創造可觀的被動收入需要大量的運氣和努力。

You could luck into a job that pays you in equity, ends up going public, and cash out at the right time.

你可能會幸運地找到一份以股權形式支付薪水的工作，最終上市，並在合適的時機套現。

You could also finagle getting a high-paying job with minimal debt, live on very little of it for, like, a decade, and retire early.

你也可以想方設法找到一份高薪工作，只欠很少的債務，靠很少的債務生活十年，然後提前退休。

These things do happen.

這些事情確實發生了。

I mean, some people win the lottery, too.

我的意思是，有些人也會中彩票。

Think of passive income like a water well.

把被動收入想象成一口水井。

If you want to be able to take a large amount of water for a long time, it has to be dug very deep.

如果想長期大量取水，就必須挖得很深。

Creating it always requires time, muscle, specialized equipment, and most importantly, patience.

創作總是需要時間、精力、專業設備，最重要的是要有耐心。

And that's our two cents.

這就是我們的看法。

Thanks to our patrons for keeping Two Cents financially healthy.

感謝我們的贊助人讓 Two Cents 保持財務健康。

Click the link in the description to become a Two Cents patron.

點擊說明中的鏈接，成為 Two Cents 的贊助人。