There's some emotive words out there that work very well in attracting consumer attention:
Free!
Half-price!
Buy 2 get 1 free!
Bonus pack!
And for the journey towards Financial Freedom, there is this popular "Passive Income" quote that never fails to attract interest and attention.
When we were young, we get an allowance from our parents. To us, this allowance is "passive income". We didn't do anything to earn it did we? But to our working parents, is it passive?
To the mistress of a wealthy businessman, the "housekeeping allowance" may appear passive, but we know there are certainly some activities she has to perform....
Even marry into wealth it's not passive as we need to first be "active" in hooking our partners up. Unless you are one of those mail-order bride or groom...
Quick quiz!
Do you know anyone who gets money from a source without having to do anything "active" to earn this income in the first place? (Besides getting money from parents lah!)
I do!
I know descendents of another branch of my family tree do get annual dividends from Ngee Ann Kongsi - just for having the right surname. Typical Teochew - boys get more; girls get less.
I guess that goes also for those who get regular money from a Family Office or Trust that's left behind by a wise, compassionate and super rich ancestor.
And those who inherited rental properties from mommy and daddy.
Now that's Passive Income! Without lifting a single finger, money comes.
As for all other forms of so called "Passive Income", especially rentals from investment properties, and dividends from equities, is it "passive" really?
Unless inherited or gifted to you by someone, we need first to secure or earn this supposedly "passive" flow of income right?
And that's where we see the difference between shepherds and sheep.
Shepherds are constantly, actively searching for loop holes, opportunities to exploit.
Sheep just passively wait for shepherds to guide them.
Lucky, good shepherds will steer sheep to green pastures. Sheep just surrender their wool for this "service"; shepherds don't work for free.
Unlucky, some sheep may discover belatedly that some shepherds don't just want wool, they want lamp chops too!
Singapore Man of Leisure (welcome to my blog; just google it!)
